Western Borneo the mercury is at 90 F. I’ve escaped to the cool of the Tong Hing café where a freshly baked pastry and a coffee costs $2. This is Kota Kinabalu, gateway to adventure, a city of 800,000 that a small number of expats—and now I—have discovered.
It’s a low-cost and convenient destination. One expat I met lives on $1,000 a month all in and loves the year-round heat. Spend $2,000 and you’ll live very well indeed. Air-conditioned malls, international cuisine, golf, beaches, and rainforest adventures…it’s all here.
This latest IL scouting trip will soon take me to another of the region’s low-cost havens. I’ll be visiting with Arizona-native, Andy Wazer, who lives in the Philippine city of Cebu. Andy describes it as “laidback the way Hawaii is, but at a fraction of the cost.” He reveals all here.
And I’ll catch up with Dave Christopherson in another ocean-side city there called Dumaguete. Dave traded the cold of Minnesota for year-round golf, diving, and temperatures in the 80s F. Here he explains how he enjoys this early retirement on just $1,500 a month.
If a monthly budget of $1,500 sounds good, but you prefer a cooler climate, then IL correspondent, Wendy Dechambeau, has found what she’s calling “the holy grail of expat destinations” with a year-round temperature of 60 F to 80 F. See here for Wendy’s article.
For an even lower-cost option, consider Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where 57-year-old Tom Richter reports his $1,000-a-month social security check covers him for a central apartment with a balcony, great food, and regular adventures throughout Southeast Asia. See the entire story here.
Phnom Penh’s boulevards echo those of Paris. But if you want the real thing yet always felt France was too expensive, then turn to page 20 where IL correspondent Barbara Diggs reveals the best destinations in France to live comfortably for $3,200 or less a month, including rent or a mortgage.
If you happen to be hiking through the Himalayan country of Nepal this month, leave your Sunday best behind you. (Attempting Everest in a suit and tie probably wouldn’t end well, anyway.) In Nepal, the full moon on March 23 marks the end of winter and the start of the monsoon season. But local people don’t wait for the rain to get wet.
A safari-goers paradise, Uganda offers all sorts of surprises… Each year during the rainy season, grasshoppers fill Uganda’s night skies. Known locally as nsenene, these harmless-looking creatures can devastate crops, eating into farmers’ profits and reducing an already lackluster food supply.
The clear, turquoise waters of Mexico’s cenotes (sinkhole ponds) are well known to visitors, and attract thousands of people seeking to explore the underground delights they have on show. But some of these enchanting sinkholes have a more sinister side. None more so than the so-called Pet Cemetery near the popular expat hub of Tulúm.
Move over, Rome. Italy’s fashion capital, Milan, is more than just a pretty face. It can definitely go toe-to-toe with the Eternal city when it comes to history, monuments, and treasured art, not to mention that high fashion and industry. So if you want a dose of Italian culture, don’t overlook Milan: In this city, where the old and new come together, there’s something to suit everyone.
When emerging markets get going, they can really soar. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed 526% from September 2001 to October 2007. The problem is that these incredible highs are often followed by incredible lows. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing today, as emerging markets hit their lowest level since 2009.
San Diego-native Tom Richter, 57, was already living in paradise when he decided to move to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A corporate sales executive, he’d decided that moving to Central America was his best option for an early and affordable retirement. So he’d moved to a house in the Costa Rican countryside, where he could enjoy retirement on a Social Security pension.
Imagine living on a bay where you can feel sea breezes blowing in from the Caribbean year-round. Every day, you enjoy fishing and sailing on a sparkling, emerald green seascape, within a short distance of your home. You’re living the laidback retirement you always dreamed about. And your comfortable, Caribbean getaway cost you less than $220,000.
Tired of cold weather and the workday drudgery in his native Minnesota, Dave Christopherson was eager to turn his back on the working world. Having snow nearly five months a year was just too much.
His love affair with his new home is understandable. For him, the tropical climate, the beaches, the Filipinos’ friendly, hospitable nature, and the low cost of living make it a dream come true. He lives in a big city, yet he still feels that he has the typical “island lifestyle” that you’d expect from the Philippines. Life is simpler, like the 1950s U.S., but with all the First-World amenities he could want. And “if you ask me for just one thing I love about the place, it would be the people. Their seemingly never ending smiles brighten each and every day.
Four years ago when my family and I relocated to Ecuador, obtaining a residence visa was one of our top priorities. We knew we wanted to stay long-term and a residence visa would allow us to do so without penalties or needing to leave the country periodically. At the time, the process took several months to complete. But now, thanks to a more streamlined process, expats who have all of their paperwork in order can receive their visas within a matter of weeks. And just recently, Ecuador decided to half the cost of the application fee for over 65s (to $25) as well as the cost of a visa (to $250).