Expat Advice

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.

Expat Advice Archives

Digital Privacy: How to Protect Yourself and Your Data

By Mark Nestmann |

December 22, 2015

If someone could secretly monitor everything you’ve done on your computer, what could they find? Photos of your family? Your bank details? The truth is that data you entered into your computer months or years ago can be retrieved long after you think it’s gone. And old files you deleted can still be found, even years after you removed them. All computers are vulnerable to this. And in the wrong hands, this information can easily come back to haunt you.

Always an Adventure in Quito, Ecuador

By Edd Staton |

November 19, 2015

“Every morning I wake up in Quito, it’s with a sense of amazement at how great my life is,” says Rami Amit of his new life in the Ecuadorian capital. “I absolutely love my hometown,” says his wife Daphna of their retirement haven. “Quito offers so many options that it’s impossible to be bored.” This diversity of cultural, entertainment, and dining options enticed the Amits to Quito in the first place.

How to “Leverage” Your House Back Home When You Go Overseas

By Suzan Haskins |

November 19, 2015

If you retire overseas, owning a home back in North America can be a huge asset. If you want to live abroad only part-time (as a snowbird, for instance), it gives you somewhere to stay when the weather back home improves. Or you may simply want a place to return to on occasional trips. Better yet, that place back home can generate a respectable income if you rent it out while you’re gone, whether you’re away for good or just for a few months each year. This can be a great way to earn some cash on the side—funds that can go even further if you’re living in a low-cost country like Panama or Ecuador.

Mediterranean Living in a French University Town

By Barbara Diggs |

November 19, 2015

For city lovers like me, Montpellier’s draw is its historic center, Écusson. Dating from the 10th century, Écusson is full of wonderful flagstone streets lined with timeworn, sand-colored stone buildings. Boutiques and shops, from upscale to funky, abound. Tree-lined squares, with their inevitable spate of cafés, reveal themselves at every turn. A pedestrian-only zone, it’s the sort of place you can never tire of exploring.

The Five Best Up-and-Coming Beach Towns for Retirees (Part Three)

By International Living |

November 19, 2015

With its light-brown beaches, prominent white lighthouse, and whitewashed seaside homes, it could be a U.S. Atlantic-coast beach town 60 years ago. If it weren’t for the Spanish-speaking locals, modern cars, and surfers paddling out on modern boards, you might be convinced you’ve been transported back in time. But this place exists today—just in a different country in a different hemisphere. You’re in La Paloma, Uruguay’s up-and-coming beach resort, home to ﬁne food, good ﬁshing, great waves, and vast tracts of pristine sand for you to enjoy.

The Huge Rewards of Taking the Leap

By Glynna Prentice |

November 19, 2015

One moment that has stuck with me over the years is a dinner I had with a friend in New York. It was around the time that I put my apartment up for sale and was getting ready to move my life to Mexico. We met in the Meatpacking District, at a small Italian restaurant. It was a warm, late-summer night, perfect for lingering over our wine in a corner of Manhattan that felt like Europe, where we both had lived in the past.

Mérida: The Yucatán’s Colonial Gem

By Jason Holland |

October 19, 2015

I ’m enjoying a cappuccino at a sidewalk café. The tree providing shade is a century old, the church across the way much older. The neighborhood is historic, with restored buildings lining narrow streets for a dozen blocks in any direction. I’m in Mérida, Mexico, in the downtown centro of centuries-old colonial homes, churches, and grand buildings. It’s the third-largest Spanish colonial district in the world, after Havana and Mexico City.

A Low-Cost, Luxury Lifestyle in Colombia’s “City of Flowers”

By Lauren Brown |

October 19, 2015

My daily life has improved immensely since moving to Medellín, Colombia’s charming “City of Flowers.” I feel calm and peaceful, unlike many of my friends living in U.S. cities. Every morning I wake up to the cheerful sound of birds. From my balcony I can hear the gentle trickle of the stream running past my apartment. I love to take these quiet mornings to practice yoga at a nearby studio and then head to my favorite coffee shop, Pergamino. It’s pleasantly quiet in the mornings when I go to read a book or write in my journal while I sip the best coffee in town for less than $1.

Reinventing Family Life Abroad

By Bonnie W. Hayman |

October 19, 2015

Justin and Sarah Fahey did everything the way you are “supposed to” in the U.S. They focused on their educations, both ﬁnally getting Master’s degrees at Boston universities. They got married. Justin landed a sales job for a large research company and Sarah worked as a counselor in a private Massachusetts school. The road to the American Dream stretched out before them. Everything was perfect. Or was it?

Snowbirding with Family on the Riveria Maya

By Donald Murray |

October 19, 2015

“I wanted to run away from the cold weather and perfectly manicured lawns,” says Kiona Hartle of her decision to start snowbirding with her son. “I needed to ﬁnd a simpler, more authentic, and warmer life in a picture-perfect beach town. I researched places online and Playa won by a large margin!” Kiona, 41, and her seven-year-old son, Luke, ﬁrst came to Playa del Carmen, on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, in 2010.