Many of us are looking at travel differently as we head towards retirement. With more free time on our hands, our travel dreams are within reach. Planning for longer travel time or even searching for a retirement location can be costly. But did you know that people all over the world would give you free accommodation…
We don’t regret moving to a new country, but living abroad isn’t all rainbows and butterflies every day. In the beginning, we struggled with the language, setting up internet and cable, getting lost countless times with Google Maps, and experiencing a car accident three days after buying a car. Most of the stories you hear…
Have you ever dreamed of living in a villa overlooking the Mediterranean? Or an off-the-grid ecolodge in the jungles of Costa Rica? Strolling through the vineyards of Tuscany? Or maybe a high-rise apartment in Bangkok with the best Asian food just steps away…The perfect country is out there for you, but which one? It’s surprising…
Tom and I had a discussion the other day about renting or buying. While we both agree it’s a good idea to rent for the first year or two when you arrive in a foreign country, we differ in opinion for the long term. While he prefers the benefits of buying a house, I like…
Whether you are moving across the country or across the sea, packing can be overwhelming. How did you acquire so much stuff? If you’re lucky, your company will pay for most of the relocation costs. If you are doing this on your own, it’s time to “clean house”, decide what’s really important, and become a…
**This post has been updated with known 2023 requirements from the Mexican government but still retains our 4-year experience getting both the temporary and permanent visa.** For our first four years, I shared our experiences of getting a temporary visa. In December 2021, we qualified for the permanent visa and are ecstatic that we never…
Moving to another country should never be taken lightly. We didn’t move to Mexico on a whim. We carefully considered our options and the process of moving our household items and a dog across the border. Many people have asked us about our move to Mexico. Why did we choose Mexico? Why did we…
A question we are asked often is “Did we sell our house before we moved abroad”? Well, yes we had planned to, but no it didn’t happen. We planned to put our house up for sale 3 months before we moved to Mexico, but it didn’t work out the way we hoped. Here’s the Story……
Our boxes have arrived! All 63 of them… Yes, we packed WAY too much. The kitchen stuff alone was 42 boxes. No, we didn’t bring our own stove and refrigerator, but Tom is a self-made chef, so he has plenty of “toys.” We shipped a cryovac machine, 22 cutting boards (I don’t know why we…
If you think it’s hard planning your own flight to your overseas location, planning your pet travel is even more difficult. As humans, we can deal with wonky flight times; leaving at 5am in the morning, or arriving at an unknown location at 11pm at night, hoping someone will be available at the hotel…