“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” Though Eleanor Roosevelt wasn’t talking specifically about a retirement overseas, she could well have been.
While it’s true that in the right places abroad you can lower your cost of living, improve your quality of life, enjoy sunny skies year-round, and stop worrying you’ll outlive your nest egg…perhaps the biggest benefit, expats report again and again, is the opportunity to enjoy a richer life experience.
As Mike Herron says of his move to Cuenca, Ecuador, “While the reduced cost of living is welcome, it isn’t the most important part of our new lives. I made more money before, but I’m richer now in so many other ways.” Read Mike’s story here.
When it comes to rich experiences, you really can dream big. You might think a retirement on a sailboat is the prerogative of the very wealthy. But, as we show you in this month’s feature story, that’s not necessarily the case. You could cruise the sapphire waters of the Caribbean, the Pacific, or the Mediterranean…and do it for less than it costs you to stay home.
Most folks assume a retirement in Europe’s culture-rich corners is a prohibitively expensive endeavor, but don’t be so sure. Tricia A. Mitchell uncovers the allure of Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast, where you can enjoy its wild beaches, ancient history, vibrant festivals, and a home with a sea view from $115,000. Go here to read her full article. And part-time expat Carol Barron pulls back the curtain and shares her insider tips for spending a few months at a time in Nice, Barcelona, and Florence—on the same modest budget she maintains when she’s in Florida.
If living “rich” is all about experience, Cambodia offers a wealth of rewards. Derek Howell pays just $355 a month for his apartment in Phnom Penh—but that’s not the best reason to retire there, he contends. “The whole point of traveling and living overseas is to see something unexpected and experience a totally different culture.” He’s doing both—savoring the art, music, and history of his new overseas home—and doing it, conveniently, for pennies on the dollar. His full story can be found here.
My expat life in Madrid is almost perfect. The weather, wine, food, cost of living, and public transportation suit me just fine. This sophisticated city has given me a wealth of friends. Artists, actors, professors, architects, and scientists populate my social...
Crossing one bridge beyond Florence’s Ponte Vecchio, then a short climb along cobblestone streets to the hilltop Piazzale Michelangelo, my expat friends and I tucked in at our favorite outdoor café—readying for nature’s dazzling sunset overture...
A cool ocean breeze on whitesand beaches…crimson sunsets and unspoiled islands… If you visited Cambodia’s southwestern coast in the 1960s you would have savored those things, and—if you knew the right people—you could have attended glitzy...
We live on a yacht that is designed, equipped, and capable of going pretty much anywhere we would want to go on earth,” says Charles Buelher. “Existing almost completely ‘off the grid’ in a region of the world that is much safer, more relaxed...
While most people only dream of sipping piña coladas, dancing to steel drums, and swimming in warm, sapphire waters during their retirement, Fran and Dave Taylor took action to make their sailing retirement come true. They bought a sailboat...
There’s a city in Mexico’s central highlands that looks like a painter’s palette: the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende. Everywhere you look, there’s color. The sky’s a brilliant shade of blue. Buildings painted in candy colors—green, pink, yellow...
Alot of investors like to think of themselves as “contrarian.” But in practice, most investors shy away when it comes to pulling the trigger on a truly contrarian investment opportunity. It's only human...It's hard to defy everyone else and conquer your...
When Sue McGovern Downward first arrived in Cabo San Lucas, in Mexico’s Baja California Sur, 21 years ago, she realized right off the bat that she was missing something. “I couldn’t get a good cup of coffee anywhere. I was so desperate, I had to bring it with me from California.”...
Venice is a sight everyone should see at least once in their life. Gondolas weave through a maze of canals, while the dappled reflection of sunlight highlights ornate Renaissance footbridges. Polished teak water taxis tie up in front of 15th-century...
A woman dressed in black from head to toe meanders on the road before me, an ancient rough-hewn stick in her hand. Her bovine companions moo and low, their flanks swaying rhythmically as she speaks gruffly to them, urging this one to hurry...