We live in the wild west of County Cork. It offers the natural beauty and the rugged remoteness we desired. Because I am a professional artist, I wanted to be in an area rich in painting sites. The laid back lifestyle is a pleasant change from the hurriedness we felt at home.
What are your reasons for visiting Panama? Ask any tourist that question and you’ll get a different answer. Some come for the beaches and the sun, others to explore the jungles or cloudforests. There’s a lot to see, and if you’ve read anything about Panama, it’s likely you’ve felt tempted to hop on a plane. To help tantalize you just a bit more, here are my top four reasons to visit Panama.
I can't give you one good reason why Americans and Canadians are coming in droves to Ecuador...because there are dozens of very good reasons. There are so many that I can't list them all here...but based on a recent trip there, I can tell you what some of the best reasons to live in Ecuador are.
Figuring out how to make some extra money doing something you love is a wonderful thing. And many of my fellow expats are doing exactly that. If you're looking for inspiration, I'd like to share some of those stories with you. In fact, we know of so many such stories that my husband Dan and I devoted an entire chapter of a new book we've written to this exact topic. (More about that in a moment.)
But nature abhors a vacuum, and I know of no one here simply staring out the window wondering how to spend their time. During four years of living in Cuenca I have been amazed to observe the many creative outlets foreign residents dream up to be active and productive. Free from the yoke of employment (although many expat-run businesses have sprung up) folks are starting foundations and volunteering, learning Spanish and teaching English, tending animals and growing food, traveling in Ecuador and far beyond its borders.
Some years ago a man I know visited Florida and asked a retiree why he moved there. "You don't have to shovel the humidity," the retiree merrily responded. This month my friend's mother is in Florida...wrapped up in sweaters. Times are changing. Even down south, the climate isn't what it used to be. East coast cities are like freezers. And the Mid-West is more tightly in the grip of Jack Frost's icy fingers than it used to be.
Imagine living in Europe, Africa, or Australia and earning a living while traveling around and discovering the continent. Sounds too good to be true? Well this is exactly what I have been doing for about six years now. I started off in Africa because I had always wanted to go on a safari but could never afford it.
Exhilarating, comfortable, and affordable are just some of the ways expats describe their life in Asia. For those looking to relocate in Asia, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia are among the best places to live. The low cost of living, excellent health care and stunning scenery are some of the reasons why many expats choose to start a new life in Asia.
One advantage of living in Europe is that cheap airfares make the rest of it so accessible. I've just got back home to Ireland after an unofficial three-day jaunt to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. This tiny country holds the title for the highest per capita consumption of wine in the world, so there was a good reason to go bar-hopping.
When I arrived in South America over five years ago, my Spanish vocabulary was limited to just a few words. Learning and remembering nouns seemed particularly challenging, but I was delighted to discover that many Spanish words sound very similar to their English equivalent. For example, an office is an oficina and a bank is a banco.