I have been following several social media groups focused on expats living in different countries and have seen discussions by people who have moved to Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and other countries around the world. On every thread the same topic comes up - How do I ship my furniture to (insert country)? While there is no right or wrong way for someone to approach creating a new life in a new country, I must admit it made me curious as to the reasons people do or do not ship all their belongings.

I have decided that I am not going to take my household furnishing with me. Well, maybe my Blendtec blender, but that's it. And, of course, clothes, camera, and my laptop. The rest I will be able to get there. With a lower cost of living in my new country I will be able to purchase many of the items I get rid of for a fraction of what I would pay to ship a container of furniture, appliances and knick knacks. I have read that someone spent upwards of $5000 to ship a household from the US to Ecuador. Top that off with in-country shipping costs and all the coordination fees involved, and that is a lot of money that could be used to set up a household in the new location.

I have spent considerable time thinking about why someone would pay to ship all their household goods. It is curious to me. No judgement.  Just curious.

Well, it is decided! After years of dreaming of an expat retirement and searching for the right location by  visiting a good number of countries and potential towns, villages and cities in which to live in my retirement years, I have decided on the Lake Chapala area in Mexico, about an hour south of Guadalajara. I am so excited!

It became perfectly clear to me when I was on an exploratory visit to Ajijic, a small village on Lake Chapala, with my friend, Pam, a few months back. I stood on the malecon, looked out over the lake, and just knew that this was where I was called to be. It was reminiscent of the time when I knew that I needed to move to the Peruvian Amazon. There is that feeling in your gut. It is an internal calling that was answered. As I stood silent, looking out at the water on the lake reflecting the golden setting sun, I knew this was to be my home.

And then, in that split second, the search was over.

If you are deciding where you are going to relocate to after retirement then, unless it has been a winter snow bird respite that you already love and are familiar with, your head is probably circling trying to figure out what will work best for you. I know mine has been!

There are lots of articles on the internet that list the ‘top’ 25 places to retire, the ‘best’ 10 places to retire overseas or the ‘most’ affordable locations.  And as a result, everyone is racing off to those locations, because whoever wrote that article must know. And many of them do, but some are in it for the potential real estate sale and others are selling expat research tours of the country or benefit financially in some other way. There is nothing wrong with making extra money or a living by helping retirees find their new country, but it is easy to get swept up in the hype.

I have traveled to a good number of the ‘best’ ‘top’ ‘most incredible’ places touted in articles on the internet. I have found some of them to be a potential fit for me and others just didn’t offer me what I need or weren’t within my budgetary constraints.

If you are thinking about becoming an expat and haven’t decided on ‘the place’ for you yet, then you may want to think about the following considerations.