10 cheapest countries for a comfortable retirement abroad

Slideshow January 20, 2021 at 09:15 AM

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International Living, a website that covers global retirement and relocation opportunities, released its 30th annual global retirement index for 2021 on the day before the violent assault on the Capitol Building in Washington.

Between Jan. 6, the day of the attack, and Jan. 10, traffic spiked on the website as people looked for information on the best places to move overseas, the group said in a statement. The surge was not surprising. In October, International Living reported that it had seen a 1,600% increase in search volume around the term "move out of the U.S." since May amid the pandemic and social and political tension that had beset the country. Of course, retirees have many other reasons for wanting to live abroad, whether for temperate climate, the ability to live comfortably on a modest income or a desire to explore a new culture. IL's index aims to help retirees find locations where they can get the best value for money in terms of cost of living, housing and overall quality of life. It arrives at its ranking of the 25 top locations based on reports from a network of editors, correspondents and contributors around the world who provide on-the-ground information and recommendations. It ranks and scores each country across 10 categories: housing, benefits and discounts, visas and residence, cost of living, fitting in and entertainment, health care, development, climate, governance and opportunity. See the gallery above for International Living's 10 most affordable countries for retirees. Read more: