Not long ago all travel was slow. Ships sailed at the pace the wind gave them and trains rumbled for days through vast landscapes while passengers slept and ate on board.
You had to spend time in places…bad or good. Waiting around was part of the deal. I suppose it still is. No one loves an airport queue, but something was definitely lost with the arrival of airplanes.
So a “slow travel” movement was born. It’s billed as a way of traveling that allows you to connect with the locals, get more out of your destination, a way to “live” in a place rather than pass through ticking off sights.
A day here…a week there…a month somewhere else. It’s also without a doubt the best way to scout potential retirement destinations for yourself…
In your issue this month we reveal the best places to do just that this winter. We spent time and effort selecting specific destinations for their ease, low costs, and good climate. These are the ideal spots to get a taste of expat life, have fun, and spend less than it costs you to stay home.
Kathy L. Hall has taken the idea a few steps further. Fed up with work Kathy had an epiphany…she was going to take off with just her social security check. After traveling solo through Southeast Asia (which she wrote about in your December 2016 issue), Kathy set her sights on Latin America. “The path I’ve trodden there has been so incredibly rewarding,” says Kathy. She reveals how she’s journeyed through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Mexico on just $1,500 a month.
Boomer-age folk are well and truly on top of the travel hacks that make for luxury travel on a budget. With retirement comes the freedom and flexibility to make the most of secrets like the one we reveal here—learn how to take ocean cruises for as little as $42 a day.
And if you prefer four-wheeled freedom, how does a road trip in Mexico sound? See here for more…
—Eoin Bassett, International Executive Editor
"We can now have a lifestyle like Florida in the 1940s, but at a price we can afford. Our stress level is down and our satisfaction with life is definitely up… Living next to the water is something we always wanted to do but could never afford before now.”
White-sand beaches…palm trees swaying in the breeze…sunset views…tasty seafood dinners. And you can enjoy it all at bargain prices for food, drinks, nights out on the town, and a luxurious place to live, too. It’s all part of your island getaway in Asia.
I saw an interesting discussion in social media the other day. A blogger was convinced that the “retirement/travel industry” was hiding a deep, dark secret: Some people who retire overseas don’t stay forever. This was a shock, finding out my wife Rita and I had apparently signed up to live in Ecuador “forever.”
Did you know you can download and read your entire September issue as a PDF?