I love the Gold Country, but my husband wants tropical beaches. Earlier this year, he traveled to the Philippines to visit my folks, and he’s been over the moon since.
We talk about Panama, because it is practically first world. Last night, he showed me pictures of Belize for its beautiful Caribbean white sand and all the pretty places to kayak.
He tries to seduce me with these expat experiences:
http://bestplacesintheworldtoretire.com/
We did as lot of traveling to places like Uruguay, Panama, Belize, Thailand etc. Lots of pluses and minuses for each place. We spoke to many expats and did a lot of research and ended up staying in the US.
You have to decide what you want, how much you want to spend and how far away you want to be. Good luck.
Friends moved to Cuenco, Equador.... lot’s of ex-pats. Beautiful and temperate... cheap organic food, housing etc. I have yet to visit... just returned from Europe, still considering Tuscany and Spain.