My story – A little

I work as an international school teacher … so I am able to live, work and stay anywhere in the world that I can get a job. I am F.I. (Financially Independent), but not R.E. (Retired Early). In fact I have become a multi-millionaire by living and investing overseas. So I am free to do outreach work as an international expat until I die.

I live in Asia and travel around the world or locally or back to North America as I get 3 months holidays each year. In the past 3 years we have been to Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, and China and the like. My homebase is here in Asia  and so I have a green card too.

Thus I am kind of like a dual citizen. I don’t need a Visa …

Where are my colleagues and classmates now or have worked?

International schools are cool! Heck living overseas as an international expat is cool! Who wouldn’t want to travel the world and get paid to do it.

But it is also a little sad. Every June the teachers and students vanish across the world and some to new locations. My education major uni classmates pretty much do the same. On Facebook I see my friends in locales all over the planet – friends I have studied with, friends I have worked with, and many students from just about every country in the world …. The opportunities for outreach and making friends from around the planet are breathtaking.

So where are they now?

Ned was in Spain running with the bulls, but now is in India – eating curry – grin! Rick and many others are over in Indonesia – sipping from coconuts and dashing off to Bali. Liz and several others are or have been working in Peru, South America – playing with alpacas and llamas . Sal is in Jamaica, the Caribbean – enjoying the beaches . Mary has been in Tanzania, Africa and now in Nagano, Japan – climbing mount Fuji!

Peter was off to Salzburg, Austria – hmmm enjoying the sounds of music such as good old Mozart … but is back in Australia now. Gareth bought a countryside house while working in Kenya, but is in England now. Jeff went to Shanghai, China, but is now in Cairo, Egypt – climbing the pyramids? Steph went back to the States, but is now in Pakistan – not sure what the food is like there.

Beth is in Vietnam enjoying her noodles, and is jetting off to the Middle East for her next posting. Jake’s family is now in Basel, Switzerland – yodelling with the cows and eating cheese fondue on the weekends.

My colleagues and friends have literally  jetted off to the four corners of the world. The above is just the tip of the iceberg where they have zipped around the world to for work, retirement or marriage. Not only that I can visit them around the world and they can visit me.

Overseas holiday houses?

“So where are you going this summer?’ I casually asked Liz our artist in residence. “Oh, I am off to Palermo, Italy and then off to Greece!” “Wow!” I said. “It must be expensive!” Liz – “Oh not really …, I have two small AirBnB’s that I have bought over there in Europe.” Liz had purchased the small 30 sq. meters flat in Palermo, Sicily first and in the Greece financial crisis picked up a small flat there for a song, also around 30 sq. meters. When she is not there with her family, she rents it out as an AirBnb.

“How about you Jack? Where are you off to for the winter break? It is so cold here in the winter! Brrrrr! :)”  Jack – “Oh my parents don’t want to come up north here in the winter, so we are flying down to Thailand where it is around 30 degrees Celsius. The food is great, the beaches are great, the people are friendly and there are lots of palm trees!” I say, “Didn’t you go there several times before?” Jack, “Yes, I purchased a small condo there and rent it out as an AirBnb when I am not using it.” “Wow Jack! That sounds great!” He says, “It is!” …. with a grin!

I also have co-workers with holiday or future retirement pads in Kenya, Africa, the South of France, Berlin, Germany, Beijing, China,  Bandung, Indonesia (near Jakarta) and the Philippines  etc etc etc.

Love is the Spice of Life? 🙂 International Marriage? 🙂

Sometimes my coworkers marry each other or other overseas expats  like my Scottish colleague who married his American sweetheart or another American who married a New Zealander or a Canadian who married a fellow from the Netherlands, or Canadian and American etc etc etc  …

You never know where you are going to fall head over heels in love … 🙂 But also expats marry the locals like myself, or the Brit who married a girl from Mongolia, or the American girl who married a Chinese fellow, or the Brit who married a Peruvian teacher, or the Australian who married a Japanese girl and now teaches in a Tokyo university … Another Canadian and Australian found the love of their lives in Korea and teach at Korean universities.  The permutations and romance stories are endless and yes! – very romantic!

The adventure doesn’t need to end at retirement! International expat retirement plans and even early retirement options?

The overseas international expat dream life does not need to end when your job ends and you retire. With a little bit of savvy and retirement planning one can retire overseas, many countries are cheaper to retire to than heading back home.

Long term expats need to be especially mindful of their planning and mindful of slick overseas financial planners who often prey on hapless uninformed international expats.  International expats don’t usually pay taxes back home and therefore often don’t qualify for government pensions. So again financial planning is essential.

In my own case I have purchased local rental real estate, invested in local ETF,s and index funds. Millionaire Expat by Andrew Hallam is a good source of safe investment info for the international expat.

Or you can be like my friends who combine Index Funds (Vanguard is popular…) and the like with a bevy of international real estate that you can rent out as AirBnB’s while you are working or bopping around the planet elsewhere. I even know a fellow colleague who plans to retire in Eastern Europe while running a Bed and Breakfast.

So what are you waiting for? Take a leap of faith and let the adventures begin! 🙂

By CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet! 🙂