Where is the best Latin American country for Americans to retire in?

My parents are coming up on retirement and are thinking of a 2nd home in Latin America. Some place 1) safe 2) coastal and warm - but not crazy hot or grossly humid, and 3) with infrastructure such as hospitals, police, and transportation. I would love answers from true expats living in Latin America.

Public Comments

1. I'd say Haiti or the Dominican Republic
2. I suggest Medellin, Colombia, yeah this city had a hard time in the 80's but right now is a peacefull city with nice weather, safe, hospitals, police stations, excellent transportation .. but is not in the coast (i live here right now) good coast cities in this country are: Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta.. but the first one is a bigger city well developed.. i lived in Barranquilla and i have stayed in Cartagena and Santa Marta.. but let me tell you that is really warm and humid.. This country is really calm, we have some guerrilla problems but the army have them in control... people are kind and likes foreigners. you might find these links usefull: Medellin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medellin http://www.medellininfo.com/ http://www.medellintraveler.com/ Barranquilla: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barranquilla http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barranquilla's_Carnival Cartagena: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartagena,_Colombia Santa Marta: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Marta hope this help you :)
3. You/they need to do a bit of research and they need to spend time in whatever areas appeal to them before they decide. I am an expat in Honduras, living quite happily. Although I am not part of one, there are large expat groups all over the country. Safe is what you make it and the cost of living is a pittance compared to the U.S. Other than air travel to the major cities, privately owned auto, taxis and buses are available everywhere. The bus (both local and luxury cross country) networks are awesome. I have found the medical and dental care to be impressive and quite inexpensive. Many of the doctors here have trained in the US or Europe. On the downside, many expats cannot adjust to the easygoing, "manana" attitude that the citizens, including many of the police and other officials have. Here on the north coast it isn't terribly hot but if your folks want coastal it is going to be hard to stay away from humid. We cope with airy homes and overhead fans. I cannot speak for all of Latin America but have found that most of Central America is very much like here.
4. Belize is a good country to retire . http://www.travelbelize.org
5. puerto rico. its already an american territory. good weather!