International Living Community

Great to hear fom you with your very interesting article on Bali. And yes, you have tried to balance your article with talking about the downsides(bad roads, no road, washed out roads). However there are many people like me who come from a snake-free environment. Maybe you should have mentioned that some of the deadliest and aggressive snakes in the world reside in places like Bali ( and Costa Rica). /CG.

Hi Abby I left another reiy below. I suggested a couple who have extensive house sitting experience who might be able to help you focus on some other places to look. Here is her addess: terry_coles@yahoo.com Chip Stites, IL Italy Correspondent.

Hi Coury, I wanted to follow up on my previus response. We visited and loved Ascoli Piceno in Le Marche but it is not a 7% town as it is too large. Here is a list of Le Marche towns that fit your desired 7% tax offer. Acquacanina (MC); Acquasanta Terme (AP); Amandola (FM); Apiro (MC); Appignano del Tronto (AP); Arquata del Tronto (AP); Ascoli Piceno; Belforte del Chienti (MC); Belmonte Piceno (FM); Bolognola (MC); Caldarola (MC); Camporotondo di Fiastrone (MC); Castel di Lama (AP); Castelraimondo (MC); Castelsantangelo sul Nera (MC); Castignano (AP); Castorano (AP); Cerreto D’esi (AN); Cessapalombo (MC); Cingoli (MC); Colli del Tronto (AP); Colmurano (MC); Comunanza (AP); Corridonia (MC); Cossignano (AP); Esanatoglia (MC); Fabriano (AN); Falerone (FM); Fiastra (MC); Fiordimonte (MC); Fiuminata (MC); Folignano (AP); Force (AP); Gagliole (MC); Gualdo (MC); Loro Piceno (MC); Macerata; Maltignano (AP); Massa Fermana (FM); Matelica (MC); Mogliano (MC); Monsapietro Morico (FM); Montalto delle Marche (AP); Montappone (FM); Monte Rinaldo (FM); Monte San Martino (MC); Monte Vidon Corrado (FM); Montecavallo (MC); Montedinove (AP); Montefalcone Appennino (FM); Montefortino (FM); Montegallo (AP); Montegiorgio (FM); Monteleone (FM); Montelparo (FM); Montemonaco (AP); Muccia (MC); Offida (AP); Ortezzano (FM); Palmiano (AP); Penna San Giovanni (MC); Petriolo (MC); Pieve Torina (MC); Pievebovigliana (MC); Pioraco (MC); Poggio San Vicino (MC); Pollenza (MC); Ripe San Ginesio (MC); Roccafluvione (AP); Rotella (AP); San Ginesio (MC); San Severino Marche (MC); Santa Vittoria in Matenano (FM); Sant’Angelo in Pontano (MC); Sarnano (MC); Sefro (MC); Serrapetrona (MC); Serravalle del Chienti (MC); Servigliano (FM); Smerillo (FM); Tolentino (MC); Treia (MC); Urbisaglia (MC); Ussita (MC); Venarotta (AP); Visso (MC). Camerino ( MC); As you can see there are quite a few! There are more in Abruzzo, and more in Umbria and Lazio. I will be happy to send you a complete list if you wish, please write me at info@thelaughingretirement.com. Also please be aware that all of the towns in the autonomous regions of Central Italy are in the earthquake zone and that is why they are listed. So, you are not put off we live in one of the towns in Lazio listed or over 7 years and have felt, one time a gentle bump and that is all. I hope this helps your search. My best, Chip Stites, IL Correspondent for Italy.

Hi Abby and thank you for the question. What you are looking for seems to be a house sitting job here in Italy. That is smart as you will save on the costs on living while you learn about the region. The downside is that the job determines where you go. It doesnt allow you to determine the topography, climate or style of life you want to live. I.E., Rural, city, expat community or non expat community. What I woud suggest is two-fold. First do some research to determine the climate, topography, and lifestylle you are looking for. For example it you love to walk up and down hills and love the idea of a midieval hilltop town, with no expats, then focus on jobs that allow you to do that. If you want city life then look there. Second I would send you to two people who are expert house sitters and have had jobs all over the world on most of the continents of the world. Terry Coles and her husband are experts and can show you how to focus in and where to look to apply for just the right job. Here is Terry's email Good luck. terry_coles@yahoo.com. Terry and her husband have written a book about thier travels. Good hunting! I hope this helps. Chip Stites, IL Italy Correspondent.

Hi Shawn, I'm Bel, the Mexico Correspondent and I'm with you, Mexico has so many beautiful places to choose from. What I would recommend is going to the home page and under the countries tab you'll find Mexico. If you scroll all the way to the bottom there are nearly 40 locations listed. Each one has it's own page so you can get a good feel for the location. It's kind of fun to look at all the places and you'll find a bunch that you may want to visit. Have fun exploring.

Hi Cori, In Boquete and indeed in any mountain town in Panama it pays to study the microclimates over an extended stay. Talk to immediate neighbors for the latest intel. In the greater Boquete district some areas may be windier or rainier while others may get lighter showers. The area known as Volcancito, for example, is notoriously windy. Ask neighbors to share experiences not just from this year or last but, if possible, over a five-year period. Panama is always affected by the El Niño and La Niña weather patterns; the former brings us drier weather (or droughts in parts of the country) and can last a year or more while La Niña ushers in a year or more of wetter weather (or flooding in parts of the country, including mountain regions). No matter where you live in Boquete, though, it's very lush with frequent misty rain referred to as bajareque which means humidity is always high. Homes tend to be built with this in mind. E.g. slatted closet and cabinet doors can help keep clothing and shoes from getting musty or moldy, and some homes have air conditioning units even though the springlike temperatures mean you don't really need a/c (or heating). Running the a/c regularly can help you keep your home dry. In a typical year in Boquete (no El Niño/La Niña) you'll have scattered showers and bajareque throughout the year with Jan-March being fairly dry and the heaviest downpours falling from August through November. Regardless of time of year, Boquete tends to be very sunny (and yes, that constant mingling sun and rain means lots of rainbows). For more info you may want to check out https://www.boqueteweather.com/stations.htm, a truly wonderful resource that allows you to see recorded temps etc at the local weather station (it was amazing for this region to get this) and which cites among many other useful observations: "A more typical day during the wet season in the Boquete District is to wake up to generally clear skies and sunshine. As the day progresses, you see cumulous clouds developing in the south and then growing into towering cumulonimbus systems. By mid afternoon, the cloud systems move into the area and rain falls. The thunderstorm rains last for varying amounts of time, but usually not more than a couple of hours. Slow steady stratus cloud rains from the Caribbean are unusual but occasionally occur during the wet season. "Because the Boquete District is a large area with a lot of variation in elevation and terrain, there seem to be many microclimates. While this makes sense and there is a lot of folklore discussion about these microclimates, there is not a lot of available data from which to draw solid conclusions. " Best, IL Panama Editor Jess Ramesch

From your IL team: Please note International Living has not vetted this rental. Always do your own due diligence. As IL cannot vet or endorse member-owned properties in any way we encourage you to connect on Zoom (or FaceTime, Whatsapp, or similar) before entering into any type of rental, exchange, or sales agreement (rentals, home swapping, home/petsitting, etc). Glad to see you using the forum to connect!

Depends on what help you need. If you are applying as the descendant of a citizen of those two countries, There's a process for that. If you're looking to qualify by naturalization, that's another route. Can you clarify which way you're trying to get citizenship?

If your father's father (your grandpa) was born in Malta before 1 September 1964, then your father Is automatically a Maltese citizen. You do not automatically acquire Maltese citizenship from him; but you can apply for citizenship by registration on the basis that your father is a Maltese citizen as were your grandparents and great grandparents. To pursue this, you'd need to contact the Malta Citizenship Agency, get the application, gather all the documents that prove your ancestry, and submit your case.

I saw Ted's response under PJPLMT. Thank you.

Thank you, Ted!!!

Hi Ray, I faced this issue when cancer restricted my wife's mobility. On a trip to Hawaii, we found a rental company that had a small powered scooter waiting for us at our hotel. That worked fairly well, as we were in Honolulu and the buses were all equipped for accessibility. On a trip to France, we rented a travel chair in the US and checked it at the airport. I provided the power on that trip. This was less than Ideal, as the travel chairs tend to have small tires - great for the smooth hallways of the Louvre, but tough on gravel walkways at the Versaille Palace. We did find that the French were extremely accommodating; pushing us to the front of the line at passport control, free entry to museums for both my wife and myself, and so on. If your powered chair has the FAA-approved gel-type batteries, it can also be checked on the flight. Your airline and chair/rollator mfg could tell you more about that. The main issue will be where do you want to go? Our experience traveling in the old towns in Europe and in parts of South America is that many places are just not setup for mobility issues. For example, aggregate sites like Expedia, Booking, etc. have filters you can use to search for only accomodations that are wheelchair accessible. I just did a search for hotels in Lisbon, Portugal and once I applied the filter, it did find some nice hotels, but it also eliminated 97% of the ones available in my time frame. So to sum up, a lot depends on your particular needs and choice of destinations, but travel with power chairs or rollators can be dome but definitely requires careful advance planning and research. Hope that helps, and let me know if you have any other questions.

Hi Elissa, Just saw your email, sending the below via email and posting here: Conveniently Harry Hunt who was one of the exhibitors at the event divides his time between Boquete and Puerto Armuelles, you might want to contact him and cc his associate Magda Crespo, their info is in the conference booklet but I have pasted it below for convenience. Best of luck with all your Panama plans. HARRY HUNT Own Boquete Tel: +507 720-2506 Email: ownboquete@cwpanama.net Website: www.ownboquete.com MAGDA CRESPO MC Panama Realty Tel: +507 720-3240; Cell: +507 6671-8800 Email: magda@magdacrespo.com Website: www.mcpanamarealty.com Best, IL Panama Editor Jess Ramesch

Glad you've posted CLAUDETTELC 0 and it would be great if some of the other ILers on this forum are in Panama City to meet up. That said most of the folks on this forum are contemplating a move and may not be there yet. Luckily there are many ways to meet expats in Panama. Networking apps and sites like LinkedIn (website: www.linkedin.com), Instagram (website www.Instagram.com), and Facebook (website: www.facebook.com) are extremely popular in Panama and are great ways to grow your network. You can create a profile for free and search Panama-related groups. You'll find expat groups specifically on Facebook for many areas of Panama, such as El Valle and Coronado. Attending events, by the way, is also a great way to get involved and meet new people. There are many sites where you can find out about fun events, including Facebook (check expat groups in your city or town of interest and/or select the events section from the menu), Playa Community (Coronado region; website: www.playacommunity.com), and Internations (Panama City; website: www.Internations.org). When traveling to specific destinations in Panama, make sure to hit the popular expat hotspots. You’re likely to make friends and glean important information. In Panama City, you might try the Balboa Yacht Club if you're already in the area (it's located not in Balboa but in Amador by the Radisson Hotel Panama Canal and a short drive from the Biomuseum), and in the city-center there are multiple options like The Londoner Pub, owned by fun-loving expat Piers Edgar, or Bdubs by the Waldorf Astoria, or Murphy's Bar on Via Argentina (check their facebook pages to see if they're having live music or other fun events as these are great networking opportunities). International networking platform Internations also holds networking events once a month—a different venue each time (sign up for the website at www.internations.org/panama-city-expats). Best, IL Panama Editor Jess Ramesch

Glad you've posted CLAUDETTELC 0 and it would be great if some of the other ILers on this forum are in Panama City to meet up. That said most of the folks on this forum are contemplating a move and may not be there yet. Luckily there are many ways to meet expats in Panama. Networking apps and sites like LinkedIn (website: www.linkedin.com), Instagram (website www.Instagram.com), and Facebook (website: www.facebook.com) are extremely popular in Panama and are great ways to grow your network. You can create a profile for free and search Panama-related groups. You'll find expat groups specifically on Facebook for many areas of Panama, such as El Valle and Coronado. Attending events, by the way, is also a great way to get involved and meet new people. There are many sites where you can find out about fun events, including Facebook (check expat groups in your city or town of interest and/or select the events section from the menu), Playa Community (Coronado region; website: www.playacommunity.com), and Internations (Panama City; website: www.Internations.org). When traveling to specific destinations in Panama, make sure to hit the popular expat hotspots. You’re likely to make friends and glean important information. In Panama City, you might try the Balboa Yacht Club if you're already in the area (it's located not in Balboa but in Amador by the Radisson Hotel Panama Canal and a short drive from the Biomuseum), and in the city-center there are multiple options like The Londoner Pub, owned by fun-loving expat Piers Edgar, or Bdubs by the Waldorf Astoria, or Murphy's Bar on Via Argentina (check their facebook pages to see if they're having live music or other fun events as these are great networking opportunities). International networking platform Internations also holds networking events once a month—a different venue each time (sign up for the website at www.internations.org/panama-city-expats). Best, IL Panama Editor Jess Ramesch

Hi Karen3A, I am David Hammond, International Living's correspondent in Uruguay. I am from Washington State and have been living in Uruguay for 19 years. In my opionion: A few cons: While I find Uruguay more affordable than the U.S., it is one of the more expensive countries in Latin America. And it's also a long flight to the U.S. A few pluses: What I like best about Uruguay is its culture of inclusion. There is a bigger middle class in Uruguay than any other country in Latin America. And its recently been ranked as the country with the least amount of public corruption in the Americas by Transparancy International. Here are a couple of articles I wrote that yiou may find intereesting: This article specifically lays out some of the pros and cons of living in Uruguay: https://internationalliving.com/countries/uruguay/ This article explains some of the pluses attracting expats to Uruguay: https://internationalliving.com/why-uruguay-is-the-perfect-post-election-haven-for-expats/ Best regards, David

First of all, there is no obstacle to getting a second citizenship on the American side.The Supreme Court has ruled several times that Americans cannot be forbidden from acquiring other citizenships. So keep that in mind because if you really like a country, it's always best to become a citizen if you want to stay there. There are many countries where you can live and retire indefinitely. For retirees, countries have visas that allow you to remain indefinitely as long as you have sufficient income from pensions and investments. In Europe, they include Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, and several countries in the Balkans. Popular retirement visas in the Western Hemisphere include Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador. The key factor for all of these visas is whether you have enough passive income from pension and investments to qualify. The cheapest are in Central America, with Costa Rica and Panama at $1000 a month. Europe is more expensive although Portugal will grant AD7 retirement visa for around $1000 a month income. All the other countries are in the €3000 to €3500 monthly income range. Finally, note that although you often need to renew the visa annually for every two years, this is just a formality to show that you continue to have enough income. Many IL subscribers have lived for years abroad in these countries in this way.

Hi there, If you're just looking to get a feel for what the country is like, IL's "Escape to Colombia" guide contains a host of information for people looking to visit or retire there. Cartagena is a famously charming city. Here’s a shortlist of must-see attractions you should check out when visiting Cartagena (according to the Escape to Colombia guide): • Bolívar Square • Gold and Archaeological Museum • Castle of San Felipe de Barajas • Palace of the Inquisition • San Pedro Claver Cathedral • Temple of Santo Domingo • Mucura Island Medellín also has plenty to offer in the realm of entertainment and cultural tourism. In July, the city hosts Colombiamoda, where the country's top fashion designers show off their work.