Every plan-to-be expat has a different idea about their overseas retirement paradise. For you, it might be a high-rise condo in a bustling metropolis with world-class shopping and nightlife. For someone else it might be a country ranch, or a beachside retreat.
Finding the country to live in that will tick most of your boxes (no country’s perfect) is a complex process. Once you’ve eliminated the obvious won’t-work-for-you choices and narrowed down your list to two or three overseas retirement possibilities, it’s time to go visiting.
In an ideal world, you’d be able to spend at least a month exploring each of the countries on your short list, visiting two-four regions of each country.
Then, when you think you have your country picked out, go for an extended stay of two or three months.
This isn’t an ideal world, but do the best you can. We moved to Panama after only one brief visit — I don’t recommend doing it this way, but our circumstances were very difficult.
You’re ready to hop on a plane — but where do you stay when you get there? Hotels are fine for brief visits, but they don’t give you much sense of what it’s like to actually live there.
For that you need to stay in a home. It can be an apartment, a condo, or a traditional single-family detached house. And those aren’t quite so easy to set up in advance.
Fortunately, short-term, fully furnished vacation homes or holiday rentals are available in many parts of the world.
With the popularity of websites like AirBnB, VRBO and similar sites, it’s possible to find something before you go.
However, if you’re planning to stay for several months, you may do better by arranging for an inexpensive hotel on arrival, and then looking for a furnished apartment or house to rent once you’ve arrived.
This was the third in a series of articles about finding your best retire overseas country.