If you seek the real Mexico—the beating heart that energizes and drives the rest of the country, especially when it comes to fashion, art, music, literature, and (yes, oh yes) food—go directly to Mexico City. Some call it a renaissance city. And I’d have to agree; it’s a city that’s constantly reinventing itself while continually sharpening its edge.
If you retire overseas, owning a home back in North America can be a huge asset. If you want to live abroad only part-time (as a snowbird, for instance), it gives you somewhere to stay when the weather back home improves. Or you may simply want a place to return to on occasional trips. Better yet, that place back home can generate a respectable income if you rent it out while you’re gone, whether you’re away for good or just for a few months each year. This can be a great way to earn some cash on the side—funds that can go even further if you’re living in a low-cost country like Panama or Ecuador.
For many visitors, Baños’s thermal baths are miracle enough. You’ll find several places to soak away to your heart’s content here, in pools of varying degrees of delicious heat. The most popular public baths are right in town at the base of the 260-foot waterfall called Cascada de la Virgen, where Nuestra Señora allegedly once appeared. A shrine there is dedicated to her and her healing waters.
When Gary and Kathryn Kelly, both in their 50s, moved to Ecuador from Sargent, Texas, in 2011, they expected this would be where they spent their retirement years. In Texas, Gary had owned a property tax management company and Kathryn worked as his executive assistant. In Ecuador, they hoped to laze away the days on the beach in front of their home…
Cynthia Collett recently celebrated her first anniversary in Ecuador, although she admits she had been working on this idea of "retiring overseas" for nearly a year before she actually made the move. "A friend came to Ecuador for a work-related conference," Cynthia says. "And she told me I would absolutely love Cotacachi. "That’s when I started the Internet research. The more I read, the more I fell in love with the culture."
You can study all the collected data, analyze real estate statistics, crunch the cost-of-living numbers, study weather patterns and more...but nothing surpasses your gut instinct when it comes to choosing a place to live. And believe me, your gut can change—especially as you get older.
The tops of the palms wave cheerily in the breeze like giant green feather dusters against a soft blue, cloudless sky. I’m bobbing contentedly in the warm turquoise waters looking back at the beach, its silky white sands speckled with tiny seashells. Despite it being mid-summer I’m the only one swimming in this small cove…the only one enjoying this flawless slice of beach this morning.
You can study all the collected data, analyze real estate statistics, crunch the cost-of-living numbers, study weather patterns and more, but nothing surpasses your gut instinct when it comes to choosing a place to live.
You'll never be a native Costa Rican, but you can fit in like one when you understand these small cultural differences.
You'll never be a native Costa Rican, but you can fit in like one when you understand these small cultural differences.