Latest Expat Stories

Spencer McMullen in Mexico: Unlikely Events, Being Able to Help Out, and a Problem With Names

Spencer McMullen Legal Commentator on Good Morning America – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingI’ve led an interesting life here in Mexico.

I had been doing mortgages in the US for over 15 years and started coming to Mexico when a lot of the US lenders had just started programs for Americans buying in Mexico. I thought, “Wow, I kind of want to get in on that.”

I started to get my papers in Mexico so I could work legally in the northern part of Mexico while still living Santa Barbara. At the time, I found the property in Chapala that I wanted to buy. I started taking...

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Our move from Puerto Vallarta to Ajijic, Lake Chapala Mexico.


Casa Flores B&B Ajijic, Lake Chapala Mexico – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingOriginally from Northern Ireland, and after a 10 year stint of working in the cruise industry and traveling extensively, I decided it was time to settle somewhere and find a "grown-up job"!
 
I decided on Puerto Vallarta in Mexico. I moved there with little more than two months rent in my pocket and a dream which I was aware would need a lot of luck and hard work to achieve. I arrived in October and was immediately drawn to the climate and the beauty and...

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How I Unexpectedly Found My Paradise in Ajijic… On a Yellow Brick Road Made of Cobblestones

 
View of Hacienda O'Neill from back yard – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingIn the summer of 2015 a lady friend who had fallen in love with Ajijic in the Lake Chapala area years ago and wanted to get back there contacted me. Her vision was to run a bed and breakfast in the village, but she needed some assistance purchasing the property, so she contacted me to see if I’d be interested in an investment.  After she had expounded upon the virtues of Ajijic through numerous phone calls I was intrigued to the point of flying down and meeting her...

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How the Goodhearted and Capable People of Pittsburgh Make a Difference in Nicaragua

Elkin being examined in his home in Nicaragua – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingEditor’s note: Mike Cobb is the CEO of ECI Development, which, among other developments overseas, created Gran Pacifica, a master planned community being built on 2,500 acres along more than 3 miles of beachfront due west of Managua, Nicaragua.  In this story, Mike tells us how his business partner, Joel Nagel, and the Pittsburgh Rotary Club, brought others together to launch several health clinics that today bring much-needed primary care to the people of Nicaragua. The most...

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The physical distance means nothing when it comes to love.

Child in knight outfit – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingBlonde girl in dance outfit – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingWhether you live across town or across the country, this is the same as being in a distant land. Our world is huge but still small and new technology makes it smaller still, easier than ever to stay up front and personal with family and friends.
 
This morning I laughed and talked with my grandson, age seven and granddaughter, age four. Their mother and father continued with the morning regime, making breakfast.  I love SKYPE, as it keeps them alive and us in love with their...

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On the Panama Papers, the World Economy, and the Panamanian People

We were very pleased when Robert Adams offered us the YouTube video below, in which he puts the Panama Papers into context.  Bob is an expert in economic development and has a great perspective.  We invite you to watch and listen as Bob provides a balanced view, not only of the Panama Papers, but also where it fits within the larger stories of, on the one hand, corruption, incompetence, short-sidedness and hypocrisy, and on the other, his admiration and...

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How I Got Zika Virus in Nicaragua and Lived to Talk About It

I recently had zika, and I can report that zika is not fun. At the beginning, my symptoms looked like I had pinkeye, but it was weird because it wasn’t a full pinkeye; it was just half of my eye, so I thought I just got some sort of allergy. I was feeling fine in terms of my health; I just didn’t feel well in terms of my eye. Everything else was fine. I was going to the gym, I was going to work, etc. Then, all of a sudden, it just completely spread through my entire eye, and I didn’t feel fine. My vision was blurry, I didn’t know what was going on, and I was extremely itchy, but I had nothing coming out of my eye, which led us to think that it was bacterial pinkeye. Then I started sneezing. I started feeling that my ganglia were going crazy, and I had the flu. Coincidently, I turned on CNN, which had news about zika symptoms. After watching that, my husband and I started freaking out. I remembered that right before I started getting sick, there was a mosquito in our room, and I could have sworn it bit me because sometimes they get a bit aggressive and you feel them trying to get into your skin. That’s when I suspected that I had contracted zika. We went to the hospital and told them that we just did not feel very well and we suspected that we had something that we couldn’t identify. They started doing a battery of tests and took pictures of us and called the Health Ministry. They came and talked to us and they appeared really concerned. Then they sent us home, which was like sending us to quarantine, because we weren’t allowed to leave our house. The next day, they came to our house and not only fumigated it but they fumigated our whole neighborhood. They had this equipment that looked like the blowers that you use to blow the grass and leaves off your lawn, but they blow pesticides. They come and just blow in your entire house. It feels like there are hundreds of motorcycles in your house and all the exhaust is everywhere. That time we weren’t allowed to hang out outside. Also, it hurt because I had pinkeye in both eyes. They told us to avoid contact with our kids. They also told us to avoid sexual contact with others, which I thought was funny because it was a really weird thing to say to us, but they had to tell us. Then they sent an epidemiologist, who took a timeline of our entire life for the last 10 days while I was sick. I woke up on day 11 with no symptoms and was fine. My husband was fine as well. Our pinkeye was literally faint pink after being blood red like we were crying blood. We had no joint pain any longer, no fevers, no nothing; we were fine. Of course we tried to go to the gym and run, which did cause us to feel it. You could feel that your body is not 100% recovered yet but we feel completely fine now. Overall, my take on this is that you could get sick anywhere you go and you could get sick with all kinds of things. It just has to do with precaution, learning about where you are moving, what to do, and what other people do. If you are planning on moving abroad, it is best to get on forums for expats who actually live where you are moving and start asking them what you should do when you come. If you’re moving to a tropical country like Nicaragua, you could ask expats who already moved here about what they do to avoid mosquito bites. They would tell you to wear long sleeves in the afternoons when the mosquitoes come out, put on insect repellent, buy citronella candles, or buy lemongrass oil. There are all kinds of things here in Nicaragua that helps you get rid of mosquitoes so that you won’t get sick. I was just unlucky but I don’t think this should discourage people from coming to Nicaragua. Yes, you are more likely to get sick in Nicaragua than you would in South Pasadena where I come from, but it is pretty relative because in South Pasadena, you’re not in the jungle. As they say, “You are most likely to get eaten by a wolf if you live in the forest.” I wouldn’t give up coming here to Nicaragua just because of some mosquitoes because if you would think about it, you could also easily get malaria, dengue, or zika in Louisiana, where there are lots of swamps. – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingI recently had zika, and I can report that zika is not fun. 
 
At the beginning, my symptoms looked like I had pinkeye, but it was weird because it wasn’t a full pinkeye; it was just half of my eye, so I thought I just got some sort of allergy. I was feeling fine in terms of my health; I just didn’t feel well in terms of my eye. Everything else was fine. I was going to the gym, I was going to...

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What It’s Like in My Country of Panamá

Red-lored Amazon in Panama – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingPanamá has the privilege of having some of the best weather in the world, as well as having primary rainforest areas, and the most beautiful nature found anywhere.
 
The name “Panamá” means “abundance.” Abundance of fish, butterflies and birds.  We have one of the most complete collection of all of these in the world.  For a visitor who loves bird watching (with over 850 species), or who enjoys nature, this is the place to come.
 
There are many...

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Opportunities Ahead— How David Btesh Sees Panama’s Past, Present, and Hopeful Future

(The Btesh family is very tied into the business and charitable communities in Panama.  Mr. Btesh serves on the Boards of UniBank and the insurance company Aseguradora Ancon, and he is a partner in Pacific Developers, one of the largest builders in Panama.  This story is the result of an interview done with Mr. Btesh February 29, 2016.)

Sea Point, Panama City, Panama – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingMy family migrated to Panama in the 1930s and I was born in 1942. At that time, Panama was quite a small country, and Panama City itself...

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In Panama the Benefits of Red Wine vs White Wine on Health

Red wine drinkers delight in proclaiming the benefits of red wine over white wine. Although some new studies indicate there can be some benefits to drinking white wine, red wine wins out above the sweeter white flavors. Some of the important features red wine offers above the lovely whites are:
  • Red wine has a score of 7 as cited by Prevention; white wine has a score of 1
  • Red wine has less sugar content
  • Red wine has more antioxidants
  • Red wine...

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