5 Best Gay Countries for Slow Travel in Retirement | Queer Money Ep. 659
Where should you actually retire abroad? Maybe you should stop vacationing there first.
Seven days of hotels, restaurants, sightseeing and cocktails tells you whether you like a vacation destination. It doesn't tell you whether you'd enjoy buying groceries, finding a doctor, navigating public transportation and doing absolutely nothing on a Saturday there.
And it definitely doesn't tell you what it feels like to live there as a gay person when Pride isn't happening.
In this episode of Queer Money®, we're ranking the 5 best gay-friendly countries for slow travel, especially for Americans who may secretly be test-driving their future retirement.
We started with more than 40 countries recommended by experienced slow travelers and put them through the Queer Money Slow Travel Test: LGBTQ+ friendliness, staying power, ease of everyday life, healthcare access and the ability to experience multiple potential retirement lifestyles.
And our #2 country surprised even us.
🌈 The Top 5:
🇦🇷 #5 Argentina – Buenos Aires gives you world-class city life, while Mendoza, Córdoba and Patagonia let you test completely different retirement lifestyles.
🇧🇷 #4 Brazil – Rio, São Paulo and Florianópolis offer incredible variety, with visitor stays potentially reaching 180 days and retirement residency options for qualifying retirees.
🇹🇭 #3 Thailand – Bangkok, Chiang Mai and the southern beaches combine affordability, healthcare, infrastructure and a huge international community.
🇨🇱 #2 Chile – The surprise of the list. From Santiago to wine country, beaches and Patagonia, Chile offers enormous variety plus surprisingly strong LGBTQ+ protections.
🇪🇸 #1 Spain – Madrid, Valencia, Málaga, Gran Canaria, northern Spain and, yes, Sitges. World-class transportation, healthcare, LGBTQ+ acceptance and dramatically different lifestyles make Spain our best country for slow-traveling your way toward retirement.
💡 Takeaways from this episode:
- 🏳️🌈 Why LGBTQ+ laws AND public acceptance matter when test-driving a retirement destination
- 🛂 How long Americans can potentially stay in each country before pursuing residency
- 🏥 Why healthcare access needs to be part of your test drive
- 💰 Why your vacation budget isn't your retirement budget
- 🌎 Why staying somewhere during its less-fabulous season can tell you more than visiting during perfect weather
- 🏠 Why you should rent in a real neighborhood instead of living in a hotel
Before choosing your retirement destination:
Stay at least one month. Live where residents actually live. Track what normal life costs.
Then ask yourself:
Would I still love this place if I weren't on vacation?
If the answer is yes, make the next step easier with the Queer Money Retire Abroad Planner & Calculator.
Retire by design, not by default.
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