International Living Community

Hello, I am also a new member and will be watching and reading everything here! We just spent 2 months in Spain/Portugal this past Fall as we are considering moving there. I am 73 and had no problem renting a car in Barcelona and driving all over Spain and Portugal for 2 months. Some rental car companies in Europe don't allow driving the car over the borders. We've always used SYXT Rental and we recommend them. As a side note - we were not as thrilled with Portugal as we thought we would be. We like Spain much better.

And be aware that you will run into resistance or ghosting from landlords in some parts of Spain if you don't have a regular, Spain-based, income. So be prepared to kiss a lot of frogs.

I have used YourBestAddress for several years now. They are in South Dakota. They will hold your mail till you tell them to ship it; or you can upgrade (not expensive) to a scan / shred service. www.yourbestaddress.com. Their customer service is outstanding. If you need to retain US citizenship in a non-income-tax US state, they can help with that for SD. Usually, my mailbox is a sufficient address for businesses i deal with , but some banks don't like it--they flag it as a mailbox--so when i opened a new credit card, YourBestAddress offered the use of a residential address for me to use for that single purpose.

I use Redpocket.com. I ported my US number to them from Verizon. They have a plan you can buy on Ebay for $60 annually and a slightly more expensive plan on their own site, redpocket.com. My US phone number is a "normal" number; i.e., it can receive SMS for authentication. It works perfectly with WiFi calling when i have WiFi coverage at my home abroad -- or in a cafe abroad--and randomly works when i have cell service (though they don't provide support for cell problems when when roaming.) That way i have a US number i can keep permanently for a cheap price. I have used it in several EU countries and in LatAm, and it works.

Any suggestion on tour guides for Lisbon Portugal?

Great question! I'm not familiar with any sites or organizations in Spain that highlight accessible housing or communities. I would say that major cities would be the most accessible - Madrid and Barcelona. Smaller towns may be accessible in some areas but overall I find much of Spain was not built with accessibility in mind (except for the visually impaired). Most new buildings will have elevators but the units themselves may not be wheelchair accessible. Buses are wheelchair friendly but not all sidewalks are. I hope this helps!

Thanks for the good response.

It probably wouldn't hurt for some of us to eat a little humble pie. My experience in foreign countries, even 50 years ago, was that a lot of people seemed to feel that people from the United States were rather arrogant, even though we are trying to be friendly. Calling ourselves American can really bother people from Mexico, Canada, Central or South America. The people in Argentina called me Estado Unidense (United Statesian) or Yankee. With the Argentine accent, that sounded to me like they were calling my "junkie". Needless to say, I didn't like the sound of that. So breaking the ice wasn't easy. I eventually made life long friends with them, but it wasn't a great way to start. As far as people from other countries hating our government, especially places like Panama, Canada and Greenland, I can only think to comiserate with them, and let them know that is one of the reasons I'm coming to their country now.

We own a home just north of Coronado at Play Caracol. Our beach access is fantastic, the food is wonderful and it is quite with the most beautiful and longest beach on the Pacific side. It depends on what you want. Panama city is a big modern city where prices are similar to California where we live. We love the beach and the restaurnts in Coronado are great. It is all about what you want out of your time off in Panama. I love making our own food from fresh Longostina and fish 15 minutes away at Punta Chame and the quite of our home in Playa Caracol. We can always drive to Panama City for the day it ia 1.5 hours away for excitement.

il_admin said: Mary L. Says: What is the best way to find a furnished rental apartment in the Cannes/Antibes area of France? It should be at least a one bedroom but could be two.

Thanks I will also that a look! Sharon

Hi I am also looking in tge Algarve region for possible Airbnb.

what is the best way to find a month-long rental near the beach in Nice?

specialists must be Panamanian citizens which means you would not be able to practice in these professions if you become a legal citizen?

Thanks for the on-the-ground input, Jess. For others with the same question for locations around the world, I find that Wikipedia has great charts that show monthly temperature ranges, preciptiation amounts, sunlight hours, etc. Just go to their site and look for the climate section; somtimes it is under geography. Michael

Hi Bekah, Thank you for your reply and the links. We currently own a lake front home in North Florida and are looking to duplicate this in Costa Rica. A condo with nice amenities may be a good choice however we are open. Lake Arenal looks very nice but a smaller lake may be a better option IF actual lakefront property is available at a reasonable cost. There is an almost overwhelming amount of listings on the net for Lake Arenal but seemingly nothing on "other" lakes. We would be selling our home here and likely buying but would like to keep a purchase at or below 300k. We will be at Playa Flamingo in June for several days of world class fishing and some exploring. You can contact me separately at JDStansberry@aol.com if that is more appropriate. Thank you again for your reply! Best, John