Retiring abroad is easier and more affordable than ever before. These days it really is possible to spend your days relaxing beneath palm fronds on a Caribbean beach, enjoying farm-fresh produce in a mountain haven with year-round spring weather, or wandering the storied streets of a historic and cultured European city…or all of the above.

But with so many choices available, finding the right one can seem daunting.

Enter International Living’s Annual Global Retirement Index.

Researched over months with the help of our ever-growing team of correspondents, editors, and contributors all over the world, this Retirement Index is the ultimate resource for helping you find your ideal retirement haven.

And our 2016 Index is our most comprehensive yet. We’ve crunched more numbers than ever before…asked more questions of more expats…all in a quest to bring you the best retirement havens in the world. And here they are. Among this year’s 23 countries you’ll find something to suit every lifestyle and budget…

Are you looking for low costs? Are you after a place with great, affordable healthcare? Or both? Is high-speed internet crucial for you, or do you just want a place with a warm climate year-round? Whatever you’re looking for, our findings this year will give you a feel for the relative strengths and weaknesses of each country on our beat.

We strive to make our Retirement Index better every year. We refine, we add, we whittle…with one goal: to get the most accurate results. Our belief is: The more input, the clearer the result. Our correspondents and editors, our contributors all over the world, help us identify what matters most when weighing up the perfect retirement destination.

Then they provide us with the hard data and “on-the-ground” insights we need. These expats often started out as IL readers themselves. They know exactly what’s important to you to enjoy a happy and comfortable retirement.

Not every corner of a country is the perfect haven. And some of these countries are big and diverse places. We focus our research on the spots within them that we know are attractive and hold appeal.

This mountain of information then meets a set of complex formulas designed by our in-house editors to crunch and process the results.

This year, across 10 categories, we factored in absolutely everything needed to make a great retirement destination. How much to rent? Can you catch a movie in English? What is the average humidity? Can you get direct flights to and from the U.S.? How much does a doctor’s visit cost? Do they speak English? The list goes on…

This year we’ve added two entirely new categories. Time and again, we hear back from readers looking for a healthier lifestyle overseas. So we’ve added a Healthy Lifestyle category. And for anyone looking to retire abroad, a key consideration is the ease and expense of getting a residence visa that is right for your circumstances. Hence our new Visas and Residence category. And we’ve included a brand new destination in the Index: Peru, a country with much to offer.

All 23 countries in the Index are terrific retirement destinations, as proven by the many expats who have chosen to settle in each. If they weren’t great retirement spots, we wouldn’t be writing about them, nor would we give them a place in our Index. Even if a country scores 100 in a category, it doesn’t mean it’s perfect in that one aspect—it just means it’s that bit better than the rest.

Also, keep in mind that while numbers can guide you, it’s up to you to decide which of these countries (if any) is right for you. We can help you narrow down your list, but the final decision is up to you. Part of what makes a great retirement haven is intangible; we’ve been trying to capture it in words for over 30 years. But you’ll know, in your gut and in your heart, when you’ve found it.

CLICK HERE for more.

P.S. MALAYSIA IS RANKED AS THE FOURTH BEST PLACE TO RETIRE!

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While it is vital to remain patriotic to our country, it is also very important to take care of our health.
Writing about the political scenario can be satisfying but also a stressful process whereby one has to read and then respond to clear the air.

A departure from the usual norm of political posts, here is information which I hope will benefit all my blog readers and friends - something on lemon grass or serai.

According to Healthers:

Lemongrass is a plant that is commonly used in Asian cuisine but which may provide therapeutic and medical benefits. Easily available from any ethnic store, health food store, online merchant or in the seasoning aisle of the supermarket, its anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, antioxidant and therapeutic properties make lemongrass a useful alternative or complementary remedy for a wide spectrum of common ailments. Whether using the dried leaves steeped to make tea or the extracted essential oil, lemongrass produces considerable benefits.

What is lemongrass?
Lemongrass is a perennial plant with thin, long leaves and is indigenous to India and other areas of the Asian continent including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. It is also common in Ceylon, Central America, China, Guatemala, India, Java, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, the West Indian islands and Zambia. There are more than fifty varieties of lemongrass but not all are suitable for consumption or medical use. The lemongrass plant usually reaches heights of three feet or one meter and is found mainly in the wild.

Lemongrass has long being used as a flavoring in Asian style cooking. When added to recipes, the citrus-like flavor of the lemongrass herb powder or dried leaf adds a unique element to the meal. Though lemongrass is more widely known for its use as tea, it may be added to curries, beef, fish, poultry, seafood and soups.

Alternative Names

The name of the lemongrass plant is purported to be due to its lemony scent and taste. There are over fifty species of lemongrass but the scientific names for the ones more commonly used for cooking and healing are cymbopogon citratrus and cymbopagon flexuosus.

In India it is more popularly referred to as choomana poolu. There are many other common names by which lemongrass is known. These include andropogon citratus, barbed wire grass, British Indian lemongrass, Ceylon citronella grass, citronella, citronella grass, citronnelle de Java, East Indian lemongrass, Guatemala lemongrass, hierba Luisa, Hierba de Limón, Indian Melissa, Indian Verbena, Madagascar Lemongrass, silky heads, tanglad, te-de-limon, Verveine Indienne and West Indian lemongrass. Some of these names are culturally specific. In the Caribbean it is known widely as fever grass, attesting to its traditional use to relieve the symptoms of fever.

Properties
The main chemical component found in lemongrass is citral, an aromatic compound, also known as lemonal. Citral is used in perfumes because of its lemon odor. It is the presence of citral which accounts for lemongrass’ lemon scent. It is an antimicrobial and therefore effective in destroying or inhibiting microorganisms. Citral also contains antifungal properties. This chemical has pheromonal qualities, which explains its industrial use as an insect repellant. It also has a positive effective on the body’s ability to use Vitamin A. The compounds myrcene, citronellal, geranyl acetate, nerol and geraniol are found in varying quantities in Citral. Myrcene, geraniol and nerol contribute to lemongrass’ strong fragrance, citronella acts as an insecticide and geranyl acetate is another flavoring agent. Lemongrass has rubefacient properties, meaning that it may be able to improve blood circulation.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE POST ON THE MEDICINAL BENEFITS OF LEMON GRASS.

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