From pioneering as an early-in expat in a place just coming onto the scene to enjoying a soft landing in a well established locale where expats on the ground already have day-to-day life figured out—you have choices today. Lots of them—and they tend to lay out along a continuum, as new spots open up…
In Belize, for example, there’s a newly paved road from San Pedro toward
the bohemian artists’ hamlet of Secret Beach. All of a sudden, Secret Beach is abuzz. Access is easier now, amenities are following, and businesses are setting up. Sure, there will always be those who will wish it was all still a secret, but there are plenty who welcome the opening up of this new locale, too.
You can take that same idea and apply it to a larger arena. From the gleaming boulevards of Paris to the barefoot chic of Koh Phangan, Thailand, there are spots where things are taking off…as well as sleepy, tranquil places where nothing ever seems to change. Figuring out where you’ll be most comfortable on that continuum is one of the joys of a move abroad. You get to choose.
Take Panama, for starters. It’s been welcoming expats for decades, it has a whole range of living options to choose from, and they’re way up the luxury scale. Our Panama Editor Jessica Ramesch plots it out for you: “This is today’s Panama. Warm and tropical. Modern and surprisingly wealthy. In a word, comfortable.”
But if you’re more of a pioneering type, the world is also full of
options for a life where you’re free to forge your own path. Take Paul Beckman, who worked all over the world on IT contracts, but found everything he was looking for in the city of Arequipa, in southern Peru. Right now, it’s pretty undiscovered from an expat point of view, but
Paul’s sitting on a slice of land outside the city where he reckons the path of progress will be rolling some good luck his way soon: “The hotels will be arriving in three or four years…it will be ripe for plunder.”
The wonderful thing about relocating abroad is that, if you get itchy feet, you’re not locked in forever. As IL Riviera Maya Correspondent Don Murray puts it, “There are many places where you can build your new life and pursue your dreams…significant numbers can be found that meet nearly all of your primary needs and wants.”
All you have to do is get out there. In these pages each month, we show you where to go…
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Few countries conjure the kind of romantic images that Ireland does. The mind immediately fills with images of rolling green hills and quaint villages, like the pictures you’ve seen on innumerable postcards and travel magazine pages. It also evokes the idea of simpler times and slower living. But is Ireland really like that? Well, it Read more...: Is Ireland Really Like That? A Californian Couple Finds Out
Everyone has their own healthcare strategy, particularly when they become an expat. That said, I want to offer my top five reasons I believe everyone, including full-time expats, should enroll in Part A and Part B of Medicare as soon as they become eligible. Medicare is an endless maze of rules and regulations, but at Read more...: Five Reasons Why Expats Should Enroll in Medicare
While we wait for the boat to pull away from the dock, we pose in our orange lifejackets. The breeze is whipping our hair into our faces, and the sun is shining brightly. The ocean varies from intense sapphire to a crystal clear aqua. There’s exuberant greenery along the shore, and the striking city skyline Read more...: The Perks of Not Being a Pioneer: Enjoying Ease and Comfort in Panama
In 2011, I uncovered an amazing deal: 7,500 acres of land with almost four miles of virgin white-sand Caribbean beach and 11 miles or so fronting a lagoon. It was perfect for land banking for future development. I went back and forth with the seller for quite a while…and he eventually dropped his asking price Read more...: The Future of Real Estate is on the Blockchain
No doubt that now is a challenging moment to think about buying stocks—especially those overseas. The coronavirus has stirred global panic and will likely slow the world economy, particularly the two primary engines of growth: the U.S. and China. But like all crises, this, too, shall pass. I don’t write that to be dismissive or Read more...: Where and Why to Look Beyond Wall Street
Paul Beckman, 70, is no stranger to living abroad. As a computer engineer, he has worked on IT contracts in various countries around the world, from France to Hong Kong to Belarus. Although he originally hails from Iowa, he spent eight years in Seattle, Washington, before recently retiring to Arequipa, Peru. It’s fair to say Read more...: A “Computer Guy” Switches Seattle for Peru
It was my first summer living in the South of France. My French was coming along, and, somewhere between bonjour and je ne sais quoi, I decided it was time to take the plunge. My husband, Nicolas, and I would attend our first summer festival. In the summertime, festivals spring up in the seaside villages Read more...: An Archetypal French Festival…Once We Found it
Initial impressions can be so telling. Within minutes of leaving the airport I sensed the dizzying scale of Madeira’s mountainous peaks and craggy cliffs. I saw houses surrounded by blazing bougainvillea and banana leaves, the vegetation offering clues as to what to expect. High-rise buildings on this mid-Atlantic Portuguese island are mercifully few. Instead, it’s Read more...: Indulgent Old World Luxury in Funchal, Madeira
As the sun dropped behind a ridge, the patchwork of brown and green fields and pastures a thousand feet below us faded into darkness. It was time to leave the overlook while we could still navigate the rough dirt roads down the hill and head back to camp, nestled in a narrow valley filled with Read more...: Happy Glamping in the Mountains of Mexico
It was 10 a.m. in Prague and I’d nearly finished my run, crossing the Svatopluk Cech Bridge toward the Jewish Quarter. I’d attempted to avoid the tourists I’d seen amassing on the nearby Legion Bridge I had crossed earlier. Yet, once over the river, I rounded a corner, finding myself on a narrow, packed street Read more...: Five Tips for European Travel Without the Crowds