How to find a beautiful place to live.

July 10, 2007 8:11 AM

Semi-retirement options: My wife and I have begun discussing the idea of selling everything and moving from Canada to a small warm-climate seaside village or town, 10 years from now. We're prepared to live very modestly, earning just enough to live on through some freelance design work and perhaps running a small cafe (open a few hours each day).

We're looking for a tranquil, beautiful and inexpensive environment. How difficult would it be to find somehere outside of North America, and actually pull this off? Location suggestions/warnings much appreciated too.

posted by davebush to work & money (7 comments total)

Start learning that new language, whatever it is.

Personally, I have similar plans as you.. I have been eyeing Brazil, particularly the NE part of it. But really much of South and Central America can offer a much lower cost of living than what you get in the US/Canada, while still providing most of the amenities you are used to -- ie. air conditioning, large cities, solid infrastructure, and a culture that is not too much different than what we have up here. And of course, the weather will be much nicer than what you get in Canada during the winter.

So my suggestion would be to start learning Spanish or Portuguese, and identify and start traveling to some cities that interest you.
posted by eas98 at 8:21 AM on July 10, 2007

I visited the area surrounding Dubrovnik, Croatia this spring and absolutely loved it - warm people, warm climate, great food. On a lark, I looked into some property prices about 15-20 minutes from the sea, and found them surprisingly affordable. Can't say what prices will be like in 10 years, but it might be something to look into now; there was a lot of new resort-property buildings going up around the area, so I imagine that prices will skyrocket fairly soon.
posted by angry.polymath at 8:23 AM on July 10, 2007

I think 10 years is plenty of time to get ready for this.

I would consider a couple things, though, that might be an issue:

Your political rights as expatriates: Can you own property? Can you rent to other people? Voting or political activity on a local/national level? Library cards and driver's licenses?

The environment: How stable is the climate where you're heading? What sorts of environmental damage are happening there now, and what will it be like in 10 years? What's the water/sanitation outlook? Deforestation ruining the topsoil that local farmers depend on for income, forcing them to turn to ever-more-expensive chemical solutions that create pollution?

Employment and the economy: Can you work? Will you be happy in a setting with slow/non-existent economic growth, and would you be able to preserve your standard of living given rising prices but incomes that might not keep pace with inflation? What's your tolerance level for corruption and bribery?

Self-sufficiency: Many expats choose to live in places with lots of other expats. How willing are you to be isolated from a community of people you'd call your own? How tolerant are you of people who may be expats for the wrong reasons, whatever you might consider those to be?

I wonder if the cafe idea would work in an area that sees some low-key, non-cruise-ship tourism, as part of an ecolodge/bed-and-breakfast kind of thing. Somewhere like Costa Rica seems like it'd have a good combination of stability and prosperity; Dominica is trying to bill itself as a "natural" getaway and is definitely off the beaten track in the Caribbean.

Depending on how foreign you want to get, the Aegean/Mediterranean coast of Turkey is long enough to have mega-resorts and little hidden coves and villages; I imagine you wouldn't have too much of a problem buying a little house or apartment there as long as you had enough money to support yourselves.

Finally, check out this thread on retiring in Europe. Slightly different situation, but it might give you some location ideas.

Good luck!
posted by mdonley at 8:46 AM on July 10, 2007

My wife and I are planning on doing just this on the Big Island of Hawaii. Much is said about how expensive a place it is, but we didn't find it so when we were there last year, at least not compared to DC, where we live now. Plus, there will be no immigration issues--just pack up and go!
posted by MrMoonPie at 10:11 AM on July 10, 2007

There is a magazine/website called International Living that specialises in retiring abroad. They are pretty conservative right wing, but I think that just goes with their market. They can certainly help with the practicalities, but be warned they tend to shill for related investment opportunities etc. over which I would be very cautious.
In any case they have a free newsletter that usually has a short note from somebody doing this sort of thing which is good for motivation.
posted by bystander at 8:29 PM on July 10, 2007

I've spent some time browsing through the information at Escape Artist. Quality varies according to region, but it's a good starting point.
posted by weegreentoad at 11:07 PM on July 10, 2007

That sounds great, and I'm envious. I'd run the 'cafe only open a few hours a day' idea by some business school students to analyze how viable it is. I've seen food businesses that are only open for limited hours, but the ones that seem to make a profit seem to involve a lot of work in addition to the hours of operation (donut shops, bakers, etc...).
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:00 AM on July 12, 2007