International Living Community

Hi there! Ted Baumann here. I've actually stayed at the Garden Route Game Lodge myself, it's really nice. Lovely big fireplaces for the evening meals.

The quickest way to get there from Aghulas would be to take the R319 provincial road north Until you intersect with the N2 highway, Which runs east west. You would make a right turn onto the N2 then go through Swellendam, Heidelberg, and Riversdale, and then you'll pick up the game lodge a bit further on on the left.

I haven't been there but perhaps one of the other ILers will comment.

I'll just add that, while I can't tell you when or if International Living will ever cover Paraguay, I can tell you that the countries covered here generally check the majority of the following boxes:

Home to expat communities Welcoming to foreigners Straightforward access to legal residence Safe for families, retirees, single women Excellent infrastructure (roads, telecommunications, power, water) Politically stable Strong/stable economy Straightfoward access to bank accounts You can move your money in and out with reasonable ease A good range of property available for sale and rent Excellent value (cost of living vs what you get for your money) Easy to travel to/in-country
And more (for a full list of categories see International Living's Annual Global Retirement Index: https://magazine.internationalliving.com/internationalliving/library/item/january_2024/4158110/ )

To sum up there typically needs to be great value and a high enough standard of living to entice expats to go, especially when much longer flights are involved. (For example, even though it takes 8+ hours to fly to Uruguay from the States, we do cover it from time to time because it offers so much. You can read our latest coverage in the June issue of IL magazine https://magazine.internationalliving.com/internationalliving/library/item/may_2024/4189974/ )

Best,

IL Overseas Editor Jess Ramesch

You may want to reach out to Ronan McMahon's team of experts at Pangea as they have done a lot of scouting in Spain (albeit much of it on the coast... still, they may have a broker to recommend who does long-term rentals in the San Sebastian/Donostia area and if so, that'll be info worth having):

Email: info@pangearesearchgroup.com
Website: https://pangearesearchgroup.com

Best,

IL Overseas Editor Jess Ramesch

I'm not doing any traveling in Costa Rica this time around but but thought I'd chime in just to say that on a previous year I did rent a car and tour on my own after a conference and it was great!

I felt perfectly safe (even when I got a flat tire on the highway at dusk) and had a lovely time. I went to Grecia, Atenas, and San Ramon (stopped in Sarchí), there was a ton of info on Facebook expat groups, makes it easy to ask/find out about expat gatherings/hangouts. Prior to that I'd been to and enjoyed beaches around Manuel Antonio and Ojochal. Went to Limon on the Caribbean side many, many years ago as well (there's a nice little expat community there now).

No matter what part of the country you choose, it's hard to go wrong. The number one thing I personally do to ensure a good trip is to make some connections via facebook ahead of time and number two book stays at places with great recent reviews.

Best,
IL Overseas Editor Jess Ramesch

You may have trouble getting into a private insurance plan but depending on the country (and sometimes depending on the community) you choose and depending on the type of residence/visa you utilize, you may find you have other great options such as getting into the public system or a hospital membership plan. True, most do make the move before the age of 80, and at any age there are a lot of factors to consider, including health, personality type, community ties, finances... but there are some wonderful 80+ success stories! Here's some inspiration:

https://members.internationalliving.com/articles/finding-adventure-in-retirement/

Plus you might enjoy this video of 81-year-old world travelers on the International Living YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/JSpt-xjkxFU?si=cs7RF78dCJ4BgkwE

Best,
IL Overseas Editor Jess Ramesch