Eoin Bassett
Articles by Eoin Bassett
“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.
There are good reasons for a second passport…travel is easier, opening offshore bank accounts is simpler, and you could end your U.S. tax liabilities…
Your heritage might make getting one easy – just apply if your grandma or grandpa were Irish for instance – but if you’re not so lucky there is another way. Some countries will sell you citizenship, as IL Offshore expert Bob Bauman reveals in your issue this month.
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.
Jessica has been on the road, exploring the best of Panama’s “close-in” havens. And in your February issue she reveals the places you’ll enjoy stunning natural beauty, yet have the modern amenities of Panama City on your doorstep… Farther north and closer to home, IL Mexico Editor, Glynna Prentice, discovers big discounts on beach-town properties in beautiful Baja California. Lisa Marie Mercer moved to the coastal town of Atlantida, Uruguay, to benefit her health, but she’s staying for the affordability and quality of life. In your issue this month she explains how much she saves on health care and what she likes most about her friendly, convenient new home.
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.
Look at the right places beyond our borders today, and you’ll find you have more good choices than ever for a comfortable—even a pampered—retirement. In any one of our top 19 havens for 2012, a lifestyle well beyond your reach in the States could be yours for pennies on the dollar.
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.
In your issue this month we bring you choices—the 19 top retirement havens on the planet today.
There’s no better way to start the year. In any one of our top havens for 2012, a lifestyle well beyond your reach in the States could be yours for pennies on the dollar.
Pick from among beachfront hideaways, arts-rich colonial cities, cosmopolitan capitals, and small highland villages. Whatever it is, there’s an overseas haven to fit your fantasy…and your budget.
After months of planning and hard work it’s finally ready…your new and super-improved online International Living magazine. Of course you’ll still receive your print issue every month…that goes without saying…
But this is something special, something extra for you.
One of Europe’s 10 most visited cities, Dublin’s many museums, quirky tours (from literary …
It might be a palapa bar on a white-sand beach, deep-sea fishing tours, a restaurant, a surf shop… Whatever your idea, there’s a place overseas where you can make it a profitable reality. But readers ask us all the time: Where is best? That’s why we’ve put together International Living’s first-ever Business Index.
Maybe it’s a palapa bar on a white-sand beach, deep sea fishing tours, a restaurant, a surf shop, teaching English, making cheese or exporting art work…
Whatever your idea, there’s a place overseas where you can make it a profitable reality and live better for less. That’s why this year, we’ve put together International Living’s first-ever Business Index.
“I was a California business owner and completely stressed out by all the laws, regulations, and the failing economy. Plus, I had a dream of living in a different country that was culturally stimulating. Overall, I just didn’t feel in control of my destiny in the States, and I felt there must be a better way.” There was a better way, and Sharon found it in Belize.
“First-World infrastructure, an honest culture, a beach-strewn coast, and a heartland of small cities and towns with cobblestone streets and historic stone homes… a place where gauchos still tend their herds on the rolling pampas, as they have for centuries…”
In this month’s issue of International Living Lee Harrison takes us on a tour of Uruguay, a 21st-century safe haven, a place where you can live beachside for $1,424 a month, and where expats are now arriving in record numbers… Find out what he’s learned living in the “Europe of South America” on page 18 of your issue.
In the right places overseas, you can live well without burning through your retirement nest egg. Where? I’ve told you about some of them already this month—the top-ranking countries in International Living’s Annual Global Retirement Index. All a perfect mix of culture, climates and lifestyles.
Not only does Ecuador have one of the world’s best climates…lowest costs of living…and top-notch medical care at up to one-tenth the cost of the U.S… But it also has a little-known retirement program that could save you thousands of dollars a year.
This month, International Living released its Annual Global Retirement Index 2011. To rank our winners this year, we analyzed 37 critical data points for each of our top 23 retirement havens. As usual, Panama is a heavy hitter, taking one of the top 3 spots.
Although the country is known for its beaches, the majority of foreigners who move to Costa Rica tend to settle in the Central Valley…near, but definitely not in…the chaotic capital city of San Jose.
The Annual Global Retirement Index is 12 months in the making. Rivers of data, facts, figures, and numbers are crunched, analyzed, and distilled to a perfect list of, this year, the 23 best places to retire in the world.
Do You Know Where a “Car Payment” Could Fund Your Whole Life?In the right places overseas, what you’d pay for a typical car payment… could fund your whole life. Sign up for our free daily Postcard e-letter, and we'll immediately send you a FREE research report to help you find your perfect, affordable retirement destination. . |
