Wendy’s love of travel was ignited at a very early age, when her grandparents brought back treasures and tales from India and Thailand. Her family took extensive trips throughout the United States, and as a young woman, she lived for two years in a Bavarian village a stone’s throw from the East German border. To finance her travels, she has worked as a bookkeeper, then as a business owner, as a registered nurse, and finally as the Director of Professional Services with a hospice in central California. She took an early retirement at the age of 51. In 2005, she and her husband, David, left the U.S. for Asia, achieving her dream of discovering new places, seeking out new adventures, and immersing herself in new cultures. Since that time, she has also fulfilled a life-long dream of being a writer. She has been writing for International Living since 2016, first as the Vietnam Correspondent, then as the Southeast Asia Correspondent, and most recently, as International Living’s Mexico Correspondent. After living in Southeast Asia for 16 years, Wendy now resides in the Spanish colonial city of Querétaro in the highlands of central Mexico.
In 2005, she and her husband David left the U.S. for Asia, fulfilling her dream of discovering new places, seeking out new adventures, and immersing herself in new cultures. Since that time, she has also fulfilled a life-long dream of becoming a writer. Wendy and David now live in Hanoi and are enjoying exploring the beaches, mountains, and restaurants in their new adopted home in Vietnam.
The sing-song chants of vendors cut through the morning mist, offering fresh-baked baguettes and baskets of tropical fruits. Caldrons of pho bò (beef noodle soup) and the savory smoke of grilling pork entice the early morning breakfast crowd.
Every morning at his condo complex in Damansara Heights, in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Karl Hutchison, 61, sits on the patio next to the swimming pool, enjoying the palm trees, quiet neighborhood, and the warm, sunny weather.
My husband David and I rent a lot of house for $630 a month. It’s a 2,690-square-foot place that came fully furnished, including a washing machine, heating, and air conditioning.
You probably won’t be in the Malaysian city of Johor Bahru for more than a few days before you’ll be treated to some kind of festival. This multicultural metropolis seems to have celebrations practically every week of the year.
“Da Nang is the most livable city in Vietnam.” I thought I was the one to come up with this observation—I was pretty pleased about it, actually. But ever since I came up with the phrase, I have heard it again and again from my Vietnamese friends and from expats I’ve met.
“The best part of living here is that it is just a five-minute walk to the beach. We walk to the beach every day,” says Erin Scholnick-Lee, who lives in Da Nang, Vietnam. “Who doesn’t want to live five minutes from the beach?”
“My favorite activity during the warm months is going to the beach in the late afternoon,” says Mel Potter of his new home in the city of Da Nang, Vietnam. “If you want to get away from the rat race and be near the beach, with a decent nightlife, this is the place for you. You can have the lifestyle you want here, even live like a millionaire if you want.” And with monthly living expenses of $600 or less, it’s easy to see Mel’s point. Mel, a retired correctional officer, first came to Vietnam as a soldier in 1967.
I think it’s the slow pace of life and the small-town feel that impressed me most. Battambang, in northwest Cambodia, is a social and welcoming place. No one’s in a hurry. Sitting down, having a cool drink, and meeting new people is a popular pastime. And when I walked around town, people would come out to talk to me and freely share what they enjoyed about living here, or which restaurants they liked the best, or when the latest opening of an art gallery was to take place.