Best Countries to Retire in Europe (Taxes, Cost of Living, Residence Permits)

hello guys welcome to another video today we're going to talk about the best countries to retire in europe this is a very important video if you are in one of these three situations the first situation is you are already retired and you want to reduce your cost of living and get a higher quality of life by moving to one of the best countries to retire in europe the second situation is you're planning your retirement you are not retired yet but you are considering different countries so this list can definitely help you the third situation is you're still far from retirement but sometimes you think about it how you can plan that and you might actually discover that if you move to a country with a lower cost of living retirement can be much closer than you think so before we start with the list let's check some key factors to determine what are the best countries to retire in europe first factor is low taxes on pensions and investments some countries in europe have a high quality of life but they also have high taxes on pensions and on capital gains so in this list we will focus on countries with a friendly tax system on pensions and investments second point countries in which is easy to acquire a residence permit if you are not an eu citizen if you are an eu citizen things are much easier you can move around inside the european union freely but if you are not an eu citizen things are more complicated but there are many ways in which you can move to europe as a retiree third point high quality of life that is a good infrastructure a safe country and a good health care system fourth point favorable climate ideally we're going to focus on countries in which you can avoid extreme cold or hot weather then finally one of the most important points are countries with an affordable cost of living and also with an attractive property market before we start with the list i have to say this as usual for the youtube algorithm which is if you want to travel move or invest abroad hit the like button check our other videos and most importantly subscribe let's start first country surprise surprise it is again portugal portugal is featured in many of our videos and it comes as no surprise that portugal is actually one of the best countries to retire in europe first of all it is relatively easy for non-eu citizens to acquire residency in portugal if they receive a foreign pension the financial requirements are lower than in spain italy or greece so if you are from the european union you can just come to portugal but if you are not portugal is one of the easiest places in the european union in which you can get a residence permit and live in portugal if you are a citizen from let's say the us canada japan australia india and all the other countries which are not part of the european union second advantage of portugal is the non-habitual residency program which can potentially reduce your tax rate significantly for up to 10 years but this program is changing so it was more attractive in the past and i believe that maybe in the future the tax advantages of portugal will be not as significant as before portugal also has one of the best climates in europe year round so you have mild winters and at the same time due to the ocean influence in portugal's climate summers are not too hot if you are close to the coast so in the inner parts of portugal you may face problems with heat waves but if you are close to the coast you will enjoy most of the time very good weather year round real estate market in portugal currently in lisbon is quite expensive but if you go elsewhere in the country cities like porto or in the algarve region you can still find relatively affordable properties both if you want to rent or if you want to buy a property and finally portugal is very well connected there are direct flights to the u.s to the uk to most countries in europe also to some countries in africa and also to south america most notably brazil which has a lot of connections with portugal and actually there are many retirees from brazil actually choosing portugal second country is greece the first advantage of greece is that they have a new scheme in which you can get a reduced tax rate on foreign pensions if you move to greece the current rate is 7 percent for countries which have a bilateral tax agreement with greece which the u.s is included on this list so if you move to greece your foreign pension will be taxed at a 7 percent rate which is quite good greece has many advantages among them it is a safe country a full eu member part of the schengen area and also the eurozone all these aspects bring a lot of stability to greece which is very important if you want to enjoy your retirement greece is also home to one of the most affordable real estate markets in europe even in the capital athens prices per square meter are lower than in most other european capitals even if we consider capitals in europe which are not part of the european union like belgrade or moscow actually athens greece has very competitive prices finally it is relatively easy to get a residence permit if you are a financially independent person and not an eu citizen if you are an eu citizen as i said before just come all will be fine if you are non-eu citizen you can still come to greece if you can prove you have sufficient funds from your foreign pension for example but if you compare greece with portugal the financial requirements in portugal are much lower for non-eu citizens the next country is italy italy is one of the most iconic tourist destinations in the world what people often don't know is that you can move to italy as a retiree even if you are not an eu citizen the residence permit you should acquire in italy if you are a retiree is called residenza eletiva or elective residency the financial requirements to move to italy as a retiree are higher than portugal but comparable to spain and greece to obtain this residence permit once again only if you are not an eu citizen quality of life is high in italy especially in the northern part of the country which has one of the best transport infrastructures in the continent italy is a great choice if you want to enjoy its idyllic landscapes a delicious cuisine and an unparalleled lifestyle italy is however the most expensive country in this list for that reason if you are considering retiring in italy prepare your pockets nevertheless a great country to spend any period of your life the next country is spain spain is another popular option if you want to retire in europe first of all it is known for its affordable cost of living it is part of the european union and also a schengen area member spain has some of the best health care systems in the world there are residence permits available for non-eu citizens which are retirees but the income requirements you need to show are higher than in some other countries in this list as we talked about portugal and some other countries like montenegro currently you need to show an income of roughly 2 500 us dollars per month to be able to apply for a residence permit as a retiree in spain property prices are appealing in spain especially if we compare it to other countries in western europe while madrid and barcelona are quite expensive most other cities and regions in the country are quite affordable both for renters as well as for buyers the next country is montenegro i often talk about montenegro because i consider it is a country which is currently underrated and has a number of opportunities the first advantage of montenegro is it has a nine percent flat tax on all types of income which includes foreign pensions secondly buying a property grants you the right to acquire residency there is no minimum amount in terms of how much this property should cost if you buy a 20 000 euros apartment that is enough for you to get a residence permit through the acquisition of real estate there is also a citizenship by investment program in montenegro but it is due to end soon so if you want to acquire montenegrin's citizenship by investment it is still possible although i don't consider the program the best option as you can just move to montenegro with less investment and have more or less the same amount of advantages apart from traveling with a mountainy green passport you can also acquire a residence permit in montenegro by opening a company as a self-employed person or if you want to run a larger business like a restaurant or a hotel hire staff this will be also possible to live in montenegro the adriatic coast is the most desirable part of montenegro but the capital podgorica is also a more affordable option if you want to enjoy a quaint atmosphere of a relatively small city but with the resources of a capital city podgorica is a good option the next country is serbia serbia in my opinion is one of the most underrated countries in europe the capital belgrade offers the best value for the money in europe it has an affordable cost of living and also an attractive real estate market with a good infrastructure and also a high level of safety private health care is extremely affordable and also is of great quality in serbia serbia is also a place where it is easy to get residency if you buy property there is also no minimum just like montenegro you can also open a company if you want to reside in serbia sorbet has one of the most privileged locations in central europe you are just a short drive from amazing cities such as budapest also to the adriatic coast in montenegro from serbia croatia bulgaria and if you want to drive a few more hours you can be in austria germany slovenia and italy finally if you're flying into belgrade the city has excellent connectivity direct flights to most capitals in europe and even year-round direct flights to the us which is currently the only option in the balkan region the last country in today's list is bulgaria bulgaria has the cheapest residence permit in the european union for retirees the financial requirements to retire in bulgaria are much lower than in countries like spain italy or greece it is also cheaper than portugal which is the second cheapest option in the european union for retirees bulgaria is also the cheapest country in the european union when it comes to real estate you can live in a big house in bulgaria for a fraction of what it would cost in spain italy and portugal even if you can find actually quite cheap properties in spain portugal in italy they tend to be more secluded in bulgaria you can get a property in a city with good transportation links close more or less to where the action is bulgaria is definitely the best country to retire in europe if you want to save money as its cost of living is also the lowest in your opinion so if your pension is let's say one thousand dollars you can live in a relatively comfortable position in bulgaria despite its relative small size bulgaria has some of the most diverse landscapes in europe with mountains planes and beautiful beaches on the black sea so you have everything for very low prices in bulgaria that's it for today's video write down in the comments section which is your favorite country in europe to retire contact me if you have any question and if you want to travel move or invest abroad check our other videos hit the like button and most importantly subscribe see you next time you

Channel: traveleconomics

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Keywords: best countries to retire in europe, cheapest countries to retire in europe, safest countries to retire in europe, retire in portugal, retire in spain, retire in italy, retire in serbia, retire in montenegro, retire in bulgaria, how to retire in europe, pension tax retire abroad, retire in europe from the us, retire in europe from the UK, retire in european union, residence permit retire, retirement in europe

Id: 8xca3-Y-t5E

Length: 11min 46sec (706 seconds)

Published: Sun May 02 2021