Over the last 11 years of living throughout Latin America, my wife, Suzan, and I have missed lots of things we had back in the States. The first one for me was roasted red peppers. Eight brands in the supermarket back home… none in the first two countries we lived in. (For Suzan, it was Triscuits.)
At home we’re fed a distinctly flavorless view of the “rest of the world.” When we get news of foreign locales, it’s most often about tragedy or macroeconomics. We have a poor understanding of what’s really “out there.” Here at International Living, we aim to help you build a richer and more nuanced understanding of the kind of life you could embrace abroad—and why you’d want to.
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.
I just received an email from an International Living subscriber asking a question that is becoming more and more common in my inbox. To paraphrase: “With the price of real estate so low in the U.S. right now, why would anyone move abroad?” Fair question. And if your only reason for considering a move abroad is to find inexpensively priced property, the answer is obvious…you really don’t need to.
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.
David has a story to tell about his new home, Uruguay. And tell it he did, today at the International Living Fast-Track Your Retirement Overseas Conference. You see, Uruguay is a tiny country… with big potential for aspiring expats. It has a growing middle class. An inclusive and optimistic culture. An expanding economy. “It kind of feels like the United States in the 1950s,” says David.
My wife, Suzan Haskins, and I have lived abroad for nearly 12 years now, in seven different locations in four different countries. And at some point during each of those years, in each of those locations, we’ve asked ourselves, “Is it time to go back to the States?” We’ve said “no” every time…but not for the reasons you might think. We didn’t leave the States because we hated it. We love the U.S. and all the family and friends we have there.
When attendees at our Fast Track Your Retirement Overseas Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada learn that they do have a choice…that they can live happier, healthier, more adventurous lives on a fraction of what they’re paying now just to barely scrape by… I can literally see their heads swim.
An affordable lifestyle was definitely one of the reasons why my wife, Suzan Haskins, and I became expats more than a decade ago. The opportunity to halve our cost of living and still get better weather, healthier food, lower-cost medical care, and a truly relaxed, “off the treadmill” pace of life was one we couldn’t pass up.
“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.
Thinking about retirement, we usually focus on money. Are we saving enough? With the cost of living ticking up and interest rates near zero, it’s a reasonable question. But preoccupied with funds, we often forget to reflect on why we save to begin with. What we’re really after, I’d venture, is an enjoyable, meaningful, comfortable lifestyle. We save, ultimately, so we have greater control over how we live. But at home today, it often feels like we have less control…and fewer options.
201 1 Live and Invest Overseas Conference Package
Las Vegas, NV – October 2011In the Live and Invest Overseas Conference Package, we’ll show you how you can make that dream your reality… for as little as $697 a month. Maybe you long for your own cottage on a quiet beach… a grand apartment in a city vibrant with concerts and cafes… a mountain villa where the air is crisp… or even your own vineyard amid gently rolling hills. Whatever you fantasize about… come with that idea in mind. We’ll show you the places in the world today where you can live your dream, for a small fraction of what you’d pay for a comparable life at home.
The idea of living better for less overseas has been around for a long time. So long, in fact, that there are a surprising number of people doing it right now. As a constant participant in International Living’s events, I notice this surprise on the faces of attendees every time we do a seminar or conference.
When it comes to living the expat life, there is only one candidate that deserves your vote: You. As your own commander in chief, you can live wherever you like and by your own set of rules. I’m Suzan Haskins and I’m writing to you this week from Cancun, Mexico, and the International Living Ultimate Event 2012.
“This is my first time,” a pretty lady named Jos confided to me. She lives in a beautiful home overlooking the ocean on Australia’s western coast. “I love my home and I have no complaints with my life there,” she said. “But my husband has been working and living in Vanuatu (a gorgeous South Pacific island) for five years…and he has wanderlust.
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.
Skeptics inquire: Are the opportunities overseas really as great as we at IL portray them to be? The short answer is “yes.” But don’t take my word for it… Listen, instead, to the many firsthand stories we’ve collected in the current issue of International Living magazine—on-the-ground reports from folks who decided to answer the question for themselves…at the beach…in the hills…in cities…or on islands…
You can volunteer at an organic farm next to the Podacarpus National Park in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, or on an apple orchard and organic bakery in Mendoza, Argentina. Help make goat cheese on an Irish farm near Ballyvaughan, County Clare in Ireland, learn about wine making on a vineyard in Italy’s Piemonte district while staying in a village house with a view of the Alps…
Five years into my expat life, I look forward to downsizing. In fact, I recently bought a small, manageable, lock-and-leave property in Guanajuato, in the Colonial Highlands. It’s a far cry from what I thought I wanted when I first moved to Mexico… Then, I’d wanted a good-sized house, instead of an apartment as I’d had in the U.S.
When my wife, Suzan Haskins, and I moved overseas in 2001, we had no idea how much we didn’t know about living abroad. But we learned quickly. I still remember trying to figure out the nuts and bolts of Spanish hardware…literally.
If you’re a U.S. citizen you’ll never be able to walk away from the dollar completely—even if you move overseas. Likewise if you’re a Canadian or citizen of another country—it’s hard to totally divorce yourself from your national currency. Here are two reasons why…
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.
Years ago we’d talk confidently about the benefits of Mexico versus Argentina…or Ecuador versus Costa Rica. I’m finding that we don’t do that as much these days.
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