It’s easy to come by advice on nurturing your creative side. Why? Because it’s easy to suggest we read more, get out and meet new people, join a drawing group, or take time out to think. The hard part is finding the time. If you’ve spent decades juggling family and career responsibilities, you’ll know what I mean. So many of us shelve our creative passions.But a move overseas is a sure-fire way to unleash them. For many retirees in affordable destinations around the world, the most fulfilling thing about their new lives is the ability to reinvent themselves and reorganize their priorities.
With a $1,500-a-month mortgage to pay in Pasadena, Fred Fleet didn’t have much time to nurture his creative side. But since building a 3,000-square-foot home on the beach in Panama, Fred’s found plenty of time to make short films and write books.
In Cuenca, IL correspondent Donna Stiteler, has tapped into an incredible vein of artistic talent among the large and welcoming community of retirees there… Alaska-native Mara Gano spent 30 years teaching and raising a family and put her love of opera on the backburner. But since moving to Cuenca, the 56-year-old has become a member of the Cuenca international chorale and hosts concerts around town.
Fellow expat Keith Paul always thought being an artist was something he could never do. “I was a computer guy. I never thought of myself as someone who had talent,” says Keith. But the stress-free life he’s found through early retirement has allowed him to explore and develop his artistic streak with lessons just $5 to $10 an hour.
One of Peru’s most dynamic expat hubs, the historic city of Cusco has attracted many foreign artists and creative types. As the jumping off point for the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu you might assume it’s pricey, but you can rent an apartment in the ancient heart of the city from as little as $250 a month. IL correspondent, Steve LePoidevin, reveals how and where to retire well in the Land of the Incas.
Eoin Bassett,
International Executive Editor
If you have time to visit only one world-class, historic city in the coming year, make it Mexico City. Called the “Big Apple” of Latin America and hailed as a “Renaissance city” by nearly every travel publication worth its margarita salt,...
My first thought as we picked up our rental car and drove away from the airport towards the southern coast of Uruguay and Punta del Este, was “this doesn’t look like South America!” We were driving through rolling hills and fertile,...
“The story begins in 1936 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, when a three-year-old boy named Manop was handed a ‘vultures egg’ by his grandmother,” says IL Correspondent Rachel Devlin. “The egg was actually a simple rock and Manop’s imaginative...
Experts at copper giant Codelco, the Chilean state-owned mining company, believe the red metal could hit $10,000 per metric ton next year. That's $4.55 per pound. It would be a 46% increase from its current price. And that's after copper...
I fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing just 100 yards from my bedroom window and wake up to the sparkle of an ocean view. They remind me how lucky I am to have found my personal paradise. I set off on my retirement-scouting...
In 2005, when our friend told my wife and me that he had purchased beachfront property in Panama, I thought he was crazy. After several months of research, I decided that not only was he a genius, but I joined him as his next-door...
Picture a honey-colored stone cottage in a medieval village in Provence…perhaps with a frenzy of scarlet geraniums tumbling from a window box. The famous Provençal fields of fragrant lavender and olive groves surround the village...
It’s a sunny day and I just can’t tear myself away from the patio adjoining my room at the B&B where I’ve been staying. The air is a crisp 66 F and I’m wearing my fleece pullover, gazing out over pine-forested mountains. Splashes...
Most people would think a young girl growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, would not necessarily dream of becoming an opera singer. But Mara Gano’s love of culture far exceeded Alaska’s rugged reputation for dog-mushing or...
A year before his retirement, when Keith Paul was visiting Florence, Italy, he saw artists sitting on street corners, relaxing as they sketched landscapes, and thought how cool that would be to do. But he felt his artistic talent was limited to being able...