Step out of Your Comfort Zone

Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008

Read more about retiring overseas in International Living Postcards—Sunday Edition

We retired expats are growing in numbers, but we're still a tiny percentage of all retirees. Some 80% of new retirees stay close to home and the grandkids. Those who do move tend to head for the Sun Belt. Only small numbers reach Mexico, the south of Italy, or Argentina.

Most people become attached to their tiny piece of the action and lifestyle, no matter where it is or how good it is. This has always puzzled me. We typically back into a particular career and lifestyle when we reach 23. We start a career and develop a lifestyle. Then—and here's the part that gets me—we spend the rest of our lives fiercely protecting our position. It's as if we believe there will never be an alternative. We stay in our comfort zone even when we outgrow it and it becomes uncomfortable.

Often we take it to extremes; we find a place to live in a given neighborhood, and then spend the rest of our lives fiercely refusing to move. We turn down the transfer, the better job in another location.

Whatever our little turf happens to be, for whatever accident of circumstances and fate, we want to hang onto it at all costs. No other place on Earth can possibly compare.

Ridiculous. Or maybe not.

I remember some sociologist researched the worst place to live in the U.S. He concluded that the worst of the worst was Cabrini-Green, a housing project in Chicago. Garbage in trash chutes piled up to the 15th floor. The housing authority had to enclose the entire exterior with steel fencing to prevent residents from being thrown off.

So researchers went to the people who live there, and asked them if they wanted to move. “You live in the worst place in America, would you prefer to live somewhere better?” Answer, in virtually all cases: “No.” They'd developed bonds of community and mutual support, and wanted to maintain the community intact—no matter how sorry its shape.

The French, especially, are reluctant to step out. Leftist President Francois Mitterand called the French a “profoundly conservative” society. I remember when Vicki and I lived in Paris. We were invited to a backyard barbecue at a friend’s house in a suburban neighborhood. I met the neighbors, including the daughter, a woman aged 24 or so who had just graduated from university and was looking for a job. She was articulate, attractive, confident, top in her class. She had everything going for her and could get any job she wanted.

I asked her what her dream job would be, the best she could imagine. Not the best she could reasonably hope for, but the best she could imagine. Her eyes glazed over. “There's a third-level clerkship available in the local city hall. If I could get that position...”

As far as I know she got the job. If she did get it, for sure she's still there.

In thinking about retirement abroad, you’re either one of them or one of us. If you're one of them, you cling to the known: your job, your neighborhood, your way of doing things. You fiercely resist change and moving out of your comfort zone. If you're one of us, you long for a new adventure, a new challenge. You push beyond your known limits, allow yourself to make mistakes and learn from your life experiences. Make sure you know where you are on this change spectrum before you make your retirement plans. You want to choose a retirement that fits. You should consider moving abroad only if you like change, new experiences, and new ideas.

Paul Terhorst
Roving “Retire Early” Editor, International Living

Editor’s Choice: This Week's Recommended Reading

International Living Magazine
Time to get out of your comfort zone and see what the world has to offer? A good start is with International Living magazine. We’ll show you undiscovered locations ideal for spending your retirement days...places where you can buy beachfront property under $100,000 and live for as little as $19 a day. You will also learn how to get the best deals every time you travel and how to deal with your taxes while overseas.

Work Overseas Kit: Half Price
The drudgery of the same old neighborhoods and commute to work is even harder when your head is full of dreams. Just imagine enjoying a less stressful life in the South Pacific…starting over in Australia or New Zealand…discovering the exotic reaches of the Far East. It's never too late--not even if you've reached retirement age. One such example is working in Australia with a Retirement Visa. If you're over 55 and relocate to the Lucky Country as a retiree, you're still entitled to work for up to 20 hours per week.

Turn Your Pictures Into Cash
Another idea if you want a life full of fun and adventure while earning a few bucks is living the life of a travel photographer. Discover the most interesting destinations on Earth without making a dent in your savings. You could earn up to $2,000 per week taking photos of your travels.