10 Countries Where Retirees Live Large

Malaysia

The country's My Second Home retirement benefits program for all foreigners is a great draw, but so is the quality Internet access, cellphone coverage and roads. It also helps that it's dirt cheap. A sea-view apartment with a pool and gym on Penang Island goes for $1,000 a month, and big-budget movies usually premiere here, are shown in English and go for about $4. Oh, and there's plenty of English being spoken as well.

Colombia

Medellin has a notorious reputation among Americans who know it mostly for its drug-laden past, but that hasn't prevented a huge expat population from springing up within city limits. Medellin's El Poblado district has Japanese, French, seafood and Italian restaurants within a block of each other. Its health care system ranks atop any other stop on this list, while the cost of everything from housing to entertainment are a great fit for a fixed income.

New Zealand

The English speaking certainly helps, but so do the winters that come during an American summer. That's some pretty costly snowbirding, so maybe the proliferation and low cost of every day amenities as well as more frivolous items should be seen as long-term investments. New Zealand's reputation for healthy living and near-absent pollution should also appeal to those who want to extend retirement as long as possible.

Nicaragua