Three years ago, Sharon V. Salinger, a California native, history professor and retired dean of undergraduate education at University of California, Irvine, moved from a house in pricey Pasadena, California, to Paris, France. While her monthly rent for a one-bedroom flat is a stiff $2,765, it’s in the trendy 11th Arrondissement and includes utilities and comes furnished. Now 80, Salinger extols the economic advantages of leaving the U.S. Among them: She no longer needs a car, and tickets to the Paris Opera are cheaper than a seat at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “I do love this city,” she says. Before her move, Salinger knew Paris well, having spent years digging in French archives for her just-published book, Perceived in Print: Indigenous American and French Ideas of the Other, about New World interactions in the 16th and 17th Centuries.
At the other extreme–in retirement age, chosen locale and how she selected a spot–is Reina Becnel Lim, 52, a military veteran turned federal civilian employee. Last year, she reports, “I was DOGEd,” meaning she was made redundant by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, created at the behest of President Donald J. Trump. She was living then on expensive Long Island, New York, and decided to retire and move abroad to some place cheaper—and, yes, less political. But her family unit included an unusual member for a retiree: a four-year-old daughter. That required a whole lot of research about schools, children’s medical care and the like, in addition to the normal retirement relocation fact-finding.
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Lim and her husband, Raymond, also 52 and ready to work digital nomad-style as a consultant, considered several countries, including Malaysia and Thailand. Last October, the family moved to a place they’d never even visited before: Mauritius (pronounced muh-RISH-uhs). It’s a scenic multi-cultural island country in the Indian Ocean 1,300 miles east of, but geopolitically considered part of, Africa. The Lims moved into a three-bedroom, three-bath apartment in Flic en Flac, a small coastal town with gorgeous sunsets on the west side of Mauritius’ main island of the same name. The rent is $2,200 a month, a steal by New York-area prices. Also thrown in: favorable expat tax treatment and a residence permit good for 10 years. “I feel like I’m high on life,” says Reina, who is also pursuing master’s degrees in social work and disaster resilience.
Sharon Salinger at a market in Paris, where she moved for retirement three years ago.
Sharon Salinger
There’s no substitute for previous visits or doing your own research when weighing a decision about retiring abroad. But the new Forbes list of The Best Places To Retire Abroad In 2026 —featuring 96 recommended spots in 24 countries, on four continents and several islands—is a good place to start, whatever your approach. Our summary of each country includes much of the data we weighed in making our picks. These include relative cost of living, healthcare costs and quality, tax considerations, natural hazard and climate change risk (much in the news, especially given ongoing wildfire in parts of Spain and France), the ease of getting long-term permission to live there, travel connections back to the U.S., and how well you can get by without being fluent in the native language. Our data sources, which you can look at, too, are summarized at the end of this article.
Hội An, a port on the South China Sea, is one of four places Forbes recommends in Vietnam, the only communist country on Forbes’ list of The Best Places To Retire Abroad In 2026.
Golero/EPlus/Getty Images
Mauritius is a first time honoree on the list. So is Vietnam, a half-century after the end of the Vietnam War (or, as it’s officially called over there, “Resistance War Against America to Save the Nation”). The only still-Communist country on the list (but courting Western investment), Vietnam is a tropical country with great scenery, beaches and food. But much of the appeal for retired Americans is economic.
Michael Lorton, 61, a software engineer and manager from expensive San Francisco, had visited Vietnam for decades. For retirement, he considered other inexpensive countries, including Thailand, Cambodia and The Philippines. But this past March he moved alone to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and rents a one-bedroom apartment in the trendy, French-influenced Tân Định district off Hai Bà Trưng Street for all of $400 a month. “It’s a low-cost, low-stress place,” he says. One inconvenient quirk: Vietnam doesn’t have a formal retirement visa, so expat retirees must use tourist visas that require leaving and re-entering the country, even briefly, every 90 days by land or air.
Not a single one of our 24 country choices has an overall cost of living higher than the U.S. average, and many are dramatically less. These bargains include Albania, Argentina, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, France (outside Paris), Greece, Italy, Malaysia, Mauritius, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Panama, Portugal, Slovenia, Thailand, Uruguay and Vietnam. Even in countries similar in cost to the U.S.—like Austria and Canada—real money can be saved by staying away from the glamorous big cities. Just as in the U.S., there are beautiful areas that have lower costs.
There are two big reasons for the foreign economic edge. One is real estate. Property tends to cost a lot less outside the U.S., which is reflected in lower rents (most American expat retirees wisely lease rather than buy). The second: healthcare costs. For most of the countries on our list, quality medical care and health insurance are available at a cost so far below U.S. price levels that private insurance or even out-of-pocket payments can replace Medicare.
A number of countries even allow expat retirees at some point, under certain circumstances, to join their national health care systems. These include Austria, Costa Rica, Cyprus, France, Italy, Mauritius, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Uruguay. U.S. Medicare can’t be used in foreign countries. But retirees close enough to easily drive or fly back from some countries on our list, including Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama, can still benefit. For retired U.S. military the TRICARE health care program has coverage overseas. As someone with a disability from military service, Lin can use the Veteran Administration’s Foreign Medical Program (FMP) as well as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan for U.S. Federal Government retirees.
Paris is pricey, but farther from the city, living costs in France are as much as 30% lower than in the U.S.
Alexander Spatari/Moment/Getty Images
Expats retiring to a foreign country generally have to show proof of medical insurance, at least initially. This is a very smart thing to have, even without a mandate. Coverage can be identified from such sources as the Association of Americans Resident Overseas and Medibroker. Reflecting the lower cost of healthcare abroad, rates are generally reasonable, but finding coverage for some pre-existing conditions can take time.
An important warning: Even if you’re retiring abroad, make sure you enroll in Medicare Part A when you turn 65 (unless you and/or your spouse are still working and have insurance through your job). Part A covers hospital care in the U.S. and it’s free. But also pay premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers doctors and other outpatient services. Part B premiums for 2026 start at $202.90 a month per person, but can be a lot steeper if your modified adjusted gross income is above $109,000 for a single or $218,000 for a couple. So why keep paying for Medicare? You might come back to the U.S. someday. If you decline Medicare Part B now and later return, you can be hit with a late enrollment penalty equal to 10% for each year you would have been paying premiums. This adds up.
Another warning: Do not assume you will save on taxes from moving abroad. Unlike most other countries, the U.S. taxes its citizens on their income no matter where they live, so there’s no break there. The country of foreign residence will have its own taxes, often, but not always, at higher marginal rates. However, all is hardly lost. Many countries on the list don’t tax expat retirees on their foreign investment, Social Security or pension income, which for most is essentially all their income. These countries include Belize, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Mauritius and Panama.
Plus, U.S. tax law allows U.S. filers to take a foreign tax credit against U.S. taxes for certain tax payments made to other countries. The U.S. also has tax treaties with a bare majority of the countries on the list. These pacts provide some protection against double taxation—that is, taxation of the same income by both the U.S. and the country of residence. (We note those with tax treaties in our individual country profiles here on the list.) The Internal Revenue Service website, irs.gov, provides some guidance as well as the list and text of tax treaties in effect. Also, a U.S. retiree abroad who is allowed to work part-time as, say, a digital nomad, might be able to use the U.S. Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, which under certain circumstances shields up to $130,000 from U.S. taxation in 2026 (but also could require the payment of income taxes in the country of “retirement”).
There are some quirks here. Argentina, France and Thailand tax foreign investment income but not pension and Social Security payments. Spain and Italy don’t tax foreign pensions if they were earned in government service. So use competent tax professionals and steel yourself to pay more for tax preparation; this isn’t a do-it-yourself situation appropriate for TurboTax. And don’t ignore the requirement to submit Foreign Bank Account Reports (FBARs) to the U.S. Treasury if you have an account in a foreign institution. There are severe penalties for failure to file, no matter where you live, as several Forbes 400 members over the years have learned to their regret.
An important issue is how difficult it is for American retirees to gain the right to live in a foreign country. Our assessments are based on existing law and customs, online sources and discussions with knowledgeable folks. But this could change, particularly in an era in which current U.S. government policy is making it harder for foreigners to move here or even, in some cases, simply visit as tourists. The good news is that so far there are scant reports of increased problems for American retirees moving abroad other than, maybe, a greater emphasis on the correct paperwork.
Most of the countries on this list allow U.S. retirees to move upon, among other things, a showing of adequate income resources. These can include pensions, Social Security and retirement accounts, or documentable overall net worth, but every country has different rules on what assets or income count. The reason is simple. Other countries don’t want Americans to come and take local jobs or to require local resources for support. But these countries do embrace retirees bringing money from the U.S. to spend. An adequate income requirement can range from a minimal amount—e.g. $12,000 a year for two in Costa Rica and even zero, for Vietnam—to a substantial $116,000 a year for a couple that wants to stay in Ireland. In some countries, family connections, such as a grandparent born there, are a big help. That can work in Ireland, where, if you can show the required family tree, you can become a citizen with a right to live there and no minimum income requirement.
Historically, our northern neighbor has made it very hard for an American retiree without close family living in Canada to move there. But late last year, Canada dramatically expanded its laws to allow descendants of Canadian citizens—even great-great-great-great grandchildren—to gain citizenship and therefore the right to live in Canada. There are estimates this could enable 10 million Americans to move to Canada. But even without that, Canada allows American tourists to stay for six months a year, raising the possibility of simply splitting retirement time between the U.S. and Canada.
Each country has very different relocation procedures that need to be followed. Paperwork often has to be translated into the official language of the country and properly certified. Some countries require an application to first be filed with the country’s U.S. embassy or nearest consulate, while others require the paperwork to be filed only after the retiree arrives in the country on a tourist visa. The website of the country’s U.S. embassy often has helpful information laying these details out. Many expats wisely retain a lawyer or specialist located in the country where they want to settle to handle the process. The initial permission to stay beyond a tourist visa is generally good for a limited period of, say, a year or two, with the possibility of renewals and, eventually, something approximating permanent residence.
One way to check out a future home is to use a tourist visa to stay as long as possible—most countries allow at least three months. It is often possible to rent a furnished apartment on a short-term lease. That could lead to a longer-term rental, since most Americans retiring abroad end up renting rather than buying. Although foreign property ownership is legal in most of the countries on this list, the buying process can present all kinds of complications and costs. There have also been problems with fraudulent land sales to Americans in certain countries, including Belize and Mexico.
Another, particularly timely, reason to rent: Climate change, which raises various risks, including of wildfires. Last year, France also made our list of the best places to retire abroad, with one of our four recommended spots being the Bordeaux region. This year, with that area suffering through historic heat and wildfires, we no longer recommend Bordeaux.
Renting also allows you to try out one country and then another. Ron Kloth, 67, whose U.S. career included stints as a stockbroker in Colorado and running a beer company in Arizona, has been retired in Europe for eight years, first in Germany and then Portugal. Two years ago, he moved to the colorful Albanian capital of Tirana on the country’s one-year renewable residence visa. Kloth rents a one-bedroom apartment in the high-end Pazari I Ri (The New Bazaar) neighborhood for just $460 a month. His motivations for a foreign retirement are strictly economics and lifestyle: “Politics is not a factor.”
With its beauty, low costs and easy immigration procedures (see our full write-up here), Albania has become something of a bug light for American retirees. This is so even though there have been big public protests to a proposal by Trump family members to build luxury projects along the country’s gorgeous coast.
Last year, after a career as an esthetician, Carol Orlik Fouad, now 69, retired and moved alone from a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, to Berat, an inland valley town flanked by dramatic mountains in Albania. Now on a renewable one-year residence visa, she’s renting a two-bedroom house for $450 a month. Before moving, Fouad had never been to Albania. “My son thought I was crazy,” she admits. Her reasons for leaving the U.S. were the combination seen in American surveys in the era of Trump: politics coupled with economics. “I wanted out of the U.S.,” she declares. Before settling on Albania, Fouad weighed moving to Costa Rica, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and Thailand. “Albania seems to be right,” she says.
Intensive research is crucial to any move, and thanks to the Internet and social media, it’s never been easier. Every country that draws your interest has multiple groups on platforms like Facebook and Reddit devoted to foreign residents, retirement and day-to-day living. Many are public groups, but if private, just ask to join. Newcomers can post questions—is there smoke and danger from wildfires, for instance—and get answers to the most nitty-gritty of issues. As we noted earlier, an actual visit in advance of retirement is highly advised.
Here’s where we found much of the specific information used in our research. Comparative cost-of-living data, serious crime rates worldwide and health care comparisons came from numbeo.com. Assessments of natural hazard and climate change risk were drawn from the United Nations’ latest World Risk report. Tax treatment and treaty information came from websites of various countries, tax professionals and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Details on individual residency requirements and estimates of English speakers were distilled from a variety of online sources on a country-by-country basis, as well as discussions with actual expat retirees. We used Google Flights to assess the convenience of return travel to the U.S. The countries and places we picked, though, were the result of our own judgment.