About Us and Our Travel Blog
Hi there! Weāre Sandra and Jeffāa couple who, in 2022, decided to trade a predictable life for an unpredictable adventure. We packed up, sold almost everything, and dove into our new-to-us American Expat and senior nomad lifestyle and headed out figure out where in the world we could actually afford to live without draining our savings. Spoiler alert: Itās not where we thought it would be!
If youāre dreaming about living overseas but think you canāt afford it, following along as we share with you what we learn along the way.

Our Backstory Story: From Overpacked Closets to Carry-On Freedom
Jeffās a veteran, Sandra grew up as a military brat, and together, weāve lived and traveled everywhere from small-town USA to England, the Caribbean, and beyond. And after 20 years in one spot (Oregon), we realized we missed the thrill of discovering new places. So, we hit the reset button.
Armed with determination and a tight budget, we began living overseas on a budget, one country at a time. Our target destinations: Places that donāt get too hot or too cold and research says itās āaffordableā.
Now, weāre sharing everything weāve learning about living overseas on a budgetāno sugarcoating, no gimmicks, just real talk.
Why We Hope Youāll Love Our Blog
Weāre not here to sell you a dream or paint Instagram-worthy-yet-delusional pictures of what itās like to live abroad. Weāre here to help āpaintā a realistic picture of what is like to live abroad as a nomad (or at least a nomad until we find the āoneā) Our blog is for anyone who:
- Wants to explore affordable places to live abroad and hasnāt quite reach the threshold for retirement residency status for the places you might want to live (just like us)
- Needs practical advice on full-time travel
- Enjoys stories that are as honest as they are entertaining.
Hereās what you can expect:
- Budget-Friendly Relocation Advice: From cost breakdowns to cultural insights, weāll show you how to make the leap without going broke.
- Destination Spotlights: The good, the bad, and the weirdāevery place weāve stayed has a story.
- Relatable Tips: Weāre figuring this out as we go, so youāll get advice thatās fresh, practical, and occasionally hilarious.

Curious about the thought process that went on behind the scenes before we left the United States?
Follow along (click the down arrow to expand the stories)ā¦
Why Nomadic Retirement?
Our original plan? A tropical paradise retirement in Panama. But the more we talked about it, and the more that Sandra bought into the idea, the more I realized that buying a beach house and living out the rest of our retirement days in a tropical country might not be a satisfying plan. Health concerns, political anxieties, and a growing wanderlust pushed us to rethink everything.
Redefining Retirement GoalsĀ
So we started by defining our true retirement goals. What truly sparked joy? (Iāve been reminded through this process itās also important to recognize that your understanding of what your goal actually is may change as you attempt to define it more clearly. )
We had initially made a decision that we would retire at age 67. We hadĀ planned on settling in Panama unless a visit there changedĀ our minds and so we had tentatively formed a plan to spend a couple weeks there in May. A friend of mine was retired toĀ CoronadoĀ so we at least had a shot at some inside scoop on how the process should go. We also decided that we would rent first before committing to a purchase so that we could be WAY more familiar with the country.
Downsizing and Preparing for an Affordable Retirement
Step one was going to be downsizing from our current property. We have 5 acres with a 1,680 sf 3 BR house, a 1,000 sf āshop/storageā space that was the original house on the property, plus two 40ā² Conex containers we used as storage and workshop space. Iāve been collecting tools and shop equipment for decades as an auto mechanic and woodworker plus we have so much art; paintings, prints, dimensional pieces, glass, the mind fairly boggles at the scope.
The original planĀ startsĀ with selling off most of our stuff, sell the house and use the proceeds to buy a motorhome or 5thĀ wheel and a small piece of land. Then we could continue to work but be debt free and stacking money away while we prepared to retire. Oct 2022 we were laying out the timeline for early summer 2023 to sell the house, still with an eye towards working until 67.
Between personal property, project cars and equity in the house weād be starting with a decent chunk of cash. We figured on spending maybe as much as $100k to set up a small acreage with an RV and use the rest to buy a rental property somewhere cheap to start developing a passive income. With no mortgage or debt weād be able toĀ live on maybe around $2,500 per month so anythingĀ we earned over that would go towards more rental properties
Adapting Retirement Plans Based on New Information
But then a couple of things happened in November 2022 that caused us to start having a much more serious discussion about what retirement looks like for us. First thing was that I went in for a routine follow up at the end of October (I have had some issues with my heart and actually have an ICD to improve my odds in case of a 3rdĀ heart attack) and they started me on a blood pressure medication. When I went back 3 weeks later to see how that was working out my BP was 228/122 so they sent me to the ER. I had been monitoring it at home for a couple of weeks and 202/103 wasnāt an unusual reading, the systolic number was seldom below 180. This was explained to me as being bad and wrong and liable to result in a stroke so I wound up being admitted to the hospital for hypertension. Change to the medications and more monitoring but ya know, stress is a thing.
This was my third admission to the hospital because āthis is the kind of thing people die fromā situation, so it got me thinking very seriously about retirement sooner rather than later. Like, I have always wanted to travel more and Iām apparently running out of time to get that handled.
Around this same time, 45 announced he was going to try and become 47 and we were both uncomfortable with what we imagined the campaign was going to be like having already dealt with 2 years of āI didnāt actually lose; the Dems cheatedā. I follow politics casually but itās enough to cause significant stress because I canāt even believe weāve gotten to this point in our country. Even if 45 isnāt a contender it looks like Desantis would be the GOP nominee and thatās hardly an improvement.
The Plot Twist: Affordable Nomadic Adventures
Thatās when we stumbled upon the idea of affordable nomadic retirement. I had been reading up on various cheapest places to live akaĀ affordable retirement destinationsĀ with an eye towards where in the world a couple could live on our anticipated Social Security of about $3,000 a month. During the process weĀ learned more about SS benefits, and that by being strategic about our destinations and living arrangements, we realized we could explore the world while staying within our budget.
Or as our family would say āYouāre doing what??!?ā I was going to call this postĀ āEpisode IV-A New Hopeā but I didnāt want to deal with lawyers, sooooā¦
Scrolling through retirement blogs, we stumbled upon a question that hit us like a ton of bricks: āDo we want to have a home or do we want to have a life?ā It got us thinking. How much cash would we really need to retire right now and enjoy life before Social Security kicks in (which, for us, is still 90 months away)?
$4,000 per month means weād have to have $360k in the bank. Hmmm, thatās a lot
If we set our sights on retiring in June ā which would make the selling of the house happen on a much more tolerable timeline for me ā then itās 83 months to SS so weāre down to $332,000.
Okay, what if we could live on $3,000 per month? Now we only need $249,000 to retire early. Thatās not as big a number as it sounds, though. I mean, itās a bunch of money but itās not out of reach.
We had also just switched brokerages to work directly with a friend of ours and Sandra reminded me that we had committed to a year with Christina. So that means starting this grand adventure more like November/December. Which then means the window to collecting SS payments is 78 months and the required capital is down to $234k.
Hmmmmm. We had some money saved and weāll get a decent chunk from selling the house so retiring early is suddenly looking like a pretty doable plan.
Making the Retirement Math Work on $3,000 a Month
The big question was, could we swing this financially on $3,000 a month? Traditional retirement wisdom tells you that you need a small fortune saved up. But what if we could create a fulfilling retirement experience without needing a mountain of money?
So What does a $3,000 a month Nomadic Retirement lifestyle look like?
Iād beenĀ reading up on other countriesĀ and was pretty confident that $3k per month would allow us a decent standard of living in a lot of different places. But theĀ residency visaĀ appeared to be an issue.
We couldnāt get a resident visa anywhere just based on having a pile of cash in the bank and having $250k invested wonāt generate the required $2k per month income to qualify to get a pensionado visa in Panama. Well, it would in rentals but weād have to show that income stream for 2 years prior to moving so thatād mean weād be homeless in Oregon with $2k/month to live on unless we kept working. (UpdateĀ ā that was bad info; in order to qualify for the residency you need to have aĀ guaranteed-for-life pensionĀ from the government or a major company)
Thatās when we discovered the magic of affordable nomadic retirement. By being strategic about where we go and how we live, we realized we could explore the world for less than the cost of maintaining our house in the States. Think about it ā no more property taxes, no more expensive lawn care!
Affordable Retirement Travel and Living LIKE a Local
So what if we didnāt āmoveā to a country, what if we just maxed out the 90 day visitor privilege and became senior nomads? 3 month rentals seemed to be readily available in most countries I looked at and the whole point of getting out of Oregon was to avoid snow and cold.
We both have enjoyed our limited travels but always felt rushed ā 10 days in France, 10 days in New Zealand, not enough time to really enjoy the country except on a very superficial level. The 4 years we spent in England was an awesome time but we had young kids, we didnāt have much money and 4 years is soooo long that we never felt any pressure to get things seen so we wound up missing quite a lot.
The question then became, could we reduce our lives to a big suitcase and a backpack each then just be nomadic seniors? 90 days per country should be long enough to really get a feel for a place but short enough that we would feel some small pressure to see what we wanted to see. I was pretty confident that I could do that and sheās game to give it a try.
Is the Affordable Nomadic Retirement Life Right for You?
Listen, senior nomadism isnāt for everyone. It might not even be right for us. But if youāre like us and craving something different out of retirement, and youāre open to exploring the world on a budget, then this might just be the perfect path for you.
Planning this adventure has been an eye-opening experience, and guess what? Thereās lot to think about! This post tackles some of the practical questions (and potential solutions) weāve encountered so far.
Can We Earn an Income While We Travel?
Turning our travels into a side hustle is tempting. Can we monetize the affordable traveling retirement concept at all to help subsidize our senior nomad travels and maybe not skate into SS completely broke? Could we get jobs in foreign lands to supplement our savings? Sheās good with tech and Iāve got a big personality so perhaps we could establish ourselves as a āhints and tipsā resource for folks interested in affordable retirement travel or extended vacations.
The Cost of Living ChallengeĀ & Affordable Retirement Travel
For cost of living and convenience reasons we are looking at cheapest countries to live in and had our eyes on Montenegro and Croatia. Studio and one bedroom apartments were plentiful in the $500 to $600 per month range.Ā But waitā¦.
Affordable Retirement Travel:Ā How Long Can We Stay In a Country?
One appealing option was the idea that we could do 90 days in Croatia then take a bus and do 90 days in Montenegro.Ā
I looked intoĀ visa requirementsĀ and restrictions and it turns out we would not need a visa for short trips to theĀ European UnionĀ (EU) or countries in theĀ Schengen areaĀ if we were staying for 90 days or less in a 180-day period.
This means that someone can enter the Schengen Area as many times as they want, but only stay for a total of 90 days, every 180 days. (This rule applies to every state of the Schengen Area.)
So could we do 90 days in the UK (not in the EU) then go to Croatia (in the EU) for 90 days, then go back to the UK for 90 days and then go to Montenegro for 90 days?Ā
(Update:Ā Montenegro is not currently in the EU or the Schengen zone ā yet ā but itās also really tiny (slightly smaller than Connecticut!) so 90 days might be too much)
Weāll also need to schedule occasional trips back to the US to visit family. Is that annual trip?Ā
Healthcare on the Move: Prescriptions and Sleep Apnea
I was really struggling with how my prescriptions could be handled and Sandra suggested that perhaps they could be shipped to the US Embassy wherever we were living. That might could work because we certainly arenāt liable to move anywhere that doesnāt have a consulate at leastĀ (Update ā Apparently non-narcotic prescription drugs are much more readily available pretty much anywhere outside north America. Whodathunkit?)
My sleep apnea therapy is another healthcare consideration; the CPAP machine I have is pretty bulky but I know there are smaller, more portable options available ā thatās another expense to consider.
You might also be interested in our postĀ Prescription Refills ā Planning an extended period overseas? What You Need To Know About Prescription Refills Abroad
House sitting and Pet Sitting: A Short-Term Affordable Retirement TravelĀ Solution?
House Sitting or pet sitting gigs could be a way to stay in one place for a bit and explore locally. Plus, caring for a furry friend wouldnāt be too demanding if the only responsibility is to feed and walk Fido twice a day.Ā First glance at this sort of side quest are generally going to be a week or at most a month at a time (Update: Pet sitting and House sitting while traveling internationally is proving to be more complicated than we first imaginedā¦. some countries view pet sitting, house sitting and even volunteering abroad to be āunauthorized workā and deporting or denying entry to travelers who are doing this.)
The Pet Quandary: Can We Travel with Them?
Speaking of petsitting, another challenge is what to do with our 2 cats? We love them and they are an important part of our home life. Seeaytee was a rescue from the animal shelter and when we first got her it took 3 days before she came out from under the bed. Sheās around 10 years old now so another rehoming would be pretty traumatic after 7 years with us. Anathema was a barn kitten we turned into an indoor cuddler. Well, not really that cuddly, there is a reason I sometimes call her āRazor Floofā. Traveling with them fulltime is complicated due to quarantine requirements and the logistical nightmare of managing food and litter box issues. It would limit our access to rentals as well as making spontaneous changes in plans problematic. Can we rehome them?Ā Ā
So, what are we going to do?
Weāre still figuring it out!Ā This blogĀ is all about sharing our journey, the challenges we face, and the solutions we discover along the way. Maybe youāre a soon-to-be retiree with wanderlust too, or perhaps youāre just curious about affordable retirement travel. Either way, join us as we navigate the world on a budget, and who knows, maybe weāll inspire you to chase your own retirement dreams!
Where Do We Land in our Full-Time Retirement Travel plan
Todayās post dives into a recent conversation with Sandra about our ideal retirement destinations, expat bubbles, population density and setting a target launch date for ourĀ full-time retirement travelĀ adventure
While a beachfront paradise sounds tempting, Sandra wants a bit more. Sheās drawn to the idea of being near, but not within, American expat communities.
We both understand the appeal of expat bubbles ā a sense of familiarity and support. But we also agree it can hinder feeling connected to the locals and their community.
When surrounded primarily by other Americans, we risk missing out on experiencing the local way of life ā the vibrant festivals, the delicious (and sometimes unfamiliar!) cuisine, and the enriching interactions with people from different backgrounds.
Living in an expat bubble can also discourage us from picking up the local language, a key to unlocking deeper connections and navigating daily life confidently.Ā
Ultimately, we want our retirement to be a journey of continuous learning and growth, and that means embracing the unique culture of each place we call home, not just recreating a piece of America abroad.Ā
It reminds me of when we were stationed in England. We purposely rented a house far from the American base to truly experience life in a new country. I vividly remember telling the military housing office, āSorry, I didnāt travel 5,000 miles across an ocean to a foreign country to spend the next 4 years surrounded by Americans.ā
Full-Time Retirement Travel plan: Avoiding Crowds and Finding Balance
Sandra also emphasizes avoiding overwhelming crowds. k. Iām completely on board with that.
Neither of us has much interest in spending significant time in Asia or the middle-East (preconceived notion of high population density) so weāll stick to Central America and Europe as we researchĀ destinations
Iād really like to golf more in retirement but most of the places weāre looking at have a dearth of courses. Thereās like 9 in the whole country of Panama, same with Puerto Rico. England should be good, I feel like thereās probably a lot of muniās.
Full-Time Retirement Travel Plan: Rethinking the Timeline
And then today, 12/6/22 she tells me she isnāt comfortable with a 1 year timeline to drop everything and go. She isnāt ādoneā working yet. Alrighty then, so weāll be talking about thatā¦
Exploring Options and Setting a New Target Date for Launching our Full-Time Retirement Travel Plan
Much of our discussion centers about the various moving parts and various āwhat ifā scenarios to determine a new quit date; when we plan to bail and travel full-time informs the decision of how we handle the money from selling the house. Because we both agree that getting off this property is a necessary first step to retirement planning and that should happen in the spring this coming year.Ā
Originally, we envisioned November 2023 as our departure date. With Sandraās concerns in mind, weāve pushed that back to October 2024.
This extended timeline means our ātransitional periodā is now 17 months instead of 6. Weāll need to carefully plan for this extended period, especially since it includes another winter in Oregon.
Remember ourĀ ever-evolving timeline? Well, Sandra recently surprised me by saying, āIām not so sure I want to face another Oregon winter. What if we revisit our original fall 2023 target date?ā
Alrighty then, letās talk about thatā¦
Adapting and Planning for the Transitional Period
Weāve already committed to a timeline for selling the house and downsizing. But the question of āwhere will we liveā during the ātransitional periodā ā the time between selling the house and embarking on our nomadic adventure ā is a subject of some discussion.
Sandra keeps coming back to buying an RV as temporary housing. However, logistics get tricky. Would we sell it before flying out and need temporary lodging? Or find a place to store it in case the nomadic life isnāt quite the right fit?
The truth is, the answer to āwhere do we live after selling the house?ā will likely become clear once the house is on the market and things feel more real.
Building Our Online Presence: TheMobileRetireeā¢ is Born!
In the meantime, we did score a major win ā locking down our domain and social media handles! We debated ābigasssuitcase.comā (because, letās face it, packing light for a multi-year trip abroad isnāt exactly my strong suit), but ultimately landed on TheMobileRetireeā¢ and snagged the matching social media handles.
This website thing is important for a couple of reasons. Apparently, the magic internet monetization fairies require a well-established website before we can monetize our retirement travel diary. Plus, the sooner I start tinkering with this writing and video thing, the better. Practicing on local attractions and nearby golf courses means way less pressure if I mess up. Besides, who wouldnāt want a do-over on a bad Oregon day trip, right?
Join UsĀ on the Journey!
So, stay tuned as we navigate this ever-shifting path to mobile retirement. Weāll keep you posted on our latest decisions, challenges (because letās be real, there will be challenges), and maybe even some travel tips along the way. Cheers to a new year, and who knows, maybe even a (slightly) more settled retirement timeline!
As we excitedly plan our nomadic retirement, one crucial aspect threw us a curveball: medical insurance for fulltime travelers. Budgeting for this seemed straightforward, but the reality for nomadic retirees like us is quite different. So much so that we did a blog post to explore the the different types of ātravelā insurance and discuss the differences and similarities of travel insurance vs medical insurance for fulltime travelers. Weāll also share the alternative solutions we discovered to ensure affordable health coverage for our globe-trotting adventures, helping you navigate this essential step in planning your own mobile retirement!
All about the Benjamins
I worked up aĀ preliminary travel budget for this adventureĀ based on information gleaned from various travel bloggers, my own research and a little bit of caution. Virtually all of the countries we plan to visit are on someoneās āYou can retire here for $1,500 per monthā list so Iām allowing $3,500 per month to include travel between locations as well as the fact that food and housing expenses will almost certainly be higher based on frequent travels. You can secure a 12 month lease at a significantly lower cost than a 1 to 3 month lease and moving to a new country every 90 days means A) there will always be new restaurants to explore and B) there will be significant travel expenses, especially on inter-continental moves
Weāre starting off with the proceeds from selling our house and selling almost everything āstuffā, so there is an investment strategy in the background to maximize return on that money, but this whole thing is predicated on not having any āactualā income; just what we get from investments and the cashflow needs to be managed because we will be living out of that pile of cash we start with. This not a situation where we have millions to invest and we can just live off the return; we need to really make the most of every opportunity so the money doesnāt run out before our SS benefits kick in.
By the same token, we donāt want to be living on beans and rice in a 5th floor walk-up somewhere just to escape the rat race, it would make more sense for us to keep working in that case.
Whatās in our Travel Budget?
Housing
Based on the numbers Iāve heard from various travelers (mostly folks in the ādigital nomadā category) I had budgeted $700 per month for housing. Since my search for rental apartments had turned up numerous options in the $350 to $600 range in most of the countries I explored options for online Iām pretty hopeful we can do that. I checked out AirBNB for the first time this week and monthly rentals under $700 arenāt hard to find at least in Panama andĀ Costa RicaĀ which are our two starter countries.Ā I also found a 9 bedroom villa for $26,511 per month that is not a finalist.
Activities
Iāve got $400 per month assigned to ātransportation and entertainmentā because weāll certainly want to do things wherever we go.
Relocation
I budgeted $600 per month for relocation assuming a change of countries every 90 days ā $1,800 per trip. The first trip will be to Panama and if we were booking tickets right now it would cost about $1,200 so there is carryover to future travels. And the second target country is Costa Rica; we can get from Panama to Costa Rica for $50 by bus or maybe $450 if we fly so there will be additional carryover for the 3rd relocation which takes us to southern Europe. Looking at future destinations there are a few that may be over my baseline budget depending on the starting point so it will be important to keep a reserve in that account.Ā
Food
Ah, my favorite reason to travel; I love to eat. Again based on what Iāve heard from variousĀ travelers I $400 for groceries in our travel budget, which should be plenty since our grocery bills here in the US in a pretty high cost of living area run $500 to $600 per month. At present I am NOT a careful shopper and we have several āprepared foodā meals each month. I budgeted an additional $450 per month for meals out assuming 15 restaurant meals at an average $30 each. Mostly I hear you can eat in a decent restaurant for $10-$12 per person in most places at dinner prices and less for breakfast and lunch prices so I feel good about that number right now
Insurance
I have travel medical budgeted at $350 (see my post about thatĀ _here_) Life insurance right now is listed at $225 but we are discussing ways to reduce that since we really wonāt need the amount of coverage we currently have once we sell the house. Policies for us really just need to cover the āShit, he died now I have to get his carcass back to the statesā level of expense. Iāve included $30 per month for prescriptions because I am on several daily medications that currently cost about $50 every 90 days. This is actually one of the more stressful parts of the planning, i.e., how do I get my meds when I live overseas?Ā
You might also be interested inĀ Prescription Refills ā Planning an extended period overseas? What You Need To Know About Prescription Refills Abroad
Communications
I threw in a travel budget line for cell phones/internet at basically a random amount of $200 per month. If we go the ālocalĀ sim cardā route and take advantage of WhatsApp and wi-fi calling thatās realistically probably going to be closer to $75 ā $100.Ā Ā
If you did the math youāll see Iām actually a little under, that all totals up to $3,405 per month out of my $3,500 budget because, better to have a little headroom in our travel budget than try and find ways to scrimp. I figure weāll track as we go and reevaluate quarterly.
Important factors to consider in the budgeting process include a level of ācushionā in that Sandra will probably continue some of the administrative work sheās doing which will generate some cash and we can certainly create an entertaining and informative enough YouTube channel to monetize it to some extent. Iāve based the budget on zero income, completely living off of savings for 7 years. Also important is that if it all goes pear-shaped we can call the whole thing off and go back to residential real estate sales or car sales.
So, there you have it ā a peek into our initial travel budget. Weāve factored in what weāve gleaned from other nomadic travelers, along with some healthy skepticism (gotta have that cushion, folks!). While living on beans and rice might seem quaint for a hot minute, it wouldnāt exactly jive with our vision of this adventure.
The good news? Our research suggests this budget is doable in most of the places weāre considering. Weāll definitely track our spending as we go, with adjustments made quarterly to keep things on track. Remember, thereās always the possibility of some income down the line ā Sandra might keep doing some freelance work, and that YouTube channel idea has some monetization potential (fingers crossed!).
The bottom line? This budget allows us to ditch the rat race and explore the world, all without burning through our savings before Social Security kicks in. Hereās to living life on our terms ā stay tuned as we continue to refine our plans and share our journey with you!
The countdown is officially on! With Februaryās chill clinging to the air. Weāre selling the house, brushing up on languages (well, mostly Spanish for now!), and strategizing our nomad retirement departure ā itās all part of the thrilling (and sometimes overwhelming) process ofĀ transforming our retirement dreamĀ into reality. This blog is our way of sharing the journey.
Random thoughts on a cold February day: I was today years old when I learned that āwaterfall rappellingā is a thing that exists. I was watching a video about countries where you can buy residency / passport and in the bit about Dominica they mentioned it. My sister-in-law confirmed they do it inĀ Costa RicaĀ as well and itās fun. Hmmmm, gonna have to bear that in mind. Iām intrigued but have some trepidation
Iāve also just recently learned that one of my brothers-in-law is very interested inĀ retiring to Costa RicaĀ or Portugal because of the lower cost of living. He also has similar concerns to mine as to the state of politics in the US.Ā
Today I learned that my wife is developing a pretty serious case of short-timers diseaseĀ as we approach the time to sell our house.Ā Pretty funny to me since when I proposed leaving in November this year she initially wanted to put it off for an additional year; now sheās hot to go, like, soon. I, on the other hand, am struggling somewhat with the āgetting rid of stuffā part of the process so, baby steps. I photographed all my Subaru and Harley Davidson branded shirts to post as available and started looking at donation programs for the āprofessionalā clothes Iāll be getting rid of. Looks like the local college has a program so I feel good about that
I also learned today that English is apparently widely spoken in Croatia. Iām excited about that because I started looking at some common phrases and Croatian is a tongue-twister of a language. Not crazy confident of my ability to become conversational in a year of occasional study. Since weāve been working on Spanish I think weāll be okay for casual conversation by this fall and Italian has some common roots so I wasnāt worried about being able to pick up enough to get around.Ā
Iām beginning to wonder if maybe we should do our time in Italy as stop #3 (April/May to June/July) and then up to England to finish out summer.Ā Itās hard to plan in 3 month increments to avoid anyplace they have an actual winter while minimizing travel expenses ā once we hit Europe Iād like to stay at least a full year and that requires bouncing in and out of theĀ Schengen zone. My original thought was 90 days in Croatia, then get out of the zone by staying in Montenegro for 90 days then 90 days in Italy and get back out of the zone by going to the UK but I donāt think we can avoid sub-50 degree temps with that routing. Still a lot of work to be done to get the scheduling right; itās starting to look like maybe we do 2 or 3 segments in Europe then escape back to the Caribbean or Latin America for the winter months, LOL.
Between waterfall rappelling inĀ Costa Rica, navigating Schengen zones in Europe, and my wifeās case of the pre-departure jitters, February is proving to be a month of unexpected twists and turns as we gear up for our mobile retirement adventure!
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