Living the Good Life
Articles
Making the decision to transplant ourselves to Italy was easy. Making the move to Italy itself was painless. Making ourselves at home was smooth and immediate. Making a living…well, that’s another beast. I’m not going to lie to you—working in Italy can be difficult. But it’s more than worth it.
We’re right on the beach and we love that,” says expat Cynthia Kelley. “We can hear the ocean at night and we love to watch the sunset over the water in the evenings.” It’s easy to get the feeling that you’re a million miles away from the rest of the world in Canoa, on Ecuador’s northern coast.
Just a few decades ago there were only two ways to reach the natural paradise of Las Terrenas, on the Dominican Republic’s Samana Peninsula. You could take a horse, or a boat.
We were flying low over the glittering Caribbean when I saw my dream out the window. Looking down on reefs of coral and lush green islands, I just knew I had to live down there, with my toes buried in those warm, white sands,” says Stephen Crabtree.
A few years ago our friends spent a month in Tahiti, one of French Polynesia’s paradise islands. When they showed us photos of the house they stayed in, my wife and I were speechless.
For most people, the idea of dinner in Paris likely conjures one of two images: an elegant restaurant where white-jacketed waiters glide about with silver- domed dishes, or a cozy bistro where a platter of steak frites is plunked down before you and the house red is as good as any you’ve tasted.
In this video, IL Costa Rica correspondent, Jason Holland shows footage of his beautiful rental home in Grecia, Costa Rica. Just like any desirable retirement destination, you can find luxury in Costa Rica when it comes to where you live. But there is plenty of opportunity for regular folks to find their own slice of heaven.
My husband Bill and I are avid travelers, a habit formed working for international organizations for many years. When we decided to retire in 2009 and focus on our passion for travel, we looked for a way to stay in touch with friends, make new connections, and—if we could—fund some of our travels by writing about our discoveries. Our blog was born.
It’s Wednesday night and I’m sitting in The Roaring Donkey—a neighborhood pub in Cobh, Ireland—Guinness in hand as I attempt to sing along with my new friends, the residents of this colorful town. I’m here because a local invited me to join him and his friends for an informal “jam session” of traditional Irish music.
If you like a good wave, Santa Catalina will more than wow you. But the volcanic outcroppings responsible for the incredible surf break also create some of Panama’s best dive and fishing spots. And if you’re a landlubber at heart, there are numerous trails for hiking out to find remote beaches or trek through the jungle to view wildlife, birds, and exotic plants.
A typical day for us starts with the braying of our pet donkeys Molly and Malone. Getting up to feed them and our goats is never a chore. We left Massachusetts for Ireland to live in exactly this kind of quiet, rural oasis.
If you’re looking overseas for a low-cost alternative to an uncertain retirement at home, there’s good news. You can find it in places that offer not just “cheap” living, but a whole basketful of benefits, too—places where a mild spring-like climate is yours all year round…beaches are of powder-white sand…snow-capped mountains soar above colonial towns…and your costs could be as low as $600 a month.
There are so many different ways to make money from photography. Needless to say, not all efforts are well rewarded – but many are.
Paris is a fantastic city to take pictures—full of shaded back alleys…romantic architecture…just-washed evening gowns fluttering from balconies—it’s photo heaven.
With little more than a few hundred bucks and some determination Reece decided to give the import-export world a try. Now he has a nationwide business.
A typical day for us starts with the braying of our pet donkeys Molly and Malone. Getting up to feed them and our goats is never a chore. We left Massachusetts for Ireland to live in exactly this kind of quiet, rural oasis.
The lush, green valley of Vilcabamba was where the royalty of the Inca Empire came for their rest and relaxation. You can still find reminders of their ancient civilization. And people are still coming here to find tranquility and live well. In the past three years, this magical place has experienced a tsunami of new arrivals.
Wine has been produced in Jumilla and neighboring Yecla since the proverbial mists of time. If you’re a frequent wine-drinker, you’d make some serious savings living here. At less than $1 a bottle, it’s very nearly as good as free…
When Elizabeth Milovidov stood on the cobbles before the thousand-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral and wandered Paris’s narrow stone streets, soaking up the history and elegant architecture, she knew that her heart was lost. “I thought: I want to be a part of all this,” she says. “I knew I had to live here.”
We started researching retirement property, making full use of the Internet, libraries, networking, country visits, and, of course, International Living. It was a part-time job for us…and in no particular hurry, we passed on properties that didn’t measure up; settle for less, and that’s exactly what you’ll get. In July 2006, after searching for five years, we found a property in Vilcabamba, Ecuador.
Where in the world shall we go today? If you’ve been dreaming of Belize, Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, or the Dominican Republic (wow!), come on—let’s go. I’d like to take you on a whirlwind tour of these countries. With only the best, most knowledgeable (and most entertaining) guides, of course. I’m Suzan Haskins, reporting to you from International Living’s Ultimate Event, going on now in Cancun.
When Elizabeth Milovidov stood on the cobbles before the thousand-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral and wandered Paris’s narrow stone streets, soaking up the history and elegant architecture, she knew that her heart was lost.
It’s one of Panama’s newest expat destinations, with all the amenities you could want in an overseas retirement haven. There’s high-speed Internet, inexpensive restaurants, good clinics and hospitals, and a burgeoning expat community. It’s a fast-growing city and the busy domestic airport is being expanded. But the real allure of David, capital of Panama’s Chiriquí province, is its strategic location. David is a hub for the region’s best vacation spots: natural hideaways like the lush green highlands to the north or the many beaches on the Pacific and Caribbean.
In as little as 45 minutes, you can be out of David and in dozens of perfect day-trip destinations—here are three of the best.
Stephen and Linda lived in Northern California. But if they wanted to retire there, they knew they’d only be able to afford “some desolate place and live in a double-wide.” So they began searching for somewhere in the world that had the surf they craved but at prices they liked, too. They found a little Pacific Coast beach town about 60 miles west of Panama City.
A man with his own private zoo…a Dutch transplant with a penchant for black and white movies…and a former builder who just wanted to make the region’s best burger. They all have one thing in common: The tiny mountain hideaway in Panama they now call home. Veraguas is a massive tract of land—the only province in Panama to touch both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
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