Your Dreams Deserve a Better Address

I spotted this playful little maxim on a French café window—a twist on the more cynical, Ne prenez pas vos désirs pour des réalités (“Don’t mistake your wishes for reality”).

If you’re reading IL, chances are your desires are neither banal nor unrealistic—they’re simply waiting for a plane ticket, a plan, or a well-placed nudge.

We’ve launched a new initiative this year to nudge you gently toward hidden places to rewrite your next chapter. Places with attractions so abundant, locals can’t quite understand why so few Americans have planted a flag. And this issue has hidden places in spades…

Take Albania, for instance. Imagine if Greece got cozy with Switzerland and forgot to tell anyone. Albania’s Riviera is exactly that—sun-drenched beaches, Alpine-like scenery, and seaview homes so cheap you’ll sing about it to your friends.

Then we’ll head over to a lesser-known region of Panama… where a couple built a dream B&B tucked into a jungle. And we’ll give you a peek inside our real estate expert’s bargain-buy mansion on the northern Portuguese coast.

June might have been billed the “fantasy” issue. We’ll take you to Africa on horseback, glamping among giraffes… riding with warriors on the Mongolian steppes… and to the best spot in the world to see the stars.

But we can’t let you go abroad without a dose of reality. With global markets behaving like toddlers in a candy store, we’ll explain how falling dollars and rising costs could affect your overseas plans… and how to buy wine in the time of tariffs.

If you’re already sipping café au lait near your new digs abroad, but find yourself suddenly gripped by existential dread (“Wait—what have I done?”), an expat psychologist offers comfort and strategies to reassure you that your bold leap isn’t crazy.

We’ll also talk candidly about politics, sex, and religion in Thailand… so you don’t stumble into social quicksand.

And for those lucky nomads whose offices fit snugly in their carry-ons, we highlight 10 prime spots around the globe perfect for remote work.

Your dreams deserve a better address—and we’re here to help you find it.

 

Stephanie Reed, Editor-in-Chief