Three simple steps to a life of freedom
In early 2014 my partner Vanessa and I sold almost everything we owned. Vanessa sold her house in the UK, and I sold my small island home in Panama.
NOTE: You can read more about this in my previous "Best Places..." story.
Free at last
We were free. Free to go wherever we wanted, free to live life on our own terms.
Looking back on this decision we now see that it was the first step on a three step journey towards the global freedom we sought.
Our first...

The most common language you hear here in San Miguel de Allende, next to Spanish, is English, and you can get by with only English, just like my husband.
I am not an expert on this but my perception is that illegal drug trafficking is not a big problem in Portugal because Portugal doesn’t appear to be a major drug distribution network for drug smugglers. I do believe that there are some issues around drugs in some high schools and so this is something that they are trying to combat but it really isn’t a big issue in Portugal as a whole.
In general, the best places to live is anywhere where you can find fresh food, areas where there is relative peace, areas where there is an emphasis on education, and a place where people want to be a productive member of society. You can look at different cultures through that lens and then start to identify parts of the world that are attractive.
I have a very good social life here in San Ignacio. We get together in different houses and parties. One of the good things about living here is that there is a mixture of locals and expats at most parties.
ross the border from Costa Rica to Panama in