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

Chapter 16Boots on the GroundZeroing In on the Community That’s Right for You

YOU CAN STUDY ALL THE COLLECTED DATA, analyze real estate statistics, crunch the cost-of-living numbers, study weather patterns and more, but nothing surpasses your gut instinct when it comes to choosing a place to live.

And believe us, your gut can change—especially as you get older. Your needs and interests expand right along with your waistline.

For instance, back in 1997, when we were just married and first started thinking about living overseas, we pored over every International Living e-mail and magazine. We compared and contrasted, planned and dreamed . . . Certain we would live in an exotic tropical destination, we wanted it to be relatively close to family and friends back home in the States, who promised to visit often.

Cost of living was important, of course, as it still is. But far more important to us today is convenient access to quality (and yes, affordable) medical care. Over a decade ago—when we were in our mid-forties—we didn’t think much about that.

Instead, we were all about sunshine, warm weather, and beach bars where we could while away the hours watching the sun set over the surf, digging our toes in the sand and hoisting a cold one. This is how we spent our vacations, after all.

But as the old adage goes, life is what happens when you’re busy making plans. And life isn’t a constant vacation. So except for half a year spent high on a hill above San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, which ...