(Editor's note: Mark McMahon is the founder of Live Your Adventure web site and newsletter. Mark is also a regular contributor to Escape From America Magazine)

Stewart Bryant is packing up the family and moving to a ranch in Argentina. We met on the street in the charming town of San Luis. Two days later we were seatmates on a flight from San Luis back to Buenos Aires. I was captivated by the story of his decision to move his family from Lake Tahoe, Nevada to Argentina.

Mark for LiveYourAdventure.com: So of all the places in the world you chose Argentina?

Stewart Bryant: Yes, as a matter of fact I did. I literally searched hundreds of places online before narrowing it down to Costa Rica, Chile and Argentina. Then we did some traveling in those three countries before deciding on San Luis.

LYA: So what was it about San Luis that got you?

SB: It is a small city, or big town depending on your definition, with slow pace and warm and friendly atmosphere. It’s just how I remember Italy 30 years ago down to the Fiat 600s on the street.  Families and kids out on the streets, outdoor cafes, old guys reading their newspaper, A real community, very, very sociable.

SB: Yes, I know Italy very well. I married an Italian over thirty years ago and lived there for many years. I moved from the US to Ethiopia when I was 15. My father worked for the government there as planner for roads and infrastructure. At 17, I traveled through Ethiopia, Israel, Cyprus, Greece and Italy. I met Maria in the beach town of Rimini on the Adriatic side. It was the summer of ‘74; I was 18 and playing drums in a band at the tourist spots. She was there on a holiday when we met and the rest is, as they say, history! We lived in various places around Europe for the next 25 years and finally moved to the states about 6 years ago.

LYA: So you are tired of the US already?

SB: They say variety is the spice of life.

LYA: How have you supported yourselves?

SB: We have done a variety of things but mostly teaching. We worked for an English school in Russia. We started our own English School in Romania. We have done lots of volunteer work. That has been a big part of our lives.

LYA: Tell me about your volunteer work.

SB: I hesitate to call it missionary work because that’s not it, exactly. Though we both come from a Christian background, we are not affiliated with a church or any organization. Often we raised funds for projects on our own where we saw a need.

SB: Start online, most definitely. EscapeArtist.com is a phenomenal resource. Make contacts with people on the ground before you go for a visit, or to help determine if you even want to go for a visit. Use your own networks. We are fortunate that way because of having lived in so many places. Local real estate people are always helpful.

LYA: What if someone doesn’t have those kinds of contacts?

SB: Online you can make contact with people who have a common interest. Through clubs or universities, you can find people who will help you based on your common bond, whatever that might be. Tennis, golf, geology, whatever. I made some great connections through children’s’ services organizations.