International Living’s expat network is your key to a new life in a new country. Get real, honest advice from people just like you. Discover the tips, tricks, shortcuts, and strategies you can use to cut through red tape and improve your life overseas right away.
Read about and learn from real-life experiences our expats have had in their new home countries, from health care to taxes, earning an income overseas to buying real estate…and much more.
When you think of an island in Southeast Asia, you probably think of beautiful beaches and coconut palms swaying in the breeze, but not world-class healthcare. I’ll admit, my husband, Mark, and I chose to move to Penang, in Malaysia, for a host of reasons, and none of them was healthcare. We moved here when we were 48 and 39 respectively, so major healthcare issues weren’t on our minds...
As 2019 begins, I’m filled with hope and excitement. I feel this way for several reasons. One of these is the fact that 2019 will mark International Living's 40th year of publication.That’s four decades of making readers aware that living a happier, healthier, more affordable life in some of the world’s most exotic destinations—and having the retirement of their dreams—isn’t a fantasy.It’s a rock-solid...
You might think that moving away from the U.S. lets you off the hook for U.S. state taxes. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Some U.S. states still want your tax dollars, even when you don’t live there anymore. With some planning, however, you can avoid these additional U.S. taxes, even if you hail from California or Virginia, two of the toughest states when it comes to tax.
My husband Barry and I simply could not decide whether to buy the 150-year-old adobe house in Guanajuato, Mexico we’d found. It was in a perfect location and had many assets, but it would take at least a year, maybe more, to remodel. Back and forth we went, weighing all the pros and cons. We were getting worn out, overthinking...
Folks thinking of a move abroad often wonder about healthcare: They frequently ask about its quality, prices, and prescriptions. My wife Abbe and I asked these very questions when we considered moving to Panama four years ago. We finally moved here in 2016. Since then, we have both received excellent medical care, at very reasonable prices. We’ve tried it here, in all sorts of ways, and we've been pleased with the experience each time...
The concept of living, working, and retiring abroad is such a compelling idea—one that makes so much sense on so many levels—that stories about successful North American expats abound. I’m a member of that cadre myself. My wife and I have lived and worked abroad for 17 years now, and we’ve spent almost all that time talking to, and writing about, people successfully living their own happy, affordable lives overseas...
Time and again, I get asked the question, “Can I take my U.S. Medicare coverage with me when I move overseas?” It’s a simple question, but the answer is a little more complex. In effect, the answer is: Yes. But to figure out how, we need to look at things in a bit more detail...
At the age of 52, my parents had lived their entire lives in only two states: Massachusetts, where they were born, and Maine, where they’d moved in their 20s. At 22, a newly minted college graduate, I moved to Virginia. That was the third state that I would call home. My trajectory was not unusual: Child grows up, attends college out of state, graduates, and relocates for new opportunities...
When my wife Rebecca and I made the decision to move with our 15-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son from the Washington, D.C. area to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, we spent a lot of time thinking about a cost-efficient way we could safely, reliably, and conveniently access our money to pay for day-to-day expenses like rent, groceries, transport, and entertainment...
The moment I entered the Colonial Highlands town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, I knew that something was going to change. I didn’t know what was going to change, or how, but I knew something would. And, as the poet Rainer Maria Rilke put it, “There is only one journey—going inside yourself....