10 Best Places to Retire, Best Country to Retire

Are you ready to discover the 10 best places to retire? Where you can live like a king on a shoestring budget, enjoy the finer things in life and finally get to do what you always wanted to? Even if your retirement seems far away today – don’t put it off – find the best retirement locations now!

Scale – Cities, States, Countries

First of all, we need to define the scale of our quest. Are we looking at the best cities to retire in one region? Do we want to find the best state to retire in? Or do we go global, and look for the best country to retire on the whole planet?

If it’s the best retirement cities in the USA you are interested in, you are lucky, because you have great resources at your fingertips. Start with Forbes.com, who is publishing a yearly list of best places to retire, featuring a photo of each recommended community with a short overview of pros and cons.

Or browse through the extensive “Top Places To Retire” articles at USNews.com, categorized by certain criteria, like the sunniest places, the cheapest places, the best places for singles, the best places to start a second career in retirement, etc.

And there’s no shortage of books about America’s best places to retire, as our recommended reading list below shows…

But as soon as you look outside the United States, resources become rarer. The most comprehensive ones I’ve found so far are EscapeArtist.com and InternationalLiving.com.

InternationalLiving is my personal favorite, as I find it much better structured and easier to navigate than EscapeArtist.

Both offer a wealth of information around the topics of retiring, living and investing abroad, including a monthly magazine. One is a free online version (EscapeArtist), the other a paid printed magazine (IL).

Enough small talk – where are they now, those best places to retire? Based on the criteria and priorities discussed earlier, we created our very own top ten list.

Related: Retire in Portugal