Retire in Antigua

Introduction – This is a perspective from one writer. There is a mass exodus of people leaving the United States right now, and it’s almost unreported by the media. The next expat haven is going to be Antigua, Guatemala which is today’s focus.

Obama Care - Naturally, one of the biggest concerns of retirees is health care, and the situation is looking ever more fearful as Obama Care is implemented. Even Obama’s champion group, those with pre-existing medical conditions (which make it hard to get private health insurance) have largely rejected his plan for them. In the 9 months after it was passed, only 12,500 people signed up, less than one twentieth of the projected amount.

This is probably because you have to have been uninsured for 6 months and have previously been denied coverage to get it. Having, say, arthritis is not enough. Gee, hope your conditions don’t suddenly take a turn for the worse and kill you before the 6 months is up. Meanwhile, more and more people are choosing to leave the country as they see their choices dwindling away.

Now let’s look at the contrast in what kind of medical care you can receive from abroad, at truly a tiny fraction of the cost. In Guatemala it’s very common for doctors to come to your home, as well as veterinarians. They bring their equipment, examine you, write you a prescription if necessary (though many more medications are available without prescription), and go on their way. If you employ private nurses, they will work with them to make sure you get the best treatment. General practitioner house calls run about $25.00, same for a veterinarian.

Hospitals - But what if you need a hospital stay? There are public hospitals, free of charge to citizens, but you will likely be staying in our private hospitals. These have world-class equipment and doctors and, best of all, are extraordinarily cheap in comparison with US hospitals. We’re talking your own private suite, with a room for you with the hospital bed and equipment, and either a sofa bed or full other bedroom for family members to stay with you, and a private bathroom, TV, etc. Under $200 a night, including the medical treatment. Very, very cheap. I obviously can’t name prices for everything, but forget $50,000, $100,00 $700,000 medical bills.

Health Care Regulation - Also, while medical treatment and medications are regulated here, it’s for patient safety, unlike in the US where regulation is done with the intent of racketeering. This means that alternative treatments are not suppressed and are widely available. Say you’ve read or heard about ozone therapy? Go down to your nearest hospital and get it done. Acupuncture, homeopathic remedies, and more are all available.

Environment - Your health, of course, also depends on the chemicals, toxins, and environmental factors your body comes in contact with. Here, you can buy completely organic (Unlabeled), and chemical-free food (cheaper than processed foods), and people do not even know what chemtrails are. The government does not allow those to pass over Guatemalan soils. Since they appear to be carcinogens and cause all kinds of coughing and other health problems, it is a blessing to escape them. We never saw a chemtrail, nor did anyone we know ever see one in Guatemala.

Fresh Food - Non genetically modified food is widely available, you can even find properties that have banana trees, coffee trees, vegetable gardens, etc, already on them so that you can be sure you’re eating pesticide-free organic foods. Nevertheless, you can buy fruits and vegetables as well. A single person can spend $5-$6 dollars a week on fruits and vegetables for a massive quantity. You wouldn’t believe how good the flavor is either since they haven’t been bastardized. As you can guess, diabetes is much, much more rare in Guatemala than in the United States. We know people who are overweight. They move to Guatemala. They stop with the fast food, frozen food and garbage food. They eat a lot and do not diet, just eat clean which is the standard here. They often drop 15 or 20 pounds in a month or two. Why? A lot of the overweight issue comes from toxins, chemical additives which are now absent from their diet. How about that. Want to lose even more weight get a water ozonator. Ozonate a glass of water and drink it after every meal. You will have an easy time digesting your food and lose weight as well. We never mentioned a diet, just eat clean. Our local chicken and beef is free range clean. Wait until you taste our eggs and the rich full color of the yolks. We'll save our award winning coffee for another time.

Cost of Living - Now, all this sounds fine and dandy, you might be thinking, but what do other things cost there? What can a retired couple live on? This is entirely going to depend on your standard of living. If you don’t concentrate on buying imported goods, and don’t need to live in a luxury penthouse, but do employ a maid you can make it on $2,000 easily in Antigua proper, and less if you live some minutes outside the city, perhaps $1,500. This is assuming that you still maintain a fairly North American lifestyle. Of course, the more money you are willing to spend, your lifestyle will increase. You will live much better here than you would in USA, Canada or EU for the same money.

However, it’s not recommended to start out outside of Antigua. It’s best to live within the city itself at first, and once you get the lay of the land you can venture out further. You can function in english in Antigua.

Antigua, Guatemala - I want to take a minute to explain what Antigua is like and its uniqueness. It looks like old- Spain because it was originally the Spanish colonial capitol before it was moved to its current location in Guatemala City. The streets are still cobblestone streets, and city ordinances prevent you from building anything that doesn’t conform to the colonial aesthetic, at least from the outside. There are no billboards, no neon lights, traffic lights or almost anything else to detract from the colonial-look and so it looks very much like it did a few hundred years ago.

Further, to my knowledge the highest building is 3 stories high, with about 90% of buildings being only 1 or 2 stories, so everywhere has a view of the surrounding mountains, volcanoes, and city.

Safety - It’s by far the safest part of Guatemala. There are no gangs. The worst thing you have to worry about is ATM cloning, and measures can be taken against that. Antigua has its own police force and police officers roam the streets, keeping it safe for tourism. Many of them speak English, as do many store clerks, waiters, etc, at least enough to do some business with you.

But for dealing with cable companies, water delivery, government offices, and other such assorted tasks, it’s good to have a bilingual personal assistant, who can be gotten for cheap, to help you deal with these non-English speakers. I admit it can make a person feel very weary to not be able to communicate. But in most places in Antigua you hear English spoken about as much as you do Spanish, along with some other European or Asian languages thrown in the mix too.

Climate - Homes are built without air conditioning or heating because the temperature is so mild running 55 to 75 degrees year round. When it’s warmer, you sleep with very light bedding, and when it’s cooler you can throw on a wool blanket and you will be fine. The locals sell great handmade wool blankets cheap. They actually call it the land of perpetual spring, especially Antigua which is at about 4,900 foot elevation, so you get the coolness of the mountains, yet there are days when you get semi tropical heat, but never any extremes in temperature. It is healthier to live without air conditioning, no freon.

Dining - There seem to be restaurants every 3 steps. French, Italian, Thai, Indian, Middle Eastern, local Guatemalan, Mexican, anything you can think of, giant hamburgers even, and for the strong stomached ones of us, there’s even McDonalds, Burger King and local fast food places. Good assortment of vegetarian restaurants. Many restaurants carry vegetarian dishes. You do see organic things on the menus. Prices are most reasonable. $20 does the trick in a five star for a full meal, steak or whatever. If a restaurant is not great in Antigua it bites the dust and a good one takes it's place. There are more restaurants than you can eat your way through, practically all of them are great.

Recreation - Street performers are everywhere---mimes, marimba musicians (the Guatemalan wooden percussion instrument), traditional guitarists and singers--and perform in many restaurants as well. Local free tourist magazines list where to find live music each month or week.

Mayans still walk the streets in their traditional vividly colored clothing, with baskets on their heads. You can take carriage rides through the streets, get your shoes polished, and enjoy all the holiday spectacles. For holidays the streets are filled with processions and what they call “carpets,” extremely elaborate designs of flowers, religious figures, and other assorted decorations made with colored sands, wood shavings and other such particles. So much artistry and time goes into these one-time exhibits, truly a thing to see. Other holidays are celebrated too in their own unique style like Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, etc.

Outside of the city there are more adventurous activities available, like climbing volcanoes, zip lining, touring coffee farms, and horse back riding, mayan ruins, etc. Speaking of coffee farms, Guatemala has some of the absolute best coffee in the world, and you can buy big bags of the beans for just a few dollars, around $5-$6 from local coffee shops.

Conclusion - If you’ve ever wanted to get to know a very different culture, Antigua is a good place to begin. As always, feel free to contact using any of the contact information on our site for more information.