The Athenian historian and general Thucydides said, “The secret to happiness is freedom… And the secret to freedom is courage.” The good news is: Today it’s easy to be courageous when it comes to going overseas—because it’s never been easier to have the freedom to live, earn, or retire anywhere in the world.
There are a lot of things to consider with a move overseas…especially how you’ll fund it. If you aren’t yet claiming your Social Security, or you’re looking to supplement it, in this month’s feature story we delve into the three easy online ways to earn while indulging your wanderlust. Portable technology, and a rising new culture of freelancing, means you can ditch the 9-to-5 grind and go wherever, whenever you want…and get paid to do it. Imagine having the flexibility and freedom to spend a month in Europe…or a few weeks in Ecuador’s Andes…or a year soaking up the sun in the Caribbean.
There are many ways to fund a new life overseas. When Sharon Matola, Sue Hufford, and Donna Wilson moved to Belize back in the 1980s (independently of one another), it’s fair to say facilities were basic—no meat, no milk, and no gasoline. Driven by the desire for a more interesting life outside the U.S., these three pioneering ladies saw opportunities to set up their own businesses—a zoo, a jungle resort, and a vegetable enterprise. You can read their story here.
Not only does living overseas offer adventure and numerous ways to earn money, a lower cost of living means the freedom and financial flexibility to indulge in life’s pleasures. In Thailand, Texas native JD Gruen, who lives on $1,600 a month says: “I’m retired and living well in my Social Security; I can breathe freely and live a better life.” His full story is here.
Also in Asia, Ryan Preston lives in the Cambodian city of Phnom Penh, where he pays $450 a month for his two-bedroom apartment. Not only does he enjoy the affordable, fresh food and a lively social life, but he also has the freedom to satisfy his wanderlust as “Phnom Penh is centrally located for travel to the rest of Southeast Asia.”
These days what you really need is simply the courage to give your overseas dream a try.
On the surface, the sea is like what you see in travel brochures..ripples of bright blue shimmer with turquoise and green as the sun is reflected off the water. But the true highlights of the Gili Islands lie under the waves...
Zipping along Portugal’s A6 high-way from the historic walled city of Evora to the popular beach resort of Cascais, just outside Lisbon, I marvel yet again at how easy it is to get around this European retirement haven. I’m coming to the end of a week-long scouting trip in North-ern Portugal. I started in the city of Porto, the country’s second-largest and home of port wine...
Belize is a place for free-spirited adventures, and its tour guides are offering ever more edgy, exciting tours to meet the growing taste for hands-on experience travel,” writes IL Belize Correspondent Laura Diffendal. “Some of the more adrenaline-pumping activities now on offer are the opportunity to dive with whale sharks, or snorkel with...
The generation of children born between 1980 and 2000, is one of the largest in history. In the U.S., 92 million people make up this generation. That’s bigger than both the Baby Boomers (born between 1945 and 1964) at 77 million, and Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979) at 61 million. But they’re making less money than...
I can’t remember the last time I woke up to anything but the sound of my alarm. Today, however, I awake to the sound of birds. Lying in my bed, I hear the occasional bark or rooster’s cock-adoodle-doo…the breeze blowing through the trees and rattling fallen leaves… muffled sounds of salsa music coming from a neighbor’s kitchen. Comforting, small-town sounds...
The statistics don’t lie—Belize is in a major growth period, and has been for the last two decades. Certainly that growth is happening at a slower pace than in other developing locations. But as someone who has lived here for years, running a successful business in the hospitality industry, I see this as a good thing. So do many other expats I talk to. It’s sustainable growth, not a bubble...
After visiting a friend in Ao Nang, in western Thailand on the Andaman Sea, J.D. Gruen decided he wanted to live by the sea for the first time in his life. “I love it here. I prefer small-town life, even with the busy tourist areas here. It’s friendly and everything needed is within reach: supermarkets, computer shops, electrical shops, many good Western (non-Thai) and Thai restaurants.”
“Moving to Cambodia was the smartest decision I ever made,” says Ryan Preston with a smile. “Everything, and I mean everything, is affordable. I didn’t know what luxury was before coming here. My refrigerator is full of organic fruit, French wine and cheese, Australian lamb, Belgian chocolates…and you know what? I can buy whatever I want and still spend under $75 a week...
“We moved from St. Louis to Nha Trang at the start of 2014, and we were there for almost a year,” says Esther Bedik. “Then we joined the Peace Corps and lived for a year and a half in Morocco. When that ended, we had to decide where we wanted to live. We had visited Da Nang while we were in Nha Trang...
"I was very happy with the whole process overall,” says expat Patricia Barovetto, 69, of her free hip replacement surgery through Mexico’s public healthcare plan, Seguro Popular. When the Davis, California, native moved to Guanajuato, Mexico, in August 2015, “I had no health insurance at all,” she says...