To quote a line from the popular Game of Thrones: “Winter is coming.” The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are dropping, snow boots and warm coats will soon find their way out of the closet.
But what if you could escape the winter? What if you could find a place where you can sip cocktails at a beach bar as the sun blazes overhead and warm turquoise waters lap at your feet? A tropical retirement is often seen as a privilege of the rich, alone. Not so. When you know where to go, you can enjoy year-round sunshine—or, indeed, whatever climate suits your tastes—for a lot less than you’ll spend at home.
In this month’s cover story (you can read it here), we investigate three warm-weather retirement havens that offer true Caribbean living, but at a low cost. Of his life on the island of Roatán, expat Kendall Beymer says; “I have lived throughout the Caribbean, and Roatán clearly provides the best overall value for my money.” IL Roving Latin America Editor Jason Holland says of the Dominican Republic: “On the north coast, you can get a furnished, walk-to-the-beach, two-bedroom condo, in a good location for $400 and up.” And on Mexico’s tiny Isla Mujeres, IL Mexico Correspondent Don Murray says, “Expats can enjoy an affordable island retirement in casual, Caribbean comfort.”
While the northern hemisphere prepares for freezing conditions, countries in the southern hemisphere are gearing up for summer. On the tranquil outskirts of cosmopolitan Medellin, Colombia (where temperatures are a comfortable 75 F year-round), Nancy Kiernan has been checking out the price of real estate in the city’s charming pueblos, small communities outside the metropolis. “The value you get for your money, whether buying or renting, is notable,” says Nancy. “A five-bedroom house in one of these towns is on the market for just $122,000.” Read Nancy’s full report.
Also in the southern hemisphere, Walter Rhein lives in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where a couple can live comfortably on $2,000 to $3,000 a month. And there’s no dealing with extreme weather. Walters says, “The climate is mild year-round, not like norther Wisconsin, where you’re dealing with 30 below.”
Panama offers similar perks—warm beaches, cooler highlands, and not a snowflake anywhere. Cliff and Yvonne Bullis moved there in 2016. “We were looking for a place that has no heat, no snow, and is affordable,” Yvonne says. They found all that in the country’s Chiriqui province. Read their story here.
This winter, you really can ditch the ice scraper and colossal heating bills. This month, we’ll point you to all sorts of good-value spots where it’s possible—and for less than it would cost to stay put.
Time and again, I get asked the question, “Can I take my U.S. Medicare coverage with me when I move overseas?” It’s a simple question, but the answer is a little more complex. In effect, the answer is: Yes. But to figure out how, we need to look at things in a bit more detail...
Picture yourself comfortably cruising through rolling fields of green tea bushes, discovering exotic, weather-worn wooden temples, walking amid Japanese World Heritage sites, and falling asleep at night after a long soak in a natural hot spring. I've done it, so can you...
Visitors and residents alike will tell you that the beach town of Sámara, and the surrounding area, is one of Costa Rica’s most beautiful stretches of coastline. After my recent trip exploring this scenic Pacific coast town (population 4,105), I agree. Relatively undeveloped, Sámara still feels like a small fishing and farming village...
Avoiding the Caribbean clichés of steel drum bands and flocks of hair braiders working crowded beaches, Roatán, in the Caribbean Sea just off the coast of Honduras, stands alone. Rising nearly 1,000 feet above the perpetually warm waters, this tiny tropical jewel is covered with lush jungle flowing up steep hillsides, across sheer ravines, and blanketing broad valleys...
When I told friends and acquaintances that I was headed to the Dominican Republic, many broke into wide grins and mentioned they’d visited…and loved it. Invariably, though, they’d been to beach resorts, mostly in the resort area of Punta Cana. I was more interested in seeing where you could live at the beach, long term, comfortably...
So you’ve decided to buy a property and plan to rent it out to make some short-term rental income? Smart move: Real estate that gives you top dollar and consistent rental income will pay for itself…and then deliver pure profit. But how do you make sure that you will make the maximum rental income possible? Follow these essential tips and steps and you can both charge more and expect greater occupancy...
Agaggle of Danish bankers, including my friend Thomas, and I were celebrating my birthday. I had arranged a celebration at Restaurant Mêlée, a petite Michelin Guide eatery in Copenhagen that seats only a handful of diners. Thomas saw the wine cabinet, nudged me, and said, “Go pick out something.” And so I did…
When Ruth Mahoney and her husband, James Wilson, came to Cuenca, Ecuador, in 2014 to do mission work, they immediately fell in love with everything about it. They decided they wanted to stay. “It’s a beautiful city and the people are very welcoming,” Ruth says. “There is a great cultural life and expat community. I enjoy viewing the architecture and speaking with the local people.”
Panama is home to a rainforest, two mountain ranges, a volcano, 13 national parks, 900 species of birds, and one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. So how do you see Panama in just three days? First, it helps to have a game plan if you only have a long weekend to experience this country. Though Panama is only about the size of South Carolina, there’s a lot packed into it...
With an estimated 89 million travelers crossing her borders, France was the most visited country in the world in 2017. I’ve been living in this delightful country since 2010 and have been fortunate to visit many of its regions. So this news hardly came as a big surprise. Wherever you decide to go in France, you’ll find that every corner is beautiful...