Exploring the World in Search of the Perfect Spot

“We Hit the Road in Search of Our Retirement Home”

Name: Mike and Leslie Rogers
From: Chicago, Illinois
Roving in: Latin America and Europe

The first decision was easy: Retire outside the U.S.

The second was harder: Where?

And that’s how my wife, Leslie, and I became roving retirees. We hit the road in search of our overseas retirement home. For two years, we lived in a variety of destinations around the world looking for our “just right” spot.

We did a lot of research first, scouring International Living magazine articles and attending an IL conference.

No mortgage payment or car payment meant our housing budget was roughly $1,500 a month. We wanted to rent a two-bedroom place so we’d have the option of hosting. It was important for us to live like locals, so in most places we chose accommodations in walkable areas (that also cut out the need for a car).

The rest of the budget was about $3,000 for groceries, dining out, entertainment, and other daily expenses. In some places that was plenty, and in others, we dipped into reserves, but overall, we found we could stay within budget.

First stop: Alicante, Spain. Alicante is a great place—walkable, good public transportation, and an excellent market with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, and seafood. A warm climate, friendly people, and tons of history. It was hard to leave, but this was our first stop on the tour.

Then it was on to Malta. Public transportation—by bus or ferry—was easy and inexpensive. History was everywhere, from archeological sites older than the Egyptian pyramids to secret bunkers used during World War II. But Malta in winter was a little too chilly and damp, and with our 90-day European tourist visa limit approaching, we took off back across the Atlantic for Mexico.

San Miguel de Allende was our first stop since we’d read so many good things about the town. And it was recommended by International Living experts at the conference we attended. We managed to see monarch butterflies in their winter home, visit ancient pyramids at Cañada de la Virgen, and take a day trip to the beautiful city of Guanajuato.

We both love the beach, so next up was Puerto Vallarta. We’d also read great things about it during our research. We went whale-watching and learned about Mexican culture. We also spent time in Mérida and in the beach town of Playa del Carmen—the only one of our five Mexican “homes” that we’d previously visited.

After a brief time-out back in the U.S., we returned to Mexico, to the Lake Chapala area south of Guadalajara. This place was promising, with friendly people and lots of expats. The local market, or tianguis, was one of the biggest and best we had seen in our travels throughout Mexico.

We tried out Costa Rica too. While the climate was great and the people friendly, we just didn’t feel a connection.

So, we decided to head back to Europe and booked a stay in Montpellier, France. As it’s a university town, the city was full of young people and we enjoyed the youthful atmosphere. Buying food at local markets was easy, and the restaurant scene was first-rate. We found a wine shop (Maison Régionale des Vins et des Produits du Terroir) right around the corner from our condo that specialized in local wines—some of the best we’ve ever tasted!

After two years on the road, we’d eliminated only a few places completely—we were too cold in Malta, too hot in Mérida, Playa del Carmen, and Puerto Vallarta.

The finalists were Montpellier, Alicante, and Ajijic. Montpellier was our favorite place because we could really feel the energy in the historic center. Cultural offerings were excellent, with a very good symphony orchestra and a festival that included classical music and modern dance. And a 30-minute tram ride got us to a terrific Mediterranean beach.

But in the end, we chose Ajijic, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, to be closer to our daughter in San Diego, and because we valued the warm, dry climate after 16 bitter Chicago winters. We also found the people there—locals and expats alike—to be sociable and supportive, and the laidback lifestyle suited us perfectly.

We were vagabonds for two fun-filled years and learned enough to make an informed choice. While we started out with visions of living in Europe, proximity to family turned out to be more important than we’d originally thought.

We’re now permanent residents of Mexico, where we have many friends and own a home with a sweeping view of Lake Chapala. —J. Mike Rogers

“The Roving Lifestyle Is Significantly Cheaper Than Living in the U.S.”

Name: Leah Sugerman
From: Lincroft, New Jersey
Roving in: Anywhere from Costa Rica to Vietnam

Some mornings, you’ll find me sipping a frappé on the balcony of a beachfront apartment on a Greek island. On others, I’ll be enjoying a Vietnamese coffee in a bustling café in Hanoi.

After that morning coffee, I’ll open my laptop and begin my work day. I freelance for a number of companies—editing or writing about travel and yoga. My main “gig” is teaching yoga, in person (my favorite), as well as online classes and yoga instructor courses.

After my morning work session, I usually take an extended afternoon lunch break to enjoy my surroundings. I’ll surf… or people-watch… or take a dip in a hot spring. Whatever I do, I try to enjoy it as fully as the locals do.

In the evenings, I might finish up any leftover work, exercise, then either cook or go out to eat. But my favorite part of each week, of course, is the weekends. This is when I have free rein to explore. Often, I’ll hop on a rented motorbike and drive off into the horizon, stopping to enjoy every scenic vista along the way.

Since moving overseas, I’ve taken up lots of new hobbies—one of the many perks I love about travel. From surfing to Latin dancing to paddle boarding to baking Italian treats, there’s always something new and fun to learn wherever I go.

Usually, I rent a small but comfortable Airbnb for a “long-term” stay—typically anywhere from one to three months, depending on visa laws. In each place, I get to know the local culture, taste the cuisine, mingle with the locals, and explore the beauty of the landscape or city. I’ve been on the road for almost seven years now, and have been to Egypt, Iceland, Colombia, Thailand, Croatia, Belize… and a bunch of places in between.

The cost of living is different everywhere, but I’ve found the roving lifestyle to be significantly cheaper than the cost of living in a major city in the U.S. I typically spend a few hundred dollars on each flight I take, depending on the distance, but I fly only once every three months or so.

Housing is usually about $1,500 per month, which is significantly less than the $4,000 my siblings pay to live in New York City. Food costs vary greatly, but traveling and living off a U.S.-based salary allows me to live very comfortably in most parts of the world.

If I had to pick my favorite spots for living as a digital nomad, they’d be Bali, Costa Rica, Thailand, and Greece. However, I’m happy anywhere beautiful with a stable internet connection

My life isn’t always a fairytale highlight reel. Some days, I’m dripping with sweat on a bus headed in the wrong direction because I don’t understand the native language, or I’m desperately searching for a stable internet connection for an important Zoom call.

Living on the road can be exhausting, but it’s also exciting and filled with spontaneity. It requires lots of long goodbyes… but it also allows you to create new hellos.

I’ll know I’ll cherish the experiences and the memories I’ve created for life. — Leah Sugerman

“A Life That Fulfills Our Wanderlust”

Name: Rhonda and Jim Delameter
From: Luverne, Minnesota
Roving in: United States and Latin America

After a 15-month backpacking trip around the world in 2007-2008, my husband, Jim and I knew we no longer wanted to spend our lives working 40-plus hours a week to explore the world within our limited vacation time each year.

In 2015 we threw in the towel, sold our house and everything in it, and hit the road in our truck camper. We explored nearly every corner of Mexico and Guatemala before finding ourselves at a crossroads: Continue south and figure out additional revenue streams… or head north to assist our aging parents, but also build a seminomadic existence for our itchy feet.

Our solution isn’t for everyone, but we’ve found it to be ideal for us. We joined the “workamper” (work-camper) lifestyle and haven’t looked back since.

Workampers are singles, couples, and even families who live in their campers and travel from area to area working in a variety of settings—from B&Bs to the beet harvests of South Dakota.

Some workampers do two seasons a year, but we choose to work a single season in the U.S. before we head south for the winter season on the beaches of Mexico.

In future years, perhaps we’ll spend winter in Southeast Asia, India, or another of our favorite destinations. We’ve found this combination to be the perfect balance. We keep busy, we live for free while earning a wage, and we have the flexibility to head south for the winter or head to a different part of North America to take on another seasonal position.

That seasonal work ranges from full-on volunteer work to a decent wage. I’ve also worked as a freelance travel writer for several decades, which adds a revenue stream. Soon we’ll head to Texas for eight weeks so Jim can become certified to work as an RV mechanic and appraiser, a step which will increase our revenue across continents as more and more people travel overland.

In general, we count on $100 a day to meet our needs. This figure is a huge generalization, as traveling through Europe, for instance, is more expensive than travel in Asia or Latin America. We can often get by on half of that amount.

For our healthcare, we rely on travel insurers like World Nomads. But in truth, we rarely file a claim, as healthcare is significantly less expensive than the U.S. nearly anywhere we travel. We get our dental and medical work done south of the border.

We’ve found the key to longevity in international travel is to stay where the locals stay. Eat, drink, and shop where the locals do. Be a little bit uncomfortable. Embrace that which you don’t understand.

Our goal is to eventually live a life that takes in the concept of “no vacation required.” Our perfect day starts by waking with the sun… a beach walk with coffee followed by yoga and a local breakfast… then some work, some socializing, and some sightseeing. The day culminates with more beach time, dinner at a local establishment, and the all-important sundowner cocktail.

At some point in the future, our plan is to move to living full-time in one of our favorite countries overseas. But for now, we’ve created a life in the middle—a life that fulfills our wanderlust. —Rhonda Delameter