Living Abroad for a Year - Have You?

[HappyHiker]

Has anyone gone to another country to live for a year? I'd love to hear your experiences if you have.

The top of my bucket list has this dream written on it:

To rent out our house and live in Europe for a year. France? Italy? Great Britain? Portugal? Croatia?

Wondering if it's doable, well, of course it's doable, but practical? I guess I have some fear/hesitation about putting the dream into reality and am looking for encouragment and your suggestions.

...and what to consider before moving forward. Long-term residency in France for a year requires a bunch of paperwork, but not insurmountable. Or we could stay for the permitted 90 days and then move to another country for 90 days and so forth...

We both work as writers, so all we'd need is a dependable interent connection.

Love to hear your experiences whether you've lived elsewhere for a job or for personal enlightenment and pleasure. I feel quite provincial in my outlook, while feeling very curious and open. Would love to broaden my outlook by experiencing and knowing other cultures beyond what tourism offers for brief periods of time.

Thanks for your thoughts...

[razz]

The insurance costs would be considerable, wouldn't they? Many have done just this so I am sure that there is a simple solution. May I suggest trying one country for 90 days and then decide if it is doable? I love to encourage people to explore but there seems to be greater success if some confidence and comfort level has been built first.

[IshbelRobertson]

I've lived for varying periods of time in European countries, including Greece and Germany, the middle east and Asia. Mostly as the following spouse!

I know that six monthly visas to the UK are do-able for foreigners, but a visitor visa has restrictions re paid employment, even if you work for an overseas company. Here's a link to the relevant part of the
Home Office site re visa requirements.

PS Travel, and living in foreign places is an experience!

ETA the link!
https://www.gov.uk/visas-immigration

[awakenedsoul]

I lived and worked in Europe for three years. I loved it! I went from NYC with the cast of 42nd Street. We played Vienna, Paris, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Den Haag, Rome, etc...It was one of the happiest times of my life. I'm still friends with some of the people in that company. We had working visas. Also, after the show closed, I got hired in Berlin for a few shows and worked there.

If you google expatriates in Vienna, Austria, there is some helpful information. I think the main thing is that you can show that you have enough money to live there. I researched this, too. Also, you need health insurance. I would go for it! It's great that you can rent out your house and work anywhere. I may do the same thing someday....

[Spartana]

I lived in Spain for almost a year in a small beach resort town on the Costa Brava. Rented a shared apt with another woman. It was on a long travel sabbatical of about 2 years and ended up there. It was after I had gotten out of the coast guard but was still in the reserves and there was a US coast guard station in the town (the main reason I selected it) so was able to do my "time" there. To comply with the 90 day rule I would just hop on a train and go to France, which was close, get my passport stamped, spend a few days there and then return. Never a problem. It was a great great experience and one I'd love to do again once I am dog-free. I look at off season vacation rentals in Europe and elsewhere all the time and it can be really inexpensive to rent a flat or house if you do it monthly or semi-annually. I'd say go for it. My only caveat would be if you rent your house out for a year and plan to live overseas, and then end up not liking it, you are stuck. So I'd suggest trying it for a month o2 if possible before making a big and expensive upheaval to your life .

[Dhiana]

As one who has now lived overseas for 10 years+ (with a small break in SD) I would highly recommend jumping in the deep end, making plans and doing the paperwork for the full year.
Each place I have moved it takes me about 6 months to get truly settled and start to become a part of the new community. Showing that you are willing to invest yourself in your new home, your new area will show locals that they can invest their time and efforts into you, also. 90 days, meh. You're barely scratching the surface.

I do like Spartana's plan...live in Costa Brava and visit France every 90 days. Gorgeous area!!! Barcelona is my top choice for a city in which to live.

And what if you don't like it? You are perfectly welcome to leave. You've rented your home out? So what? Hopefully you are at least charging enough to cover the mortgage if you have one. Just rent another place until that lease is up. So many of us regret more what we have NOT done vs what we've done.

[awakenedsoul]

We had a couple of months off during 42nd Street. A friend and I rented a house in Mallorca and took the ferry boat there. It was really beautiful. We rented a car and drove around. We also got Eurail passes and enjoyed that. I'd love to go back and see more...I also taught in Switzerland and Stuttgart. Each country was so different. I miss Europe...

[HappyHiker]

Thank you for your encouraging suggestions. Growing older means really examining what to do with our "one precious life." Time grows shorter with the passing years, so it's tme to gather up our courage and take the plunge...but it IS a big change with lots of details to plumb...

[Spartana]

Thank you for your encouraging suggestions. Growing older means really examining what to do with our "one precious life." Time grows shorter with the passing years, so it's tme to gather up our courage and take the plunge...but it IS a big change with lots of details to plumb...As Diana said, you really can't go wrong. If you rent out your house, but don't make a long term housing commitment overseas, then you are free to go somewhere new whenever you want, stay as long as you want, and then move on to somewhere new. And even if you choose to have a permanent home base the entire year, if you choose a place like Europe that is easy to get around in (great public transit), then you can take many shorter trips all over from there. Like Awakenedsoul, I also had a 2 month Eurail Pass and used it extensively to get around to pretty much every country I could. Very fast, efficient and easy. I envy you (and the other's) who can do something like this as it is my dream - well the gundgy backpacker version of it is my dream. But with having numerous pets over the last 15 years it just hasn't been doable for me. But someday....... For now I have to live vicariously thru others (just read about Gardenarians trip to England) and do my little road trips with my dog. But yes, I am jealous!

[HappyHiker]

All good advice and thoughts!

One of the reasons we're currently petless for the first time in our marriage is to free up some time to travel without worrying about boarding kitty or doggy long-term. In fact, we used to take doggy on just about every vacation. Now, I pet-sit, one dog at a time, in our home or go to peoples' houses to do kitty care.

It's working just fine. Humans and pets are happy and I get my critter fix. Hard to live without a furry friend after all these years!

We're hoping the rent from our home (paid off mortgage) will cover a rental elsewhere with maybe some left over. Our needs are simple.

[awakenedsoul]

I would probably travel a lot more if I didn't have two dogs. When I do travel, they come with me. That's smart that you're petless for now. Sounds like a plan!

[shadowmoss]

When I lived in Honduras working on a DOD contract I didn't like the local insurance my small contracting company had. I went out and found international insurance, which the company then reimbursed me for. Among other benefits it paid for someone (family member?) to come to me if I got sick, paid for me to get back to the US if I got sick, and paid for US treatment for 30 days. I can't get to my records to get the contact info, but let me know if you want it. It was a US company, but the insurance was out of London, and it paid for treatment pretty much anywhere in the world. Two years ago it was basically the same cost as what the others had for Honduras only insurance.

[HappyHiker]

Thanks, Shadowmoss...let me Google around to see if I can find intl. medical insurance options. I know France, for one, requires proof of med insurance to issue a long-term visa...I would imagine other countries might be the same...makes sense-- they don't want us to use their medical system without an abiity to pay.

if anyone else has intl. med inusrance companies to recommend, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Both of us are in good condition, very light consumers of medical facilities, but one never knows...

[Selah]

I lived in Finland for two years, France for three years, England for three years, Ireland for six years, and now Israel for almost three years. Yes, it's definitely do-able! Go for it! :) Try to stay one place longer than three months, though...it's worth the hassle with paperwork and residency visas to be able to stay in one place. Also, you may get better deals re: housing if you can sign a one-year lease, even if you have to leave a few days before the end of it to not overstay your visa. DON'T overstay your visa...EVER, especially in the U.K.! They are not kidding around..when it's time to go, you need to go...no nonsense, ifs, ands or buts!