The International Living Guide to Retiring Overseas on a Budget: How to Live Well on $25,000 a Year

Chapter 6The Challenges of Language and Culture

Είναι óλα τα ελληνικά μου. It’s all Greek to me.

You’ve found your perfect overseas destination. It’s beautiful, affordable, and safe.

But they speak a different language than you do. How big of a stumbling block is this? Not as big as you might think . . .

Just about anywhere in the world you might go these days, you’ll almost certainly find someone who speaks English. Outside English-speaking nations, many people study the language in school as part of their regular curriculum, and many professionals have made a point of learning English to deal with growing numbers of English-speaking international clients.

American movies, television, and music are so widespread that even people who have never officially studied English often have surprisingly good conversational skills. So in a pinch, and unless you’re very far off the beaten path, you can usually find at least basic translation help.

But you really should make a valiant try at learning the local language. Not only will it enrich your experiences living, traveling, and interacting with people in your new home country, but it also will certainly save you money and could even save your life.

One option, of course, is to retire to an English-speaking country like Belize, Malaysia, or New Zealand. You’ll find pockets of Mexico like the Lake Chapala area or San Miguel de Allende, and in the Canal Zone of Panama City, where locals, thanks to their long-standing interaction with ...