Eoin Bassett
Some IL editors live the dream, others weave it together. Eoin manages the production of International Living magazine from the Waterford office, Ireland. He’s a seasoned editor and traveler who has written from Mexico, Cuba, Spain and France. After traveling the length and breathe of Turkey and a six-month sojourn in a Swiss village (he still misses the cheese), he returned to his native Ireland to take up a post with IL. When not writing from the road or editing magazines, Eoin makes ale by the gallon and drinks it by the glass, indulges his passion for fly fishing and plays the sax badly.
He has brought his practical skills into the classroom to teach journalism, and holds an MA in Journalism and a BA in History and Classical Studies.
Articles by Eoin Bassett
“There is something amazing about the medical system here, and something not quite right with ours,” says Shane Simons, who moved to the tropical island of Penang, Malaysia, eight months ago from Los Angeles. “My doctor in L.A. told me I needed a mole removed from my neck. I was in his waiting room for 45 minutes and his consulting room for 45 seconds.
In honor of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day I have a tip to share… The pub is central to Irish social life. It’s waned a bit in importance (you won’t find every funeral and wedding there these days) but it’s still the one institution that makes a visit to the Emerald Isle unique. And to truly immerse yourself like a local find yourself a “lock in.”
Ireland is a fisherman’s dream. As your flight descends you see its glittering lakes, sometimes large, sometimes secret and small. Lazy rivers meander through green fields toward the wave-lashed coast. Countless spring-fed streams tumble and rush from high in the wild mountains.
We look at everything a country has to offer when compiling IL’s Annual Retirement Index. We ask expats the important questions, like: What is the cost of living really like? Or: How easy is it to integrate into the local culture?
One business opportunity led to another, and today his success overseas means that Kevin enjoys the flexibility to live in a place he loves (the weather is spring-like year-round) and spend four months every year traveling. He is just one of many expats who has found that opportunity knocks loudest when your boots are on the ground abroad.
“You see a picture of a boat, carry it around with you…that’s my boat you say, and you do what you have to do to buy it,” says Nick Symes. Nick’s been brokering houseboat sales in London ever since he piloted his own Belgian barge across the English Channel and up the Thames, and renovated her into his own riverboat dream home. And I’m a romantic, too. I’ve only been in London for a day…
Slow down, smile, and unwind, because this is what village life is all about. I’m leaning on a moss-covered stone wall admiring a patch of juicy strawberries and watching sparrows root in the loamy soil. Woodsmoke carries on the breeze, along with the rhythmic sound of someone splitting logs. Time has taken one giant step back.
Boat dwellers are not the same as landlubbers. For a start, you may really like your condo, but you’re not likely to describe it as “a love affair.” And buying a houseboat starts with love at first sight. “You see a picture of a boat, carry it around with you…that’s my boat you say, and you do what you have to do to buy it,” says Nick Symes.
500,000 visitors will come to London for the Olympics this month. Below are some other diversions to enjoy when you’re not at the Olympics. Olympic mania comes in the form of a “gentleman’s day out” in London. You’ll discover where to follow the bankers for cocktails at 7:00 a.m., the best barber for a shave, where to buy a good cigar or special-order a shotgun…
Big cities like New York, Shanghai and Sao Paolo, Brazil, all have their temptations. But there’s no better place in the world for a fellow to indulge himself than where the very concept of a “gentleman” was first thought up—London. This is where cigars, shotguns and suits are still sold to royalty by the longest-established specialists of their kind in the world. You just need to know where to go…
The interiors are as opulent as any of England’s great houses, dark wood panelling, heavy curtains, comfortable leather chairs and marble floors and pillars. Banquets are held, private bars serve the finest spirits and members can stay the night in comfortable rooms.
Back in the 1880’s there were over 400 gentleman’s clubs in London. In fact, it was difficult to call yourself a “gentleman” if you weren’t a member of at least one. These days you won’t find so many, but there are still at least 100 providing havens for their members across the city.
Your issue this month is jam-packed with new discoveries, savvy insider tips, and bargain-hunted real estate. Suzan Haskins goes off the gringo trail and explores one of Ecuador’s prettiest and most livable cities. With a rich history, modern clinics and hospitals, great shopping, and a stunning colonial center, it’s a surprise that Loja wasn’t discovered before now… Alison Talbert knew nothing about Ecuador when she first went there and started making money. On page 14 this month she reveals how just taking a vacation to the country’s highland market towns can turn you a profit.
“This is frontier country… You won’t find much here. Starbucks hasn’t made it, and there’s no Home Depot. But you will find an open door to immediate residency in Panama,” writes IL Offshore expert, Bob Bauman, in your May issue of International Living magazine. Bob explores an opportunity in Panama’s Darien province and reveals the ideal visa if you want to live in Panama, but don’t qualify as a retiree, or you want to avoid the process needed for an investor’s visa.
Despite the early hour, Kurdish villagers are laughing merrily in the tea rooms around the city’s cattle market. The morning is cool and scented with rain. As I lift our bags onto the train I see that a family of Yörük nomads has pitched its tent opposite the station. The women are out front picking through wool shorn from their small flock. They’ll use this to weave the carpets sold in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul…which is where we’re headed.
At home, prices are rising. It costs more to put gas in the car, buy groceries, and pay for health insurance. At the same time, retirement savings eroded in the market downturn. And with interest rates at near-zero today, it’s difficult to rebuild. More than ever, retirees need to stretch their dollars.
Whether you’re looking for a country cottage for $150,000, a downtown pad for $130,000, or a place in small-town Ireland for $80,000…for the moment, these “fire sale” auctions are where to go. On the shores of Lough Sillan in County Cavan, there’s a four-bedroom pinewood lodge with an open-plan living area, a kitchen, sitting room, and bathroom.
Among the sloping fields and rush-covered hills of Ireland’s “Drumlin Country” are thousands of lakes—big and small. In good weather, they glitter like jewels, and on wet days shine bog- black. You can see why the Celts thought of them as gateways to the underworld, although today you’re more likely to see a jet ski or fishing boat than a druid.
Months ago, our far-flung editors and in-country advisers began collecting all the data and details that inform our just-released Global Retirement Index 2012. For the Index, we narrow down the countries we focus on to the top 19, and consider each across eight crucial categories: real estate, special retirement benefits, cost of living, ease of integration, entertainment and amenities, health care, retirement infrastructure and climate.
The country that takes the number-one spot in the Annual Global Retirement Index 2012 is also the clear winner in our cost of living category. A couple watching their spending here can live well on $800 a month.
You haven’t come to Ireland if you don’t see a traditional music session, and there are plenty offered up for tourists in the Templebar quarter and beyond. But what no one knows is that just five minutes walk from there, behind the city’s famous Four Courts building, you’ll find the real thing.
No matter where you choose to live in the country that takes top honors in IL’s 2012 Annual Global Retirement Index, there is no better retirement haven in the world. Across all eight of our crucial categories it scores strongly. It outright wins two.
One of Europe’s 10 most visited cities, Dublin’s many museums, quirky tours (from literary …
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