The Smart Retiree’s Guide To Living Overseas In 2026

Intro

Hi! I’m Kat Kalashian for Live and Invest Overseas. Every January for the past 13 years, we at Live and Invest Overseas have created our Overseas Retirement Index, naming the world’s top retirement havens for the year.

The 2026 Retirement Index features 12 incredible destinations.

What Makes Our Index Different

We do not just announce these destinations. We grade them. We rank them across 14 all-important categories, including weather, cost of living, English spoken, expat communities, entertainment, and many other factors you need to know before considering a place as your new home.

What makes this guide even more useful is that it gives specific destinations within each country—cities, towns, neighborhoods, islands, and regions—rather than just offering a simplified list of countries.

That means our index is meant to be practical, not just aspirational.

I’ve been part of the team that works on this large report for about ten years now, and it is always a lot of fun to put together with our colleagues living all over the world, who contribute their data and local insights each year.

How Our Index Is Made

There are 14 factors that every retiree needs to consider. We call these our key relocation criteria.

We developed them through decades of advising people on how to move abroad, but also through our many personal international relocations.

Our team is made up of real-life expats. I’ve personally made five international moves. I currently live in France, and every colleague who contributes to this project has moved overseas multiple times as well. All of us continue to live full-time abroad.

Between us, we have decades of firsthand experience doing exactly what we write about.

The Key Relocation Criteria

The key relocation criteria we grade every destination on each year include cost of living, climate, healthcare, entertainment, recreation, English spoken, expat community, infrastructure, access to North America, environmental factors, safety, real estate restrictions, residency, and taxes.

Cost of living is often the first thing people think about when considering a move overseas. Most people want a place that is more affordable, or at least cost-neutral compared with where they live now.

Climate is another big factor, though it is difficult to define a perfect one. Some people want year-round warmth, others prefer four mild seasons, and still others want that elusive springtime climate all year long.

Healthcare is always a top concern. No matter your age or background, you need to know your medical needs can be met, often to a high standard and sometimes at a fraction of the cost back home.

Entertainment and recreation are related but distinct. Entertainment includes the indoor cultural and lifestyle side of things—cinemas, museums, performances, and so on—while recreation is more about outdoor activities such as golf, hiking, or swimming.

English spoken and the expat community also work together. English spoken refers to how widely English is used among locals and fellow expats, while the expat community category reflects how easy it would be to build a social circle of like-minded people from similar backgrounds.

Infrastructure covers everything from internet and electricity to public transport and the condition of the roads.

Access to North America matters if you want to visit family frequently or have them visit you. This takes into account travel time, connections, and overall convenience.

Environmental factors include things like pollution, natural disasters, or coastal erosion.

Safety is another key category. All the destinations on our list are statistically very safe, often safer than the United States and in some cases even Canada.

Real estate restrictions matter to anyone thinking about buying a home abroad. This includes whether foreigners can own property outright and whether they have the same rights as locals.

Residency is also crucial. We look at how easy and affordable it is to gain legal residency as a retiree, and whether there are incentives, tax advantages, or local discounts that come with it.

Finally, we look at taxes. While no one loves thinking about them, taxes are one of the top concerns for people considering a move abroad, and it is important to understand them well enough to know when you need professional guidance.

While I cannot reveal the final rankings yet, I can share some broad teasers and talk about a few of the standout countries that performed especially well.

The Top Countries To Retire in 2026

Here are the broad strokes of why some of the top-placing countries in this year’s index deserve your attention.

Greece

One of the top countries this year is Greece, and it remains a compelling destination for retirees. Greece’s reputation as a beach hotspot is well earned. It has the longest coastline in the Mediterranean thanks to its many islands, peninsulas, and unusual geography.

But Greece is not just about beaches. It also offers mountains, olive groves, vineyards, inland wilderness, and ancient scenic villages. Even Athens, while not my favorite European capital, has a lot going for it.

The climate is beautiful, the people are warm and welcoming, the food is some of the best in the world, and the cost of living is very low by European standards.

It is also one of the most culturally fascinating places in the world. Greece is, famously, the cradle of Western civilization, and its historical importance is visible throughout the country.

If you are a history lover or a beach person, Greece remains an excellent option.

France

France is another standout, and of course it is my adopted home. It remains a kind of fairy-tale destination of romance, culinary excellence, beautiful architecture, and extraordinary wine.

France offers much more than just Paris. While it does have one of the world’s great metropolitan capitals, it also offers rustic and affordable rural living, mountain life in the Alps or the Pyrenees, and beachside living along the Mediterranean.

Sunseekers can be very happy in the south, while those who prefer cooler weather and more seasonality may appreciate the north, where I live.

France is home to some of the world’s best vineyards and wines, and one of the pleasures of living there is how close you can get to the food and wine culture itself.

It is also rich in art, history, Roman heritage, and charming regional traditions. Whether you are looking at Paris, the half-timbered houses along the German border, or the picturesque towns of the south, there is an enormous amount of beauty and variety here.

And one of the best things about living in France is, of course, having easy access to the rest of Europe.

Mexico

Mexico is another top country this year, and while I cannot yet reveal the exact destination from the index, I can say that Mexico remains one of the most accessible countries in the world for Americans and Canadians.

It is an extraordinarily diverse country, with long Pacific and Caribbean coasts, mountains, colonial cities, jungle, rainforest, rivers, lakes, cenotes, and major archaeological sites.

Because it is in North America, Mexico also feels familiar in certain practical ways. You will find many American franchises and stores that can make daily life easier if you do not want to step too far outside your comfort zone all at once.

For all these reasons and more, Mexico has one of the biggest established populations of American expats in the world.

Portugal

Portugal has performed extremely well in our index for many years, including taking the top spot multiple times in the past. Even when it is not number one, it continues to rank very highly because it offers so much.

Portugal has dazzling coastlines, charming towns, friendly people, and an exceptionally safe environment. It routinely ranks among the safest countries in the world on the Global Peace Index.

In the south, you can enjoy more than 300 days of sunshine a year. Elsewhere in the country, the climate is generally mild.

Portugal is also home to some of the best beaches and golf courses in Europe. If golf is important to you, Portugal and Spain remain especially strong choices.

Despite all the attention on rising prices in places like Lisbon and the Algarve, Portugal is still relatively affordable compared with much of Western Europe.

Expats are drawn to its beautiful landscapes, historical architecture, beaches, welcoming residency options, healthy cuisine, and strong cultural identity. It is no surprise that foreign resident numbers continue to rise there year after year.

Panama

Panama is the number one country in this broad-strokes overview, and it remains a long-time favorite of Live and Invest Overseas.

While I cannot reveal the exact place in Panama that made this year’s top retirement destination list, Panama as a country continues to stand out for just about everything a retiree might want.

I personally lived there for seven years, and I still maintain a second residency there, which allows me to come and go as I please.

Panama has major advantages for people looking for a lower cost of living, but it also offers beautiful islands, both Pacific and Caribbean coastlines, mountain retreats, colonial towns, and a very modern capital city.

Panama City is the banking and financial hub of the region, and it offers just about every first-world amenity you might expect, from food delivery and rideshare services to shopping malls, grocery stores, wine shops, art galleries, restaurants, and movie theaters.

So moving to Panama, much like moving to Mexico, can feel like a step outside American culture while still remaining fairly familiar.

The Wi-Fi is excellent, the water is drinkable in most of the country, and utilities are generally reliable. Doctors and medical facilities, especially in the capital, are often very strong.

Beyond the city, Panama is a natural wonderland full of tropical islands, white-sand beaches, coconut palms, and mountain retreats. It is even possible to spend a few nights in a treehouse hotel deep in the rainforest, waking up to howler monkeys and falling asleep to migrating songbirds.

Even Panama City itself remains surprisingly close to nature.