Over the past decade, South Africa has grown in popularity as an exotic place to retire. Specifically, the historic city of Cape Town has received a five star rating on eOpinions.com. More than most countries in the area, the climate in South Africa is varied. In the summer months, temperatures can reach 90 to 100 degrees during the day, and can fall close to freezing by night. South Africa is another place where the exchange rate allows those with average savings to live large. One South African Rand (ZAD) is worth about $0.13 USD according to Exchange-Rates.org. Real estate is entirely open to foreign buyers, and the market is currently expanding at blistering rates, opening up opportunities and discounts for most buyers. Generally speaking, rent in South Africa should ran between $300 – $700 USD, allowing for a very low cost of living. If you have more than a few thousand a month to spare, this country is a viable option. You can live like a King.

Outside Europe and South America-- South Africa, Malaysia and Thailand also offer affordable retirement destinations. Cape Town featured as one of the best destinations to retire in, with Global Post citing the availability and quality of health care on offer as one of the main reasons for this: "High quality medical care is available in major cities. Less expensive private hospitals have made South Africa a destination for plastic surgery tourism. "

List of accolades for Cape Town            

• Second Best Beach City, Lonely Planet’s Ten Best Beach Cities 2011

An announcement by Lonely Planet, one of the world’s leading multifaceted travel resources, of their choice of the World’s Ten Best Beach Cities listed Cape Town as second best amongst cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Sydney and Miami. They described Cape Town as ‘good-looking, fun-loving, sporty and sociable’.

• Top City in Africa and the Middle East - Condé Naste Readers’ Travel Awards 2010

One of the World’s Top 20 Cities - Condé Naste Readers’ Travel Awards 2010
The Condé Nast Readers’ Travel Awards celebrate the best the travel world has to offer - from cities and islands to hotels and tour operators - as voted for by Condé Naste Travel readers. Cape Town has been voted as the 13th Top City in the World.

• Africa’s Leading Destination, 2010 World Travel Awards

The Annual World Travel Awards aim to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry. In July 2010 Cape Town was ranked as Africa’s Leading Destination for the third year running.

• TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards 2010

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel review site and a trusted source in the global tourism industry. In 2010 they have named Cape Town: Twenty Fifth in the 25 Best Destinations in the World

First in the Top 25 Destinations in Africa category

Sixth as Top 25 Destinations in the World chosen by Europeans

Sixth again as Top 10 Beach & Sun Destinations in Africa

Second as Top 10 Culture & Sightseeing Destinations in Africa
Fourth as Top 10 Outdoor & Adventure Destinations in Africa; and last but not least
Second as the Top 10 Food & Wine Destinations in the World (Western Cape).

• 6th Top City for Men 2010, Askmen.com

Each year, the world’s favourite website for men, Askmen.com, profiles the best cities worldwide for men to live, work and play in. Their formula takes into consideration the weather, outdoor activities on offer, the amount of professional opportunities and the cost of living, nightlife and dating. In 2010 Cape Town was named their top sixth city on their list of Top 29 Cities for Men 2010.

• Top Ten Ethical Destinations in the World 2010, Ethical Traveler

Annually, Ethical Traveler (www.ethicaltraveler.org), a web-based international alliance of travellers that aims to unite all tourists and tourism operators in the fight for world-wide sustainability and conscientious travelling, reviews developing countries across the globe that are working to protect human rights, build social welfare, and preserve the environment. South Africa has recently been heralded as being one of the Top Ten Ethical Destinations in the World for 2010.

• Best Holiday Destination Ever, Heat magazine

Heat magazine’s summer holiday survey took place at the beginning of January 2010 when readers took part in voting for their favourite holiday destination, amongst other questions. As voted for by South African’s themselves, Cape Town came out tops and was voted Best Holiday Destination Ever.

• One of the World’s Most Beautiful Cities, Forbes

Surveying city specialists from a range of fields such as urban planning, architecture and sustainable development Forbes went in search of the world’s most beautiful city. Cape Town was announced as one of the top ten due to its open spaces, aesthetic appeal and “manageable size”, leaving a minimal ecological footprint as a result.

• Skyscanners 33rd most searched for destination for 2010 – www.skyscanner.net

Each year www.skyscanner.net, a popular website for searching and comparing flights, hotels and car hire across the world, releases information on the top 50 destinations searched for by UK residents. 2009 searches for travel in 2010 reveals that Cape Town was the 33rd most searched for destination by Britons.

• British Airways Top Ten List for 2010.

Each year British Airways compiles a table of long-haul destinations it considers the top choices for UK holidaymakers for the following year. Major sporting, cultural and entertainment events, as well as emerging travel trends influence the ratings.

• One of the World’s Top 10 Party Cities, 2009 Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences

With 1000 Ultimate Experiences, Lonely Planet, the world’s leading travel authority, has brought together 1000 ideas, places and activities to inspire and entertain travellers.

• New Home of The Loerie Awards 2009 – 2014

The Loerie Awards were first held in 1978 as a platform to support television advertising but has since grown to include every area of brand communication including radio and print advertising, architecture, design, video, live events, direct marketing and digital media. The awards have attained its status by recognizing, rewarding and fostering creative excellence and nurturing potential, especially in disadvantaged communities.

• Best Destination, Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2009

Nominations are received from all over the world for organisations and cities making a real difference to local communities and the environment. This year Cape Town was voted as Best Destination.

Blue Flag beach status
Blue Flag is an international annual award given to beaches that meet excellence in the areas of safety, amenities, cleanliness, and environmental management. In South Africa, the programme is run by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa in partnership with local authorities. Cape Town’s Blue Flag beaches include: Big Bay, Bloubergstrand; Clifton 4th beach; Camps Bay beach; Muizenberg beach; Strandfontein beach; Mnandi beach and Bikini beach

• Second favourite overseas city – Guardian, UK

The Guardian’s results of their Travel Awards 2009, where readers of the newspaper and website vote for their favourite destination, saw Cape Town selected as the second most favourite overseas city. The Guardian is one of the UK’s leading newspapers and reputable news sources.

• World's Number Two City – Travel+Leisure magazine July 2009

Travel+Leisure Magazine – one of the world’s leading travel magazines - ran their 14th annual World’s Best poll in 2009, where readers of the magazine rate the world’s best cities, islands, hotels, cruises and airlines. This year readers opted for more exotic destinations where Cape Town finished one place up from 2008, in second place.

• World's Best Incentive Destination - Conference & Incentive Travel magazine October 2009

The Conference & Incentive Travel Hot List 2009 was designed by Conference & Incentive Travel magazine to celebrate the best destinations and venues for events across 12 categories and was voted for by readers. Over 400 event planners across the globe voted over an eight-week period and at the end of voting Cape Town was selected as best Incentive Destination for 2009.

• World's Best Entertainment/Lifestyle Destination - Luxury Travel Awards April 2009

The 2009 Luxury Travel Awards were part of the greater International Luxury Travel Exhibition that took place in Switzerland in April. The awards looked at identifying destinations with great potential in the luxury travel sector.

• Best Tourism Investor City of the Year - AI Tourism Investor Awards 2009

Africa Investor is a pan-African investment group that hosts an annual Tourism Investor Awards event. All entrants are judged on the basis of vital financial indicators, the sustainability of projects and value added contributions. All entrants were of significant international competition and Cape Town was chosen as AI’s first ever Best Tourism Investor City - emerging as the ultimate leader in the tourism industry world-wide.

• Cape Town Number 1 Tourist Destination in 2011

Trip Advisor is one of the world’s leading authorities on everything travel. They have a following that spans continents and are generally seen as the global authority on travel tips, reviews and destination insight. The recent Trip Advisor Travellers Choice Awards took place and saw our very own Cape Town walking away with the prestigious title of best tourist destination in 2011 beating some very tough competition along the way.

There we have it; "Facts and Figures you never imagined could belong to Cape Town".

Retire to Cape Town  should be the easist decision you've ever made.