Getting our appetite wet to finalizing the decision

Getting prepared by coincidents and experiences

I first contemplated retiring abroad when we visited Kerala - the southern most state in India. There, food and accommodations are very inexpensive (for somebody who had their job in the US or Europe), the mountains are absolutely gorgeous, the climate is very agreeable for me, and the food - well, "out of this world" is an understatement!

As so often, when your mind finally is opened for things to come, the things came!

First, my dear Friend Nancy told me about her neighbor retiring to Boquete, Panama. A few days later, another dear friend, Venus, sent me a link to International Living, coincidentally also for Panama. 

Now, that website is a mess!!! It makes everything look so easy, and desirable, and affordable, and plain out beautiful - how can one not get all excited? Of course, it is their business - so they make it sound beautiful, as it is their livelihood to keep people sign up for their "guided retirement tours" or use them for real estate transactions, and whatever other way thy figured out to make money off of interested folks...

Yet, despite the fact that their intentions are of a different nature than ours, it was a good start to wet our appetite and to get basic information about many places in the world.

Scouting out our options

We decided to start visiting those countries that are high on our list. Among them Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Panama. India doesn't have a visa that makes retiring there possible. Tobago - one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean - is beautiful, but way to expensive for us to afford it (similar to most other Caribbean Islands).

Of all the places we visited (on vacation at some time along the way, or during our scouting trips), Panama was special. After only a few days, Suzanne mentioned that she really, really liked the country, especially the rural areas outside of Panama City. And I felt the same way! So we decided to make it our goal to move there as soon as it makes sense for us to do so.

Another coincident preparing me more

Then Covid hit, and got us stranded at my parent's place in Austria!

What a great coincidence - another one in the string that prepared me for this! My mom cooks every day! We got used and hooked to delicious, home-cooked meals. My sister taught me how to bake my own bread. Not being able to leave the home much, we soon adopted my parents' daily rhythm. I experienced for 1/2 year how it would be if I were retired. Doing little projects, enjoying home-cooked meals, resting, walking the dogs, every now and then meeting some friends or other family... Life was awesome! By far one of the best times in my life - despite the Covid scare and restrictions!

Holding on to retirement-lifestyle (tooth and nail!)

Back in the states, I longed for the great way of life we just experienced. So I started to cook instead of eating out. I am baking my own bread (haven't bought a loaf in over a year by now!). And instead of going straight back to software engineering, I started working on our new old house. We had just bought it before our Panama trip and had completed most of the demolition. The rebuilding was left to do.

I thought, I could continue similar to how I lived in Austria. After breakfast work a little. After lunch have a siesta. And in the afternoon - well, either work some more, or write, or visit friends... 

Almost falling back into old ways

In April I thought enough home-fixing-upping, let me get a SW engineering project again. Make some dough! 

I applied for a couple of positions and got to where an offer was imminent. However, many things came in between that delayed the actual start. And, over time, it became clear to me, that I really could and should retire now! What sense does it make to work another year or two or ten, just to make more money, when I could get by and be happy with what I have saved up already - as long as I am not splurging?

I am free now!

So, I withdrew my name from the job, and put the wheels in motion to leave by autumn 2021.

I'll describe the visa options in my next post... For now, let me just ask you: do you prefer to work longer or to live on less money per month? What are your fears or concerns about retiring, and what are your hopes or plans?