If your desire is to live in a free standing house in a safe country with low income disparity between classes, then you are setting a pretty high bar which will eliminate most countries. Most Latin American countries, including Argentina, have wide income disparities.

Uruguay and Chile probably score best on this measure but they are minor players in the larger scheme of things.  I think you might be describing countries that suffer from what is called in economics the "Venice "problem, i.e. aging populations, declining birthrates, stagnant economies, low income disparity, and big social welfare nets.  Venice has a declining population even though it is still a beautiful place and suffers from all the characteristics that I have mentioned. In fact, both Japan and Italy would easily meet your criteria but just try making a living in either country. Same thing for Sweden.

I disagree with you a little about Brazilian women. Status and mobility for many Brazilian women may be tied to being connected to the right man, even an expat, but this is true in many countries.  In fact, the ability for large numbers of women to live independent lives both financially and socially is largely limited to the US and perhaps some places in Europe, even though female participation rates in the professions is higher in the US than almost anywhere else.  The women I knew in Brazil were not particularly interested in expats, at least not the expats, you describe. 

In the meantime, try to read Caetano Veloso's bio...  A great song writer but also an original intellectual.

Regards,
Dave

I visited Bali in 1976 and haven't been back since, though I would like to. Living in two places means we don't get to make some of the other trips we would like to make. 

I chose to live in Barcelona because my boyfriend loves it here so much. He's an American, too, but had lived in Barcelona for a few years and when he was ready to come back, invited me to join him. We came over the first time in January 2003, the wettest, coldest winter Barcelona experienced in ten years I'm told. After being spoiled by San Diego's clime, I wasn't too happy about the weather. I hate having to wear coats and gloves, taking them off on the bus then back on when you go outside, then off again when you get where you're going and so on. But the winters are really quite mild, probably not all that much colder than the Bay Area. No snow except every decade or so. No ice, but cold enough that I choose to come back to San Diego for the winter months. I'm pretty much a weather wimp. 

I'm not surprised to hear you say Barcelona is one of your favorite Euro cities. Mine, too. Much as I love Paris, I'd really rather live in Barcelona. I don't speak enough Spanish to really be a part of the daily life here. I can get by, with apologies to everyone I come in contact with for my very poor Spanish and sometimes getting something on my plate that I'm certain I didn't order. There's a large expat community of English speakers here, primarily Brits and Irish. The first year I was here I ran a couple of writing workshops and had about a dozen participants. Still see some of them from time to time, but haven't taken on any more workshops. I'm really trying to focus on my own writing. 

Going back and forth and living in both places works fine for me. My boyfriend would just as soon be in Barcelona all the time with just brief visits back to the US, but I need to come back to SoCal for longer times. I miss my family, my friends and the work I do there. (Teaching and leading the workshops). We keep an apartment in both places and try to rent them out while we're on the opposite shore to help with the expenses. Lucky with the San Diego place so far, not so much with Barcelona. But then we haven't worked as hard at trying to find tenants for this flat. 

Hope you can find a way to make it work for you too. It's a great experience and so good for us Americans to have the perspective of another way of life. 

Let me know if you're coming this way. 

With best regards, 
Judy 

You ask me why I chose Turkey. This is how I came to be here.

I lived in Italy 20 years ago and after that met a Greek on the island of Mykonos while on holiday and the next year moved to Athens to be with him.  He became my husband 1 year after that and although we only stayed in Athens for 2 years we were married for 12.  The Mediterranean countries have always attracted me.  The people, the history, food, sea and in general my sense of well being when I am here. 

I have traveled a lot to this part of the world (S. Europe, N. Africa , and the Middle East).  I took my first trip to Turkey in 1983 and returned many times after that.  I loved it here from the start.  I have a close American friend that came to Istanbul 13 years ago when she fell in love with a Turk.  She opened a wonderful hotel here called Empress Zoe and has done very well with it.  I used to come regularly to visit her and always said that one day I would come to live in Istanbul.   Last year I decided it was time to come back to Europe to live.  I was sick of my job as a dental hygienist, I was always travellng to either Greece, Italy, or Turkey and just felt that I should make a change and come over here.  So, I sold my condo in SF and made a decent profit, sold my car, quit my job and decided that what sounded fun to me was to have a small coffee bar close to the Mediterranean Sea.

I originally thought about Southern Turkey because I used to go often to Kas on the Antalya Coast.  I vetoed that idea last Sept. when I made a trip there alone and tried to look at things from the perspective of a woman going to open a business, rather than as the tourist I had always been while there in the past.  I decided it was too small, the season too short and I decided that Istanbul would be better for me.  I choose Turkey in general simply because it didn't have the Euro as currency and I thought my dollars would go further here.  I also had the advantage of my girlfriend here and her ex-husband who is also a friend.  I came alone though and have tried not to depend on them for getting me adjusted. 

By the way, it does snow in Istanbul in Jan-Mar.  What a shock for me!! 

I occasionally wonder what would have happened if I had stayed in the Bay Area (California, USA)
instead of moving to Asia. But, I was reading an article on Salon recently by Heather Havrilesky where she says,  “I try as best I can to laugh along with the bad joke that American culture has become. But when you really take a close look and see how complacent we all are in the total annihilation of any standards of quality or decency or taste, it's pretty impossible not to imagine that we're at the start of a very rapid descent downward, to the bottom of the global barrel -- you know, where we belong?”

I guess that kind of sums up my take on America from my last visit which was a long, long week and led me to want to kiss the ground of the airport in Taipei when I landed there just because I was back in Asia.

Shellie, Partner Owner at Kahvedan Restaurant/Bar in Istanbul, Turkey 

I have just been reading your articles as part of my current "mini-escape" fantasy tactics.  A woman needs something to make it through the day!

I can't believe how similar my goals are to yours.  I currently live in a wonderful paradise (Sicily) working for the Navy, but I long for retirement - outside of the U.S.  I even purchased a home in New Zealand, but
recently sold it when I decided I did not want to get residency by going to work there as a psychotherapist.  (A 75% pay cut is just not acceptable to me!) The only other way I could get residency there is to invest a huge amount of money, and I don't think I will have that much when I retire.

A former Hippie, I've been a responsible worker-bee since 1988. I'm currently obsessing on Brazil, especially since my son's fiancé lives there.

She's looking at houses for me.

Even though many people in the military have a different mind-set than my own, many of them do retire outside of the U.S.  Their lives moving around the world during their careers make them worldly enough to know they can live anywhere in the world if they want.

I've also travelled to Japan, Nepal, Africa (including Egypt & Tunisia in N.Africa) all over Europe, Russia, and I can't think of everywhere else.

Europe is too expensive, and none of these other places appeal to me as future homes.  (Although I would travel there any time.)

The Med is beautiful beautiful beautiful, but pretty much has the same mind-set you described for Brazil. (Gender inequality).I think Greece might even be worse.

Gender-based roles, segregation of the sexes (although this works out pretty well since the war between the sexes is more understood in these places), and the women also have affairs here, but not nearly as much as the men!

(All of them do.)  However, working in this field, I've come to realize that about 80% of American men (and many, many of the women) also have affairs, so I think it is more of a species thing.  I just don't think monogamy is meant to be.  I'm so sick of machismo that I don't even try to be friends with men, and haven't been on a date since age 38!  (I'm 56 now.)  I accomplished so much after I stopped chasing men that I just could not imagine going back to that.  Since it's too dangerous to have flings, I just swore off.  Oh well.

I have (very) often thought about writing short stories about my experiences here.  They are many and oftentimes amusing.  It's amazing how I've gotten to the point that having 2 or 3 near-head-on collisions on the way to work each day does not even increase my heart rate!  Crime, especially theft, is so rampant here it is ridiculous, but there is very little "violent" crime, except for the Mafioso killing each other occasionally. 

This is a very conservative system, and I really don't fit in at all.  The "real me" would be wearing feather boas, leopard pattern sling-backed heels, and rhinestones every day, and since I left the French Quarter in New Orleans (where I lived for 13 years) that style just doesn't work.  They are also into organized religion and being "seen" at church, and I prefer "spirituality" rather than religion.  There are many, many "religious right" people in the military; hardcore Bible thumpers, etc.  Eek!  Also, discrimination against women is a true art form in the military.  "On paper," it is not tolerated; but what a joke! 

My daughter has really good things to say about Colonia, Uruguay, which is very close to the charms of Buenos Aires, and I will do a Google on it today.  I never even thought about Uruguay.  She says that Chile can also compete with Brazil.  Colonia sounds a lot like Cuzco, which I LOVED.

Let me know if you plan to come to Sicily. 

Happy Trails!  Barbara

For it is my dream to travel. To see the world in all its diversity. But I'm stuck here in the west, playing a miniscule role in society. Earning enough money to make it to the next paycheck. Leaving me with no travel money or time.

I would like to know how it was possible for you to do all your traveling and if you think there may be a way I could end my waste of a life cycle in which I'm currently stuck?

Thanks
Happy Trails
Adam
 

Hello Adam,

I lived an "ordinary" life for 25 years. My divorce after a long marriage motivated me to go for it, to give up security for a life I loved. I'm still trying to make that work. The key is to find income that is passive like writing a book or eBook that continues to pay royalties, or like rental property that you can rent out. (Best to buy out of the US or Canada or Europe as you can buy far cheaper.) Even without money, you will find that it's not that hard to leave the old life behind and pay as you go. Each expat haven has expats in search of products and services not yet available which an enterprising newcomer can provide.

Find a need and fill it, and you are making a living. You will need to make only a tiny fraction of what you need to live on in Canada, if you choose your expat home wisely. You can teach English as a Second Language for instance.

Good luck! 
Robin