Several years ago I began exploring the retirement havens of Southeast Asia. Up until then, my beat was Latin America and Europe. I thought I had a good handle on the world’s best destinations for an overseas retirement. But Southeast Asia opened up a whole new world…
It’s certainly the best region in the world for a part-time, adventuresome, and comfortable roving retirement. You’ll find furnished short-term rentals for $300 a month. Living costs are crazy low, flights all over the place are often just the price of a meal out, and there’s so much to take in…
It’s without doubt the safest region I have ever traveled. And I definitely found the most outstanding bang-for-buck destinations of my travels to date. Shimmering cities where the ultra-modern meets the downright ancient…sun-kissed beaches…jungle-clad temples…chaos, color, and a spirituality and hospitality unique to the peoples of Southeast Asia.
When my Southeast Asia adventure was over, I was a changed man. The world and its opportunities felt bigger and better than ever.
Now it’s your turn…
In your issue this month we bring you a taste of what Southeast Asia has to offer. Discover the easiest retirement haven in the region, where people speak English, the healthcare is world class, and expats are finding serious bang for their buck.
The vestiges of French colonial rule are evident in the artsy river-side town of Kampot, Cambodia, and that’s where Scott Dalton has found his shangrila (it’s also my pick if I were to live in Cambodia).
If you like the idea of island life with home comforts, excellent hospitals, outstanding beaches, and an international dining scene, IL Thailand Correspondent, Michael Cullen, reveals where you can rent for just $525 a month or buy a two-bedroom villa for $83,000
IL Vietnam Correspondent Wendy Justice takes you around her old stomping grounds in Nha Trang, Vietnam, and roving Southeast Asia Correspondent, Kirsten Raccuia, reveals how to make the most of a long weekend in Laos’ temple town.
Eoin Bassett, International Executive Editor
It was a beautiful morning, a kind that only the tropics can deliver, and even then only rarely. The sky was cloudless, a robin’s-egg blue, and the perfect backdrop to the stunning, lush greens of the mountains surrounding the town....
The mist rises up through the jungle in the early morning light, as the troop of chattering monkeys jumps from branch to branch on its way home. I sip my coffee and watch their antics from the veranda. Here, in the mountains of Goa, India’s smallest state, life is good...
When I first came to Vietnam, back in 2005, I visited Nha Trang and loved it. The beaches were gorgeous, the people were friendly, and the strong expat presence beckoned me. I stayed for a few days, then returned again, drawn to the carefree lifestyle that this resort town offered...
And in the capital, Montevideo, it's evident almost everywhere I go. People sit on benches gazing out to sea, almost every block has a good coffee shop, and everyone just seems relaxed. Whether they are jogging on the rambla beside...
In my quest to find the world’s best retirement havens, I have traveled many miles, talked to thousands of expats, paraded down hospital corridors inspecting rooms, crossed the thresholds of rental properties in a hundred towns...
The world is home to some heavy-hitting retirement havens...places where the ingredients of a perfect retirement are all deftly mixed...a good climate, low costs, world-class healthcare, thriving social scene, plenty to do, safety...
In the evening sun, the last of the sightseers traipse through the centuries-old ruin of the Acropolis in Athens. Elsewhere, white-washed villages stare out to the Mediterranean Sea as pleasure craft and tourist boats cut through the water...
Maybe you don’t worry about hackers. You're probably not concerned about the NSA scanning your emails. If you’ve done nothing wrong, after all, you’ve got nothing to hide. Alas, not everyone shares your trusting nature. Regardless...
Each morning from my bedroom window, my eyes rest on a fresh canvas of perfect blue sky and the tree-smothered slopes of Agua volcano. From that same window, I also have a spectacular view of two more volcanoes only a few miles farther away...
Once the royal capital of Laos, the small city of Luang Prabang is known for its remarkable Buddhist temples. Some shimmer with gold leaf, glass, and mirrored mosaic tiles, others are adorned with lavish paintings...and that's just the exteriors...