\nBy MARK MILLER
\n\tREUTERS
\n\tCHICAGO – For Americans looking to retire abroad, deciding where to live can be a challenge. But Lynne and Tim Martin took that question off the table by deciding to retire everywhere and anywhere.<\/p>\n
\tIn 2011 the couple opted for what might be called extreme retirement abroad: They sold their Paso Robles, California, home, jettisoned all but a few treasured possessions and became nomads.<\/p>\n
\tSince then, they have lived in short-term rental apartments and houses around the world, usually found through HomeAway.com, the online vacation rental service. They spend two or three months a year in the United States, where they also live in vacation rentals.<\/p>\n
\tSo far they\u2019ve lived in Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, France, Italy, Britain, Ireland, Portugal and Germany. Southeast Asia, Australia, French Polynesia, Canada and a return to South America are on the agenda.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI just felt strongly that I hadn\u2019t had enough of the outside world to suit me, and really wanted to go experience living in some other places,\u201d Lynne says.<\/p>\n
\tLynne, 73, is a former publicist; Tim, 68, owned a small electronics business and writes novels. This year they published a book about their experiences called \u201cHome Sweet Anywhere: How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life, and Saw the World\u201d (Sourcebooks, April 2014).<\/p>\n
\tAs the Martins talked about how they could forge a footloose lifestyle, they decided to tap the wealth built up in their home and possessions.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe had a portfolio, but not a huge one – we\u2019re not wealthy,\u201d she says. \u201cWe took the money out of the house and added that to the portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tTheir financial adviser sends them the same a $6,000 monthly stipend. they had been receiving as California homeowners. They live on that plus their Social Security benefits.<\/p>\n
\tThey aim to spend no more than $2,500 monthly on housing, including utilities and cleaning. In a pricey spot such as Paris, they\u2019ll downsize the amount of space they rent. They also figure on $1,000 for food and $500 for entertainment and travel. The rest is for miscellaneous expenses.<\/p>\n
\tSince Medicare doesn\u2019t provide coverage outside the United States, they see their doctors during visits home. If healthcare needs come up while abroad, where care tends to be less expensive, they pay out of pocket. While they\u2019re outside the United States, they also carry an international health insurance policy to cover unexpected large expenses – $400 a month.<\/p>\n
\tOne way they\u2019ve kept costs down is by limiting the amount of travel. They tend to stay in one place for months at a time, often scheduling travel at off-season prices.<\/p>\n
\tOne favorite tactic: off-season \u201crepositioning cruises.\u201d \u201cPrices go down by half, and it\u2019s great for people like us who don\u2019t have a home – we get room and board as well as transportation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe went to Europe in February last year,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was snowing in Venice when we arrived, but it didn\u2019t matter to us – we weren\u2019t coming home until October.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSTORIES AND FRIENDS<\/p>\n
\tThe Martins have four daughters and seven grandchildren in California, Texas and Florida. They are in the United States at least twice a year, and make a point of seeing the entire family while they\u2019re here.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re much more interesting to our grandchildren now,\u201d she says. \u201cThey find our stories of Morocco, Istanbul, Paris and Buenos Aires fascinating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMartin says they stay in touch with old friends via e-mail and Skype. \u201cThose relationships are as strong as ever,\u201d she says. \u201cSome friends came to visit in Paris this past summer; it was a treat to share our favorite places with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAnd they\u2019ve made many friends on the road, some of whom they meet up with in their travels.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s a curious bond that travelers have – we seem to get to know one another much more quickly than we would in traditional circumstances,\u201d Lynne says. \u201cWe\u2019ve met up with our German, Mexican, British, American and French friends in other countries by coordinating our travel schedules.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tI wondered if all that travel isn\u2019t tiring, and how long the Martins expect to keep up their nomadic lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOf course we get tired – we\u2019re old people,\u201d she says. \u201cBut the life we live has built-in rest. We\u2019re not staying in hotels – we\u2019re in places with a living room, kitchen and bedroom, real living space.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re able to have down days in a way that tourists really can\u2019t. If you\u2019re only in a place for five days, you have to get out and see it. If you\u2019re there a month or two, you can put up your feet and stay home all day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe Martins say they\u2019ll keep traveling as long as their health permits.<\/p>\n
\tIf nomadic retirement appeals to you, Lynne recommends starting with a trial run.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re lucky because we\u2019re so compatible and we have a good time with one another,\u201d she says. \u201cBut a lot of people may not understand how you have to depend on one another when you\u2019re in an isolated situation and don\u2019t speak the language.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cRent your house out and go off for a few months to see if it\u2019s for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Posted by:<\/strong> Finisher on September 25, 2014, 5:22 am<\/p>\n By MARK MILLER REUTERS CHICAGO – For Americans looking to retire abroad, deciding where to live can be a challenge. But Lynne and Tim Martin took that question off the table by deciding to retire everywhere and anywhere. In 2011…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coffee-chat-lounge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8033\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\tWe decided that we would no go to Russia this year but did go for a 4 week trip to see 2 year old Grad daughter .
\n\tDid meet a couple that goes on about 15 to 20 cruses a year . We meet them on a 5 day cruse and they were heading for a 10 day cruse after this one .
\n\tWe use a lot of B &Bs for travel .
\n\tGood Rolling. \ud83d\ude42 \ud83d\ude42<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"