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 a 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.

Are you looking for low costs? Are you after a place with great, affordable healthcare? Or both? Is high-speed inter-net crucial for you, or do you just want a place with a warm climate year-round? Not every corner of a country is the perfect haven. And some of these countries are big and diverse places. The focus of their research is on the spots within them that are known to be attractive and hold appeal.

This mountain of information then meets a set of complex formulas designed by their in-house editors to crunch and pro-cess the results. This year, across 10 categories, they factored in absolutely every-thing needed to make a great retirement destination. How much to rent? Can you catch a movie in English? What is the average humidity? How much does a doctor’s visit cost? Do they speak English? The list goes on…

All 23 countries in the Index are terrific retirement destinations. However, 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. This article 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; and International Living has 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.