The question we’re considering together in these dispatches isn’t should you improve your circumstances by moving to a new country?
That’s the given.
The question I’m forever trying to help you answer is where in this big beautiful world of ours should you go?
Let’s regroup in that context by considering the world map big picture.
Do you want to live in Asia?
Europe?
The Americas?
The process of elimination becomes important. Your challenge is greatly reduced if you’re able to remove whole portions of the globe from your list.
So let’s break this down…
Asia
Asia boasts a number of the most cost-friendly places anywhere to call home right now. Pockets of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines can be absurdly cheap.
Living on this side of the planet, you’d also have access to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. Your life would be filled with the exotic, the unexpected, and the adventuresome.
White Beach, Boracay, The Philippines.
That is to say, the culture shock would be significant. For some, this reality is thrilling. For others, terrifying.
Used to be that many foreign retirees in Asia didn’t legalize their status. Historically—in some cases because it seemed easier and in others because formal residency programs weren’t an option—expats in this part of the world lived lives built around the border run. They’d leave the country where they were living but not legally resident briefly then return with a renewed tourist visa.
I’ve never recommended the approach. It’s insecure and risky. It can also be costly—paying for all that traveling back and forth across a border—sometimes more costly than the process of establishing legal residency. Definitely, border running comes with a greater hassle factor than I’m up for.
Today the strategy is also not really possible. More and more countries, including across Asia, are cracking down on the practice. The good news is that more countries in Asia now offer formal legal residency options.
The biggest practical downside to choosing Asia is geography. Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, etc., are literally on the other side of the world. You’re not hopping back and forth between your new home in Asia and your old one in North America for your grandkids’ birthdays.
It can make sense to approach Asia not as a full-time choice but as part of a retire-overseas plan that allows you to enjoy the benefits of Asia (super cheap and super exotic) part-time.
How about a couple of months in Da Lat, Vietnam, or Chiang Mai, Thailand, where your retirement budget would stretch far indeed, followed by a few months in, say, France?
Europe
Which brings us to Europe. Many who dream of a new life in Europe dismiss it out of hand for fear it’s beyond their budget. This is not necessarily the case.
Sure, a retiree with a modest nest egg might not be able to afford Paris but have you considered southwestern France, where life is quintessentially French but also surprisingly affordable?
We’ll look specifically at your most affordable options across France during our Live And Invest In France Conference taking place later this week. This is a live but virtual event meaning no plane ticket, no luggage, and no jet lag. If Europe is your dream, take a look here now for how to join us online for these two potentially life-changing days.
One of the biggest upsides of Europe compared with other regional new-life-overseas options is the opportunity it affords for what might be referred to as “high culture.”
Every country in the world has culture, no question, but not everywhere has world-class museums, opera, and live theater. If you’re interested in a life that includes cultural offerings of that variety, you should be looking to the Continent.
Which is not to say it’s impossible to enjoy an Old World Continental lifestyle anywhere else.
The Americas
Some cities in South America offer a fair imitation—Buenos Aires, and Medellín, Colombia, to name two. Both are cities of open-air cafés, museums, theaters, art galleries, and antique shops.
And both, you’ll note, are in South America, not Central America. The differences between these two regions can be striking.
I’m speaking generally and could name exceptions to every point, but, again, generally speaking, South America offers what I’d call more polished options and can be a good place to look if what you want is culture on the cheap.
Central America, by contrast, is, most everywhere, rough around the edges. These are small, developing countries with non-existent budgets for things like art museums.
The standout exception is Panama, which increasingly competes at a more international level in all regards, including when it comes to things like culture and entertainment. We’ll show you up close and in person just how impressively real-world life in Panama can be during our Live And Invest In Panama Conference taking place in Panama City Jan. 20-22.
There are big-deal reasons we named Boquete, Panama, as the world’s best place to live or retire overseas in 2026… and it’s important to note that this country is also the world’s safest haven, the best place in the world to invest in property or start a business right now.
We’ll dig into it all during our January in-person event with the help of my entire in-Panama team.
Until next time,
