American expats and entrepreneurs Casey Siemasko and Dan Moore arrived in Costa Rica five years ago with just two backpacks and no intention of staying long term. The married couple had spent the prior few years as digital nomads, exploring the world while funding their travels via their online businesses. Once they’d spent some time […]

I’ve spent weeks in European resorts for free. As a volunteer in English immersion programs, I’ve paid nothing for a comfortable room, three amazing meals a day (often including wine or beer), tours of charming medieval villages, and dips in the pool. In exchange, I was simply expected to participate in activities, which just meant […]

In 2004, at age 48, after living in New York City my entire life, I made a decision to move to Paris with my longtime partner. Prior to our move, I was a successful chef, caterer, and business owner in New York for 20 years, and my partner was a high-profile art director in the […]

Sometimes you find yourself so deep in the weeds you don’t realize no one can see you. Which I realized last week in a conversation with a friend. She lost her job in June—a nice job, sixty grand a year, a fine salary living as a single person in South Louisiana. She’ll be 61 later […]

The first time I traded a share of stock was 1984. My mom thought I was an idiot. Not because I was investing—but because I was using a newfangled discount broker. When I told her about the low-cost commissions and the ability to use a touch-tone phone keypad to buy and sell stocks without human […]

Johann and Lisa Pepin left the chilly winters of Chicago, Illinois to start an organic farm, Les Pastras, in Provence, France. Along with offering guests tailor-made truffle hunting excursions, the couple also hosts grape stomps during the month of September that comprise “the stomp” itself, a cheese and charcuterie buffet, all you can drink of […]

Who you are—the interests that define you—is valuable. If, for instance, you search online for “lime-green porcelain gardening sheers,” there’s a maker of lime-green porcelain gardening sheers somewhere in the world eager to pay for information on you so that it can market to you through Google ads and Facebook ads and other online venues. […]

With the rise of remote working, it’s now possible for many more people to perform their roles from literally anywhere in the world there’s a decent internet connection. So why not from Italy? This beautiful country has everything you need to work online, including high-quality broadband. Plus, the cost of living is lower than many […]

If you’ve worked as a bus driver all your life and at age 55, let’s say, a global pandemic vaporizes your job because, well, public transit demand collapses…are you employable online? This question popped into my mind while reading this in a Motley Fool story:  Older workers whose jobs aren’t conducive to telecommuting may not […]

For freelancer Maggie Montanaro, France has been an integral part of life since childhood.  As the daughter of a high school French teacher, the Ohio native visited France a few times during her mother’s school trips. Maggie would go on to study French and spend more and more time there. She participated in a study […]

Karin van Mierlo’s love affair with Lisbon started the moment she set foot in it.  “It’s a beautiful place,” she says. “I love it all: the narrow, hilly, winding streets, wide-open riverbank vistas, breathtaking beaches, and landscapes. I live just outside the city center in a residential area with big apartment buildings. Some are beautifully […]

This much is true: COVID-19 has not been kind to older workers.  May unemployment data showed the jobless rate among 55+ workers approaching 12%. That’s one of the highest jobless rates for any age cohort. Worse, the rise was explosive and dramatic in its speed. You can see in this chart just how fast the […]