The cost of living in Corfu is three times lower for an American retiree compared to her hometown, Boulder, Colorado, USA. “Our monthly expenses in Greece total 2,900–3,000 euros,” writes Lina Horner in an article on internationalliving.com, under the general title Best Places to Retire in 2026: The Annual Global Retirement Index.

Last year, Greece ranked third from the bottom on the list of the world’s 10 best places for a retiree to settle. This year, however, Greece is at the top of International Living’s list, an organization that has been publishing the results of its research on retiree well-being for 46 years. As part of this established annual mapping of the best destinations worldwide, specifically for people ending their active working life, International Living features the personal testimonial article of Lina Horner in first-person narrative.

The American retiree emphasizes that in Corfu she needs only one-third of the money she would spend in her home country just to live. “In Greece,” Ms. Horner explains, “we own our home, so we don’t pay rent – and even if we were to rent a place similar to ours, with three rooms and a sea view, it would cost 800–1,000 euros a month. Something smaller and more economical can be found for 600–800 euros/month, while inland Corfu has very nice homes for just 300–600 euros monthly rent.”

Easy living
Providing more details about her lifestyle as a late-life migrant, Lina Horner notes: “We dine out at restaurants at least twice a week comfortably, without worrying about the cost. A dinner for two, including wine, costs on average 30–50 euros. Gasoline is more expensive in Greece compared to the U.S., but in Corfu we use the car much less.”
Regarding real estate, she informs potential retirees considering relocating to Greece that she and her husband bought their home in Corfu in 2022 for 250,000 euros, taking advantage of the Golden Visa benefits as they applied then (requirements have since changed, with a higher minimum investment, especially in high-demand areas, etc.).

However, as Ms. Horner observes, “since we bought our house in Corfu, property prices have skyrocketed. Properties similar to ours are now selling for around 400,000 euros.” Nevertheless, she writes that property purchase in Greece remains advantageous for a foreign retiree, provided they avoid the most crowded tourist areas. In this light, Horner mentions the case of a friend, also a retiree, who chose Greece for relocation: “Cindy, a friend of mine from Canada, recently bought a small one-bedroom house in a small village in Crete. The price was 36,000 euros and all it needs is a fresh coat of paint, minor repairs, appliances and furniture.”

After noting that even in Corfu the healthcare system is completely satisfactory and gives her no insecurity whatsoever, Lina Horner concludes with a glowing tribute to Greece: “I think about how we lived in Colorado, with those endless winters, the high cost of living, the constant running in our daily life, and all that now feels like a distant memory. Here in Greece my mornings begin with a coffee on my veranda, often with friends or simply with the sound of the waves and the breeze calming me. The pace of life here is relaxed, but not boring. There is balance, sociability, and an unexpected human richness. Greece offers much more than just a change of scenery. You will discover that not only can you find a lower cost of living here, but your life will be full, rich with experiences.”

Closing

The seven pillars of success
InternationalLiving.com’s standard approach requires that each destination deemed ideal for retiree relocation be evaluated by someone with extensive, lived experience in that place. In this year’s top-10 edition, Greece was selected as the top destination, ahead of countries such as Panama, Costa Rica, Portugal, Mexico, Italy, France, Spain, Thailand and Malaysia.

At first glance, International Living’s choices may appear subjective, based on individual experiences. In reality, however, after nearly half a century of compiling the Global Retirement Index, International Living has developed a specialized methodology so that its final list of destinations is as objective as possible and accurately reflects current realities.

The Best Places to Retire – The Annual Global Retirement Index is compiled each time based on updated data distributed across seven categories:

1. Housing and home-buying affordability,
2. Visa regulations and incentives offered by each country’s government to attract migrants,
3. Cost of living,
4. The intuitive appeal each destination exerts on retirees,
5. Healthcare system,
6. Public infrastructure and the effectiveness of utilities in practice,
7. Climate conditions.

Investment capital
The question—and the goal—of well-being for people who stop working due to age has long preoccupied Western societies, especially advanced ones. With the possible exception of Japan, where retirement is considered shameful or sinful, even if inevitable, in Europe and the U.S. retirees from both upper and middle income classes must plan ahead for old age. Hence the widespread practice of investments—typically through purchasing shares in multinational asset management companies.
It is telling that one such company, the colossal CVC Partners, held Formula 1 in its portfolio for a decade. It bought it for $2 billion and later sold it for $8 billion to its current owners, quadrupling the share value for the pension funds that make up a significant part of CVC’s investors.

Similarly, in Southern European countries, apartment blocks purchased en masse—mostly by Germans for their retirement years—filled entire city blocks in resort towns such as Málaga, Spain. As expected, the need to maintain these uninhabited homes created a separate service sector (technicians, caretakers, etc.), while there were also issues with locals occupying empty properties belonging to future Northern European retirees under claims of informal “squatting” and refusing to leave.

However, all the above phenomena relate to a developed concern for retirement, but also to a very different philosophy of the pension system. In Greece, withdrawal from the workforce—at least for the majority of workers—is viewed as a passport to hardship and deprivation. The consolation, not insignificant, is the traditional small property ownership—some home in the village, some family property not yet passed to the next generation that remains a refuge for aging parents.

Within this bleak landscape for Greek retirees—who have every reason to envy foreigners starting a new and pleasant chapter in Greece at the twilight of life—a recent legislative innovation that brought huge changes is the granting of the right to paid employment to thousands of retirees who wish—or need—to remain professionally active.

The other view
The seriousness with which Western societies address retirement is also evident from regular studies conducted by investment-sector organizations, such as the American company Natixis Investment Managers. With an investment portfolio of $1.4 trillion, Natixis has since 2012 produced its own analysis: the Global Retirement Index. Each year the study spans over 70 pages and includes lists similar to that of International Living—though the actual results differ.

For example, in the 2025 edition, Natixis’ annual report on retiree prospects does not mention Greece. The top destinations for retirees—primarily Americans—considering relocation include Slovenia, Luxembourg, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Ireland, with Norway at the top. Thus, while for one American organization, International Living, the retiree paradise is Greece, for another, Natixis Investment Managers, the ideal choice is a northern European country fundamentally different from ours.

Natixis substantiates its rankings by referring to the strict criteria it applies—18 different factors grouped into four main pillars:
a) economic parameters of retirement,
b) health and the standard of medical care,
c) material living conditions, and
d) the quality of life a retiree will have in the country of relocation.

Greece receives little esteem from Natixis and is usually outside the top 20 recommended destinations for retirees. Natixis mentions our country only in connection with negative indicators such as population aging and weak economic performance. Yet in the 2021 report, Greece at least ranked 31st among the 44 countries Natixis tracks for quality of life for relocating retirees.

Will we get a pension?
Beyond rankings and classifications, what matters decisively are the perceptions, anxieties, and thoughts of prospective retirees. On this, the Natixis study is particularly illuminating, showing that 7 out of 10 express frustration about inflation, which erodes the real value of their assets—and naturally their pensions. Rising prices create a bleak outlook, as healthcare, housing, and basic living costs are frighteningly high. Furthermore, 72% expect reduced government support for retirees in the future.

But the most melancholy finding is that 38% of future retirees believe that entering the final phase of their life, they will not have achieved any of the goals they previously set. For them, a happy retirement appears more like a nightmare than a realistic scenario.

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