1. Panama City, Panama

Wish for a retirement haven that combines big-city feel with sandy beaches and warm winters -- but Miami Beach is too expensive?

Consider Panama. This transcontinental nation -- it connects North and South America -- combines affordable city and beachfront living and has topped International Living magazine's Global Retirement Index for six years in a row.

"Panama City was built by Americans while they were running the Panama Canal, so it has [good] infrastructure," says Kathleen Peddicord, the publisher and editor of International Living. "Its most developed parts look like Miami, with high-rises, malls, a shopping center."

The best part? Panama's pensionado program offers a slew of retiree perks if you can document a monthly income of at least $500 ($600 for a couple), according to International Living. (You can qualify as long as you're 18 years old and you can document receiving some form of government pension -- Social Security, for example -- or a private pension from a well-known international company. If you have a private pension from a smaller company that isn't verifiable, you need to be at least 50.)

Among the program's perks is import duty exemption for a new car every two years, as well as many attractive discounts: 50% off tickets to the movies, theater, concerts and sporting events; 30% off in-country bus, boat and train fares; 25% off restaurant bills; 50% off hotel stays Monday through Thursday and 30% off during the rest of the week, and so on. And should you want to dabble in real estate, you'll get a whole set of markdowns: from one percentage point less on mortgage rates to 25% off closing costs.

Pros: Cosmopolitan, yet affordable; close to the U.S.; great health-care system and a plethora of retiree discounts.

Cons: Panama City gets hot in the summer, so you may consider retreating to the surrounding mountains. International Living recommends the Chiriqui region. While many people in Panama City speak English, that's not the case in the rest of the country: If you don't speak Spanish (and aren't willing to learn), the language barrier could be a problem.

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