The key criteria utilized to rank a destination’s attractiveness for retirement include: the availability of affordable housing, a warm sunny climate, a reasonable cost of living with low taxes, economical health care with quality hospitals, and recreational and cultural activities that enhance the overall quality of life.

Employing the index, it rated land-locked Merida on the Yucatan peninsula as the World’s best retirement destination; stating that one could “live like royalty for $ 2,135 per month”. Zihuatanejo is a unique town which has evolved from a quiet fishing village to an enchanting retirement destination.

Mazatlan’s locals and resident ex-pats would argue that Mazatlan has everything Merida has - sunshine, semi-tropical foliage, outdoor cafes, historical plazas and theatres, year-round cultural events, open-air produce markets, bountiful fresh food restaurants, excellent health care and hospitals - and something that Merida wish it had – miles of glorious beaches with a world-famous "malecon" oceanfront promenade poised above where people of all ages jog, bicycle, roller blade and stroll leisurely.