Are You Ready For A New Life In Paradise?

* Presenting a Sunday Edition Classic originally broadcast on Dec. 8, 2002, in which Kathleen answers the most important question a potential expat can ask.

Are You Ready For A New Life In Paradise?

International Living Postcards-- Sunday Edition

Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007

"There are too many choices. How in the world am I supposed to pick one?"

This is the question I am asked most often by readers I run into. The International Living reader speaking above knew he wanted to move from his home country (Canada) to a new one…and he'd been researching his plan for at least three years. When he spoke with me, he had a list of 10 countries on a yellow legal pad. And he was asking if I could help him narrow that down to two or three.

"You need another list," I suggested.

As we explain often, there is no such thing as the perfect overseas haven…no one-size-fits all paradise. There are many places in the world where the living can be better…and cheaper…where the cities can be safer…the weather milder…the people friendlier. There are places where you can pay less tax…where you can be treated to special benefits as a foreign resident…where the government will pay you to start a business…where it could pay you (in spades) to invest in property…

But there is no one country I can recommend to every one of you reading this letter right now. I can assure you, though, that there is a place with your name on it. To find it, you have to recognize what you're looking for.

Like the reader I ran into recently, I suggest you start with a list--of what's important to you, in order of priority. On this list you might include: Cost of living…healthcare…the weather…safety…infrastructure…cultural offerings…taxes…

Then, compare your list of personal priorities with our lists of the world's top havens right now and what each one has to offer. (The Global Retirement Index, is a good place to start.) If you have an ongoing health concern, health care should be your number-one concern. If you have a strict budget, tied to a pension, cost of living is key. If you're not happy unless you can attend the theater at least once a week, focus on a city destination. And if efficiency and service are important to you, you may want to take Latin American and Caribbean countries off your list entirely.

This work, of understanding what's most important to you, and then comparing that against the pluses and the minuses of the places that make most sense for expatriate living right now, should leave you with a short list, of, say, three or four countries, to consider. Next step: Travel to see each one. No amount of research will substitute for a stay (as extended as you can manage) in every destination you're seriously considering. A place can make good sense on paper…but just not feel right. And vice versa. You can land in a country you didn't expect would make sense…to have an immediate recognition that…ah…yes…this is the place.

Once you've identified your ideal haven…arrange to spend six to 12 months living there (preferably through the dreariest season) before committing long-term. If you can make it through the off-season (winter in Ireland, for example)…well, then, go ahead and stake your claim.

Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living

[Don't miss out. Get your free IL Postcards subscription today.]