8 Best reasons to retire early in Guatemala! Right next door! 

Did you go there alone without knowing anyone?

@@tommyg.9069 I SAILED into the Rio Dulce on our sailboat with my mate. Our plan was to head up to MX for the hurricane season... Never made it. rented a room in a house in Antigua fell in love with the town and people. Eventually sailed back to Fla sold the boat moved here fulltime 2004 bought a house renovated and expanded it.

@@latinaalma1947 You're more handy than me. I could never renovate a house.

@@tommyg.9069 Didnt do it all by myself...hired a local construction team...took down walls that chopped up the house into tiny bedrooms..opened exterior walls to make enormous Moroccan arched windows to let in light and the volcano views...it sits on the side of a dormant volcano overlookimg two others, one active, spewing fire and lava periodically, a safe distance away...the views are spectacular. I did all the art work inside...designed on paper and laid out mosaics on floors , walls, and exterior wall arches. I hand painted and fired tiles. Painted large wall murals . Lots of paint decorations very intricate because I am a hobby artist and decorative painter. This was the dream of a lifetime, an enormous project that took years because I lived in it, in the mess moving from room to room. Very few people are wacko enough to do this. I came from the boat, another enormous project. My mate pretty much gutted the boat and installed all new systems...it was a 25 yo boat...when done it was far more comfortable and seaworthy 45ft....we owned nothing but tshirts, shorts, bathing suits and boat shoes. We were used to living FOR nature and just continued that lifestyle here. I have always marched to a different drummer...most women could not take either lifestyle. Lots of men couldnt either. There are sacrifices on a boat incommunicado for long stretches of time, you have to be self reliant, like pioneers. The ocean doesnt care if you live or die and the Coast Guard isnt just a radio call away...living in a Central American paradise can be heaven or it can be hell...all of life is what WE bring to it...people have too little faith in themselves. But mostly they just dont want to bother, they want an easy life...easy or interesting, that seems to me to be the choice and from childhood I had an adventurous spirit and mind. I was lucky enough to find a man like me...he had the sailing dream from childhood. I had the south of the border life dream from my Texas childhood and Mexican vacations/adventures. One thing is for certain: I feel like my life was WELL used...I crammed alot in, I got to do everything I had ever dreamed of....I got to go everyplace I wanted most to see. From a life in the country in Texas...I KNEW I didnt want to marry a rice farmer and put up preserves...though those are noble callings and I HAVE put up preserves here from my tropical fruit trees... I needed much much MORE in terms of experiences.

How's the internet? My wife works from home....we are thinking of moving there, but she has to have good internet.

How's it going, now? 3 years later, still living there?

Thank you for all your great points! It was a pleasure in reading through it all!

Unfortunately, I don't have any information on Melchor de Menco's. Perhaps someone reading this may have some information for you.

@Rick Masters. Thank you. I'm glad it was helpful!

It really really is. The people are amazing....mostly kind, polite, happy, tranquil people who love their families and show it. The form of Spanish is old fashioned courtly polite. You will never hear cursing in the street or in earshot of a woman, child or elderly person, unlike Mexico. There are so many great places to explore in nature here all around Lake Atitlan, the Rio Dulce, Coban, Semuc CHAMPEY,the Pacific beaches.In our 50s and early 60s we did it all by bus in budget hotels , backpacking...it was cheap, fun and fabulous nature! SInce our 60s we have owned a van traveling in it. Not fit for climbing, long hikes etc anymore due to age so we stay in very nice hotels with comfortable beds...STILL great fun!

It's more than enough!

@ Dejaya8 Ahora. Here are all the locations requested of, except Palawan but may need more that $1000, most likely. Panama ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VcQBf7Qa0ls.html Peru ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SuQeD13HV1s.html Philippines ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-L6HY9ByFje8.html Mexico ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TIvOxK3rSVQ.html

@@roninblue5885 so awesome. Thank you.

Look no one is going for Residencies anymore too complicated and not worth it just do tourist visas and relax.

@@latinaalma1947 Agreed. And we have changed our plan and starting our adventure in my wife’s home country of Nicaragua. Trying to get everything done and get out of here in 3 weeks ! Heading for a mountain city called Matagalpa. We are very excited ! We do plan to stay until our senior dogs pass away and then start traveling from Mexico to Argentina over several years.

IN the Antigua area the Boston Collegio is by far the best...there are excellent collegios in the capital too. More than one !

I would choose Antigua...very safe except to business owners, they have have some issues but that ism true countrywide. ....Lake Atitlan for nature is wonderful but I dont know about schools there...

LOL

Well, they do have tamales in Guatemala, right? Maybe he got confused or maybe he didn't actually visit the place.

@Eros Play. The cost of living would be between 1000-1500USD a month but keep in mind that it isn't in how much you need, it's in how much you could still potentially make even after retirement. I would also add another 5 more years to your estimate to 15 years. If you focus on generating passive and residual income and growing your net worth with compound interest, perhaps in index funds or ETF's, as examples it would be a good position to be in. Simply saving would not be a good path. A good simple guideline to follow would be in figuring out your annual expenses, multiply it by 25, this will give you a rough idea in how much you may need and compare this to Guatemala's cost of living. Once you know your lump sum, you could live off 4% of it annually, this will roughly take you 15 years to achieve. I know by experience, it took me 17 years. I wish I knew what I just told you back at your age...

@Eros Play. Of course this is not investment advice, this is just what I have followed for the last 17 years and it's worked.

RoninBlue awesome thank you for the information I was actually planning on working in my family’s farm and once I gained enough experience start up my own I’m currently in the process of building a house over there :)

@Eros Play. Sounds like a great plan, more of a plan than most 20 year olds out there! Way ahead of most!

RoninBlue thank you for the kind words ! :)

I've been there a lot...probably not in the city .Suburbs are peacefull and my husband is from guatemala .Hes planning to retire overthere but out in the rural areas.Im worried since people ignore the police and take justice on their own hands😱.Now food is good and affordable .Personal safety an issue

@@marlenegonzalez941 thank you for that information

I born and race in guatemala. In the rural place don't worry about.it If you are.a criminal. Than You have to worry. Otherwise. Nice super super nice people's. Go to jutiapa. My hometown. Cheap land.

@@TakedownBreakdown yeap.Hope that helps .You can go fora a trip to check it out .Ive been told Cuenca .Ecuador is very good .Us dollars

Thank you for this video.

If you choose a right location, you'll never find any trouble or bad people, are probably be more likely to have issues in Chicago, Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, etc, I've been living here for over 3 years, never seen any problem, just use common sense and get information from locals where no to go. I love it here, I'm planning to buy a small business and get extra income.

Is Guatemala, not Güatemala, without Diaeresis.

My apologizes, I do attempt to practice my Spanish but it's pretty brutal still.

no worries! its shay-la btw

Okay, just practiced it out loud just now! Appreciate the heads up!

@GT. My numbers come from Numbeo, where the majority of people get their averages from, based on 5000 recent contributors living in Guatemala. I've double checked the numbers and they still match. Could you tell me where you got your 300 dils a month from, for your cost of living, would like to know your resource? Also Cancun is in Mexico, I believe, not in Guatemala. This is a Guatemala vlog, not a Mexico one. Numbeo Link below for your reference www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Guatemala&displayCurrency=USD

He clearly said its cheaper than mexico. 😂 specially cancun.