Marty and Michelle Kramer know that the road to paradise is not always direct. They’re okay with that. As they will tell you, what counts is being happy where you end up. They found the right fit for their retirement dreams in the bright and breezy beach town of Playa del Carmen, on Mexico’s famed Riviera Maya.
In 1999, the 50-year-old Valorie Gallagher fell in love while vacationing along Mexico’s Riviera Maya. She’d been looking for her perfect match for years, and once they met, she instantly knew that her life would never be the same. This wasn’t the typical affair of the heart, however. Valorie had fallen head-over-heels in love with one of the lesser-known jewels of Mexico’s Riviera Maya, the fishing village of Puerto Morelos. And 17 years later, she’s still in love with it.
“What would we do in Wisconsin in retirement?” says Lance Koehler, reflecting on his new life in beachside Tulúm. “Go to the mall, shovel snow. Here I love the warm weather, the sun, and going to the beach.” Lance and his wife Jeanette have found more than their place in the sun. They’ve also found their place in the local expat community.
The hills are cut with steep, tree-filled river valleys, and peninsulas, capes, and coves mark the lakeshore. At 18 miles long and three miles across at its widest, the blue expanse of Lake Arenal, in Costa Rica’s northern highlands, anchors a region known for its laidback lifestyle. Here, in a place of perennial warm weather and volcanic soils perfect for gardening, you can find the small-town U.S. vibe of yesteryear. And at a highly affordable cost.
Just a few short decades ago, Ecuador was off the map for most North American retirees. All that has changed dramatically in recent years, though, as intrepid North American expats began trickling into this small South American country. What they found was a country with pretty colonial towns and cities; miles of golden-sand beaches; an equatorial climate tempered by offshore ocean currents and the mountain terrain to make it spring-like year-round;
Picture yourself in a town where it’s pleasantly warm year round. Winter snows and relentless summer heat seem a distant memory. You can have your pick from the vast array of farm-fresh fruit and vegetables grown in rich volcanic soils. Impromptu parades awash with color and Andean music are par for the course, and in the evenings you can relax with a beer in hand with both local and expat buddies. Or retreat to that farm you’ve always dreamt of, just outside of town, where you can grow your own food amid serene solitude.
"Here, people will ask you to take their picture and say ‘thank you’ when you’re done,” says Jonathan Look, 54, of his rewarding new life as a photographer in Laos. “It’s fun to go out in the villages and meet the kids and the families and see how they live, take pictures of their lives… I love taking photos of Laos. It’s just a beautiful place.”
There’s something special about wine country. All around you, rows of vines stretch off to the horizon. A short stroll to your local café is all you need to enjoy the regional vintage, with each wine variety tempered by the terroir of the region: the combination of factors (including weather, soil, and even bedrock) that feed into a wine’s flavor.
You read it here first—I’ve discovered the Fountain of Youth. Funny thing is, turns out it’s not a fountain at all. Nor is it located in just one place. In fact, it can be found in many places if you know where to look. Confused? Let me explain. I celebrated a birthday recently and it was a weird feeling. No, not that I’m getting older: actually, just the opposite. Since we moved to Ecuador almost six years ago, I know I feel younger than when we arrived, and I believe I have aged less than the number of years marked by the calendar (the same is true for my wife, Cynthia).
San Diego-native Tom Richter, 57, was already living in paradise when he decided to move to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A corporate sales executive, he’d decided that moving to Central America was his best option for an early and affordable retirement. So he’d moved to a house in the Costa Rican countryside, where he could enjoy retirement on a Social Security pension.