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Not the world you see on the evening news: The International Living Podcast explores safe, welcoming, beautiful—and often little-unknown—spots on the planet. Places where you could live richer, travel more, invest for profit, and enjoy a jet-set life...for less than it costs to stay home. Host Jim Santos talks with IL’s magazine writers and with a cast of thoughtful characters living interesting lives abroad—from Penang to Porto, Cuenca to Madrid. Smart ideas for richer living in a bigger, better world.
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Send us a text When it comes to your overseas retirement, you don’t want to go in blind. That’s why, every January, International Living publishes the world’s most in-depth, detailed resource on the subject. Put simply, it ranks the top destinations on the planet to retire to, based on the factors that matter most. How much does it cost to rent a two-bedroom home in a pleasant expat area? What does a bottle of local beer cost? Will you be able to meet other expats?, is the weather good?, wil...
Send us a text In our last podcast of the year, Jim speaks to Lifestyle Editor Seán Keenan about his recent exploratory trip to Costa Rica. He visited some of the most popular areas in the country— and talked to expats in each of them—to share what makes it one of the best places in the world to retire. If you’re enjoying the podcast, we would really appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform: https://lovethepodcast.com/internationalliving. Facebook | Ins...
Send us a text While the rest of us shiver in the gloom of our northern winter, expats around the world languish in the sunshine of beach resorts, highland retreats, and buzzing cities. International Living Panama Editor, Jessica Ramesch is one of them. Most of the year, she lives by the beach in the year-round sunshine of Coronado, Panama. Every day in Coronado is summer, so where does Jessica choose to go when August comes around The answer may be counterintuitive, but it has its own unden...
Send us a text “The world keeps turning and it keeps creating opportunity,” says International Real Estate investor, Ronan McMahon. Since 2008, Ronan and his team have been scouring the globe for the best real estate deals on the planet. When they find them, they share them in Real Estate Trend Alert—Ronan’s investment advisory service. To be included, the terms are simple: this needs to be an investment that will at least double in value within five years. That’s no small task, and Ronan’s...
Send us a text Lifestyle Editor Seán Keenan joins the podcast from Central America, on location as he researches his next feature story for International Living magazine. His first stop is Nicaragua, once a high-profile expat destination, now slightly under the radar. Times change, fashions change, but Seán’s travels in this fascinating country bring him from the delightful Spanish Colonial streets and plazas of lakeside Granada to the upscale opulence of the region’s premier gated community...
Send us a text A study found that there’s one physical exercise that protects from both dementia and Alzheimer’s… and it’ll give your social life a boost, too. The New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a 21-year study of senior citizens, aged 75 to 85. The researchers discovered that the only physical exercise that provided protection from both dementia and Alzheimer’s was… dancing. Whether partnered or solo, frequent dancing provided a 76% risk reduction! IL contributor ...
Send us a text Jim Santos meets Norm and Kathleen Bour, nomadic seniors who spend their time adventuring around the globe on just their social security payments. With a host of tips and tricks for making a roving retirement exciting and affordable, Norm and Kathleen have much to share, particularly when it comes to the country where they spend much of their time—the almost-forgotten Mediterranean nation of Albania. With its dramatic coastline, tall mountains, cosmopolitan cities, and a...
Send us a text This week, podcast host Jim Santos meets Greg Goodmacher, an expat who began his live-overseas adventure over 30 years ago. Originally from New York and later, San Francisco, Greg caught the expat bug straight out of college, when teaching English, and a stint in the Peace Corps, brought him into contact with the many exotic attractions of Southeast Asia. Korea and Thailand appealed to him to different degrees, and a sojourn working in Abu Dhabi added a little variety to his ...
Send us a text This week, podcast host Jim Santos meets Francisco Huerta, an international athlete who chased his dream of playing soccer at the highest level to Europe. Soccer provided Francisco with a central theme to his expat life, but in between, discovering the heavenly beaches, the ancient ruins, and twisting medieval streets of the Greek island of Rhodes…as well as the practicalities of daily life in Greece, has proven to be a voyage of discovery and personal growth. If you’re enjoyi...
Send us a text This week, podcast host Jim Santos, and his wife, Rita, are in Vienna, Austria checking out the city’s historical and cultural highlights, as they make their way through Europe in their own version of the Grand Tour. Once again, in this episode, Jim himself takes to the mic. Soaking up the sights and sounds of a European city that has even more historic twists and turns than the usual, Jim navigates through the eclectic streets of Vienna, a long-time crossroads of cultures, wi...
Send us a text Jim Santos, and his wife, Rita, continue their long-delayed roving retirement plan. As Jim records this episode, he and Rita are in Istanbul, Turkey checking out the city before they head to Vienna and Prague to continue their nine-week romp through Europe. In a change to the usual format, in this episode, Jim himself takes to the mic, giving his impressions of a city that straddles two continents, maintains thousands of years of history, and bridges the Western and Eastern wo...
Send us a text This week, the International Living Podcast swoops down to the rolling hills of Tuscany, Italy. Host, Jim Santos, talks to International Living Lifestyle Editor, Seán Keenan. Seán joins the podcast fresh from a trip to the heart of the Italian region best known for its olive groves, vineyard-covered hills, centuries-old farmhouses, and art-filled cities. Florence and Pisa, where Seán spent much of his time in Italy, are among the world’s most-visited destinations. Florence, fa...
Send us a text This week, podcast host Jim Santos, and his wife, Rita, set off on their long-delayed roving retirement plan. As Jim records this episode, he and Rita are in Thessaloniki, Greece, after a great week in Athens, and are about to head to Istanbul to continue their nine-week romp through Europe. Since more and more people are opting to spend months at a time abroad instead of choosing one destination to settle down, International Living thought this would be a good opportunity to ...
Send us a text This week we chat to Suzan Haskins about a subject that comes up often in our mailbag, and at conferences. Understandably so. It’s one thing to pack a bag for a vacation—any fool knows how to do that—but it’s an altogether different prospect when you’re planning on moving abroad for months, years, or decades. Read Suzan's full article in the September issue of the International Living Magazine: "I Want to Move Abroad, But What Do I Do With My Stuff?" Suzan, and her husband, Da...
Send us a text This week, we're talking to International Living contributor, Greyson Ferguson, about his decision to expand his options and life experience with a move to Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. Like many others, the COVID pandemic and travel lockdown prompted Greyson to evaluate his life, take a look around, and make the push to live in a way he truly wanted, rather than settle for what simply fell into his lap. Greyson’s first move was to renovate a 1960s camper and s...
Send us a text This week, we’re talking to IL Belize Correspondent, Shane Kenny, and his wife, Heather, about their decision to up sticks from their home in Atlanta and move to the Caribbean nation of Belize. With two sons at high school, and established careers in the States, there were plenty of reasons why Shane and Heather shouldn’t have taken the plunge, but fortune favors the brave, and it wasn’t long before they turned their dream of owning a beachside hospitality business became a re...
Send us a text This week, the Bigger, Better World podcast takes a trip to Europe, talking to International Living contributor Sharyn Nilsen about her recent adventure traversing the continent, from London to Berlin, by bicycle. Sharyn and her husband, Tim, are no beginners when it comes to bike touring. With long-distance trips across Africa, North America, and Australia already on their resume, it was only a matter of time before the varied geography and cultures of Europe called. Full-ti...
Send us a text This week, we chat with International Living contributor Kevin McGoff about his passion for France and, more specifically, his love of traversing the country via its extensive network of navigable waterways. Whether it’s a slow-paced getaway for just Kevin and his wife, Patty, or a more extensive trip with a group of friends, the rivers and canals of France open up a side of the country that’s often missed by visitors. A side where things are altogether more languid, where t...
Send us a text This week we’re talking to Rachel Devlin about her recent exploration way off the tourist trail…to the north of Thailand and the city of Lampang—the provincial capital. Though Thailand was never formally colonized by the West, its northern provinces—particularly Lampang—were heavily influenced by British and American immigrants. American Protestant missionaries arrived in the mid-to-late 19th century. At the same time, the British took advantage of the then-booming teak indust...
Send us a text This week, the Bigger, Better World podcast takes a trip to Spain, talking to International Living Spain Editor Sally Pederson about her recent scouting trip to the center of the country and the city of Madrid—Spain’s political…and gastronomic capital. Hailing originally from Canada, Sally’s been an expat for years, having started her overseas life in Costa Rica before making the move to Spain. She had a list of non-negotiables for her new home: efficient public transport, so...
Send us a text International Living France Editor Tuula Rampont discusses her recent scouting trip to the southeast of the country and the city of Lyon—France’s gastronomic capital. And while Lyon is certainly “all about the food,” there’s a lot more to this captivatingly beautiful town that’s proud without being snobby, cultured without being pretentious. You’ll discover a surprising bonhomie... a friendliness that defies all the usual stereotypes about French hospitality. The city of Ly...
Send us a text This week, the Bigger, Better World podcast takes a trip to Panama, talking to International Living Overseas Editor Jessica Ramesch about her recent scouting trip to the westernmost edge of Panama—the province of Chiriquí. Although it’s a small country, Panama is a big destination in the world of overseas retirement and relocation. Just three hours’ flying time from the U.S., with a dollar economy, year-round warmth, a busy metropolitan city, and two glorious tropical coastlin...
Send us a text This week, Jim’s talking to writer Mary Charlebois about her experience living in the tiny southern European nation of Malta. Malta may be small, but it’s worthy of your attention. This sun-soaked country, just to the south of Sicily, sits in the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean and enjoys warm, dry summers and mild winters. The country is officially bilingual, with English as an official language, so there’s no need to pore over textbooks or depend on Google Translate. ...
Send us a text This week, the Bigger, Better World podcast takes a trip to Spain, talking to writer Maria DiCicco about her experience buying a property in Zaragoza. House-buying can be stressful, even in your home country. Transferring large sums of your hard-earned money, dealing with real estate agents, lawyers, vendors, and all the complicated processes and procedures that go with buying a new home make for a challenging time. Now, imagine all that, but you don’t know the language or th...
Send us a text This week, Jim Santos talks to International Living Go Overseas Mentor about her article in the July 2023 issue of International Living magazine ‘Use my Expertise to Move Overseas with Confidence’. In her article, and in her discussion with podcast host, Jim Santos, Kristin explans how she developed her unique expertise... and how it can help you settle into a new, better life overseas. Kristin’s Ready to Relocate program will open to new members in a few weeks... so i...
Send us a text This week, Jim Santos talks to International Living Mexico Correspondent Bel Woodhouse about her article in the March 2023 issue of International Living magazine ‘Escape to Bacalar—Mexico's Lakeside Oasis’. Mexico’s Riviera Maya—the stretch of coastline and tropical forest from Cancún in the north to the border with Belize to the south—is, for many, their first experience of Mexico. It’s a heavenly part of the world, with the wavelets of the Caribbean Sea lapping against ...
Send us a text This week, Jim Santos talks to expat Tricia Pimental about her article in the June 2023 issue of International Living magazine ‘Sweet on Sweden, an Inside Look at Scandinavian Life’. Tricia was the Portugal correspondent for IL for several years, having lived in the country for eight years, before she and her husband, Keith, decided to broaden their horizons with a move to Sweden. Why would two Americans leave beautiful Portugal, and head for the rural interior of a Scandinavia...
Send us a text Lifestyle Editor Sean Keenan joins the podcast from Bilbao, Spain, on-location as he researches his next feature story for International Living magazine about an off-the-beaten-path area of Europe that’s ripe for the picking. Green Spain... Just 100 miles north of Portugal, the stretch of coast between the Basque city of Bilbao in the east, and the Belle Epoque resort of Ribadesella in the west, is a breath-taking area of lush woodland, high mountain peaks, genteel fishing vil...
Send us a text Suzan Haskins recently spent time in an area of Mexico that, she affirms, has been misrepresented by mainstream media for decades. Baja California, which includes cities such as Ensenada, Rosarito, and Tijuana, is, as far as she’s concerned, a place where you can live a California lifestyle at half the price. The region is usually thought of as dangerous, lawless, poor and chaotic. That’s the way it’s usually portrayed on the news, at any rate. What Suzan found when she went ...
Send us a text Keith Hockton brings us a tale of mystery (and maybe foul play?) in the lush hills of upland Malaysia. But the real story isn’t about who may or may not have had a hand in the disappearance of a silk magnate back in the 1950s. The real story is the unspoiled rainforests, the exotic flora and fauna, and the unexpected gentle beauty of colonial Britain’s homespun R&R resorts. "If you can imagine the upper crust British regime that ruled Malaya at that time," says Keith Hoc...
Send us a text Bekah Bottone brings us a much-appreciated update on how her adopted hometown—Tamarindo in Costa Rica—has evolved in recent years. The Pacific coast surf town first came to prominence in Bruce Brown’s 1994 surf movie, The Endless Summer II. At the time, Tamarindo was little more than a village, some great waves, and an airstrip where ground crew had to shoo the cows away so that planes could land. These days, things are different. With much better logistics, development for ...
Send us a text Karen Lefebvre followed her childhood dream and moved to the idyllic island of Syros, Greece. A chance discovery way back in the 1980s led her parents to an unexpected family stay on the island. Now, prompted by a pandemic, a breakup, wanderlust, and an urge to return to the simple Mediterranean life she experienced as a teen, Karen finds herself harvesting olives, pressing oil, and happily renovating a new home on the very same island that stole her heart all those decad...
Send us a text Podcast host, Jim Santos, meets expat Glenda Cole, who quit the stress of a high-powered career in corporate America for a new home, new country, and new life in International Living’s top-rated retirement destination—Portugal. Glenda describes herself as a typical type-A personality, but her drive to succeed almost killed her. A serious health scare brought it all home to her—she was living to work, not working to live. Having a job that was so pressing that she couldn’t eve...
Send us a text Podcast host, Jim Santos, learns all about the surprising sophistication and liveability of Mexico City’s residential districts, as he talks to IL’s Latin America Correspondent Jason Holland in this week’s episode of Bigger Better World. Jason is not a typical expat, in that he and his wife moved out of the U.S. while they were still of working age, not retirees. In fact, when they first shipped out to their first expat home in Costa Rica, the couple were expecting their firs...
Send us a text If you’ve ever seriously contemplated a move overseas—really considered it, not just daydreaming—then you’ll know all about negative thinking. For every picture in your mind of palm-fringed beaches and waking up to the sound of birdsong…there’s another slew of ‘rational’ reasons why it could never happen. Responsibilities, obligations, the stupefying momentum of routine… Most people never get beyond telling themselves that they’ll make the move ‘When the time is right’… JP and...
Send us a text It's pretty quiet on the islands of Greece in March, making it a good time to rent a scooter, get out on the quiet roads, and see what there is to see. That’s exactly what International Living Lifestyle Editor Seán Keenan did in March of this year. March is a lovely time to be in the southern Mediterranean. Winter is retreating, in another few weeks the tourist flights will begin to arrive, and the hospitality industry will be at full tilt until October. But before that happe...
Send us a text Back in the early days of the Spanish conquest of Latin America, a problem arose. How would Catholic priests, tasked with converting the locals to Christianity, celebrate mass without the necessary wine for the service? The short-term answer was to ship wine over from Spain, but that was hardly practical. The long-term solution (although it wasn’t popular with Spanish wine exporters!) was to plant vineyards in the newly-discovered lands. Where did they plant these vineyards? ...
Send us a text Read Janet's full article in the January 2023 issue of International Living Magazine here: My Three Weeks Learning Italian in Siena. “I’m too old to learn a new language!” is a phrase we hear a lot at International Living. But it’s based on a misconception. Most of us believe that children have some innate language-learning ability that somehow disappears as we get older. But is that really true? Isn’t it just that we get busier? Or find other things to take up our time? Whe...
Send us a text Read Noreen’s full article in the February issue of International Living: How to See the World for Free as a Travel Writer. With no background in writing (her previous career was in nursing), Noreen Kompanik homed in on what it was that she really wanted to do with her life. And it wasn’t nursing. Nowadays, she spends up to 70% of her year traveling the world, and getting paid to write about it. In fact, she joins the Bigger Better World podcast from the Dominican Republic, j...
Send us a text What’s it like to travel the world as a minority? Todd and Damon took to the world together when they decided that a roving retirement fit their inbuilt need for travel and adventure. Together, they lived in 28 different countries over the course of three years, before finally settling down in Mexico’s premier expat city—the colonial highland showpiece of San Miguel de Allende. In this week’s episode, podcast host Jim Santos delves deeper into Todd and Damon’s experience of cu...
Send us a text In this week’s podcast, host, Jim Santos speaks to expats Todd Hilton and Damon Morris. Todd and Damon took to the world together when they decided that a roving retirement fit their inbuilt need for travel and adventure. Together, they lived in 28 different countries over the course of three years, before finally settling down in Mexico’s premier expat city—the colonial highland showpiece of San Miguel de Allende. Armed with a sheaf of notes they’d taken from an Internation...
Send us a text Sarah Firisen first came to our attention at International Living when she got in touch about her very enviable life on the southern Caribbean island of Grenada. Soft-sand beaches, crystal-clear waters for snorkeling, and curry goat-filled rotis…we had to know more! When she wrote a two-page article for the March 2022 issue of International Living magazine, we were simply smitten with her descriptions of an island which combines all the palm-fringed, turquoise water fanta...
Send us a text In this week’s podcast, host, Jim Santos speaks to expat Donna Stiteler. For many years, Donna served as International Living’s Ecuador Correspondent from the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. Cuenca, a highland city built in a steep-sided valley deep in the Andes mountains, is an established expat location. In fact, many would claim that it’s the world’s premier expat city. Due to its elevation and latitude, Cuenca enjoys a dependable, spring-like climate where the temperatures ...
Send us a text In this week’s podcast, host, Jim Santos speaks to expats Kirsten and Mark Raccuia, whose journey to an overseas life started at an International Living conference back in 2012. At the time, they were convinced that they wanted to move to Costa Rica. As it turned out, the conference whetted their appetite for an entirely different location—Malaysia! Kirsten and Mark are born travelers, though, and after a few happy years living on Malaysia’s island paradise, Penang, they felt t...
Send us a text In this week’s podcast, host, Jim Santos speaks to International Living France Correspondent Tuula Rampont, who transplanted her life from Southern California to Southern France back in 2010. For Tuula, France came as a surprise. In fact, she originally thought that she wanted to move to Italy. Lazy stereotypes of French people as snooty, arrogant, and cold put her off the idea of even visiting the country. As it turns out, when she did finally visit, she realized just how wr...
Send us a text Sometimes, events make decisions easier. For Jen Wittman, the lockdowns, election cycle, and social upheaval she experienced in 2020 were enough to convince her that it was time to leave her home in California and search for greener pastures overseas. She’d lived overseas already, so it wasn’t a complete leap into the dark. This time, though, she and her husband had another person to think about—their 12-year-old son. How would he cope with live overseas? What about his educat...
Send us a text In this week’s podcast, host, Jim Santos speaks to Chip Stites, International Living’s Italy Correspondent, who makes his home in the small town of Rieti, Italy. From harvesting olives in a 2,000-year-old grove to singing with the crowds at a basketball match in the town where Kobe Bryant learned to play, Chip Stites has immersed himself deeply in the culture and country of central Italy. It wasn’t a snap decision. He and his wife, Shonna, spent years scouting out their...
Send us a text In this week’s podcast, host, Jim Santos speaks to Janice Deerwester, an adventurous and unstoppable single woman in her 70s, who recently moved to Fontainbleu, near Paris, France. Navigating everything from restaurant etiquette (service in France is a lot more relaxed than in the U.S., it seems) to exploring on the excellent public transport, Janice recounts her adventures in her popular vlog, Janice in France. When you take life with such a positive attitude, every day ...
Send us a text In this week’s podcast, International Living Mexico Correspondent Wendy Justice meets host, Jim Santos, as she explains just why she moved to the highland town of Querétaro in Mexico. A long-time expat, until recently Wendy made her home on the other side of the globe, in Vietnam. Now, in Mexico, what similarities, and indeed, what differences does she find in her new home? Some things are universal, others are quite the opposite. When an experienced traveler and expat br...
Send us a text This week, the podcast features International Living Malaysia Correspondent Keith Hockton. Malaysia, even by Keith’s estimation, is a surprising destination for most North American expats and potential expats. It’s just not on the radar as obviously as somewhere like Costa Rica, Mexico, or Panama. For Keith, that’s a tragic oversight, and he’s determined to make potential expats aware of just how perfect a destination Malaysia can be. A frequent speaker at International ...
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