In exotic, welcoming, warm-weather destinations all over the world—from Colombia to Korea—you can live better for less. But, alas, you can’t live for free. Many retirees fund their lives overseas through savings, Social Security, and pensions. But those aren’t your only options. In this golden age of the portable career, we know readers cashing in with freelance work from every corner of the planet.
But earning from a laptop doesn’t suit everybody. And that’s just fine. Because many expats report that—once you have boots on the ground in a new place—it’s easy to spot money-making opportunities. Bookstores, cafes, fitness centers, tour-guiding, teaching English…the list goes on.
In the States, start-up costs, taxes, and stiff competition can create a prohibitive hurdle for would-be business owners. But overseas, as the “accidental entrepreneurs” we profile in this issue report, such obstacles are fewer. As one successful expat in Ecuador put it, “In the U.S., you cannot do what I have done…you’d have too much debt to worry about.”
See below for all the articles in your November 2012 issue. If you’d prefer to read your issue in PDF format, click here.
Steve Kamb left his native Oregon last year on a round-the-world trip starting in Los Angeles. Over the course of the next 10 months, Steve spent time in Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dublin, Madrid, and Buenos Aires. He took 15 flights and covered a distance of 35,000 miles. And he did it all for just $418.36.
When you know the insider tips, tricks and secrets travel experts use, travel suddenly becomes a lot cheaper. Here is a round-up of cut-price travel tips from IL's free travel guru, Darius Fisher.
We’re sitting on the terrace of our cozy Casa Mariposa bungalow, drinking our morning coffee…grown, picked, and roasted just beyond the emerald hills below. From our vantage point it feels like we can see forever, the morning light playing across the rocky-topped Mount El Tute in the distance.
In the U.S., you cannot do what I have done here in Ecuador… you’d have too much debt to worry about,” says Kevin Sheehy, who bank-rolled his first venture—a Vietnamese restaurant—in the cool-weather capital of Quito with just $14,000. One business opportunity led to another, and today his success overseas means that Kevin enjoys the flexibility to live in a place he loves (the weather is spring-like year-round) and spend four months every year traveling.
The case for investing in Mexico has never been so compelling. And there are four important factors why. First, the Mexican government is planning to introduce important pro-market reforms under newly-elected president Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, who takes office next year. He is supported in these reforms by the opposition, center-right National Action Party.
Down through history, whenever a major war or other calamity has threatened, ever-greater hoards of foreign cash have flowed into Swiss bank accounts because the world knows Switzerland traditionally stands for safety.
Mr. Bauman is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland (1973-1981). He is also a former federal official and state legislator; member of the Washington, D.C., Bar; graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center (1964) and the GU School of Foreign Service (1959). Mr. Bauman serves as legal counsel to International Living. He's also one of the world's foremost offshore experts. Here are some of his recent articles:
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The magnificent chateaux of France’s Loire Valley get the lion’s share of attention from tourists and guidebooks. But castle-lovers willing to slip off the beaten path will discover equally fascinating—and much less crowded—châteaux in the enchanting, woodsy region of the Puisaye, northern Burgundy.
Real adventures don’t start at the airport…they start at the mouth of a river. And nestled on the eastern edge of Guatemala awaits one of Central America’s best river voyages. Fishermen cast nets from dugout canoes, birds tiptoe across lily pads, while manatees swim nearby. This is life along the Río Dulce (“Sweet River”).