Continuing along with my post yesterday, I’m sure some people might wonder why I chose to attend a conference on international living as opposed to just getting on a plane and heading off to some exotic locale. That is an excellent question, particularly since, as I’ve said before, I’ve lived overseas before. There are really two answers.
First of all, as we all know, the world has been a bit shut down the last couple of years due to COVID so things that we might have once done have an added layer of complication now. In addition, I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk to and hear from people who live in a number of different countries over the course of a weekend rather than buying many different plane tickets and heading off around the world. Further, there are a lot of things to consider when thinking about moving full or part time overseas, especially when you are retired, and this conference provided an opportunity to hear from some people about all kinds of different things from banking overseas to how Medicare works (or not!) overseas and what the alternatives are. All of that turned out to be true.
Secondly, and in some respects, this might be the more important motivation, it was like a first step. This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while and by making the commitment to attend this conference, it was a step towards actually doing something. It’s kind of like when I used to run and do triathlons. I always found the best way to train was to sign up for some event. When I sign up for long distance bicycle ride or a race, it provides the motivation to get out the door and put in the miles. Once you take that first step of commitment, it helps to overcome the inertia.
One of the things that had been of concern to me as I was contemplating some of these exploratory trips was health care while abroad. I won’t have established residency anywhere yet and Medicare doesn’t work outside the United States, except in very rare circumstances. I talked to an insurance professional at the conference who specializes in overseas medical policies and poof! – problem solved. He provided me a quote for $265/year that will cover me while I am traveling out of the country for a period of up to 70 days multiple times a year. Every time I come back to the US, the clock resets. The policy would cover me in case of an accident or serious illness (including COVID) with a deductible of $200. So, if I get hit by a bus while crossing a street in some little village in Portugal or anywhere else, the policy will pay to get me to the appropriate treatment facility and take care of me until I am able to be discharged.
One of the other advantages of going to a conference like this was to just get a list of resources available to help and ask questions of. Almost every country that has a robust America/Canadian expat community has user groups on Facebook, etc. It is highly likely that whatever issue or question you have, there are multiple people who have already dealt with the issue and can give you some pointers. I have the names of groups in France and Portugal that I will be tapping into as this little adventure unfolds. There are lots of people out there who are willing to help if you just ask.
I will be the first to admit that ‘asking for help’ has never been my strong suit. I am not an extrovert by nature and am probably one of the world’s worst minglers at social gatherings. That said, I know it is something I need to work on and am making progress. While in Las Vegas, I was walking around the Strip one night and decided it was time to jump back on the monorail and go back to my hotel. I started walking around the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino trying to find my way back to the monorail stop and was not having great success. I finally walked up an information booth and uttered words that in my prior life I would have never said. I said, “I’m lost, where is the monorail?” Two major milestones – admitting I was lost!!! And asking for help!!! There is hope!
There are all kinds of questions that I am going to have to wrestle with over the next few months. Where do I want to go? Should I sell my house in Bozeman or lease it out? Do I want to live overseas full time or part time? And right now, I don’t know the answer to any of those questions. I could, after all, just stay in my house in Bozeman and not go anywhere. The fact is, I heard one of the speakers make the statement that 30% of the people who move overseas come back to the US within 1 year. I can believe that. That could be me. On the other hand, that means that 70% of the people who move overseas, stay overseas! That could be me.
What’s the worst thing that can happen? I go rent an apartment or house somewhere for a few months and decide that living abroad just isn’t for me and I come back to the States. In my mind, the more undesirable scenario is sitting on my deck in Bozeman five years from now wondering what might have been and uttering that dreaded phrase, “I wish I would have…” Always living inside your comfort zone is called existence. Stepping outside your comfort zone from time to time is called adventure. I think I’m up for a little adventure! Stay tuned.