Long gone are the days of the gold watch, goodbye party, and well-funded retirement years. Baby Boomers don’t get the same perks their parents did. All across the U.S. they put in longer hours, check their work email over the weekends, and fail to take their vacation days. Yet the average retirement age has crept up and up. But you know this. the need to rethink retirement is mainstream now.
But IL is not the mainstream. Most baby boomers don’t want their parents’ retirement, anyway. Boomers are looking for more meaning and purpose. They want to continue to grow and learn…to thrive, not just survive. They want to have some fun. This issue is all about that retirement.
It was during a 10-hour shift that shuttle bus driver Kathy Hall got the idea. The 63-year-old figured out that there were a host of countries she could explore on her social security alone. So she quit, packed her bags, and set off on the greatest adventure of her life through Southeast Asia.
Comparing their spiraling costs in Southern California to the comfortable life they could afford on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, Sue Ellery and her husband William made their move in 2016. “We are both in our 60s and now we’re free to pursue our interests without having to worry about the escalating costs of retiring in the U.S.”
IL Ecuador Coastal Correspondent, Jim Santos, tailor-made a retirement full of fun and adventure for himself and his wife Rita. from their base in Salinas they take trips all over Ecuador for the heck of it, discovering some serious sweet spots as they go. In this issue, Jim reports on a good-sized city close to the beach and mountains that he says is perfect for the trailblazer. (And a couple will live very well there on $1,200 to $1,500 a month.)
Lisa Condie is another who felt the need for something more. It all happened for her after the age of 56 with her own boutique tour business in Florence. And if you prefer white-sand Caribbean, IL Belize correspondent, Ann Kuffner reports on an opportunity in a place perfect for kicking off your shoes and sticking your toes in the sand…
—Eoin Bassett, Editorial Director
Just as the food is different, the language and real estate laws you encounter in Latin America will be different from those you find in the U.S. and Canada. So are the legal system and inheritance laws, so it’s important to bear these in mind if you buy property there.
Tucked into a secluded nook in the ancient Bayon temple, with benevolent stone faces smiling down at me from every angle, I felt overwhelmed at finally being in Angkor Wat, Cambodia, after years of day-dreaming of a life of travel. I remember thinking I should pinch myself. But instead I soaked up all the atmosphere I could, knowing this type of adventure would shape my future for years to come. Barely a year before, I could scarcely have imagined that I’d travel right across Southeast Asia—on my Social Security money alone. One morning early in 2015, I woke at dawn to get ready for a 10-hour shift as a shuttle driver.
In the morning, I like to take in the view from my balcony: To the south, I have the majestic, snow-capped peaks of the central Apennines, to the east, a turquoise stretch of the Adriatic Sea. And in between, olive groves, green meadows, and picturesque hilltop towns.
The smell of baking bread greets me as I walk along the narrow medieval streets in the early morning. The church bell is chiming. It’s September and there are no clouds to obscure the vivid cobalt-blue, Mediterranean sky.
If you’re someone who is looking for the conveniences of a good-sized city close to the beach and the mountains—I may have found the sweet spot for you. Especially if you are a trailblazer—someone who would enjoy the experience of immersing yourself in a new language and culture.
Front Street got its name because, to put it plainly, it’s in front. That is to say, it’s in front of Middle Street and Back Street, the other two primary lanes on tiny, five-mile-long Caye Caulker, Belize. Front Street faces the sea.
Because Caye Caulker is small, there aren’t many homes or condos available for sale. It’s a thin market with high demand. And prices have risen over the last few years. But there are still good deals to be found.
The breeze carried the salty tang of the turquoise ocean. The sand was white and powder-soft. Yet I was one of the only people on the beach. The year was 2004. I was on the Riviera Maya, Mexico’s Caribbean coast, on Tulúm Beach.
I’ve been around oil (at least from an investor’s perspective) for a long time. In the early 90s I worked in the Dallas bureau of the Wall Street Journal, writing about oil and its impact on the Texas economy from an economic and investment point of view.
Somewhere near the end of the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, you can hear the jingle of a little bell. Jimmy Stewart’s daughter gazes up at him and says: “Look, Daddy! Teacher says every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” The bell is hanging, among other baubles, on a tall and sparkly Christmas tree. Considering that movie was made in 1946, the tree’s ornaments—if they still exist—could be worth a fortune. Fortunately, you don’t need to have been on the set of a 1940s classic to pick up a collectible bauble.