Suzan Haskins
For the last decade, Suzan Haskins has been on the lookout for the best “best-of-all-worlds” places to call home…for International Living readers as well as for her husband, Dan Prescher, and herself.
During that time, they’ve traveled to nearly every country in Latin America and lived in Lake Chapala, San Miguel de Allende and Merida, Mexico; Quito and Cotacachi, Ecuador; Panama City, Panama; and San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. They’ve owned real estate in all of those countries, too, as well as in Argentina.
Suzan’s no neophyte to serial relocation. Born in Oklahoma, she grew up in Kansas, North Dakota, and New Jersey, before landing in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1976 where she spent 25 years, everyone of them chanting “not another winter here…”
In 2001, she and Dan hit the road and haven’t looked back since.
Articles by Suzan Haskins
Belize has a lot going for it. For a tiny country, it packs a big wallop when it comes to charm and scenery. For the would-be expat—especially if you’re looking for real value—there are many places that deserve your attention. Places where you can live the laid-back, Caribbean lifestyle of your dreams.
Nobody likes to think about taxes, and, if you’re like most people, you probably try to ignore them altogether until tax season rolls around each year. That strategy can cost you big time, especially if you’re living overseas or planning to move overseas this year, full- or part-time.
Our plane approaches the city just before sunset. Through wispy clouds, the sea below takes on a silvery shimmer… the sun strikes the sparkling water so that it appears to be a sea of white. We could be flying over Antarctica. Except for one thing I know to be true: it never, ever snows in Panama.
Last night we had cocktails overlooking the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal. For various (perhaps obvious) reasons, I can’t remember exactly how many ships passed through the canal, traveling in both directions. But there were a lot. Non-stop. I’m sure you know that the Canal is currently undergoing a massive expansion.
I’m Suzan Haskins, reporting from International Living’s 2013 Fast-Track Panama: Lifestyle and Opportunity Conference in Panama City.
With a love for Latin American culture and an itch to travel, Jaime Johnson struck out for Panama four years ago. His life took a turn when he met a “special someone”—and a year later he found himself living in her hometown of Bogota, Colombia. “That first year, I traveled throughout Colombia,” he recalls. “In Medellin I found one of the most progressive cities I’d ever visited.
Cynthia Collett recently celebrated her first anniversary in Ecuador, although she admits she had been working on this idea of “retiring overseas” for nearly a year before she actually made the move. “A friend came to Ecuador for a work-related conference,” Cynthia says. “And she told me I would absolutely love Cotacachi. “That’s when I started the Internet research. The more I read, the more I fell in love with the culture.”
For Janice and John-Marc Gallagher (ages 52 and 58) the opportunity was too good to pass up. They had moved to Granada, Nicaragua, in 2003 after spending almost seven years in Costa Rica. “We had fallen in love with Granada many years before,” Janice says. “So we moved there after we sold our business in Tamarindo.” And then life took a turn.
When my husband, Dan, and I were first married and first started thinking about living overseas, we pored over every issue of International Living and we read every International Living e-postcard. We compared and contrasted, planned and dreamed…Certain we would live in an exotic tropical destination, we wanted it to be relatively close to family and friends back home in the States…
In Ecuador, you can have it all…but it doesn’t come without sacrifice. At times, International Living is accused of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses… of overlooking the bad and omitting the blemishes. If you’ve been here in Quito the past few days, you surely would not agree with that.
You can study all the collected data, analyze real estate statistics, crunch the cost-of-living numbers, study weather patterns and more…but nothing surpasses your gut instinct when it comes to choosing a place to live. And believe me, your gut can change—especially as you get older.
“These are the best years we have left, and we don’t want to waste a single one of them.” That’s Edd and Cynthia Staton’s philosophy. During their 35+ years of marriage, they raised two kids and enjoyed long successful careers. But a few years ago, while living in Las Vegas, they were smacked hard, as many of us were, by economic recession. They both lost their jobs.
“No matter what kind of lifestyle you’re looking for, you can find it here in Ecuador,” I told about 350 people today. It may be a small country, but the variety it has to offer is huge… From palm-lined beaches… to tranquil living in small mountain villages… to modern cosmopolitan living in sophisticated cities like Quito and Cuenca, both of which have historic centers that are UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The tops of the palms wave cheerily in the breeze like giant green feather dusters against a soft blue, cloudless sky. I’m bobbing contentedly in the warm turquoise waters looking back at the beach, its silky white sands speckled with tiny seashells. Despite it being mid-summer I’m the only one swimming in this small cove…the only one enjoying this flawless slice of beach this morning.
You can study all the collected data, analyze real estate statistics, crunch the cost-of-living numbers, study weather patterns and more…but nothing surpasses your gut instinct when it comes to choosing a place to live. And believe me, your gut can change—especially as you get older.
If you’re thinking of retiring to Latin America, you should learn at least a little Spanish. Not only will it enrich your experiences living, traveling, and interacting with people in your new home country, but it will certainly save you money and could make life a lot easier.
The tops of the palms wave cheerily in the breeze like giant green feather dusters against a soft blue, cloudless sky. I’m bobbing contentedly in the warm turquoise waters looking back at the beach, its silky white sands speckled with tiny seashells. Despite it being mid-summer I’m the only one swimming in this small cove…the only one enjoying this flawless slice of beach this morning.
You can study all the collected data, analyze real estate statistics, crunch the cost-of-living numbers, study weather patterns and more, but nothing surpasses your gut instinct when it comes to choosing a place to live.
You’ll never be a native Costa Rican, but you can fit in like one when you understand these small cultural differences.
You’ll never be a native Costa Rican, but you can fit in like one when you understand these small cultural differences.
Just 28 miles across the river from Buenos Aires (a 50-minute ferry ride) and a two-hour drive from Montevideo… through the richly fertile Rio de la Plata riverbed and past some of Uruguay’s famous farmland and vineyards… Colonia de Sacramento (or just “Colonia,” as it is commonly called) is right off a picture postcard with its cobblestoned, well-shaded sycamore-lined streets.
What to do before you leave home? What steps to take and documents to assemble? Bank accounts, credit cards, mail, phones, health care, pets, kids, and more…find out here.
What to do before you leave home? What steps to take and documents to assemble? Bank accounts, credit cards, mail, phones, health care, pets, kids, and more…find out here.
Every time you turn around, another travel piece appears about Ecuador’s capital city, Quito. Mainstream travel writers, it seems, are just now discovering what we’ve known for years… that the city is a worthy destination that blends new and old in alluring ways. It doesn’t hurt that Quito is one of the world’s most affordable cities.
Every time you turn around, another travel piece appears about Ecuador’s capital city, Quito. Mainstream travel writers, it seems, are just now discovering what we’ve known for years…that the city is a worthy destination that blends new and old in alluring ways. It doesn’t hurt that Quito is one of the world’s most affordable cities, where you can still take a taxi anywhere in town for $1 to $5 and find a menú del día…usually a four-course meal of soup, salad, meat/rice/vegetables, dessert, and beverage…for $1.50 to $2.50.
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