Jason P. Says: I have been looking into the possibility of getting a second passport. Is it true that getting one from Uruguay doesn’t make me a citizen? IL Executive Editor Jennifer Stevens Says: Hi Jason, Great idea to look into a second passport. The freedom and flexibility it offers you makes living internationally so Read more...: Does a Uruguayan Passport Make Me a Citizen?
While I don’t think you should try to talk anybody into doing anything they don’t want to, there are some things you can do to get your partner on board with the idea if they are a little hesitant.
Spending six months or a year slow traveling Europe is a lovely idea. Dining at French restaurants, sipping wine on Italian piazzas…all while keeping an eye out for your ideal retirement haven. The good news is that it’s entirely possible. If just a little bit complicated.
By almost any standard, Costa Rica has some of the best healthcare in Latin America. Not only that, but the country’s public and private health systems are constantly being upgraded—new hospitals, new equipment, and improvements in staff training. Despite the advancements, costs are low in comparison to those in the U.S. and even some European countries.
It might be tempting to simply pick a location you’ve researched or once traveled to…and pick up and move there. But before you sell your home or unload most of your possessions, it pays to test the waters. There have been many people who always dreamed of living at the beach…because that’s where they’ve always vacationed. But once they stayed more than a few weeks, they discovered they didn’t like the heat and humidity…or the sand that always seemed to be getting in the house…or all the tourists. You want to find this out before you move.
Germany has a very strong passport—it ranks joint third in the Henley Passport Index, along with Spain. (This index is considered the standard reference tool for global citizens and sovereign states when assessing where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrum.) A German passport allows you visa-free travel to 190 destinations around the world. That’s four more than the U.S., which comes in 7th in the Index at 186.
There is a lot of debate about the cost of living in Belize, which is probably what you are picking up on, because there is such a vast range of ways you can live there. If you want to live a North American lifestyle—enjoying the same wines, brand-name foods, and North American-style accommodation you’d expect at home, you will find that Belize is just as expensive Belize, possibly more so. But there are also many ways to save money in Belize.
I’m not but a year or so from retirement, though I’d like to keep a hand in my trade. I’m a certified marine technician. If I go to Ecuador, could I still work some?
What is it about the word “island” that makes a mind race instantly to “escape?” I suppose it’s that watery obstacle that separates any dollop of sand from its mainland neighbor. You must cross over…and so with your back turned to the old, you train your eyes toward that new shore. Sunglasses on, wind in your hair, it just feels like you’re getting away with something. (Never mind you may actually jet in aboard a boeing 747.) Whatever vessel carries you, it’s a journey along which things fall away— stress, worry, your workaday sense of time. On an island, the pace slows, you live in the present, you shed concerns right along with your closed-toed shoes.
Nearly two decades ago, when I first set foot in Nicaragua for International Living, the Managua airport was a simpler affair. I walked down steps to a hot tarmac and watched a porter toss my suitcase through a hole in the wall. Today there’s a Jetway, A/C and a duty-free shop. Travel & Leisure and Food & Wine gush about the country’s offerings. And we do, too. This month our correspondent there shares her recommendations—everything from volcano surfing to floating down a secret canyon. But my point is: we were poking around Nicaragua back in the mid-1990s, when it was otherwise overlooked. Today we persist in our boots-on-the-ground habit. We’re looking for storehouses of opportunity, spots ripe for engaging adventures, good-value investment, and comfortable, affordable living. Such places invariably sit under the radar and are misunderstood. But they can be worth your attention.