Robert O. Says:
I don’t have the patience at 70 to learn Spanish. Are places like Ecuador, Panama, Belize and Roatan mainly English-speaking?
IL Senior Editor Dan Prescher Says:
The need to learn a new language can seem like a real roadblock to moving abroad, but it really isn’t, for a couple of reasons.
First, there are beautiful tropical paradises to move to where English is actually the first language…think Belize. No need to learn another language here.
Second, while English isn’t the first language of other Latin American countries, it is widely spoken in many of the most desirable locations for living, working, or retiring abroad.
Panama is a great example…Panamanians have been dealing with North Americans for more than a century thanks to the Panama Canal, so English is widely spoken. In Roatan, tourism is a major industry, not just for North Americans but for Europeans as well. And in popular tourist areas, English is often the common language used when people of many different nationalities are together.
And in much of the rest of Latin America, it’s not difficult to find at least a few locals with enough English to help out…especially in the places where North American expats have settled, such as Cotacachi and Cuenca in Ecuador. In fact, if the expat community is large enough, it’s often not necessary to know any Spanish or other local language…if you’re content to deal only with other expats.
But even if you think you’re unable to learn another language for some reason, you’ll probably be surprised at how fast you pick up at least some of it. Once you move to a place, picking up essential words and phrases is something that seems to happen automatically. And even a little of the local language can go a long way toward improving your expat experience.
Editor’s Note: Like Dan says, picking up even a few words of Spanish can go a long way to making your life easier and more fulfilling overseas. And the best news is, our friend Warren Hardy has developed a system aimed specifically at Baby Boomers to get you speaking “just enough” Spanish. As Warren says, you don’t need perfect Spanish—you just need to express your needs and be polite. And that’s what his Spanish Webtutor program helps you do. Check it out here.
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