Tomorrow our neighborhood holds a twice-yearly garage sale, and we're participating. Yes, we need to get rid of a lot of excess baggage before our overseas move. Yes, garage sales are a way to do that. But I really, truly detest garage sales. I don't like going to them and pawing through other people's discarded stuff, and I don't like having the vultures paw through the tail ends of my life either. I don't like the time I have to spend organizing and preparing, or trying to figure out what my …
10 Best Expat Destinations
A few days ago, I posted the results of International Living's 2010 Annual Retirement Index. Topping this prestigious list are Ecuador Panama Mexico France Italy Today I'm looking at a very different list: this one includes the 10 Most Suitable Countries for American Expatriates. According to the website Expatify.com, they considered these important criteria: How receptive is the local culture to Americans? How popular is the country for American expats already? Can you manage …
World’s 25 Best Retirement Destinations
News Release from International Living Ecuador tops IL's Annual Retirement Index for the second year running For Kent and Christina Zimmerman, leaving Colorado for Cuenca, Ecuador felt like making a huge jump without a net. But after a year in the country that tops International Living’s 2010 Retirement Index, they’re loving their new lives in Ecuador. They pay just $300 monthly rent for a rooftop apartment with panoramic views across Cuenca, a colonial center steeped in rich history that …
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Living in the Land of Love
Guest Post by Mike Henry As I write this, the movie Eat, Pray, Love is hitting the cinemas in the United States. I am sure most people are already familiar with the story. The book's author, Elizabeth Gilbert, is frustrated with her life in the United States and decides to take a year off traveling, spending time in Italy to eat, India to pray and Bali to find love. I have been living in Bali for the past year and it is not surprising to come across many people (mostly women) who have come …
Free Tools for Virtual Productivity
Last week I mentioned that my youngest daughter would be heading off to college soon, leaving us with an empty nest. She and I have embarked on a journey from our home in the Orlando, FL area to her college in the Northeast. Along the way, we're stopping to do research for some articles I'm writing. This is a good way for me to try the virtual-making-money life I've talked about before on this website. My son calls it "working in the cloud," but either way, there are lots of tools available to …
What Will You Do First?
I was intrigued today to see a long list of responses to a question that International Living asked on their Facebook page. "What's the first thing you would like to do when you arrive in the new country you plan to live in?" they asked. Some responses were totally practical. "Go to the rest room" tickled me the most. Other practical answers talked about resting after jet lag, eating, having a beer or other beverage, or eating. One person said he'd exchange his currency. The most pragmatic of …