Do you have a specific location abroad where you think you might like to move full- or part-time?
We here at International Living recommend you rent there for as long as practical before you buy.
Of course, if you’re after a pure investment in a hot market, this doesn’t apply. Buy when the deal is right.
But if you’re going to make your home somewhere, it’s a good idea to test whether it actually meets your expectations first, before you plunk money down on a piece of property.
I’ve seen people fall in love with a place on their first visit and hate it on their second. I’ve seen people suffer through the first week of a two-week stay like it was a prison sentence, and by the end of the second week refuse to leave.
I wouldn’t advise you make a buying decision in either one of those circumstances.
Falling in or out of love with a place is not a rational process. No amount of formal research will change that. Sooner or later, you get a gut feeling about a place–no matter what your research tells you–and that only happens after some time on the ground there.
Rentals Overseas: How Long?
How much time? It depends. It could be a month, two months, six months, a year. It’s a personal thing. But the object in renting before you buy is to be in a place long enough to get that gut feeling for yourself.
And keep in mind that no country is a homogenous mass. For example, I’ve talked to many people who think they want to move to Ecuador. But the feeling you get in the historic mountain metropolis of Quito is completely different than the feeling you get in the mountain town of Vilcabamba, which is different than the mountain town of Cotacachi, which is different than the coastal town of Manta, which is different than the coastal town of Bahia or Mananita or San Felipe… etc., etc.
So your best bet may be to take your most-educated guess about the town you think will suit you best. (We can help you do this with our Owner’s Manuals, each of which explores many regions of a given country and recommends this place or that for specific reasons. All the Manuals are on sale now here.)
So rent in your “best guess” spot for a couple of months–or more–to start with, perhaps. And with that temporary “home base” secured, travel. Take some time to visit other places you think may suit you, too. Poke around. Stay for at least a few days in each destination and try those other options on for size. What you discover may surprise you. And you may decide to go spend another month or two someplace else to give another town a “test-drive.”
Rentals Overseas: Where to Rent?
Keep in mind, too, that neighborhoods have their own personalities as well (just as they do at home). So come to a new place prepared to explore. Here in Merida where I live, there are dozens of neighborhoods, each with its own character and feeling. One person might be happy as a clam in an old townhouse in La Hermita. Another might be happier right next door in San Antonio, or up in Santa Lucia, or out in one of the modern suburbs up north.
It’s all very relative, and very subjective. The only way to get the feeling is…to get the feeling. And the only way to get the feeling is to be there long enough.
You’ll know it when you feel it. And given enough time, you’ll know it’s the real thing and not “margarita madness” or a vacation romance.
And if you wake up one morning with the feeling that a place isn’t right for you, it’s better to do it in a rental than in the place you just sank your nest egg into.
Stay happy and healthy,
Dan Prescher
Publisher, International Living
P.S. Each of our Owner’s Manuals–on Mexico, Ecuador, Panama, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Brazil, France, Italy–includes great on-the-ground intelligence about renting locally. You’ll find our contacts in each town we recommend as well as our guidance about where to go and when. And right now, all the Owner’s Manuals are 20% off as part of our May Madness Giveaway. But only for four more days. On Sunday at midnight the prices go back up. So grab your Owner’s Manual now–while you can still save–and get all the rental know-how you need for finding your own temporary haven in one of the hundreds of beautiful, good-value destinations we recommend all over the world.
To read more IL articles about rentals overseas, see:
How We’re Lining up Rental Income Overseas
Buy a European Castle for $170,000…or Rent for $25 [subscribers only]
