From the misty shades of grey rolling across the fjords of Doubtful and Milford Sounds to the coal-fi red steamboat, the TSS Earnslaw cruising Lake Wakatipu, there’s a timeless tranquility to the beautiful South Island, New Zealand.

By most accounts, the time I chose to retire abroad was actually the perfect time to remain in the U.S. Times were good, to be sure. But as many expats will tell you, what awaited us was even better…an extraordinary, grand adventure in an exotic land.