International Living’s expat network is your key to a new life in a new country. Get real, honest advice from people just like you. Discover the tips, tricks, shortcuts, and strategies you can use to cut through red tape and improve your life overseas right away.
Read about and learn from real-life experiences our expats have had in their new home countries, from health care to taxes, earning an income overseas to buying real estate…and much more.
When Aaron Brabham decided to move to the Colombian city of Medellín nearly a year and a half ago, he knew exactly what type of place he wanted to live in. “I’m really a penthouse kind of guy,” he says. “I was looking to live in the lap of luxury for much less than I could back in the U.S. I work at home as a digital marketer, so I like to have lots of space.”
As well as the great weather, thriving expat scene, and low-cost living, excellent, affordable healthcare is a big reason many folks retire to Ecuador. In Cuenca, the country’s main expat hub, a recent report on expats found that 75% cited quality healthcare services as their number-one reason for living here.
Tom and Christine Canton, from St. Petersburg, Florida, live in a home 1,000 feet up jungle-covered slopes, overlooking the Pacific. “We get up at sunrise and have coffee outside. It’s so peaceful and quiet,” says Tom. “There are no neighbors around us. But we do see toucans, macaws, parrots, and monkeys.”
On my travels through the highways and byways of antique collecting, I noticed an auction selling “industrial antiques.” My interest was piqued. What could they be? I wondered. Rusty farm machinery? Nineteen-fifties’ filing cabinets? Miners’ helmets from long-defunct collieries? Well, actually, yes. All the above and more.
"Are you serious? Grrr!” This was my typical response when first faced with the mañana culture of Latin America. Technically, mañana means tomorrow. But you’re better off translating it as “not today.” For example, when a plumber tells you he can’t make it today, but he’ll be there mañana…he’s just as likely to show up the day after tomorrow.
In less than two years, Sherry Goodloe has visited England, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Finland (twice), Bali, and Tasmania—and savored many memorable experiences along the way.
Dark roasted coffee steams from my Istanbul mug in the quiet September sunrise. A breakfast of fried Egyptian potatoes, goat cheese, and farm-raised eggs cools enough to take a bite, as I look at the chart plotter one more time.
Nomatter how affordable an overseas location is, you still need money to live there. So how do you access your money? Some expats choose to open a local bank account in the foreign country they move to.
Sitting at a cliff-side table overlooking the white-washed old town of Polignano a Mare, my husband Bryan and I marvel at how it manages to stay on its rock and not slide into the water below.
With so much coastline, Puglia has plenty of seafront towns to choose among. Many are seasonal small towns that serve sun-seekers who come in the summer.