Best Places To Live Overseas

**Portugal’s Algarve region is a unique bit of European geography at the southwestern corner of the Continent, at the longitude of Great Britain and the latitude of Delaware. It is protected from winter by the movement of the ocean in the Gulf Stream and, as a result, has the best climate in Europe, with 3,300 hours of sunshine every year, more than any other country in this part of the world. The Algarve is beautiful, affordable, welcoming, friendly, and safe. It boasts some of the world’s best beaches and best golf courses plus a long and interesting history. It was from this coast that Prince Henry the Navigator, an architect of the Age of Exploration, bid his men to “sail on, sail on.” Those orders compelled brave adventurers around the Cape of Good Hope to China and India and then across the Atlantic. **Portugal Cascais, on this country’s coast just a 40-minute train ride from Lisbon city center, is the best of both city and beach living, a seaside town that’s not too big and not too small with a strong sense of community. This is a well-heeled, high-end destination, one of the world’s most affordable places to embrace a luxury-standard lifestyle on the ocean. **Over the past four decades, Americans have voted Mexico the world’s number one place to live or retire overseas in the way that really counts—they’ve packed up and moved there. This country is home to more American expats and retirees than any other, at least 1 million and as many as 2 million. Mexico’s primary attraction is its accessibility. It’s easier for an American to get to Mexico than to any country other than Canada Cascais is spectacularly beautiful with a rugged coastline, white sandy beaches, stone buildings, cobblestone sidewalks, museums, and parks. The people are friendly, welcoming, and helpful. You’ll be instantly at home. **Only a few cities in the world can hope to meet the expectations of a nature lover, a museum aficionado, a foodie, an adrenaline junky, and a fashionista. Annecy offers a lifestyle that satisfies all these agendas. Historically, Annecy has been known for its skiing (this is the Pearl of the French Alps) and its lake, one of the cleanest in the world. Cradled as it is between its crystal blue lake and the surrounding Alpine summits, the city is naturally protected from large-scale development and has managed to retain its traditional village appeal. **Penang isn’t just another lost-in-time outpost of the former British Empire. Combining all that’s appealing about island and city living, the “Pearl of the Orient” is one of Southeast Asia’s most livable destinations. Low costs are a big part of the appeal. In addition, health care is excellent, foreigners are welcome, and the country is safe and stable. **The population is a melting pot of Malay, Straits Chinese, Chinese, Burmese, Arab, Thai, Indonesian, and Indian. Thanks to its colonial past, English is the language that holds the ethnic stew together. Life here is both traditional and 21st century, exotic and comfortable. Beyond the high-rise apartments of modern George Town is one of the best-preserved old cities in Asia. Hidden along the winding streets of this UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site are old shophouses, guildhalls, and clan houses. Then there’s the great outdoors. Almost on the city’s doorstep are stylish seaside settlements with palm-fringed sandy beaches and a backdrop of lush rain forest. This city is recognized as an Asian culinary capital. Delicious specialties like Char Kway Teow, noodles with shrimp, chili paste, and cockles, are less than US$2 per portion. Malaysia is one of the world’s most tax-friendly jurisdictions. As a resident of this country, you are taxed only on income derived from within the country, meaning that even income you remit to Malaysia is not taxed as long as it was earned elsewhere.