Portugal tops list of best places to retire for English speakers

LONDON — Many of our readers sat upright when we published an article in which financial planner, Alec Riddle told us that people who retire earlier, can expect to live longer. Just spending more time in your own garden and local haunts with more frequent travel may be a good retirement prospect for some; for the more adventurous a retirement overseas may be more alluring. But it is not always easy to choose a destination. Sitting in a café in Paris, munching a croissant and looking at the stylish Parisians, may sound like a good idea, until you try chatting with the locals and you discover that they frown upon or are plain ‘bleddie ongeskik’ to anyone not speaking their language. Or maybe they just don't like the English. You get more done trying Afrikaans or Zulu first. And even if you do have a smatter of French, they tend to answer you in English. So, all those lessons count for nothing. But don’t despair you do not only have to consider the obvious destinations like the United Kingdom and the places where you know people. Kathleen Peddicord, founder of Live and Invest Overseas has whittled the list down for English speaking retirees. She shares some of her 2019 top 21 destinations including 10 new entries with Bloomberg Business Week’s Carol Massar. Here is a spoiler alert, Portugal tops the list, but it is worthwhile looking at the other places. - Linda van Tilburg