IL Magazine: Discover the World's Best Retirement Haven for 2020 + 23 more SUBSCRIBE NOW AND SAVE 35% about subscribing to International Living Magazine People of diverse origins, interests, and experiences find Costa Rica irresistible as a retirement destination. Take Olga Campbell and her husband Roger for example. Olga, who was professionally trained as a psychologist, grew up in England. She left at the age of 21...
If you're a regular IL reader—or you've been following the World Cup hoopla—then you've likely heard of the cities of Fortaleza, Natal, and Recife. If you're not familiar with them, they're all state capitals in the tropical northeast of Brazil. All are popular tourist destinations for Europeans, although North Americans have been slow to catch on to their delights. All are hosting World Cup games.
The coastal town of Zaton in Croatia lies about five miles north of the ancient walled city of Dubrovnik, where tourists from the U.S. enjoy Game of Thrones tours. My husband, Jeff, and I are roving retirees. We travel the world in retirement, moving from one idyllic locale to the next as we feel. People in this beautiful...
My wife, Jan, and I could be called experimental expats…an especially apt title for me, as I retired after a 35-year career in experimental science at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. I call us “experimental,” because we’ve taken the part-time approach to retirement: We take trips of up to 90 days at a time in Italy...
Eighteen months ago, my husband, Don, and I pulled the trigger on our roving retirement with great enthusiasm. We were off to experience the world! Our goal was to go beyond the tourist attractions and really get to know the local culture and customs of the places we visited. With a budget of $2,500 per month...
Residents of Madrid call themselves “gatos,” Spanish for “cats,” perhaps because they nap in the afternoon and prowl the streets at night. Dinner is never served before 9 p.m. and is often enjoyed at midnight. Conversation, drinking, and dancing continue into the wee hours. If you’re early to bed, you will miss the vibrant spirit of this sophisticated city.
Expats are a fortunate breed. Unlike back in the U.S., where making friends is often very difficult in adult life, people who live abroad have a built-in group of potential friends in their new country. It’s like being in seventh grade again, surrounded by classmates, or at camp. You won’t be drawn to everyone, of course...
Are you a big-city person? If you’re an expat moving abroad with an unusual, chronic, or potentially serious health issue, you may want to be a big-city person. The U.S. hasn’t had the best healthcare system in the world for quite some time. By many measures, it doesn’t even...
Expats who have taken International Living’s advice and moved to Costa Rica say they love the slow pace of tropical life. They like having time to relax...
Will the wrong peanut butter ruin your life? This is a serious question, and the first one anybody thinking of moving abroad should ask themselves. It’s called profiling yourself. And I suggest you do it ruthlessly. Try this—get a piece of paper and a pencil. Now list all the things you think make your life worthwhile…