retirement<\/a> might be better suited elsewhere, then look no further!<\/p>\nInternational Living\u00a0magazine has identified the five most affordable places to live or retire in 2026, which scored the highest in the cost-of-living category of its 2026 Global Retirement Index. It evaluated retirement destinations across climate, healthcare, visa and lifestyle, along with cost.<\/p>\n
Sri Lanka ranked top of the list due to affordable local transportation and easy-to-obtain retirement visas. A couple can live extravagantly on $2,200 (\u00a31,637) a month, or on $1,000 (\u00a3744) with some budgeting.<\/p>\n
In second place is Vietnam, with the average cost of living in Hanoi sitting at under $1,800 (\u00a31,339) per month. Rent is low and healthcare is affordable.<\/p>\n
Thailand was ranked third, because a couple can live comfortably for around $2,000 (\u00a31,488) a month in cities such as Chiang Mai or coastal towns such as Hua Hin. These both have affordable housing, and accessible services and transportation.<\/p>\n
In fourth place is Bali, Indonesia, where a villa near the beach can be rented for under $900 (\u00a3669) per month. The cost of living can be as low as $1,400 (\u00a31,042) a month and it has quality healthcare.<\/p>\n
Rounding out the list is Malaysia, with affordable apartments with low utility costs in Penang. A couple can live comfortably for around $2,500 (\u00a31,860) per month, and public transport and healthcare are reliable and inexpensive.<\/p>\n
Jennifer Stevens, executive editor of International Living, said: \u201cThese countries represent the best value for money we\u2019ve found anywhere in the world today, especially for retirees seeking adventure, comfort, and financial peace of mind. These are destinations where a lower cost of living goes hand in hand with a high quality of life. What makes these places stand out isn\u2019t just the low prices, it\u2019s the lifestyle that comes with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sounds like Asian countries are the best places for a comfortable and affordable retirement!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Something for the weekend: If the grey, wintery skies of the UK are getting a bit much and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":362208,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[84,4176,4174,4175,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-362207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-personal-finance","11":"tag-personalfinance","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Sri](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/108806_srilankashutterstock_616510850_101544.jpg\")
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