Friday, September 12, 2008

Will Latin America be the next big expat destination?

For many people, one of the major reasons for choosing to live outside of their own country is that their income or savings will go a lot further and buy them a much higher quality of life. Several European countries including Spain, Portugal and Greece witnessed a huge expat boom in the early 1980s for just this reason. With the acceptance of the Euro as the standard currency throughout most of Europe, the cost of living has levelled out somewhat, making these destinations less desirable for those looking to spread their wealth as far as it will go.

If we take a look at the ten cheapest countries to live, we find that eight out of ten of these countries are to be found in Latin America, these ten being Uruguay, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Argentina, Ecuador, Belize and Chile. If we consider the fact that almost all of these countries now benefit from a very well developed set of social amenities and an ever improving infrastructure, it becomes clear that they may well become expat hot spots in the not so distant future. Keep an eye on Latin America!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I must say, I have also read quite a few blogs from ex-pats in Costa Rica. They have moved there for these reasons- and also for just how breathtaking the scenery is! :)