Retirement Without Borders: How to Retire Abroad--in Mexico, France, Italy, Spain, Costa Rica, Panama, and Other Sunny, Foreign Places (And the Secret to Making It Happen Without Stress)

by: Barry Golson with Thia Golson

Published by: Scribner

Reviewed by Mark Owen

For those considering living abroad during retirement, Barry and Thia Golson’s Retirement Without Borders is required reading. The 418-page paperback book is jam packed with useful information about how to set up a home base in countries in Latin America, Europe and several other places outside the United States.

What makes this book great is that the authors defer to other experts to describe life in other countries. For example, Eileen Pierce writes a section on Mexico, while Benjamin Jones pens the ins and outs of Spain. I’ve been to Spain several times and I can attest for the accuracy in that section.

Retirement Without Borders starts off with several key chapters devoted to helping readers self-characterize themselves as having the potential to live abroad. Can you survive separation from family? Are you prepared to handle culture shock? Are you healthy enough? These important questions will dictate your success outside the U.S.

The meaty sections on the different countries are well organized. First is a succinct presentation about the country, climate, people and other important nuances like the government and standard of living. Readers will get a quick feel for life on foreign soil from the text. Next are stories from others who’ve successfully lived abroad in that country. At the end of the book is a short section on volunteering without borders, and the appendices are useful, covering statistics and country rankings for things like quality of life. There’s even a section on further resources to guide the reader to more information.

The only minor drawback to the book is that there are no pictures. Then again, anyone with access to the Internet can easily surf to various travelogs and get all the camera shots they desire.

Armchair Interviews says: Even sans images, Retirement Without Borders is a fantastic resource.

Authors’ Web site: http://www.RetirementWithoutBorders.com