The phrase “the world is getting smaller” gets bandied about a lot these days. But I believe the opposite is true. With information about destinations all around the globe literally at our fingertips, the options for travel and overseas living are broader than ever. Faster and cheaper flights, low-cost accommodation providers like Airbnb, and money-saving travel tips that are shared online has made it easier than ever to explore all the options out there for travel and overseas living.
Take Eric and Larisa Hungerford. They loved to travel but were tired of short vacations overseas. So in 2017 they embarked on a roving retirement. They spent some time in Penang, Malaysia before heading to Malta and Vietnam is next on the list. Choosing where to go is half the fun: “We get to flip a coin and pick a place off our bucket list,” Eric says.
Although the world is getting bigger, we are more interconnected than ever before when overseas. With email, Skype, and good internet in most places around the world, it’s easy to stay in touch with family…and work from anywhere (I’m writing this note in the charming northern Thai city of Chiang Mai). John Williams had spent most of his life hundreds of miles from the sea, so when he moved to Ecuador with his daughter, he chose the small Pacific Coast beach town of Santa Marianita. “Living on the ocean in the middle of the planet has been a new and exhilarating adventure,” John says. John is still a licensed mortgage loan officer and is supplementing his Social Security by doing work for clients in the U.S. “Even in a little fishing village, I have fiber optic internet service,” he says.
Here at International Living, we are always looking to make the overseas retirement world bigger. Our on-the-ground correspondents are always exploring and seeking out new and interesting retirement havens. This month, IL France Correspondent Stewart Richmond shares what he found on a recent trip to the southern French city of Perpignan, a place where two European cultures collide. “This is the place to be if you can’t decide whether you want to live in France or in Spain,” he says.
It’s a big world out there, filled with all new adventures and experiences for your overseas retirement. Turn the page to start exploring…
It is mid-morning and I am sitting in bright sunshine, sipping my café and munching my croque monsieur alongside a tree-lined canal. Life in France in doesn’t get any better than this. I am in Perpignan, mainland France’s southernmost city. This is the place to be if you can’t decide whether you want to live Read more...: France, Spain, Catalonia: They Come Together in Perpignan
Pristine, palm-fringed beaches where the sand sparkles in the midday sun, the water so clear and warm that it’s hard to tell if you’re in up to your ankles or knees. Rainforests, waterfalls, mountains, pretty villages, colonial cityscapes, mercados stacked with just-picked tropical fruits, humpbacks breaching on the horizon, raucous fiestas, bright breakfast bars, the Read more...: Costa Rica’s Many Faces: Find the One That’s Right for You
Pull up a map of Spain and Portugal’s southern coasts. Now draw a thick line from Málaga, in Spain, to Lagos, in Portugal. This line rolls through some of Europe’s prime resort and second-home destinations…Marbella and Puerto Banús in Spain, and Quinta do Lago, Vilamoura, and Lagos in Portugal. Your line will cover many dozens Read more...: Finding True Beachfront Luxury in Southern Spain
Sometimes when you’re in the midst of an economic crisis, you can feel it. People are visibly anxious. Restaurants are quiet. Stores can’t keep the basics in stock. There’s an eerie quiet at construction sites. I’ve seen all this before. But I didn’t see that when I recently visited Turkey. Things seemed strangely normal. Markets Read more...: Why Turkey Is the Emerging Market for Another Day
“The first day of the rest of my life” was the note in my calendar for that day in September 2017. I was a 67-year-old retired man, and my co-adventurer was my 35-year-old daughter Jaye. We had each individually traveled on exploratory trips to Mexico, Ecuador, Roatán, and Belize. But after some unexpected family challenges, Read more...: Healthy Routine and a Steady Income in Coastal Ecuador
As grand feats of engineering go, few projects can compete with the ambition and grandeur of the Panama Canal. The 51-mile-long navigation artery sees around 18,000 vessels—from gargantuan container ships and cruise liners right down to single-berth sailboats—threading the needle between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans every year. And the scenery along the way, both Read more...: Cruise the Panama Canal Without a Boat of Your Own
“If you don’t drink, you are either sick or a spy,” said Lviv-born Ivanka. What could I do? I didn’t want to blow my cover. She introduced me to some handmade liqueurs—sour cherry visnjevaca and horseradish horilka. We clinked our glasses and shouted the Ukrainian toast Bud’mo! “We will live for always!” This happened at Read more...: Lviv: The Nicest European City You’ve Never Heard Of
Located on the glittering Bay of Banderas midway down Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Puerto Vallarta is one of the most popular resort towns in all of Mexico. People flock to the beachfronts and cobblestone streets of its ornate old town center for hot weather, dramatic scenery, and vibrant culture. Founded as a fishing village in 1851, Read more...: On the Trail of the Iguana Through Puerto Vallarta
If Hawaii and Ireland had a love child, the Azores is how the baby might look. The nine-island archipelago is located almost 1,000 miles from mainland Portugal. Columbus stopped here in 1492 on his famous journey. Round-the-world sailors still do. The capital, Ponta Delgada, is a short 4.5-hour flight from Boston, Providence, or New York. Read more...: Exploring the Green Azores—Europe’s Subtropical Garden
When landowner Walter Barton May’s wife left him for a neighbor, he took extreme measures. Built in the mid-18th century, the 175-foot Gothic-style Hadlow Tower was May’s perch to keep an eye on the couple, at least according to local folklore in Kent, England. Hadlow Tower is a prime example of a folly, an extravagant, Read more...: Homes With Unexpected Extras