If you are thinking about retiring abroad and are looking for a warm and inexpensive place to settle, Panama shoudl be on your list of places to investigate.  Similar to Costa Rica in that it has beautiful Pacific and Caribbean beaches, lovely mountain communities, and everything you could possibly need in modern Panama City, it comes at a fraction of the price of Costa Rica.  If you are interested in learning more about retiring in Panama, you should check out the Retirement Detectives website.  This website has in depth and free information about Mexico and Central America, and is written by a guy who retired from Canada to Panama, so he has all first-hand experience.  Also, he has NO interests in any real estate or development organizations, so the inforamtion is unbiased.