Living overseas is a big undertaking, there’s no doubt about that. There’s a lot to take into account, from immigration rules to the cost of the move and much more besides. However, for many of us, it’s an attractive prospect. Put yourself in that position for a moment - doesn’t the adventure and the experience sound a little thrilling? And even if you’re decades away from retirement, there can be significant advantages to such a move at this time in life. Below, we’ll look at some reasons it could work for you.
It’s an enriching experience while you can truly appreciate it
One of the definitive benefits of time spent living abroad is that it gives you the chance to develop as a person by experiencing another culture and rhythm of life. This is something that will benefit you as you get older, which is why it may be a good idea to take the chance before you retire. A lot of people fancy the idea of retiring abroad - and you don’t need to cast that idea aside - but the benefits of the experience can make a much bigger difference if you do it while you are still young or even middle-aged.
The cost of living can be much lower
It’s an underrated fact that while house prices have skyrocketed over the course of decades, wages have not risen in the same way. In real terms, that means the cost of living is only getting higher, but that doesn’t need to affect you in the same way if you spend some time living abroad. You can even hire property management and rent out your current home - planning to return at some stage in the future - and do your job or run a business remotely while paying much less to live somewhere like Portugal or Costa Rica. This will allow you to save more for your retirement and for your return home should you plan one.
It’s a chance to give your kids something special
It’s recognized as fact that learning a second language helps to strengthen the important reasoning and linguistic centers of the brain, and there is no better time to learn than when you’re young. By raising kids who can converse in two languages or more, switching between the two with an ease that most adults can’t manage, you’ll give them an excellent chance of higher educational attainment in their adolescence and greater employability post-college. Not to mention that they’ll have an experience few kids their age can call upon.
You can invest in cheaper real estate
Buying investment property is a good way of making passive income once you’re over the early learning curve. There’s a significant difference between the costs of doing so in the USA, and doing it in a country that is still considered a growing market. Places like Italy are a great deal more affordable than most countries in the Anglosphere, and they’re not exactly a chore to live in. Buying a house and turning it into something more profitable is an excellent way to add to a future nest-egg, and could also offer you options to retire to decades from now.
You can really challenge yourself
It’s not easy to up sticks and move to another country, and it will ask a lot of you as a person. That’s not said as an argument against doing it - in fact, it is a way to discover things about yourself and the world. All the things you do on a daily basis, you’ll do in the new place, but with a degree of added difficulty. This helps you grow, and later on in life when you face trials, you’ll have benefited from a thorough grounding in testing yourself. The good news is, by learning this way you’ve done it in a controlled way which you’ve been in charge of all along.
Moving, living and working abroad isn’t for everyone, and it takes a certain type of personality to even consider it. Could that personality be yours? If it is, then you’re likely to find that spreading your wings and changing your scenery, even for just a couple of years, might be one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll ever have. There’s no best way to do it, no best place to try it - these decisions are ones you’ll need to make with your own strengths, weaknesses and preferences in mind. However, the undeniable truth is that taking a chance and living abroad for a while is the kind of experience you can’t replicate any other way.
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