Slow Travel & Retire Abroad

10/21/2026

"No regrets" is our motto, so we're trying places on before we commit 👇

Why we're slow traveling BEFORE picking where to retire:
• You don't know what you don't know. The best fit might be a town we've never visited.
• One month minimum per stop. Three is the sweet spot.
• The part-time resident idea: keep a home base, spend a few months somewhere, get to know it properly.
• Visit in the season you'd hate most.

Swipe for our filter quiz, then tell us: which one is essential for YOU? Comment your top 2 👇
And if you've already moved, how long did you test-live first?

Not financial advice. Numbers are illustrative.

10/20/2026

Train, bus, feet 🚆 We're planning our slow travel years with no car. Here's what we've learned so far:

• The basics have to be walkable: groceries, a pharmacy, a café, the water.
• Pick towns ON a train line, and check the off-season timetable, not just summer's.
• Our quick test: walk from the station to the center with a bag. Doable? It passes.
• Thinking of driving in France later? A non-European license is valid for 1 year after you become a resident.
• After that you need a French license. France's official list (March 2026) has 18 US states whose licenses can be swapped. Everyone else takes the French test.

Anyone living car-free abroad? What surprised you? 👇

Check current rules for your situation.
Not financial advice. Numbers are illustrative.

10/19/2026

The insurance mistake we almost made 👇 This one surprised us: "worldwide" doesn't always mean worldwide.

• Travel medical insurance is built for trips: emergencies, sudden illness or injury. Usually not checkups or refills.
• For long stays, look at international health insurance (often called IPMI). Plans are usually renewed every year.
• Leaving the US out of a plan can lower the price a lot. Check what's covered on visits home.
• One popular nomad plan sells US coverage only as an extra, and only to non-US residents.
• Medicare usually doesn't cover care outside the US, with a few exceptions (Medicare.gov).
• Getting a visa? Check its insurance rule before you buy.

What do you use for long stays? Tell us below, we're still comparing 👇

Not medical advice. Check each policy's wording.
Not financial advice. Numbers are illustrative.

10/18/2026

We thought 90 days was the hard ceiling for Europe. Turns out, we may be wrong 👀

When we did our research, it appears you can stack a long-stay visa for one EU country (like France's 1-year visitor visa) with the Schengen rules. While you're in that country on the visa, those days don't seem to count against your 90.

What we found so far:
• As US tourists, we get 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area.
• France's long-stay "visitor" visa covers stays of more than 3 months, up to a year. You apply BEFORE you go.
• They ask for proof you can support yourself, health insurance and a place to stay. No working on it.
• Since April 2026, the EU's new border system (EES) counts days automatically, so getting this right matters.

We're still researching this one. Has anyone done it yet? How did it work for you? 👇

Check current rules at france-visas.gouv.fr.
Not financial advice. Numbers are illustrative.

10/17/2026

Our research notes: the Schengen 90/180 rule, in plain English 🇪🇺 (what we learned while mapping our own Europe stretch)

- 29 countries count as one zone: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Croatia and more. Hopping between them doesn't reset anything.
- On any day, look back 180 days. More than 90 of them inside the zone = overstay.
- It's a rolling window, not a calendar year.
- The slow-travel move: about 3 months in, 3 months out. People spend the "out" months in the UK (up to 6 months a visit, ETA needed), Albania (up to 1 year on a US passport), Turkey (90 days in any 180, its own count) or Southeast Asia (Vietnam or Malaysia, up to 90 days; Thailand only 30 now).
- The EU's Entry/Exit System now logs entries and exits digitally, so overstays are easier to catch. The EU's free short-stay calculator shows your days left.

Done the 90/180 shuffle? Where did you spend your "out" months? Tell us below, we're still mapping ours. 👇

Check current visa rules.
Not financial advice. Numbers are illustrative.

10/15/2026

Our shortlist so far: 5 places a couple could live for 3 months without draining savings 🌍

1. Da Nang, Vietnam: ≈ $1,530/mo for two (beach city; e-visa up to 90 days)
2. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: ≈ $2,010/mo (great food, cheap transit; US passports 90 days, no visa)
3. Tirana, Albania: ≈ $2,640/mo (walkable capital; US passports up to 1 year)
4. Medellín, Colombia: ≈ $2,840/mo (mild weather year-round; 90 days, extendable)
5. Chania, Crete, Greece: ≈ $2,960/mo off-season (Venetian harbor; Schengen 90/180)

That's a furnished 1-bed with bills, food for two with eating out a few times a week, getting around, phones and extras. Furnished monthly rent ran above long-term averages in most places we checked, and summer on the islands costs far more.

What did we miss? Lived somewhere cheap and lovely for a few months? Tell us where, and what you spent. 👇
Price out your stay with the trip cost planner, linked in bio.

Check current visa rules.
Not financial advice. Numbers are illustrative.

10/14/2026

A month in Medellín for two, from our research notes 👇

Furnished 1-bed in Laureles: $1,200 (we assumed bills are included, still checking that)
Food for two (groceries + eating out ~4x/week): $1,160
Getting around: $190
Two phone plans: $30
Everything else (10% buffer): $260
≈ $2,840 a month. Mild weather all year and green mountains everywhere. Flights and insurance not included.

We haven't found a real couple's spending log for Medellín yet, so this is our best estimate. Lived there? What did YOUR month cost? Tell us below 👇

Check current visa rules.
Not financial advice. Numbers are illustrative.

10/12/2026

What a month in Mérida could cost for two, from our research notes 👇

Furnished 1-bed + bills: $1,000 (our estimate)
Food for two: $1,280
Getting around: $80
Two phone plans: $40
Everything else (10% buffer): $240
≈ $2,640 a month. Colorful colonial streets, and Progreso's Gulf beach is under an hour away. Flights and insurance on top.

We're still learning. Spent a month in Mérida? What did YOUR month cost? Tell us below 👇

Check current visa rules.
Not financial advice. Numbers are illustrative.

07/04/2026

06/07/2026

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