Live Easy, Live Abroad

By M Schwartz

Leaving the U.S. was the best decision I have ever made. I went from working like a dog, being insanely stressed at all times, and being surrounded by negative people - to living an easy and pampered life in a beautiful place with no stress and no worries. It baffles me why more people don't do the same.

Let’s face it, the quality of life in the U.S. is declining rapidly. It's become an endless rat race and a constant struggle. Meanwhile, there are places abroad where Americans can re-locate to and easily live a wonderful life, free of financial stress, relationship strain, and societal pressures. Unfortunately, most choose not to.

But why not? Is it too difficult to choose a better life for yourself? It is really tougher than this never-ending pursuit of happiness?

Moving to a different country, say a tropical paradise, is much easier than you realize. In this book, I won’t just prove why, I will also reveal how. “Live Easy, Live Abroad” is a complete road map to a happy, stress-free and serene life you can only dream of while living in the US.

This book will help you to quickly determine whether or not becoming an expatriate is for you. It will help you pick the country that suits you best and it will serve as your guide to get you there, settling in as easily and as inexpensively as possible.

This book is for you if,

• You want to retire early but don’t have enough finances.

• You are retired and want the rest of your years to be the best.

• You can’t find a decent job that offers both financial security and peace of mind.

• You feel alone, unhappy or both.

• You are divorced or miserable with relationships.

• You live with your partner, have no kids and want the love and romance to flourish forever.

Some Highlights from “Living Easy, Living Abroad”

- A compelling, factual analysis on why quality of life in the U.S. will never recover and will continue to decline

- An in-depth report on each of the best places the world has to offer an American including the pros and cons of relocating to each

- A thorough list of money saving techniques and tips for permanent relocation. (Live a life of luxury for a tenth of what it would cost in the U.S. or live well for next to nothing)

- Guidelines for every step of your endeavor: from planning, packing, and booking to finding a home, meeting people, and earning a suitable income

- Extremely up to date information. Visa requirements have changed in many countries for Americans and no other book has the latest information. Additionally, advancements in internet and cellular technology have made communication and entertainment options abroad 10X better than they ever were before. “Live Easy, Live Abroad” contains all of the latest ways to stay in the loop.

Moving to a different country is a serious decision, and at times the thought process behind it can be overwhelming. This book serves to give you clarity on the matter so you make the right decision. From there you can use it as a guide for every phase of your relocation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M Schwartz
• Release date: Mar 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452486284

M Schwartz

M. Schwartz is an expert in all things Thailand. Having seen and done it all, there is nobody more equipped to teach about a successful ex-pat transition to Thailand.

Book preview

LIVE EASY ABROAD

M. Schwartz

Copyright (c) 2012 by M. Schwartz

All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

Contents

Introduction

It's a Lost Cause

A Whole New World

The Great Escape

Picking a Location

Supporting Your New Life

Settling In

Tricks, Tips, Money Savers

Don't Forget Where You Came From

Your Options

Location #1

Location #2

Location #3

Location #4

Location #5

Location #6

Location #7

Location #8

Location #9

Location #10

Looking Forward

Introduction

-Just a typical morning in the good ol' US of A.

In 2007 I was as entrenched in the rat race as one can be. With hefty bills to pay each month, a fledgling relationship with my fiancé, and a business that required round the clock attention, sometimes just getting through the day was a high hurdle. In the midst of this terrible lifestyle there was a day that will always stand out to me, the day the light bulb went off in my head.

Like most of my days in 2007, it started off with me waking up at 6:00 AM and rushing through a furious morning where battle #1 was just to get out of the house on time. With a fresh coat of snow on the drive way I had an unexpected 20 minute shoveling chore in the freezing cold to accomplish that I didn't have the time for. But as was usually the case, I just removed the part of my morning where I actually cook and eat a decent breakfast to make time for unexpected chores and tasks. Shoveling finished, dog walked, and I'm finally ready to leave; I just have to find my keys. Where are my damn keys? After running up and down my house checking the bathrooms, the garbage, and the dog cage (all places I've found my keys in the past), I realized at 6:50 in the morning that I was going to have to bring in some help.

Babe, do you know where my keys are?

To which my fiancé replied Leave me alone, why do you always have to wake me up on my day off?

"Day off? You work part time; you have more days off than days on. Listen I don't have time for this. Do you know where my keys are?

Leave me alone! she shouted.

"I would love to leave you alone; it's just that I know I put the keys in the drawer and they're not there now, and you took my car out last night.

No response this time as she was now pretending to be sleeping.

Finally I shouted, I need my keys, I have to be at court 50 miles from here in an hour.

After a brief pause she said, Check my purse."

So I went into the closet only to find a dozen or so purses scattered around. I started looking through the purses one by one when Sleeping Beauty jumped out of bed and darted for the closet yelling, Don't go through my purses. It was obvious that she realized I was going to find something in there she didn't want me to see, such as her receipt from her previous night out with the girls which she charged on my credit card, or maybe even something far worse like a phone number. But I didn't have time to worry about that. She found my keys in her purse and threw them at me while complaining about how I don't let her sleep and how I'm so inconsiderate.

Fresh off of a very typical and emotionally scarring morning encounter with my fiancé, I was finally ready to leave. 50 miles in 55 minutes; I can do this! You see I got a speeding ticket almost a month earlier and it was a bad one so I had I had to be in court for it at 8AM. I started the car and began backing out of my half-shoveled driveway when I noticed that there was absolutely no gas in my car. My fiancé made sure to leave me with no gas knowing I had a very big day ahead of me; how sweet. So after a stop at the gas station I now have 48 miles to go in 45 minutes. Smooth sailing 15 minutes later; and I was even beginning to feel my fingers and face again. But now a terrible hunger was coming over me and at the same time, my stomach was a complete mess. There was no food in the house the night before and my fiancé was out on the town so I ordered a pizza and ate the entire pie accompanied by a giant bottle of Pepsi. For some strange reason my stomach was having a hard time with that meal and yet I was incredibly hungry. With 30 miles to go I spotted a McDonalds and the drive through looked pretty empty, so I pulled in and got a typical McDonalds breakfast of champions. Pulling out of the drive through I had 30 miles to go in 22 minutes; I can do this…if I go really fast.

So now I have my speed up as I shove McDonalds breakfast sandwiches down my throat one after another trying to wipe all of the grease off of my hands and my face with the one napkin they were so kind to give me at the drive through. My stomach was killing me, and a bathroom break was becoming a necessity, but no time. I figured I would beat the morning rush hour traffic, but not quite. Traffic slowed down for a few miles making things even more impossible for me. By the time traffic started moving again it was 8:01 and I was officially late with 10 miles left to go. So I did what anyone would do, I floored it. In hindsight that wasn't the best idea and when the sirens began going off I realized that this wasn't just another typical crappy day.

So what are you in such a rush for? The officer said as he looked over my license and registration. I already knew my insurance was headed for another $75-$100 per month jump from the bucket of points that the judge was probably accessing me at that very moment thanks to me being a no-show in court. This ticket was going to just add to the party, so I leveled with the cop.

I was actually supposed to be in court 10 minutes ago for a ticket I got 1 month ago for doing 90 in a 55. Actually I got the ticket just a mile from here. That's a coincidence. I have diarrhea; I really need to use a bathroom. Actually I'm in some real pain now and it's like every day…I don't know; I think I have an ulcer or something. My fiancé took my keys last night and left me with no gas and she's just the worst person on the entire planet and sometimes I think about what it would be like if she died. I mean I don't want her to die, but if she did die by chance, I just day dream about what my life would be like. Look I have a million things to do today so if it's all the same to you, why don't you just write me up and send me on my way.

The cop shook his head for a while, he definitely had a good 6 or 7 shakes there and said, OK, I'll be right back. And as he walked back to his car some relief started sinking in. For the next 5 minutes or so I didn't have to be anywhere or talk to anyone or do anything. It was great, but then my fiancé started calling and if she calls two times in a row and I don't pick up it's not going to be a good day with her, so I picked up.

Thanks Marc! Thank you for shoveling only behind your car. You're too inconsiderate to have shoveled behind my car! Now I'm stuck and I can't even go to the gym.

Listen, I have a cop behind me writing me another ticket and I missed my court appearance, can you call me later?

Oh great, it's always something with you. Now you won't take me anywhere because you'll keep complaining about your insurance rates and your fines…Like they're my fault. Like I deserve to suffer because you're too stupid to go the speed limit

Actually if you would have left me with some gas or took my keys out of your purse or went food shopping once in a while or cooked more than once a year, I wouldn't have had to speed today and I wouldn't have the horrible pains in my stomach right now.

Good Marc, make it about you, that's all you do. I can't stand you.

You can't stand me? You can't stand me?????? I day dream about you dying so evidentially the feeling is mutual, BABE! I want to stick my head in a garbage incinerator and just see what happens. You got that? Did you get all of that????

And at that point I noticed the police man was standing at the window listening to me fight with my fiancé. I was a little embarrassed, but embarrassment wasn't such a big deal compared to other emotions I was dealing with.

Sorry, I didn't see you there.

Look, I only wrote you up for going 10 over, you were actually going 20 over. My wife…My wife's a bitch too; hang in there and watch your speed.

So I was back on the road and headed to the court house aiming for a 9AM arrival for an 8:00 appearance. But that was wishful thinking on my part; a few miles down the highway my car started wobbling. I immediately recognized that wobble; I had a flat. It was bad timing for a flat and not because of court, as that was already a lost cause. But, my fiancé had been nagging me about replacing all of the tires on both cars and I let it go because I didn't feel like spending $1,000 on tires. This was great I told you so material for her and that was a bad break for me. I knew a tire shop that that was very nearby so I got off at the next exit and wobbled the car over to the tire shop.

Maybe a patch would have worked to fix the flat, but the shop only makes $15 on a patch, they make 5+ times that amount selling and installing a new tire. So with me clearly out of options I wasn't exactly shocked when the man said, Yea you're gonna need a new tire and the only one I got in stock that will work is gonna run you $200.

That includes tax and labor right? I said

No, actually it doesn't, he said in a polite and almost ashamed manner.

I started shaking my head, and I mumbled to myself, I hate…everything.

Alright, I won't charge you for the labor, he said. That was break #2 for the day; I was on quite a roll.

It was a small shop and it was brutally cold outside. I had no choice but to use their bathroom and that was a torturous 10 minutes of my life. Partly because the bathroom was disgusting and partly because I knew I was taking a while and they only had the one bathroom.

You have a place I can sit? The large man walked me into his extremely filthy and unbelievably cluttered office where he pointed to an old rusty chair.

You can sit there. So I did; and at least there was a lot to look at in his office. I saw a Calendar of half naked women, funny bumper stickers, and piles of paper and even garbage everywhere. And then I spotted a post card that was attached to the wall with a thumb tack. It was a picture of a beautiful white sand beach in Jamaica with 5 ladies with gorgeous bodies, all lying down on their stomachs wearing g-string bikinis.

Something clicked for me at that moment. I stood up and walked right up to the post card and began day dreaming. I thought, Somewhere, I bet there's a guy just like me who's on an island like this enjoying the good life. I bet he doesn't have to worry about a tenth of the crap I do. I bet he never has days like these.

And let's face it; this wasn't even the middle of my day at this point. I still had a million things to work on that day, I had errands to run, and I had to deal with my fiancé at some point. I had to look into the missed court appearance, take care of my dog, check in on my Mother, help my brother with something at his house and find time to drink a bottle of Pepto-Bismol and eat something that resembled real food.

But as I gazed into the picture of the post card, I just kept thinking about how great life would be if I lived in a care-free tropical place with no stress. The encounter with this post card sparked the beginning of an obsession. As the weeks and months passed, I started researching possible places I could live and I started thinking about how much money I could liquidate to bring with me. At times I thought it was just one large and extended day dream because I couldn't actually see it happening. But just thinking about it and looking at pictures on the internet gave me happiness. My fiancé would catch me sometimes looking at these places on the computer, so I told her I was researching possible vacation destinations for us to go to. She loved that! But the funny thing was, none of my day dreams included her, and at no point did I think that a vacation was all I needed. I did vacations before and nothing was more depressing than when they ended and you're on the way to the airport back home.

For a while I pushed the dream to the back of my mind and the next year or so of my life wasn't easy. I went through a nasty break-up with my fiancé, a down turn in my business, and my asset took a large hit thanks to a housing and stock market collapse. After the dust settled a bit I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with a friend who had been spending a lot of time in Asia. He extensively documented the vast improvement to his quality of life for his time in Asia compared to his time in the U.S. This conversation sparked the day dreams again, only this time I actually made a run for it! I moved to Thailand and haven't looked back since.

Let me be clear, leaving the U.S. was the best decision I have ever made. I went from working like a dog, being insanely stressed at all times, and being surrounded by negative people to living an easy and pampered life in a beautiful place with no stress and no worries.

I'm the guy living a healthy and ridiculously happy lifestyle in a tropical paradise. I have no stress, NONE! Here is a list of things that have happened in my life since I have moved overseas:

1) Living abroad, I am set for life and never need to worry about money again to live a great lifestyle; it didn't take much to get there.

2) With so much free time and so much great weather, I am in by far the best shape of my life. The Island Diet is so good and so easy to follow; I haven't had a health issue of any kind since I left. It seems like I'm getting younger!

3) The free time has also given me the opportunity to take on many new hobbies. I have learned some martial arts and I regularly hike, water ski, wind surf, and scuba dive.

4) I have had wonderful relationships with women; it's a whole different ball game outside of the U.S, absolutely no comparison in that department.

5) The free time has given me the opportunity to do something I always wanted to do, but never could do: write books!

6) Thanks to advances in internet technology