ILA Magazine: Discover the Best Retirement Haven + 14 More
Penang is well-known in Southeast Asia as a foodie haven. It’s a passion that the locals don’t take lightly (you can’t even take a taxi without getting into a big discussion about food). But, unlike many top foodie spots, Penang’s gourmand attitude doesn’t stem from its expensive Michelin-starred restaurants or celebrity chefs...
Bali, an island located in the Indonesian archipelago, often evokes images of idyllic blue oceans, beautiful sunsets and verdant green rice paddies. But Bali is much more than that. It is a rich, cultural, spiritual island that can best be explored by taking advice and guidance from friendly locals...
Countless people dream of retiring in France—and for good reason. France offers a seductive blend of old-world sensibilities and modern living, all wrapped up in one beautiful package. While it’s true that most people don’t retire to France to save money, life here can nonetheless be surprisingly affordable.
For 11 years, my husband Mark and I travelled to all the places we thought we might move to, researched so much that we felt overwhelmed, and read every forum, Facebook page and blog we could find. Once we decided to move to Penang, Malaysia, we were excited…and terrified. After all that research and years of travel, we thought we knew enough to make our first year go smoothly,
My day began in Little India, peering in doorways of crumbling colonial shophouses at sari sellers and stopping for a coffee at the Coliseum Hotel, where Somerset Maugham used to drink. Moving on through Merdeka Square, colonial heart of the city, I found the daily market in Chinatown, where, after some five-flower tea and curry potato puffs, I strolled into the Golden Triangle...
The five-island archipelago that makes up the nation of Malta offers a mix of historic Europe and modern international culture. Just south of Sicily and about 300 miles off the coast of Tunisia, these Mediterranean islands give visitors the very best in sunshine and cyan-hued waters. Expats in Malta enjoy a relaxed, low cost lifestyle, which is made even easier by the fact that most natives speak fluent English. They entertain themselves by attending the many festi (feasts) hosted on the islands, exploring the natural beauty of their home or going out for a meal in one of the many diverse restaurants available to them.
We found Malaysia had many benefits that made it stand out. One of them, and it’s an important one as you get older, is healthcare. We are both sporty people, so good, affordable healthcare was top of the list. Here are four reasons why I love Malaysian healthcare.