Glynna Prentice
Glynna Prentice, IL’s Mexico editor, got the travel bug at an early age. After traveling around the U.S. with her family as a child, she took on Europe during college, and returned to work as a field archaeologist in England before graduate school. Later stints abroad included working in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in international banking, and in Spain working as a strategic consultant for Price Waterhouse.
Most recently, Glynna lived in New York City, where she worked in health care information with a major internet health care portal. She now makes her home in Campeche, Mexico, on the Yucatán Peninsula.
Glynna attended college at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, and also holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Google+
Articles by Glynna Prentice
Sandra Ward was introduced to the idea of living in Mexico early. The love of the country followed her for 45 years…into retirement. Sandra’s journey to Mexico began in 1952, when she was just a girl.
Recently some friends in the U.S. emailed me to say that they were planning a short trip to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Cancun is a direct, four-hour flight from their East-Coast home, so they could be snorkeling in the Caribbean by early afternoon. That’s about as close to instant gratification as international travel gets. And it makes a three- or four-day mini-vacation very feasible.
In the months leading up to mid-February, I went to sleep frequently to the sound of music. It comes with the territory in Mexico. From Virgin of Guadalupe Day (December 12) right through to Epiphany (January 6), Mexico is one long fiesta: a time to loosen your belt, let down your hair, and party down. Mexicans jokingly refer to it as the “Guadalupe to Reyes (Epiphany) marathon.”
Although best known for epic mountain scenery and the magnificent remains of the ancient Inca empire, Peru has much more to offer. In this audio debrief IL Editor, Glynna Prentice, reveals what she discovered on her recent scouting trip.
I first visited Arequipa more than 20 years ago. Since then, Peru’s “white city” has lingered in my memory. I vividly recall the taxi drive into town from the airport back then. The day was warm, dry and sunny, and I saw the perfect cone of El Misti rising in the distance. Alone on a vast plain, the volcano dominated the skyline of the city’s Spanish-colonial heart.
As the plane sets course toward the mainland I spy the blue Caribbean below. The water is so crystal-clear that I can see the rocks and sand along the seabed. Belize’s little commuter airplanes are the best way to appreciate the diversity of this small Caribbean country. From the air you appreciate the beauty—and isolation—of its white-sand cayes and the rolling green hills of its jungle interior.
There’s been a lot of talk this year about the Mayan apocalypse, due to take place tomorrow—December 21. Whatever happens, I figure I’m pretty much at ground zero for it: I live in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, home to the Mayans.
Belize, the little Central-American nation, casts a spell—especially on those with a spirit of adventure. Attractions include the warm, English-speaking people, the natural beauty and the air of freedom and opportunity. A young country (only independent from Great Britain since 1981), Belize has a low population and plenty of empty, wide-open spaces.
These days Caye Caulker, a five-mile-long island off Belize’s Caribbean coast, has the laid-back, beach-bum vibe that brought expats to nearby Ambergris Caye 20 years ago. The streets on Caye Caulker are still packed sand. Most people get around by bicycle. And for those who come here, life is all about the water.
I arrived in Caye Caulker, Belize by water taxi from Ambergris Caye, as many people do. The trip takes half an hour, costs $7.50, and is worth the money—skimming across the Caribbean’s blue waves, you can watch the island’s white-sand shores, fringed with palms, gradually grow closer. This approach also drives home a reality of life here: On Caye Caulker, you really are away from it all.
When Chicago native Lee Nyhus first visited Placencia, Belize, 16 years ago she loved the small-village feel and the people. “I felt right at home after just a few days,” she says. Farther south in Punta Gorda, expat Jo Audinett tells a similar story: “I’m one of those people who came for a week and never left! After five years I still call it home.”
On a recent visit to Belize’s Cayo District, near the border with Guatemala, I found something interesting happening… It wasn’t the low prices—I expected those. The Cayo has long been popular with expats for its low cost of living, and it lived up to its reputation. In and around the town of San Ignacio, where most expats live, I saw a number of small homes renting for $400 to $600 a month…
Lots of tourists to Belize never make it to little Punta Gorda. It’s just a bit too far off the beaten path for most folks. PG, as it’s called, is way down in southern Belize. It’s small (only about 5,500 people), and—although it’s right on the Caribbean—there isn’t much beach. Yet it’s one of my favorite places in the whole country. And if you love nature, it probably will be one of your favorites, too… Sea and sky seem to go on forever here. And inland is lush green jungle, just waiting to be explored.
Caribbean, English speaking…just two of the reasons Belize is attracting more expats than ever before. Listen now as IL Editor Glynna Prentice reveals what she discovered on her recent mission to this little Central American nation.
Café Tal “was born of the need for decent coffee in Guanajuato,” says the 53-year-old from Tucson, Arizona—a classic case of spotting a need and satisfying it. Today Café Tal, in operation for nearly eight years, is a favorite with both locals and expats. But Greg didn’t start out planning to be a coffee mogul.
These days Caye Caulker, a five-mile-long island off Belize’s Caribbean coast, has the laid-back, beach-bum vibe that brought expats to nearby Ambergris Caye 20 years ago. The streets on Caye Caulker are still packed sand. Most people get around by bicycle. And for those who come here, life is all about the water. Small-town, island beach life isn’t for everyone. But if it’s for you…
Over a million North American expats call Mexico home. They come for its many beautiful beaches, its Spanish-colonial cities (where many expats choose to renovate colonial homes), its rich culture, its laid-back way of life… and a cost of living that can be half of what it is in the U.S.
Little, English-speaking Belize packs a lot into a small package: beaches, mountains, savannahs, a diverse cultural mix, and friendly people. Plus it has a familiar legal system—British common law—and is one of the best banking and tax havens in the world. No wonder so many expats choose to Belize It!
Civilized, stable Chile offers miles of beach, rugged wilderness, and charming resort towns offering every amenity of First-World living—without the stress. Choose among chic beach towns, Alpine-like mountain resorts, and lakeside living. Chile has them all….
Bordered by the sea and the rugged Pyrenees, northern Spain is green, fertile, and prosperous. Tiny villages, their stone houses climbing the hillsides, take you back centuries in time, while cities like Bilbao and San Sebastian offer the best in urban living.
Q: “What will I do for health care if I move abroad?” A: You’ll have a range of affordable options open to you, from paying out of pocket (yes, it’s that cheap) to several types of health insurance—some costing as little as about $300 a year.
Over a million North American expats call Mexico home. They come for its many beautiful beaches, its Spanish-colonial cities (where many expats choose to renovate colonial homes), its rich culture, its laid-back way of life… and a cost of living that can be half of what it is in the U.S.
Over a million North American expats call Mexico home. They come for its many beautiful beaches, its Spanish-colonial cities (where many expats choose to renovate colonial homes), its rich culture, its laid-back way of life… and a cost of living that can be half of what it is in the U.S.
Little, English-speaking Belize packs a lot into a small package: beaches, mountains, savannahs, a diverse cultural mix, and friendly people. Plus it has a familiar legal system—British common law—and is one of the best banking and tax havens in the world. No wonder so many expats choose to Belize It!
Little, English-speaking Belize packs a lot into a small package: beaches, mountains, savannahs, a diverse cultural mix, and friendly people. Plus it has a familiar legal system—British common law—and is one of the best banking and tax havens in the world. No wonder so many expats choose to Belize It!
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