Take a Road Trip for “Retirement Scouting”…

Whether your last “Road Trip” was in college or before your wedding, or with a great group of long time friends.. this idea of “retirement scouting” is a fabulous idea.

For those of us who haven’t retired yet but are certainly considering “early retirement” if we could find a very affordable paradise, or.. for those of us who have already retired and would much rather be in a place where we can see & hear the ocean ever day with good access to affordable healthcare, then you will enjoy reading the article in the link below.  International Living hires people to write for them about their experience packing their bags and moving from the US to other countries and living the fabulous life as an expat with a more relaxed and far more affordable lifestyle of pleasure.  These folks write with a conversational tone, filling you in on how they decided where to go and what research to do in advance, along with excerpts about the places they love and the culture there – with the majority of them being places where English is the common language.

One of the writers shared the list she and her husband made when they first began narrowing down where they wanted to visit.. it included the following:

  • See and hear the ocean every day
  • Never wear a coat again
  • Ease of travel/affordability back and forth to the U.S.
  • Ability to buy/own property or a business with a clear title as foreigners
  • A straightforward residency process for which we would qualify without a pension
  • Access to good/affordable healthcare
  • An overall lower cost of living than in the U.S.
  • A stable democracy
  • A social community with a variety of things to do
  • No quarantine for our dog to enter
  • Ability to drink water safely out of the tap
  • English is widely spoken (bonus, but not a deal-breaker)

If nothing else, these are great stories to read as you can vicariously feel like you are there, right with them.. and most of us could use a big smile and a daydream in the midst of our busy lives.   Read more HERE