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    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
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    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
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    Making Money

    • International Real Estate
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    • Employment
    • Investing

    Follow Us:

    • Meet Our Experts
  • Real Estate

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

    Upcoming Events

    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Greece Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

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    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

  • My Library
Live and Invest Overseas
  • Home
  • Countries

    Top Destinations:

    Whether you’re looking for fun and sun, a peaceful retirement, or the chance to earn some extra income, you’ve got a real world of opportunity open to you… In short, we’ve done our best to narrow down your best options, but only you can decide the right country for you.

    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Panama
    • Belize
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Mexico
    • France
    • Montenegro
    • Browse All Countries

    Best For:

    • The Best Places To Retire
    • Health Care Abroad
    • Cost Of Living
    • Investing in Real Estate
    • Establishing Residency
    • Gun Laws In The World
    • English-Speaking Countries
    • Safest Places For Retirement
    • Best Places In Latin America
  • Budgets

    How Much Will It Cost You To Live Overseas?

    The only honest answer is, we have no idea. And neither does anyone else. The only one who can answer that question is you. Here’s the most important thing to understand about budgeting your new life overseas…

    Super Cheap

    • Chitré, Panama
    • Santa Marta, Colombia
    • Phuket, Thailand
    • Dumaguete, The Philippines

    Cheap

    • Medellin, Colombia
    • Boquete, Panama
    • Kyrenia, Cyprus
    • Hua Hin, Thailand
    • The Algarve, Portugal

    Affordable

    • Valencia, Spain
    • Cascais, Portugal
    • Las Terrenas, The DR
    • Pisa, Italy
    • La Rochelle, France
    • Mazatlán, Mexico

    Luxury

    • Ambergris Caye, Belize
    • Kotor, Montenegro
    • The Panama City Beaches
    • Paris, France
  • Resources

    Global Living

    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore & Diversification

    Making Money

    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing

    Follow Us:

    • Meet Our Experts
  • Real Estate

    Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

    • Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

    Explore Our Latest Posts

    • Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

    Go To The Overseas Property Alert Site

    • How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams
  • Conferences

    Upcoming Events

    • Explore Our Events Site

    Live and Invest In Spain Conference

    Offshore Wealth Summit

    Greece Workshop

    VALENCIA, SPAIN

    Sep. 17-19, 2025

    PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

    Oct. 15-17, 2025

    VIRTUAL

    Nov. 13, 2025

    LEARN MORE
    DISCOUNT
    LEARN MORE
    PRE-REGISTER
    LEARN MORE
    PRE-REGISTER
    • MORE EVENTS

    Contact Our Events Team

    Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
    1 (888) 627 8834
    From Outside North America:
    1 (443) 599 1221
    Working Hours
    Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

    Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

  • Store

    Unlock The World

    • Access Your Library

    Overseas Havens Reports

    • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

    Conference Kits

    • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

    Lahardan Books

    • Titles on living and investing around the world
    • Explore Our Store
    Your passport to a life well-lived abroad

    Services

    overseas living letter offers affordable retirement guidance
    The Simon Letter Wealth Protection Insights
    Global Property Advisor Global Investment Opportunities

    Our Customer Service team is here to assist with any questions or concerns CustomerService@LiveandInvestOverseas.com

  • My Library
Live and Invest Overseas
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Home Lifestyle

A Safe, Welcoming, Perfect-Weather Haven

Getting A Mortgage Overseas

by Kathleen Peddicord
Mar 18, 2025
in Lifestyle
0 0
Panoramic view to Medellin, Laureles and El Poblado districts, Colombia, sunny day with clear blue sky

AdobeStock/Margarita Mao

“Let me know when you start talking about mild climates and I’ll consider it. I have no interest in tropical weather!” a reader wrote.

If you’ve been reading for any time, you know that I’m not here to showcase any one particular lifestyle. Our mantra here at Live And Invest Overseas is: Diversity rules!

The year-round beach life is not for everyone.

Personally, I like four seasons. But I know others who have lived through months of snow—year after year—would do anything to avoid even one more month of winter… in any part of the world.

I’m thinking about people like Marisa Ferrera and Randie Rabideau…

Back in 2009, this Canadian couple began their quest to escape Toronto’s annual freeze.

Marisa and Randie didn’t set out to become expats. But, during the Canadian winter of 2009, they spent five weeks traveling around Panama and Costa Rica. When they returned to Toronto, they had a big new idea.

Here’s a little of their story—as told at a Live And Invest In Colombia Conference—starting with Marisa…

“After our trip, we realized we had nothing tying us down in Toronto any more. We were no longer working. We were renting our condo. All I could think was ‘We could be anywhere in the world, right now. Why are we here?’

“We thought about spending just six months of the year abroad. But winters in Toronto can stretch beyond six months, so we decided we’d let the condo go and move overseas.

“At that point, Randie drew up a list of requirements for our ‘perfect place’ in the world…

“It had to be safe. It had to have reliable infrastructure. Good weather was a must. We didn’t want to rely on pumping up the heat or air-conditioning most of the year.

“Ideally, we wanted to live in a semi-rural area (close to town for amenities) and be part of a welcoming community.”

Randie picked up the story…

“Leaving Toronto behind, we spent the first six months in different parts of Costa Rica. Then, suddenly, we had to strike that country off the list.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t fit any of the criteria for getting residency. Staying there would mean a border run every three months. That didn’t work for us.

“I started to research Chile and we spent some time there, checking out Santiago, the towns along the coast, and the desert areas. But we ran into two big problems. First, we found that, in our favorite area, the temperature would drop to 50 degrees, starting in April.

“On top of that, it was impossible to find a furnished rental to suit us. After a short stay in Peru, where we had a similar issue in finding a rental, we decided to go back to Panama.”

Over to Marisa…

“Our plan took us as far as the airport in Panama City. At that point, I realized I’d lost my Type-A personality somewhere along the way. Where were we going to sleep tonight? We tapped into the airport Wi-Fi to check out our options.

 

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Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In 2025.
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“We decided to go back to the mountain town of El Valle where we’d spent some time during our previous Costa Rica/Panama adventure. This time we really fell for El Valle and almost bought a lot. After a trip home to Canada, we returned to El Valle in January and were in for a surprise…

“El Valle showed us the true meaning of ‘windy season.’ This was no friendly breeze. This was the kind of wind that would blow you off your bicycle into the ditch. Goodbye, garden furniture!

“It was back to the internet for more research. That’s when Randie stumbled on Medellín, Colombia—a city that’s known for its ‘eternal spring’ weather.

“Now, in Toronto, spring means you’re likely going to have to wear a jacket. And the clouds can make for some dark days. So I wasn’t totally sold.

“But, when we got there, we found the clouds in Medellín were white and fluffy. The weather was warm. This was pleasant.

“We hopped on the city’s metro and explored a lot of the neighborhoods. We wanted to stay outside of El Poblado and integrate more with the local people. But, in the end, it came down to where we could get a rental. So we ended up sticking around El Poblado and enjoyed exploring our new home city from there.

“In February 2014, we were in a local real estate office when we saw a brochure for eco-villas up in the mountains… about a 45-minute drive from Medellín. After two months renting a property on the owner’s finca up there and getting to know the area, we decided to buy our own lot.

“Through that purchase we qualified for residency, which meant we could stay in Colombia and not worry about leaving every three months.

“It was about another year before our villa was finally ready. But now we’re in a spot that ticks all our boxes.

“It’s safe. The infrastructure is good. A 20-minute drive down the mountain takes us to the end of the Metro line out of Medellín. From there, we can ride all the way in to the city center. The weather is just the way we love it—never too hot or cold.

“Our wish was for a semi-rural area. We’re now a 45-minute drive from all the amenities of the city… but in this beautiful location with a 180-degree view of the Andes.”

That’s just one story from many expats we know who call this part of Colombia home today.

But not everyone who settles in Medellín is driven by the weather…

Steve and Patricia Turney were won over by the welcome they experienced from the locals.

And Jeff and Heather Raheb say they were comfortable at home in Florida. They just felt like something different. After attending a few Live And Invest Overseas conferences, they also made Medellín their full-time home.

Could Colombia be the place for you?

We’d like to help you answer that question.

At our upcoming Access Colombia Workshop we’ll introduce you to our team of Colombia contacts, experts, and expats and share with you everything you need to know to determine if this country could be the place for you to chase your live and invest overseas dreams.

It’s all happening online next week and we’d love for you to join us. Find out more and book your spot here.

Until next time,

Kathleen Peddicord signature

Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter

Tags: ColombiaCool weathercosta ricael valleexpatslive overseasMedellinPanamaretire abroadRetire in Colombiaretire overseassnowbirdsspring like weather
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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has reported on opportunities for Americans to live, retire, and do business overseas for 40 years. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 24, established businesses in 7, renovated and built properties in 6, and educated her children in 5.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets from the east coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland, then to Paris, France, and finally to Panama City, Panama, where she has based her Live And Invest Overseas business. Peddicord and her husband, Lief Simon, now divide their time between Panama and Paris.

Peddicord was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. She opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Waterford, Ireland; Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France. Peddicord launched Live And Invest Overseas group in 2008 and has built it into a successful multimillion-dollar business. Today, she shares her firsthand experience of expat life with more than 500,000 readers of her publications, including Overseas Opportunity Letter and Overseas Living Letter.

Kathleen has been featured often in The New York Times, MSNBC, AARP, CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC, and more and writes monthly about expat matters, international real estate, and offshore diversification for Forbes and U.S. News.

Kathleen has written several books including the memoirs “At Home In Ireland” and “At Home At Los Islotes” and her latest title “At Home Abroad,” all published by Lahardan Books. Her best-selling "How To Retire Overseas: Everything You Need To Know To Live Well (For Less) Abroad” was published by Penguin Random House in 2018 and her “Buying Real Estate Overseas For Cash Flow (And A Better Life)” was published by Wiley in August 2020.

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HOME

Top Countries

  • Spain
  • Portugal
  • Panama
  • Belize
  • Colombia
  • Cyprus
  • Mexico
  • France
  • Montenegro

Best For:

  • Health Care Abroad
  • Retirement Living
  • Cost Of Living
  • Investing in Real Estate
  • Establishing Residency
  • Gun Ownership
  • English Speakers
  • Safety
BROWSE ALL COUNTRIES

Budgets

How Much Will It Cost
To Live Overseas?

Super Cheap

  • Chitré, Panama
  • Santa Marta, Colombia
  • Phuket, Thailand
  • Dumaguete, The Philippines

Cheap

  • Medellin, Colombia
  • Boquete, Panama
  • Kyrenia, Cyprus
  • Hua Hin, Thailand
  • The Algarve, Portugal

Affordable

  • Valencia, Spain
  • Cascais, Portugal
  • Las Terrenas, The DR
  • Pisa, Italy
  • La Rochelle, France
  • Mazatlán, Mexico

Luxury

  • Ambergris Caye, Belize
  • Kotor, Montenegro
  • The Panama City Beaches
  • Paris, France

Resources

Global Living

  • Living & Retiring Overseas
  • Raising A Family Abroad
  • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
  • Offshore & Diversification

Making Money

  • International Real Estate
  • Banking
  • Employment
  • Investing
Meet Our Experts

Real Estate

Overseas Property Alert 

 

How To Become Independently Wealthy And Fund The Lifestyle Of Your Dreams

VISIT SITE

Buying Real Estate For Cashflow

 

Discover tips and strategies used by global property investing veterans

READ MORE

Explore Our Latest Posts

 

Learn how to invest and purchase property abroad…

EXPLORE

Conferences

Live and Invest In Spain Conference

VALENCIA, SPAIN Sep. 17-19, 2025
LEARN MORE
DISCOUNT

Offshore Wealth Summit

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA Oct. 15-17, 2025
LEARN MORE
PRE-REGISTER

GREECE WORKSHOP

VIRTUAL Nov. 13, 2025
LEARN MORE
PRE-REGISTER
MORE EVENTS

Contact Our Events Team:

Toll-Free U.S. and Canada:
1 (888) 627 8834

From Outside North America:
1 (443) 599 1221

Working Hours
Monday – Friday 08:00 am – 17:00 pm EST.

Reach us with your questions by email at: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com

Store

Overseas Havens Reports

  • Expats' comprehensive destination guides

Conference Kits

  • Hours of coverage  from our latests conferences

Lahardan Books

  • Titles on living and investing around the world

Services

  • Overseas Living Letter: Affordable Retirement Guidance
  • The Simon Letter: Wealth Protection Insights
  • Global Property Advisor: Global Investment Opportunitites
VISIT OUR STORE

Free Report

THE 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE IN 2025

FREE REPORT: The 10 Best Places To retire in 2025

Sign up to receive the FREE daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter and we’ll immediately email you our editors’ latest research report…

We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.

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