Living abroad has many advantages. Many countries are cheaper than your homeland, have better weather, and are all-around less stressful. It’s hard to imagine moving to a beach town and not enjoying every second of it. Because of this, today’s article discusses leisure time overseas and how many expats relax or unwind.
Read on if you’ve ever been curious about daily life in other countries.
Your Time Is Your Own
There’s an old book called The 4-Hour Workweek. In it, the author says: “Most people don’t want to be rich, they want to live like they’re rich.” When you think of money, you imagine doing fun and cool things. Maybe you want to go sailing, or paragliding, or just relax on a beach somewhere and do nothing at all. Whatever it is, you probably don’t envision yourself as some boring guy who owns a local grocery store and works 90-hours a week, but you have a million dollars in the bank.
That’s not anyone’s fantasy.
Because most countries are cheaper than the USA or UK, you can often live like a millionaire for a fraction of the price.
If you have $30,000 in the bank, you can have a fantastic life in a place like Vietnam, The Philippines, Mexico, or even parts of Europe. You probably aren’t balling out with that money or buying crazy toys. But it is enough to cover all your bills and lifestyle expenses. This gives you way more leisure time, and you can do almost anything you want.
In Vietnam, I go for a one hour walk every morning and then stop by a local cafe (the country is world famous for coffee after all) for another 30 minutes. I have a $0.50 ca phe sua da, and watch cranes catch fish along the river. In a beach town like Vung Tau or Da Nang, you can spend the morning swimming or SCUBA diving. Pretty fun stuff.
There are other people who move somewhere and go golfing every day (in many countries 18 holes costs $50 or less), or play hockey. Moving abroad is really about freeing up your time so you can enjoy yourself and do the things you love.
Pick A Country That Suits Your Leisure Time Activities
If you like ice fishing, don’t move to Jamaica. Always look for a country that allows you to do whatever you’re most interested in. Certain places are better than others, depending on weather and local laws.
While the Philippines is fun, and the people are nice, I personally would not move their long-term due to crime and natural disasters.
South America is also a great continent, but many utilities (like Internet and electricity) pale in comparison to Asia. And certain Asian countries (like Japan or Korea) are fun, but the modern atmosphere removes some of that Indian Jones like spirit of adventure.
My suggestion is to visit a good 5 – 10 different countries and cities to see which ones best suit your personal habits and hobbies.
This is a fantastic way to make sure you’re relocating to a place you’ll actually enjoy. Don’t rely on Internet strangers (including myself) to make a big decision for you. At the end of the day, you know yourself better than anyone else. And you need to have final say in your own life choices.
Remember That You’re Completely Free To Live How You Want
The last thing I want to mention on here is that international travel is fairly cheap once you’re on a different continent. Plane tickets from Vietnam to Thailand are $75. And ferries or small aircraft between Caribbean islands or Latin American nations are about the same price. Europe has trains, and those are reasonable too.
Because of this, you can actually find two or three cities that each suit a different leisure time activity or lifestyle need, and then bounce around between them.
I divide my time between Southeast Asia, East Asia, and North America. My total airfare for the year is under $2,000. And even that could be reduced to nothing if you use credit card miles or other reward programs. Living abroad is about living freely. And don’t move to another country with the mindset that you aren’t allowed to go anywhere else.
When you want a change in weather, scenery, or friends, pack up and head someplace new.
There’s no limit to where you can travel.