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

Chapter 17You Found Your Paradise. Now What?Should You Rent or Buy? And How to Know When Halfway Isn’t the Wrong Way

MOVING OVERSEAS MEANS FINDING A PLACE TO LIVE. And that’s hard to do unless your feet are firmly planted on the ground in the overseas community where you’ll be living. That’s not to say that you can’t find a property to buy or rent online . . . but why would you? Too much can go wrong.

From photos, for instance, you might be able to get a general idea of what the place looks like. But you have no idea when those photos were taken or what has transpired since that time. Is there a 24-hour construction site next door? Or a disco or barking dogs or crowing roosters? Is there reliable cell phone and Internet coverage? (Reliable to you and not the owner.)

And you can’t tell from photos what the neighborhood looks like. Is it safe? Is it conveniently located to bus or taxi stops or grocery stores? That’s why we recommend that you search for real estate only in person . . . when you can see and feel, touch and contemplate for yourself. Only you know what you can tolerate and what you can’t when it comes to your living and sleeping arrangements.

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY: HOW TO FIND A RENTAL, AND WHEN YOU MIGHT WANT TO BITE THE BULLET AND BUY

Our mantra at International Living has always been “Try before you buy.” As we’ve said, too much can go wrong if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing. Too many real estate agents overseas (especially the gringo agents just off the ...