The poet Samuel Coleridge may have been a debt-laden opium addict, but he wrote good poems and had it right when he said “nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”
As a traveling editor and opportunity seeker for International Living, I have been up close to enthusiasm in all its forms. You get the quiet contented sort. It leaves you feeling good to meet a retired man standing waist-deep in the Caribbean who’s just…happy.
There’s the giddy youthful kind inspired by new experiences, like the Californian so keen to share new discoveries in Italy she can barely catch a breath. You’ll meet plenty of recent expats who say, “I still can’t believe it!” Their enthusiasm is wide-eyed and wonderful. Like the couple showing you their new lake-view dream house…or their favorite secret beach…
It doesn’t matter what walk of life you’re in now, nor what lifestyle or destination is your idea of paradise; when you pull the trigger on it, your move overseas will fill you with an intense thrill.
And this issue should give you tingles right now…because this month we celebrate the profound wealth of choice you have when it comes to good living abroad.
Nicki Hed and her husband Scott are IL readers who have made colonial Granada in Nicaragua their home. I caught a dose of their enthusiasm when I met them there and you can catch it too here.
Get excited about an Italian hill-town home for $50,000… or where Jeff Raheb says the Colombian city he calls home is “truly First World” at 30% to 50% less than back home.
Mark and Jackie Baker like to spend afternoons in their country retreat in Belize down by the river… in their 60s Bill and Lynn Carmine sing the praises of Panama’s superb pensionado program for retirees… Suzie Hammond says the Chilean capital, Santiago, gives her and her husband Carl a better quality of life than Southern California and at half the price.
Tuula Rampont praises life in France’s “Cézanne Country” and discover how expat Joseph Toone has turned his enthusiasm for the history of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico’s Colonial Highlands into an income…
—Eoin Bassett, International Executive Editor
Ever since I was 19 and I took my first trip to Hawaii, I knew I wanted to live in a tropical place,” says Diane Farquhar. Now in her 60s, Diane nd her husband Cameron have found the perfect place to live out their tropical life—for a much lower cost than Hawaii.
Wide roads that curve the length of the tiny island, crisscrossing here and there, stretch out in front of you. Drive in any direction and you’ll see low, whitewashed homes stark against the charcoal grey of the volcanic ash.
The beautiful country of Costa Rica draws expats and tourists from around the world who come to enjoy its golden-sand beaches, rainforests teeming with exotic life, and intoxicating culture, summed up by the country’s Pura Vida (“pure life”) attitude.
Something extraordinary is happening in Mexico—and it’s something you may not be aware of. As The New York Times has reported, Mexico is the “new land of opportunity.” And the strong dollar has made retiring to Mexico more affordable than at any time in recent history.
Perhaps you’re not ready to make the leap to being a full-time expat. Or you want to dip your toe into living abroad and try out a few destinations to see which one you like best. The solution: Become a snowbird, migrating to warmer climes in the chilly winter months.
Time is a funny thing. Memories of the past glow with a special sentimentality. The best moments shine brighter, but even the mundane take on a peculiar nostalgia.
Did you know you can download and read your entire October issue as a PDF?