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New to IL and may have missed some info about moving o-seas not necessarily because of needing to cut cost of living but able to afford greater national security, political solidity, good health care, etc. Any info researched by IL in Switzerland, Poland, Nordic countries, ??
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I have relocated from Colorado to Greece in 2022 and then from Greece to Portugal in 2023 due to tax reasons. Algarve is great, much more like the Mediteranean but the are so many beautiful places in Portugal to look at.
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I moved to Portugal and applied for the NHR status before it ended to get a tax deferral for Portuguese tax but rules have changed since. Before I was always careful of the 183 day rule. There are places here that cater to short term rental but more than likely; it will be an upfront cost.
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I have to work. Please record and send to my text thanks
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so, I'm traveling on the 21st and won't have access. Can I stream it later? VERY INTERESTED!!!! I am SO out of here@
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My wife and I have 4 children and 9 grandchildren, so this was much on our minds as well. During the 6 years we lived in Ecuador however, we found that we were able to keep in touch via social media and video chats. When we visited the US, we had more of their attention and time than we did when we were living nearby. We also were able to bring our family out to visit us, introducing them to a larger world. One of our granddaughters just decided to spend her senior year abroad in Denmark, and one of our sons is taking his daughter to Japan for a month this summer, so I think our travel has had a positive effect on their lives.
-Jim Santos
IL Roving Correspondent
Currently in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico -
how can I watch a replay?
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CMAJORCHORD said:
I will be in classroom teaching at that time. will this workshop be recorded? -
I il_admin moved this topic from Travel on
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If I take up residency in Greece or anywhere in Europe and then decide I do not want to be there do I simply leave or is there a process? Thank you
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We enquired about Medicare Advantage plan and were told that you CANNOT have and Advantage plan if you live overseas, we are moving to Greece. Please advise??
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I recall one panelist mentioning one insurance company that provided private health insurance for people up to 80. I'm 80 and my wife nearly so, so I wonder if that makes it difficult or impossible to get private coverage while waiting for residency in various countries. Also, is advanced age a barrier to getting residency, when we would otherwise qualify?
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Good day,
My wife Rita and I have been spending a month or more in several locations as we explore a "roving" lifestyle. We have had good success using tools like AirBnB and VBRO to find long-term stays at reasonable rates. Most aggregates have filters you can use to narrow your searches, so you can set your price range. For example, we found a month stay in Panama City Panama for just over $1100, and a month in San Miguel Allende Mexico for $1200. Since your accommodations can include a kitchen and even laundry, you can save money there as well while you explore your options.I have a special needs grandson (autism), but unfortunately that does not qualify me to make recommendations for your son's needs. I would suggest talking it over with his doctor or other medical professionals to see how he might respond to new and different environments. In general, I can say that outside the US we have often seen there is no social stigma attached to special needs or disabilities.
Best wishes,
Jim Santos
International Living Roving Correspondent
Currently in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico -
Good day,
The importance of maintaining a mailing address in the US varies with your particular needs. It used to be more important in general, but since so many things are handled online now, physical mail has become less important. However, there are still some things that require a mailing address.
For example, do you plan on returning to the US from time to time and renting a car? If so, you will have to keep your US Drivers License, which in most states requires a physical address to renew. Your credit cards may also require a US mailing address, and so on.
Some expats use the address of family or friends to collect their mail, and there are also virtual mailbox services that can send you a scan of the envelope, then either open and scan the contents, shred, forward to another address, hold for pickup, etc. A Google search of "virtual mailbox" will give you several from which to choose.Jim Santos
International Living Roving Correspondent
Currently in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico -
Good day,
You've described exactly what my wife Rita and I are doing now. Although we did live in Ecuador for 6 years with a residency visa, we are now exploring the world just by traveling on our passports, and staying from a few weeks to a few months. Most countries will let you stay up to three months on a US passport. Costa Rica and Mexico allow up to 6 months, and Albania an entire year. It will get trickier for us later this year when we go to Europe, as we will have to deal with the Schengen Area rules. Rather than finding it tiring, so far at least we have found it to be exhilarating.
As for residency visa rules, they do vary from country to country, and some do require that you stay in your adopted country for a certain period of time. Ecuador for example at the time required that we not leave the country for more than a total of three months the first two years. Panama and Mexico are two examples where the requirements are less strict.
Jim Santos
International Living Roving Correspondent
Currently in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico -
You said it - it varies from country to country. I can tell you that when we lived in Ecuador, we were able to skip having to take a driving class by showing our US driver's licenses. However, we still had to take a multiple choice written test (in Spanish), hearing test, eye test, and coordination test in order to qualify. I think you will find most countries will accept your US license as proof you know how to drive, but expect the tests to all be in the native language. Which isn't really a bad thing - it is important that you be able to read and understand the street signs, for example.
Jim Santos
International Living Roving Correspondent
Currently in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico -
I want to move to Portugal but the amount of paperwork is overwhelming! Can you suggest how I would go about getting legal assistance that I could hire to assist in dealing with application for visa, etc.