IL Magazine: The World’s Most Well-Respected Resource for Overseas Opportunities Save 35% Right Here about subscribing to International Living Magazine "I had only planned on living in Santa Marta for a year to improve my Spanish," explains Lisa Anderson, "but seven years and two daughters later I am loving my life here." It´s easy to understand why Lisa loves living in Colombia's up-and-coming Caribbean coastal city.
When I started freelancing over 15 years ago it was tough to get going, but the landscape back then was very different. I remember printing up business cards, and going to chamber of commerce meetings in an attempt to find clients that would need my services.
From Spanish, tranquilo roughly translates to "be calm," and in the beautiful town of Boquete...it's hard not to be. Boquete is a haven for expats, with magnificent scenery, an affordable cost of living, and a climate that's never too hot or never too cold. When asked by friends in the U.S. to describe it, only one word comes to mind...
After spending time visiting Central America, Shawn and Shena Lockwood decided that a permanent move there was the change they needed from their home in Utah. As passionate surfers, they wanted to live near the ocean and enjoy their favorite sport more regularly.
What a beautiful moment. Humpback whales weave through the crystal water as I tap away on my laptop. My friend takes a more ecstatic approach and jumps up and down, beckoning for my attention. I'm on Contadora Island, a one hour, 45-minute ferry-ride (or 20-minute flight) from Panama City.
My partner Ian and I are what you might call "nomadic expats." Our transient lifestyle allows us to peep inside beautiful homes and lose ourselves in fascinating cultures all over the world. We stay long enough to fall in love, but not so long that we get bored.
Most mornings, I stroll over to a nearby bakery to buy half a dozen traditional panes de ripacha. These small triangular shaped breads have been made using the same recipes and stone ovens in Arequipa for over 150 years. They are only one of many traditions that have been kept alive in this bustling southern Peru city for the last few centuries.
My journey helping Baby Boomers make the transition from career to portable income began almost 15 years ago. It started first with a few friends who were "aging out" of their careers like I was. They wanted to "pick my brain" on how to get moving in a direction that offered them more independence and flexibility without the inevitable age bias that was palpable in corporate and small-business Ame
Jillian Feibusch knew early on that there was a better life to be had other than living in the craziness of the San Francisco Bay Area. "I was working as a makeup artist for Chanel. Because of the high cost of living, daily commute, health issues, and the intense desire to do something more with my life, I moved to Costa Rica so I could breathe," she says.
Meetings almost swallowed me whole. Sucked the life out of me in jobs I loved and brought me to the brink of exhaustion. For much of my career I had jobs I really enjoyed, people I enjoyed working with, and general good times.