Tucked into the unassuming yard of a farmhouse at the edge of a vineyard in a southern French town almost nobody has heard of... you’ll find a secret garden serving some of the best food in the country.
The town is built against a 260-foot limestone cliff, the winding cobblestone streets that lead to it full of pastel-colored homes with wrought-iron balconies, cafes that spill out onto the sidewalks, and a long tree-lined town square that hosts a Sunday market where the produce is so fresh and bright it doesn’t look real.
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At the northern edge of town, you’ll find this farmhouse with its kitchen garden and generous side yard…
There, at a table set under a giant, intricately branching plane tree lit with string lights and candles, you will have served to you a meal cooked by a chef who was born nearby, trained in some of France’s finest kitchens. He sources everything from within a 60-kilometer radius of the place.
It will be one of the best dinners you’ve ever had. It gets a nod from the Michelin Guide, in fact. Yet it will cost you less than what you’d pay for a run-of-the-mill evening out at an American chain like the Bonefish Grill.
And you will feel rich. That’s the magical thing about finding places on the planet where your dollars stretch disproportionately.
That secret garden dinner is no fluke…
An every-other-week house cleaning in the US can easily cost you over $500 a month. In Mexico, you can employ a housekeeper three hours, three times a week—all month—for $195 total.
Instead of paying over $1 million for a vacation home in Oregon with a water view... you could secure one in a place like Costa Rica or Portugal for less than half that.
In Chicago, a one-hour treatment at a good spa starts at about $120—before the tip. In Penang, Malaysia, you can enjoy an hour-long massage, an hour-long facial, and a 45-minute body scrub for $103, all in.
My point is: You don’t have to be particularly wealthy to live like you are...
Now, I understand, “living well” is a subjective thing.
After all, what makes me happy might not be your cup of tea. And your dream could be my nightmare.
Still, some common denominators exist…
One is having the luxury of time.
Another, the luxury of choice.
We typically associate both with wealth—because in the US, money buys them.
But the interesting thing about spending time abroad is that in the right spots, you don’t need nearly as much money to enjoy either one.
Take time. In the States, buying back your time usually means paying someone else to handle the chores you’d otherwise cram into your evenings and weekends. And that doesn’t come cheap.
Abroad, in so many places, that kind of help fits a modest budget. Remember that $195-a-month housekeeper in Mexico? The hours you get back are yours to spend however you like.
But it’s deeper than that. In the right places, the whole pace of life is slower. The rhythm of a day is different. A leisurely lunch with a friend might happen three or four times a week. Walking in the park in the evening, stopping for a glass of wine, running into the neighbors and lingering to chat… that’s just how days unfold.
“My days are much slower. There is no sense of urgency. I love it,” says Tracie, living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
Then there’s choice—or the lack of it. The US is expensive. Which means if you’re paying a mortgage and funding health insurance, vehicles, groceries, and more... you’ve got relatively little flexibility. You’re pretty locked into a system where you have to earn a bundle to pay for the high cost of living.
But when your cost of living drops by half or more—your options open up. You have a lot more choice about how you live. Dine out more often. Travel more. Buy that vacation home... take a six-month sabbatical and roam. Or simply enjoy having a comfortable cushion leftover at the end of the month. You could, in fact, grow your nest egg in retirement.
As Annette Ford Rio, who retired to Cascais, Portugal, puts it: “We’re never surprised by costs, other than to realize how richly we can live on our retirement income, beyond all of our expectations.”
Time to savor the day. And the freedom to decide how you’ll spend it.
For me—and maybe for you, too—that’s what “living well” really means. The good news is that you can build that life in lots of places beyond our borders.
But getting there takes some know-how. No single person can be the expert on all of it.
So today, I want to introduce you to a few of the people on my team you’ll be hearing from regularly in our Daily Postcards going forward...
Ronan McMahon: Your Real Estate Scout
Ronan has been hunting down real estate deals for more than two decades. He owns almost no stocks, nor gold, nor crypto… no cellars of fine wine nor classic cars. Instead, he owns properties around the world. As editor of Real Estate Trend Alert, he and his team spend more than a million dollars a year on research to pinpoint emerging hot spots early, and he’ll show you where he sees the next opportunity… and why.
Jeff D. Opdyke: Your Guide to Money Without Borders
Jeff spent 17 years covering personal finance and investing for The Wall Street Journal, writing a weekly column that reached 10 million readers. Since 1994, he’s operated from bank and brokerage accounts in countries ranging from New Zealand to Dubai. Now based in Braga, Portugal, he edits our Field Notes e-letter and the Global Intelligence Letter, and he’ll bring you his clear-eyed take on what’s happening in the world… and how to position yourself to profit from it, as well as the inside scoop on his travels around Europe and beyond.
Ted Baumann: Your Plan B Architect
You don’t have to move full-time, or even at all, to reap the benefits of a more international life. Ted has been an expat for 40 years and is a dual citizen of the US and South Africa, living with his family in Cape Town. Through his Global Citizen service, he helps people sort through visas, second citizenships, tax and estate planning, and investing abroad… and go from dreaming about an internationalized life to living one.
Bel Woodhouse: Your Mexico Insider
Bel left the Navy to let her wanderlust take her roaming the planet “in free, sandal-wearing bliss.” Today she’s our Mexico Correspondent, living on the Caribbean island of Cozumel, where you’ll find her climbing ruins, tubing jungle rivers, and diving the ocean… laughing the whole time. Bel says moving abroad is the best change she ever made, and she’s passionate about helping you find that same joy and freedom she has.
Jess Ramesch: Your Panama Expert
Jess, one of our Senior Editors and our resident Panama expert, has lived on the Indian subcontinent, floated all around the Caribbean, sailed the open seas, and picked up a few languages along the way. She calls Coronado Beach, Panama home, though she’s regularly on the move exploring Panama and beyond.
Why This Matters to You
At International Living, we keep correspondents around the globe, folks who live in the places they write about. They buy their groceries there, rent apartments, make friends, learn the language. And they’re uniquely qualified to help you match what “living well” means to you with a real place where you could make it happen.
There’s no perfect, one-size-fits-all destination. But I feel 100% confident you can find a place that suits you well. Ronan, Jeff, Ted, Bel, and Jess are here to help you do exactly that.
Keep an eye out for them... I am confident you’re going to like what they have to say.
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