International Living Community

SUZANHASKINS 0 said: Hey Christine, I wrote an article about this part of Mexico in your IL magazine last year. You should easily find it in the magazine archives. Plus, there are many helpful Facebook groups to join, from "Expats in Tijuana" to "Rosarito Living", "Ensenada Expats", "Ensenada Living", and more. In Ensenada, reach out to Gabriela, whos specializes in rentals and sales: gabrielavictorica@yahoo.com

Jess, We are planning on attending the Panama conference in February 2025. We anticipate checking out areas to rent for 3 months next summer. We love the beach and a more laid back location. Any suggestions on how we should begin our search? David S

hi Robin, that is a great question and one that we get often. My advice is to ship as little as possible for three excellent reasons. First is that most things outside of tourist areas cost less in Italy. Second, shipping is expense and takes months. We shipped a pallet of used colthing and books. We shipped in October and it arrived in late Jan if my memory serves. The third reason is customs. They are very picky about what gets in and what does not. WE were charged a fee of $10 or so per day, and had forms in triplicate and discovered that most of what we sent was not necessary, took forever and cost us about $5,000. If I were you I would by new without question. Chip Stites, IL Italy Correspondent.

Mark, if you'd like to book a consultation with me, I offer personalized planning for a move abroad. If you'd like to sign up, here's the link. https://secured.globalcitizenliving.com/journey/120SZTCC3/1

Glen, you are most welcome to sign up for my consultation service at Global Citizen, part of International Living. I can help you plan for everything that you mentioned in your post. Here's the link: https://secured.globalcitizenliving.com/journey/120SZTCC3/1

If you're looking for some more detailed information on moving to Portugal, our "Escape to Portugal Guide" should have all the answers you need. IL members can find it here: https://members.internationalliving.com/escape-to-portugal-everything-you-need-to-know-to-retire-better-invest-well-and-enjoy-the-good-life-for-less/

Ed, I also want to emphasize that the locations I mentioned are places where you will not need a car. Many expat retirees use taxis, Ubers, or have private drivers they call on with regularity...very easy and affordable to do.

Hi - you have a couple of options here. When we travel, I sometimes ask my doctor to write the 'script for six months rather than three. The downside is that sometimes means only the first three months are covered by health insurance, and I pay the regular price for the other three. The other option, in many countries you don't need a prescription for most drugs, unlesss they are opiate-based or other psycotropic drugs. What I do is look for a website for a major pharmacy in my target country. For example, in Mexico "Farmacias del Ahorro" is a major chain. Their website https://www.fahorro.com has a search field at the top. Search for your medication(s) there to see if it is available and whaat it costs. I searched for "metformin" for diabetes, and found 60 500mg tablets for 167MXN, or about $8.20 USD. One last tip - if you don't find the brand name, try the generic name.

https://internationalliving.com/events/fast-track-costa-rica-2025/ You can call to register.

he said in the video there is fast internet.

Panama offers a variety of private & public hospitals with new medical treatment equipment, diagnostic personnel from english speaking fully vetted doctors trained in the USA to technicians, nurses and man-power at every level in any medical setting. Immigration is encouraged requiring only $1,000. per month retirement or disability income for lifetime benefit period including spouse for only $250. additional benefit paid monthly by Social Security/military retirement/disability income verification for lifetime disbursement. YouTube "Panama Relocation Tours" hosted & owned by Jackie Lange for a wealth of knowledge in establishing a relocation exploratory to a Latin American country absent of hurricanes & tornadoes with an Eternal Spring climate in the highlands and year round balmy warm temperatures on 1500 miles of beaches on the Pacific & Carribean Oceans.

Hi there—I don't believe that Jeff Opdyke has ever written on this topic. However, I forwarded your question to Ted Baumann, our banking correspondent, and he recommended using Weber Vrijhof Hoffman and partners in Zurich for your gold storage needs. However, he also noted that he prefers to recommend New Zealand Volt, as the transaction costs are lower in New Zealand (compared to those in Switzerland) and the quality of the service is identical.