This Is the Best Place in the World to Retire Overseas in 2022

One of Europe’s hidden gems is your best bet for retiring overseas, according to Live and Invest Overseas.

The seaside region of Comporta, Portugal, took top honors in this year’s annual index of the 15 best places in the world to retire. It scored particularly high grades in the Health Care (A+) and Crime (A) categories. It also ranked highly for Cost of Living (B+, at a monthly budget of $2,935) and Taxes (B).

Comporta edged out Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which earned a better Cost of Living ranking (A+) and tied Comporta for Health Care (A+) but had a lower ranking on Crime (B+).

The index looks at 15 locales in 15 countries and ranks them based on 13 categories:

• Cost of living
• Health care
• Entertainment
• Recreation
• Whether English is spoken
• Expat community
• Infrastructure, including internet, electricity and domestic access
• Access to North America
• Environmental factors
• Crime
• Real estate restrictions
• Residency
• Taxes

This year’s top 15 places — with their final overall grades — are:

1. Comporta, Portugal — A
2. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico — A
3. Cayo, Belize — A-
4. Northern Cyprus — A-
5. Paris, France — A-
6. County Clare, Ireland — A-
7. Città Sant’Angelo, Italy — B+
8. Salinas, Ecuador — B+
9. Phuket, Thailand — B+
10. Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic — B+
11. Santa Marta, Colombia — B
12. Kotor, Montenegro — B
13. Tierras Altas, Panama — B
14. Istria, Croatia — B
15. Ubud, Indonesia — B-

In a press release, Kathleen Peddicord, founding publisher of Live and Invest Overseas, says now is a great time to explore retiring overseas:

“With the current strength of the U.S. dollar, the opportunity is now to take your hard-earned retirement savings and extend them even further in another country, while also benefiting from warmer climates, lower costs of living, and endless access to adventure.”

Looking for the lowdown on life as an expatriate? Check out “7 Tips for Planning Your Dream Retirement Overseas.”