The Top 6 International Living Myths – Debunked!
With more and more retirees, entrepreneurs, and families moving abroad than ever before, there are numerous websites and publications dedicated to the topic of international living – including, most notably, a print and online magazine that goes by that very name.
Their pages are filled with stunning photos of exotic destinations and bold claims about affordable living, ideal climates, and first-world amenities. While not entirely untrue, these assertions are often biased (at best) or completely misleading (at worst).
Before you buy into the hype about international living, make sure you understand the truth behind their claims. Here are a few tips to help you avoid being unsuspectingly led down the primrose path.
photo by Steve D.
1. Never rely on ANY single international living resource for all of your information, including our site.
This is one tip I can’t stress enough. Every expat blogger, travel writer, or international living expert has his own opinion. Some are more candid than others. A few may tend to gloss over the unpleasant parts of living abroad. Some may even have ulterior motives that drive their recommendations.
Before you make such an important decision as where to live or invest overseas, you need to know all the facts. Dig up all the research you can find on your prospective area, even the negative stuff. Chances are, if something about the place bothers enough people, it may affect you as well.
2. Understand there’s no such thing as a “top secret” destination.
News flash. A quaint little town that some international living website labels as its best “undiscovered” destination can just go ahead and toss that title in the trash just as fast as it earned it. Places dubbed as being “off the radar” will soon be “up-and-coming,” and the next thing you know they’re “expat hotspots”!
Don’t believe me? Just look at what happened in Boquete, Panama.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with moving to the place that everyone else wants to be…unless you were truly looking for a more authentic expat experience. In which case, your best bet is to “discover” the place for yourself.
3. Realize phrases like “affordable living,” “spring-like weather,” and “modern conveniences” are relative terms.
These phrases are favorites among people who write about international living. They’re also incredibly ambiguous. What’s affordable to Donald Trump is entirely out of reach for the rest of us. Spring looks a lot different in Southern California than Northern Maine. And my grandparents would consider a phone modern as long as it doesn’t have a rotary dial.
Instead of naively believing these generic claims, look for actual data that supports them. Average temperatures and rainfall are easy enough to find. Expat forums and city-specific websites can give you more info on actual prices for things like rent and utilities. They can also tell you if there’s reliable cell and internet services.
4. While you may not have to learn the language, you’re going to want to.
While it may be true that it isn’t necessary to learn the local language, especially in places with an established expat population, I highly recommend that you do. If not, you may find yourself only associating with other expats or frequenting the same handful of expat-friendly establishments over and over again, never branching out.
There may be a handful of people who would be content with moving overseas and never experiencing what international living is truly about, but I doubt it. Unless your goal is to move hundreds or thousands of miles away, only to live a lifestyle that looks almost identical to your North American one, then plan to become bilingual.
5. Make sure your anticipated budget meets your needs.
One of the biggest international living mistakes new expats make is believing that estimated costs for various expenses are one-size-fits-all. Take housing for instance. Sure, you might be able to buy a home in Boquete for $200,000. But make sure you’re considering the whole picture.
If you have to move outside the city center to find a more affordable place, you may end up needing a car. If you’re accustomed to having a pool or gym in your building, consider whether a prospective apartment has those amenities.
The same goes for expenses like health insurance. Just because it’s inexpensive for most people, it’s best to make sure you can afford coverage for any special conditions or needs you have.
6. There’s no substitute for experiencing a place for yourself.
You would think most people would have the common sense not to move abroad without ever even visiting their destination of choice, but in fact we see it all the time. Not getting the full picture of your new city, before you move there, is one of the most devastating mistakes made by expats. It’s also the most easily avoided.
Once you’ve chosen where you think you want to be, or at least narrowed it down to a few, you absolutely must visit them. Once one wins out, spend even more time there. Interact with the locals. See what it’s like in all seasons. Try to get a feel for it as a resident, not just a tourist.
Only once you’ve experienced a destination for yourself can you truly feel confident in your decision to become an expat there. No international living magazine can give you that assurance. I don’t care how many seminars they offer.
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Josh, I just finished reading your insightful email about your moves to Central America and wanted to say, thank you for that. You have a gift for writing about difficult topics all the while making them easy to understand. Well done!
Kudos to you–finally!!!. I have traveled and lived outside the U.S. for >60 yrs–all over the planet–but am especially familiar with ALL of Latin America including Spain. I am always amazed at how many ignorant , gullible souls that have managed to “suck air” on this planet for so long. ALL of the so-called publications (there are hundreds of them) like “International Living” , to name only one of many, have absolutely no idea of what they are talking about, realistically, practically, factually, ad infinitum!. You are spot on–their info is misleading, at best, most certainly dated and all but guartanteed to be incorrect. These people who write this BS only care about money. They cover their you know what with “technically correct” quotes on some housing prices, cost of living prices, etc. However, most “gringos” etc. would not even consider living under the conditions of these published “budgets”. If I had a nickel for every poor, ignorant soul I have encountered all over the globe in the last 50 + years who had placed their trust and hard earned money into the hands of these charlatans, I would never had to have worked one day. These “pie in the sky”, “snake-oil salesmen” liars. thieves and human effluent have done just as much, and in many cases more, to destroy all that was once good and natural about this planet, as have the corrupt politicians, greedy central bankers and corporate CEO’s –not to mention the parents of the “baby boomers” who were mostly denied a sound value system and code of ethics. You can thank Tasty Freeze and McDonalds foe introducing the first concept of “instant gratification” which proved to be a major “death knell” to the U.S. and later, the rest of the world. So, I’ve bent your ear long enough. Just wanted to congratulate you for your sound advice, I hope you will keep up this effort to the extent we can educate enough souls to eventually eradicate the aforementioned human waste that prey on everyone for the sake of “money”. Yes, we all want to survive and live, but “money” in itself is not , never has been and never will be the best way to achieve that goal. Money is and always has been in some form or another a necessary “evil” since our species became “civilized” some 20 thousand + years ago. It won’t buy respect, love, happiness, security, friendship or anything else that is of worth. Those things cannot be bought, given, demanded, inherited or endowed. They must be EARNED!!! Adios.
Hi John! Thanks for you comments.
How would Spain be “part of Latin America”? Lol Europe and America are 2 different continents
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ARTICAL!!!!
MY HUSBAND AND TWO CHILDREN HAVE HEALTH ISSUES THAT REQUIRE A MORE CONSITENT WEATHER PATTERN THEN EASTERN WA. WHERE WE NOW RESIDE.THE WARMER CLIMATE IN THE CARRIBIAN AND LOWER PACIFIC AREAS SEEM TO HAVE MORE OF A CONSISTANT 85 DEGREE WEATHER PATTERN.THE COLD IS WHAT IS THE THE PROBLEM MAINLY AND EXSTREME WEATHER CHANGES LIKE WE HAVE HERE.WE CANNOT AFFORD TO MOVE ANYWHERE IN THE US.WE ARE WANTING TO FIND A PLACE BY THE OCEAN OUT OF THE US.WE LIVE IN A VERY SMALL TOWN UNDER 3,000 BUT WOULD LIKE TO EXSPERIENCE A POPULATION OF 6,000 OR MORE,(ARE GIRLS ARE WANTING A BIGGER AREA FOR PERSONAL GROWTH} MY HUSBAND IS 100% DISABLED VET AND HAS A RISIDUAL INCOME OF 2,500 A MONTH PLUS WE HAVE SAVED 45,000.WE VISITED MAZATLAN MEXICO BUT ARE CHILDREN DID NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE THERE.WE ARE AVAILABLE FOR A MONTH IN AUGUST TO LOOK FOR A PLACE BUT JUST REALLY DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO START.WE WERE THINKING ABOUT NICARAGUA,[WE HAVE MANY SPANISH FRIENDS HERE ,AND LOVE THEIR FAMILY CLOSENESS AND MUSIC} BUT DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO BELIEVE WHEN DOING RESEARCH ON THE WEB.WE DO NOT WANT TO END UP WASTING A MONTH WITHOUT FINDING A PLACE. IF ANYONE KNOWS A WEB.SITE THATS LEGITIMATE OR WHERE TO STAY FOR A MONTH THAT THE GOVERMENT ALLOWS AMERICANS TO HAVE A PERMENATE RESIDENCE WITH THATINCOME LEVEL PLEASE EMAIL ME WITH SOME SUBJESTIONS.JOHN GREEN MADE SOME REALISTIC STATEMENTS.MY HUSBAND WANTS ME TO FIND A PLACE TO STAY SO WE CAN FIND OUR SPOT TO RELOCATE,AND BOOK OUR FLIGHTS,I JUST DO NOT KNOW WHERE???? I WOULD GREATLY VALUE SOME TRUSTWORTHY INFORMATION OR WEB SITES THAT I CAN TRUST,THANK YOU TINA
I agree with you! I have spent countless hours searching the Internet and mostly I find ads wanting me to sign up for their newsletter. Then the newsletter is just another ad wanting me to buy their books and reports. I just want to know, by name and location, the people I need to see and talk with about finding my “slice of paradise”. Is their an outstanding Realtor in Equidor or Belize I could contact? Who do I call for advice about what I need to do to cover all the legal bases in my adopted country? Straight answers are hard to come by. Thanks for letting me rant!
Hi BJ! Check out our Guide to the Top 57 Places to Live and Invest Overseas. Our goal with this guide was not to establish a definitive, unquestionable ranking system for tropical destinations. Rather we want to give you a well-rounded view of the various living experiences available to you in the Latin Tropics. Let us know what you think!
There are possible locations where one can speak English, perhaps not in an area where you can make any profit/sell things?