10 Best Foreign Countries for Retirement: 2019

Where can a retired couple live a comfortable, carefree life on $1,800 or less a month?

InternationalLiving.com released its Global Retirement Index for 2019. The annual index examines safe, good-value destinations beyond the U.S. or Canadian borders and scores the world’s top 25 retirement destinations.

(Related: 10 Best Foreign Countries for Retirement: 2018)

The main goal of the index is to help retirees find locations where their dollar goes further — where they can get the best value for money in terms of cost of living, housing and overall quality of life.

“This Index is designed to be a cheat-sheet of sorts, to help point people toward the spots that might make the most sense for them overseas,” Jennifer Stevens, International Living’s executive editor, said in a statement. “It’s most useful, however, if you come to it with some sense for your own priorities. Ask yourself, ‘What’s most important to me in a haven overseas?’”

This year’s index has several key highlights: Thailand is now in the top 10, and Sri Lanka appears in the index for the first time.

The 2019 Index is more comprehensive, including evaluations in 13 categories (one more than last year’s). This year’s categories include buying and investing, renting, benefits and discounts, visas and residence, cost of living, fitting in, entertainment and amenities, health care, healthy lifestyle, development, climate, opportunity and governance.

Each year, the editors at International Living re-evaluate the methodology used to construct the index. This year, they added an “opportunity” category into the index calculations.

“Our readers have been telling us that they have big plans for their retirement, and it’s not all about winding down,” Stevens said in a statement. “In fact, some of our readers are positively fizzing with ideas they’re eager to pursue when they give up the daily grind and start concentrating on their own projects.”

The index uses solid data as well as the informed judgement and real-world experience of International Living’s vast network of on-the-ground contacts and correspondents. The scores across the individual categories are then calculated, and a total score is determined for each country.

Check out the world’s top 10 retirement destinations based on InternationalLiving.com’s 2019 Global Retirement Index in the gallery above.

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