The best places to thrive in the Americas, ranked.

Sacatepéquez · Guatemala · temperate · $$

“Guatemala's UNESCO colonial gem where three volcanoes frame every cobblestone, the café culture rivals Europe at a quarter the price, and you genuinely don't need a car.”

Guanajuato · Mexico · temperate · $$

“Mexico's UNESCO highland capital where La Parroquia's pink spires anchor cobblestone streets, 10,000 expats supply the canonical 'soft landing,' and Travel + Leisure keeps naming it the best city on earth.”

Mendoza · Argentina · dry · $$

“Argentina's high-desert wine country where 300 sunny days, Andean snowmelt, and Malbec at every meal turn the old-world vineyard life into something almost embarrassingly affordable.”

Azuay · Ecuador · temperate · $

“Eternal-spring Andean city where $25 doctors, walkable colonial blocks, and the safest streets in South America make a quiet life almost effortless.”

British Columbia · Canada · temperate · $$$

“British Columbia's Kootenay arts-and-mountain capital where 350 heritage buildings climb a hillside above Kootenay Lake, a restored streetcar still runs, and 'best art town in Canada' is the local tagline.”

California · United States · coastal · $$$$

“A storybook village of cypress, fog, and fairy-tale cottages where there are no street addresses and the wild coastline of Point Lobos begins at the edge of town.”

Alajuela · Costa Rica · temperate · $$

“Costa Rica's 'best climate in the world' Central Valley town where world-class hospitals sit an hour away and an active 2,500-strong expat community makes the soft landing almost embarrassingly easy.”

Chiriquí · Panama · temperate · $$

“Panama's eternal-spring highland coffee town where a 20% expat population, world-class Geisha beans, and a dollarized economy turn slow mountain living into a soft-landing default.”

Quindío · Colombia · temperate · $

“Colombia's coffee-triangle gateway, where colorful balconies, Willy jeeps to wax-palm valleys, and a $2 bus to anywhere make eternal-spring living almost theatrically easy.”

New York · United States · temperate · $$$

“New York's painted river valley where Metro-North to Manhattan runs alongside Storm King sculptures, and NYC's chef diaspora turned every village main street into a farm-to-table destination.”

Río Negro · Argentina · alpine · $$

“Patagonia's chocolate-and-ski capital where an immense glacial lake, log-cabin architecture, and the most spectacular setting of any Argentine city make even rent disputes feel scenic.”

Maldonado · Uruguay · coastal · $$$$

“Six-by-six-block fishing village where an 1877 lighthouse, two empty oceans, and 292 year-round neighbors deliver the quietest luxury in South America.”

California · United States · dry · $$$$

“California's wellness-and-citrus valley where the Topa Topas turn pink at sunset, organic farms and yoga teachers anchor a walkable downtown, and 100% wildfire risk is the one big asterisk.”

La Libertad · El Salvador · tropical · $$

“El Salvador's transformed surf coast where Bitcoin runs the café tabs, point breaks fire all year, and a Level-1 travel advisory means the country is now statistically safer than Costa Rica.”

Antioquia · Colombia · temperate · $

“The Antioquian heritage village often called the most beautiful in Colombia — fewer than 20,000 souls, painted balconies, working coffee fincas, and a paradise rhythm.”

Coclé · Panama · temperate · $

“Panamanian village inside the crater of an extinct volcano, where 600m elevation, golden frogs, and a 2-hour road to the capital deliver mountain quiet without remoteness.”

New Mexico · United States · dry · $$$

“New Mexico's 400-year-old adobe capital where the Sangre de Cristos back-stop a Plaza of galleries, the chile question (red, green, or Christmas) is asked daily, and Georgia O'Keeffe's light is unchanged.”

Quintana Roo · Mexico · tropical · $

“Mexican lakeside village on the seven-colored lagoon where kayak commutes, Yucatán-low crime, and a complete absence of resort sprawl protect what Tulum lost.”

Vermont · United States · temperate · $$$

“Vermont's lake-and-mountain anchor where UVM's academic medical center sits 30 minutes from Stowe's ski lifts, and a progressive college town shares zip codes with the Green Mountains.”

Oregon · United States · temperate · $$$

“Oregon's wind-and-water gateway where the Columbia Gorge fires up world-class kite sessions in the morning and Mt. Hood holds the ski hill above the pear orchards in the afternoon.”

Guanacaste · Costa Rica · tropical · $$$

“Costa Rica's wellness-and-surf sanctuary where protected zoning, intentional living, and a jungle that still meets the beach justify the premium that comes with it.”

Bahia · Brazil · tropical · $$$

“Bahia's barefoot-luxury fishing village where a grassy plateau, a white colonial church above empty beaches, and Condé Nast Gold List hotels make rustic feel like the apex of style.”

Puntarenas · Costa Rica · tropical · $$$

“Costa Rica's Whale Coast town where humpbacks migrate past a literal whale-tail sandbar, the Bitcoin Jungle community runs the bandwidth, and Marino Ballena keeps the water pristine.”

Los Lagos · Chile · temperate · $$

“Lakeside Chilean town where a perfect conical volcano floats over the water every clear morning — if you can take 240 days of rain a year.”

Cusco · Peru · alpine · $

“Peru's terraced Andean valley where Inca stonework, plant-medicine retreat centers, and the train to Machu Picchu turn altitude into the entire point.”

Chiapas · Mexico · temperate · $

“Chiapas highland colonial city where cobbled pedestrian streets, indigenous markets in three languages, and Mexico's best coffee make slow living almost cinematic.”

Sololá · Guatemala · temperate · $

“Guatemalan volcano-ringed lake where San Marcos hosts the spiritual seekers, lancha-commutes replace cars, and the postcard view never quite registers as real.”

Rio de Janeiro · Brazil · coastal · $$$

“Brazil's Saint-Tropez peninsula where twenty beaches, a pedestrian colonial core, and a cooling Atlantic breeze make every day feel like a chapter from someone else's vacation.”

Araucanía · Chile · temperate · $$

“Chilean lake town where an active volcano, hot springs, and three national parks make adventure a daily commute — if you don't mind the rain or the occasional evacuation.”

Loja · Ecuador · temperate · $

“Ecuador's 'Valley of Longevity' microclimate village where organic farming, 54–77°F year-round, and a free-thinking expat tribe make slow living the whole product.”

Montana · United States · temperate · $$

“Montana's original Yellowstone gateway where Paradise Valley winds rip down the Absarokas, the Murray Hotel anchors a writers-and-ranchers main street, and BZN airport is 25 minutes away.”

Maine · United States · coastal · $$

“Maine's quintessential midcoast village where Camden Hills meet Penobscot Bay, the lobster boats still work, and retirees and summer artists share the same single Main Street.”

North Carolina · United States · temperate · $$$

“Western North Carolina's arts-and-beer capital where Blue Ridge Mountains, a James Beard food scene, and an unfinished Helene recovery share the same downtown.”

British Columbia · Canada · dry · $$$

“British Columbia's wine-country lake city where Okanagan vineyards step down to a 135-km lake, regional flights connect internationally, and wildfire smoke is the increasingly serious asterisk.”

Oregon · United States · dry · $$$

“Oregon's high-desert outdoor capital where 300 sunny days, Mt. Bachelor on the horizon, and the highest brewery-per-capita rate in the West fuel a remote-worker boomtown.”

British Columbia · Canada · rainforest · $$$$

“Vancouver Island's western edge where old-growth temperate rainforest meets Pacific surf, storm watching is the offseason marketing, and a five-hour drive from Victoria is the price of admission.”

Río Negro · Argentina · temperate · $

“Argentina's bohemian Patagonian valley where 1970s hippies and 2020s remote workers share log cabins, river swims, and the cleanest air on the continent.”

Puntarenas · Costa Rica · tropical · $$$

“Costa Rica's South Pacific surf-and-jungle hub where Marino Ballena access, waterfall hikes, and a tight family-and-surfer community keep the rustic intact.”

Rio de Janeiro · Brazil · tropical · $$

“UNESCO-listed colonial port between the Atlantic forest and the Bay of Ilha Grande, where cobblestones flood at king tide and FLIP makes literature feel coastal.”

Puntarenas · Costa Rica · tropical · $$$$

“Costa Rica's surf-and-style headquarters where world-class waves, sunset gastronomy, and increasing crowds wrestle for the soul of the village.”

Los Santos · Panama · tropical · $

“Sleepy Panamanian fishing village on the Tuna Coast where unspoiled Pacific beaches, a 250-strong expat micro-community, and humpback migrations sit four hours from a global capital.”

Goiás · Brazil · temperate · $

“Brazil's mystical Cerrado plateau where 300 crystalline waterfalls, billion-year-old rock, and crystal-rich rivers anchor one of South America's strongest wellness communities.”

British Columbia · Canada · coastal · $$$

“Canada's mildest corner — a harbor capital of heritage gardens and ocean light on the tip of Vancouver Island, where winters barely bite and the Pacific is always close.”

Colorado · United States · alpine · $$$$

“A jewel-box Victorian town wedged in a box canyon beneath a 365-foot waterfall, where a free gondola replaces the car and the San Juans rise straight from your doorstep.”

North Carolina · United States · temperate · $$

“Western North Carolina's waterfall capital where 250+ cascades fill Transylvania County, the Brevard Music Center brings summer classical, and Helene recovery still defines the trails.”

Santa Catarina · Brazil · coastal · $$

“Brazil's Magic Island, where 42 beaches, a booming tech scene, and a one-hour-from-EST time zone make remote work feel like a permanent surf trip.”

Montana · United States · temperate · $$$

“Montana's tech-and-trout boomtown where Yellowstone access, Bridger Bowl, and a fast-growing remote-work crowd reshape an old college town faster than infrastructure can keep up.”

Granada · Nicaragua · tropical · $

“Nicaragua's colonial colorful city on a massive lake where horse-drawn buggies cross cobblestones, $5 meals are normal, and the political risk is the one big asterisk.”

Stann Creek · Belize · tropical · $$$

“Belizean sandbar peninsula where 16 miles of Caribbean beach, English as the daily tongue, and the world's second-largest barrier reef are all daily geography.”

Oaxaca · Mexico · tropical · $$

“Oaxaca's surf capital where legendary Zicatela waves, La Punta sunsets, and a booming nomad scene wrestle with unreliable wifi and the secret being thoroughly out.”

Belize District · Belize · tropical · $$$

“Belizean reef island where there are no cars, the world's second-largest barrier reef is the front yard, and 'Go Slow' is municipal policy.”

Bahia · Brazil · tropical · $$

“Bahia's surf-and-rainforest town where Atlantic forest cliffs drop straight into world-class waves and capoeira spills out of beach-front pousadas.”

Cayo · Belize · tropical · $$

“Belizean jungle town where English is the official language, Maya ruins sit a hand-cranked ferry away, and Mennonite farms provision the entire region.”

Texas · United States · dry · $$

“West Texas's high-desert art outpost where Donald Judd's permanent installations sit four hours from any city, the dark sky is among America's best, and gentrification tension is the unfinished story.”

Magdalena · Colombia · rainforest · $

“Colombian cloud-forest village in the foothills of the world's highest coastal range, where coffee fincas, toucans, and unreliable wifi guard the slowness.”

Los Lagos · Chile · temperate · $$

“A lakeside town of German timber houses and a famous concert hall on the water, gazing across Lake Llanquihue at the snow cone of Osorno — the gentle, cultured gateway to Patagonia.”

Idaho · United States · temperate · $$

“North Idaho's lake-and-Selkirk hideout where Lake Pend Oreille runs 1,150 feet deep beneath your kayak, Schweitzer's ski lifts run 30 minutes up, and the politics shifted hard right since 2020.”

Quindío · Colombia · temperate · $

“Salento's quieter twin in the UNESCO coffee landscape — a balconied pueblo of bright color and green hills where the wax palms grow tall and the gringos haven't yet arrived.”

Idaho · United States · temperate · $$$

“A forest-ringed lake town where summers live on the water and a once-sleepy downtown now hums with craft kitchens — wild beauty with a city's conveniences an hour from Spokane.”

Montana · United States · temperate · $$$

“Montana's Glacier-gateway resort town where world-class scenery meets harsh winters, wildfire smoke summers, and a $1M+ housing market that's pushed locals to Kalispell.”

Yucatán · Mexico · tropical · $$

“The safest city in Mexico — a grand colonial capital of pastel facades and Yucatecan cooking, where a deep expat community shelters from the heat behind tall old walls, with cenotes and the Gulf an easy drive away.”

Wyoming · United States · dry · $$

“Buffalo Bill's frontier town at Yellowstone's quiet eastern gate — red-rock canyons, no state income tax, and the least-crowded road into the world's first national park.”

Santander · Colombia · temperate · $

“Often called Colombia's prettiest town — a hilltop village of stone lanes and terracotta roofs in warm, year-round Santander light, so safe and sleepy it can feel suspended in time.”

Utah · United States · temperate · $$

“A university valley cradled by the Bear River Range, where canyon trails start at the edge of town and rents stay gentle — bring patience for the winter inversions.”

Rivas · Nicaragua · tropical · $

“Nicaraguan biosphere-reserve island where two volcanoes rise from a lake the size of a sea, ferries replace roads, and off-grid is the operating default.”

Arizona · United States · dry · $$$

“Cathedral walls of red sandstone glowing at dusk — a high-desert town that turned its vortex mystique and endless trailheads into a way of life.”

Boyacá · Colombia · dry · $

“One of South America's grandest colonial plazas, ringed by whitewashed adobe under a dry Boyacá sky — a fossil-strewn highland town where weekends fill the cobblestones.”

New Mexico · United States · dry · $$$

“Adobe, alpenglow, and the light that has pulled painters here for a century — a high-desert arts town strung between a wild river gorge and a 12,000-foot ski peak.”

Santa Catarina · Brazil · coastal · $$

“A laid-back Santa Catarina surf town where right whales calve offshore each winter — the calm, green-hilled little sister to Florianópolis, in Brazil's safest, most temperate corner.”

Idaho · United States · alpine · $$$$

“The quiet side of the Tetons — Idaho ranchland under the same jagged skyline that made Jackson famous, with darker skies, deeper snow, and (just barely) gentler prices.”

Imbabura · Ecuador · temperate · $

“A tranquil Andean leather town under the Cotacachi volcano, drawing retirees with eternal-spring weather, a crater lake nearby, and a comfortable life on remarkably little.”

Arkansas · United States · temperate · $$

“Walmart money turned a sleepy Ozark square into an unlikely capital of world-class mountain biking and museum-grade art — affordable, green, and quietly booming.”

Guanacaste · Costa Rica · tropical · $$$

“Costa Rica's most developed surf town — walkable, English-fluent, fiber-fast, and packed with digital nomads, where the resort premium buys a beach life with the conveniences left in.”

Minas Gerais · Brazil · alpine · $$

“A cluster of misty Atlantic-forest mountain villages known as the Brazilian Switzerland, where winters frost over, mountain springs run cold and clear, and fondue and hot chocolate fill the rustic high-country nights.”

Morelos · Mexico · temperate · $

“A mystical Pueblo Mágico under sheer green cliffs an hour from Mexico City, where a pyramid crowns the mountain and healers, markets, and weekenders fill the cobblestone streets.”

Guanacaste · Costa Rica · temperate · $

“Costa Rica's biggest lake under a near-perfect volcano cone, where the air stays spring-cool, rents stay low, and a quiet expat community traded the coast for green hills and birdsong.”

Pichincha · Ecuador · rainforest · $

“A cloud-forest village ninety minutes from Quito where more than five hundred bird species share the canopy — eternal spring, waterfalls, and birdsong instead of traffic.”

Valparaíso · Chile · coastal · $$

“A bohemian port tumbling down forty-two painted hills, threaded by funiculars and murals — Chile's most artistic, characterful city, if you learn its streets and mind them after dark.”

Limón · Costa Rica · tropical · $$

“Where the rainforest spills onto Caribbean sand and the rhythm turns Afro-Caribbean — a barefoot, bike-everywhere town of patois, cacao, and sloths in the trees.”

Antioquia · Colombia · temperate · $

“Colombia's most colorful town — hand-painted facades above an island-dotted reservoir, with the great monolith of El Peñol rising over it all, two hours from Medellín.”

Washington · United States · temperate · $$$

“An Old-West boardwalk town at the foot of the North Cascades, where the Methow Valley strings together more groomed ski trails and singletrack than almost anywhere in the West.”

Rio Grande do Norte · Brazil · tropical · $$

“Red cliffs, dolphin bays, and a surf-town buzz an hour south of Natal — Brazil's northeast at its most beautiful, now with enough wifi for the nomads who linger.”

Bocas del Toro · Panama · tropical · $$

“A turquoise Caribbean archipelago of stilt houses and boat taxis, where a polyglot island community lives between reef and rainforest — no income tax, just rain and reggae.”

Coquimbo · Chile · dry · $$

“A tiny new-age village in a valley with three hundred clear nights a year — pisco vineyards, world-class stargazing, and a mellow reverence for the energy locals swear runs through the place.”

Bay Islands · Honduras · tropical · $$

“An English-speaking Caribbean island riding the world's second-largest barrier reef — cheap dives, direct flights home, and an expat community that never has to leave the water.”

Los Santos · Panama · tropical · $$$

“A two-kilometer surf bay at the wild end of the Azuero, where a young international community built a remote, sun-bleached life around the waves.”

Bay Islands · Honduras · tropical · $

“One of the cheapest places on earth to learn to dive — a tiny, barefoot Caribbean island you can bike end to end, where whale sharks pass before breakfast.”

Rivas · Nicaragua · tropical · $

“A horseshoe bay on Nicaragua's Pacific where the sunsets are famous and the dollar stretches further than almost anywhere — a budget surf town with a loyal expat following.”

Corozal District · Belize · tropical · $

“Belize's quiet, English-speaking corner on Chetumal Bay — a sleepy, low-cost retiree haven a half-hour from Mexico, long on sunsets and short on crowds.”

Oaxaca · Mexico · tropical · $

“A tiny bohemian beach village on Oaxaca's wild Pacific, where sea-turtle sanctuaries, mezcal, and off-grid simplicity draw those happy to trade fast internet for empty sand.”

Piura · Peru · tropical · $

“Peru's only tropical beach — three hundred days of sun, warm-water surf, and dollar-stretching cheap, where backpackers and nomads pile into one sandy, sociable strip.”