Relocating to Mexico or Central America
 

I am single and am selling my business. I won't exactly be wealthy, but I won't need to work anymore. I will have monthly income coming in for 3 years from the sale of my business, in addition to savings and stock investments. I am in my 30's; not at retirement age, and most websites I've found have focused on retirees. I want to relocate to a Caribbean island, Mexico or Central America. I've been to the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Punta Cana many times. May be interested in any of those or some other islands/tropical areas. I've been researching online, but not finding the answers I need about permanent residency (most websites seem to talk about work permits or extremely high incomes so that they know I can take care of myself). Where/how do I find more information? Are there specialists who deal with assisting with this type of permanent relocation? I may be interested in many different Caribbean islands, as well as Panama or Belize or other parts of Central American or Mexico. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

www.internationalliving.com

www.escapeartist.com

2 good sites for you...

Have been an expat off and on

CA lots of rain except for Dec-Mar

Panama Pensionado status best there

consider SA Ecuador Uruguay www.vivamancora.com Peru

Also enjoy Magens Bay St Thomas USVI or St John lots of

expats better diving weather beaches...VERY PRETTY but more $

for better weather...LEASE a long time B4 you buy anything

Happy Hunting

Belize www.cozycorner-belize.com attracts a lot

of expats due to English speaking and beaches

but hurricaine alley..

www.visitcostarica.com lots of US/Canada expats also

Atenas/Escazu one of the best climates in the world

as long as you do not mind a bit of rain

and the rare eathquake or 5...

www.fountainsguesthouse.com nice there

qwovadis:
Thank you for your quick and very helpful replies! I just subscribed to International Living and will look into all of the websites you provided. This is a move I've dreamed of making for years, and now find myself in the financial position to do it. I realize I need to do a lot of research and do some more traveling (non-resort) to really determine where I want to end up. Thank for for giving me some great starting points!

Besides the legal requirements you of course have to research, I'd be looking for where you WANT to live!

For example, I know (because I've spent a LOT of vacation time there maybe 8 months worth total time) I could move to Puerto Vallarta Mexico in a heart-beat and adjust very well to living there.

I think the "more traveling" part of your research is way more important than just getting your paperwork in order to do this.

Another way to approach this might be at the beginning to live different places for a 3-month stretch at a time. That way you could move around on a tourist card/visa without having to fulfill permanent residency requirements until you found your perfect place.

For Costa Rica, check with the forum at www.arcr.com

ARCR is the Association of Residents of Costa Rica.

I think suze give good advice. You've got the opportunity of a lifetime to explore before you semi settle down.
Here's a thought: ever considered Isla Margarita, Venezuela? Caribbean island with casinos, airport, large and small towns and everything in between. Lots of fishing & watersports. Easy access to US and to some of the most beautiful scenery of South America: The Andes, Angel Falls, etc. Gas is about 16 cents a gallon and beer is about 30 cents a bottle.

I forgot to add: hasn't Venezuela dominated the world's beauty pageants?

You need to visit the ares you have interest in and then see how you like that area...The cost of living in Nicaragua is very low and this is a great country with very friendly people..I used to live in Mexico for 11 years,but all the "Drug Cartel" violence scares me now..And that is something that will not go away in the near future..You need to go to some countries and spend some time there and talk to ex-pats and locals..Looking on the internet really doesn't give you a "feel" for the country...