Spinola Harbour at St. Julian, Malta.
Spinola Harbour at St. Julian, Malta.
Alamy

Given all the possibilities, one of the biggest challenges in pursuing a life abroad is the where.

A good place to begin your research is International Living’s annual Best Places to Retire Abroad. Based on input from expats in each country, it grades 25 countries on eight measures, ranging from the cost of living to benefits for retirees—and, yes, of course, climate.

These are International Living's Top 10 countries based on overall score.

(Health care is graded on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 indicating the best quality.)