insight
工程技术，地产投资，信仰家园，时尚生活
正文
If you are comfortable with the uncertainty and new challenges and enjoy experiencing new cultures and meeting new people on a daily basis, while holidaying around the world, this maybe the life style for you, provided you have a fully-paid off nice house to cash out.
简单说，我们是高级吉普赛人。2011年初，我们卖掉了在加利福尼亚的房子，把我们想留下的几样东西搬进一个10英尺*15英尺的储存间。从那时起，我们住过墨西哥、阿根廷、佛罗里达、土耳其、法国、意大利和英国的带家具公寓和房子。在接下来几个月中，我们将住在爱尔兰和摩洛哥，之后将短暂返回美国度假。
我写这篇文章时，我们已经住进了离泰晤士河(River Thames)100码的一间可爱的一居室公寓，这里距伦敦心脏地带只有25分钟火车车程。我们有个搬家诀窍。花了几分钟在新住所放下我们的东西之后，这里就变成了我们自己的家：闹钟放在床的旁边；我最爱的蔬菜削皮器和即时读数温度计在厨房里；我们的笔记本电脑已经插好电，开始工作。我们一起开始学习如何利用房中的各种器具。
鉴于这一切，我认为最好将我们比作喜欢到处扎根的吉普赛人。至少在一、两个月中是如此。
我们这样做的原因很简单：在有次去墨西哥旅行途中的一次交心谈话中，我丈夫和我意识到，我们俩都是在旅行时更快乐。我们身体很好，而且都希望能在比三周假期更充裕的时间里好好看看世界。像当地人那样住在其他国家的想法让我们兴奋不已，“四海为家”生活了近18个月后，我们仍然很满意我们的选择。在巴黎或伊斯坦布尔，即使“宅”上一天也很有趣。
至于我们如何做到的，则要复杂一些。但我们认为我们的计划适合许多身体健康的退休老人。旅行预算──就像对稳定的生活做预算一样──取决于一个人的支出优先顺序，以及他想追求什么样的生活方式。需要一大堆华服或举行奢华晚宴派对的人不会认为我们的生活有吸引力。（租来的地方很少提供诱人的餐具）。
我们当然也有质疑自己理智的时候。当我们在伊斯坦布尔的暴雨中完全迷路，水没过膝盖，或者发现自己被锁在巴黎的三层阳台上时，都会让我们产生犹豫。
但我们学会了三件事。第一，应对新情况，即使在路上也要制定复杂的旅行计划，这让我们变得很敏锐。
第二，我们并不孤单。我们经常遇见退休的旅伴，有些人正在度长假，有些人过着和我们类似的生活，还有些人已经永久定居在海外。我在旅行之初遇到的一个人告诉我，“我们有好多人已经活明白了。”
第三，也是最重要的一点，回报远远大于风险。当我们从“我们”的起居室窗户望向佛罗伦萨(Florence)的天际线时，或者拐过“我们”社区的某个街角，看到埃菲尔铁塔闪闪发光的顶端时，都让我们觉得那些困难时刻是值得的。
冒险一试
成为国际游民听起来很有吸引力，但是我们首先必须找到一种方法来负担这种生活方式。认真的数字计算表明，把我们在加利福尼亚的房子卖掉，可以让我们舒适地生活在世界上几乎任何地方。不用交房产税，也不用修葺屋顶，省下来的钱可以买很多火车票。
下面说说一些关于钱的细节。我们的财务顾问每月给我们寄大约6,000美元，这笔钱来自于投资。我们还能领取到社会保险和一小笔养老金。我们有一笔大约20,000美元的“改善生活基金”，这让我们可以提前订购房间、邮轮、机票、酒店等等──而不影响我们的现金流。
我们采用一些简单的策略来保持预算平衡。有住在巴黎或伦敦等物价较贵地方的时候，就有住在墨西哥、土耳其或葡萄牙等物价较便宜国家的时候，以此来平衡。我们每周出去吃几顿饭，但多数时间是在家吃。我喜欢烹饪，购买食物是了解一个国家的好方法（在布宜诺斯艾利斯找到小苏打并不像听上去那么简单。）
你完全可以做到比我们更节省。在住宿方面着手省钱是个很好的开始，国外的租房成本因房间大小、季节、地点和便利设施的差异而有很大差别。
当其他方面没法省钱的时候，步行和发呆总是免费的，在任何地方都是如此。
大把的机会
尽管我们搭过飞机、火车、公共汽车、出租车、汽车和渡轮，但现在我们最喜欢的交通方式是跨大西洋换季航行。
当邮轮换季转场时，会有很高的折扣。能够在淡季时花几周时间穿越大洋的人并不多。但这对于我们来说很完美，因为我们每次不仅到了目的地，还解决了两周多时间的住宿、吃饭和玩乐。搭船旅行让我们无需倒时差，并能快速游览我们在深度旅行中可能不会选择的有趣地方。
我们没有成为哪家邮轮公司的固定客户。蒂姆会购买他能找到的最划算又适合我们时间表的船票，只是我们有时要根据邮轮安排时间。票价不尽相同。5月，我们两人的穿越大西洋之旅──16晚的海景房──价格约为2,500美元。这包括所有餐费和我的葡萄酒套餐。11月，我们搭同一家邮轮公司的船从巴塞罗那到迈阿密的回程费用大致相同。
我们已经预定了从现在到2014年的多趟换季转场邮轮的船票，这成了我们今后旅行计划的基础。目前，我们已经订好明年在葡萄牙、西班牙、法国、德国、荷兰和俄罗斯的住处。我们已经确认了2014年6月至7月在巴黎要住的公寓。
根据我们的经验，vrbo.com和homeaway.com是最可靠的短期租房网站。它们提供几乎适合任何预算的房子，因为我们通常在每个地方至少待一个月，因此有时我们可以谈成更便宜点的价格。
定居
我们运气最好时，能租到当地人的房子。他们会提供关于交通和购物的信息，满足合理的特殊要求，而且通常会很快改正任何的不足之处。当我向我们在巴黎公寓的房东提出锅碗瓢盆都有点旧了时，她第二天就拿来了一套新炊具和两个很棒的不锈钢煎锅。
当然，每个目的地都有挑战等待着我们，包括：学会如何与杂货店讨价还价；使用当地交通工具；连接互联网；剪个得体的发型；操作暖气和制冷设施；破解异国的DVD机，等等。
在陌生的厨房做饭通常是个特别的挑战。法国和土耳其的微波炉说明会很耽误做饭，而我们遇到的每台洗衣机/烘干机都有一堆全新的神秘设置按钮。
美妙的远方
与我们日常生活中从未遇到的人交流是我们的生活方式中最激动人心的部分。
在巴黎我最喜欢的那家社区奶酪店中，店主给我选择了一片布里干酪(Brie)，他保证它会恰好在我们的客人到达时完全融化，事实的确如此；在一个俯瞰佛罗伦萨的露台上举行的一场晚宴中，我们遇到了两位才华横溢的塞尔维亚年轻老师和一位国际知名的意大利诗人；我们在土耳其库萨达斯(Kusadasi)住的那家华丽的建于16世纪的酒店的老板和我玩了一下午快速激烈的西洋双陆棋。这些经历让烦心时刻──比如仍在学习驾驶换档在左面的汽车时被堵在伦敦路上──也显得非常值得。
我们还享有不被“琐事”所累的自由。实际上，四海为家的好处之一是，我们在路上遇到的人感兴趣的我们这两个人本身，而并不关心我们的房子、古董、艺术品或其他财产。这是一种非常坦诚的交友方式。
多数日子，我们早上八点起床，边喝咖啡边阅读网络报纸。如果这是“旅游”日，我们就尽量在游人挤满博物馆、历史景点或我们要参加的活动之前出门。有时我们只是过着简单的生活：逛逛杂货店，买买衣服，或者把该洗的衣服洗了，把该读的书读了。
在去理发的路上漫步于泰晤士河畔令一件平凡琐事变得意趣盎然，许多次，我们都与路上遇到的有趣陌生人聊得很高兴。我丈夫每天花一些时间来制定未来的旅行计划并写一本小说，而我则尽量定期更新我的博客，homefreeadventures.com。许多个晚上，我们都一起看从网上租来的我们喜欢的电视节目或电影，我们通常会熬夜到很晚，就像我们在家时那样。
网络联接
既然我们已经卖掉了房子，就没什么账单要付。我们使用一项网络付账服务，用信用卡买几乎每件东西，因此我们可以累积里程奖励。我们的一个女儿帮我们收取邮寄来的信件，不过这类信件几乎已经没有了。
良好的网络连接很重要。电脑将我们与家人和朋友联系起来，帮助我们计划未来的旅行，而且是我们在看不到英语电影和电视的地方时的娱乐活动来源。我们每人都有一台笔记本电脑和一部iPhone，Kindle里装着我们的图书馆和旅游书籍。
我们有医疗保险和补充医保，当我们回到美国时，会去看医生，接受年度体检。我们还有覆盖急诊和医疗转运的国际医疗保险。该计划有很高的扣除额，有助于降低我们的开销，因为我们在国外医疗机构的治疗效果很令人满意。例如，一天早上在墨西哥，蒂姆醒来时出现了严重的流感症状。一个小时内，一位医生就出现在他床边，给他打了一针，并开了一张方子。他收了50美元，蒂姆很快就痊愈了。
当然，我们很想念家人和朋友，但他们原谅我们的离开，并当我们租下他们附近的房子前去做客时也会热烈欢迎我们。甚至我们的财务顾问也很不情愿地承认，我们的计划效果很好。
对我们来说，放弃2,500平方英尺（约265平方米）的加利福尼亚州优裕住宅，换取巴黎或伊斯坦布尔的500平方英尺公寓不仅是个合算的取舍。代替我们耐用的煤气炉、名牌锅碗瓢盆和巨大冰箱的是我们现在用的小洗碗槽、冰吧和一些可爱的简单炊具。我们共用有一个洗手池的浴室，并在一台13英寸屏幕的电脑上看电影。
同时，我们享用着如同来自天堂的美味鹅肝午餐，驾车穿过风景如画的法国乡村──那里甚至连牛都那么美丽──并在饭后徜徉在意大利的阿诺河(Arno River)畔。
只要还走得动，我们就不会停止这种旅行。
LYNNE MARTIN
2012年 11月 16日， 《WSJ》
我
今年70岁。我丈夫蒂姆（Tim）66岁。我们生命中的大部分时候都在加利福尼亚生活和工作。现在，我们和我们的30英寸手提箱在哪里，我们的家就在哪里。Martin Family
我写这篇文章时，我们已经住进了离泰晤士河(River Thames)100码的一间可爱的一居室公寓，这里距伦敦心脏地带只有25分钟火车车程。我们有个搬家诀窍。花了几分钟在新住所放下我们的东西之后，这里就变成了我们自己的家：闹钟放在床的旁边；我最爱的蔬菜削皮器和即时读数温度计在厨房里；我们的笔记本电脑已经插好电，开始工作。我们一起开始学习如何利用房中的各种器具。
Martin Family
马丁斯夫妇（Martins ）在巴黎圣母院
我们这样做的原因很简单：在有次去墨西哥旅行途中的一次交心谈话中，我丈夫和我意识到，我们俩都是在旅行时更快乐。我们身体很好，而且都希望能在比三周假期更充裕的时间里好好看看世界。像当地人那样住在其他国家的想法让我们兴奋不已，“四海为家”生活了近18个月后，我们仍然很满意我们的选择。在巴黎或伊斯坦布尔，即使“宅”上一天也很有趣。
至于我们如何做到的，则要复杂一些。但我们认为我们的计划适合许多身体健康的退休老人。旅行预算──就像对稳定的生活做预算一样──取决于一个人的支出优先顺序，以及他想追求什么样的生活方式。需要一大堆华服或举行奢华晚宴派对的人不会认为我们的生活有吸引力。（租来的地方很少提供诱人的餐具）。
我们当然也有质疑自己理智的时候。当我们在伊斯坦布尔的暴雨中完全迷路，水没过膝盖，或者发现自己被锁在巴黎的三层阳台上时，都会让我们产生犹豫。
但我们学会了三件事。第一，应对新情况，即使在路上也要制定复杂的旅行计划，这让我们变得很敏锐。
第二，我们并不孤单。我们经常遇见退休的旅伴，有些人正在度长假，有些人过着和我们类似的生活，还有些人已经永久定居在海外。我在旅行之初遇到的一个人告诉我，“我们有好多人已经活明白了。”
第三，也是最重要的一点，回报远远大于风险。当我们从“我们”的起居室窗户望向佛罗伦萨(Florence)的天际线时，或者拐过“我们”社区的某个街角，看到埃菲尔铁塔闪闪发光的顶端时，都让我们觉得那些困难时刻是值得的。
冒险一试
成为国际游民听起来很有吸引力，但是我们首先必须找到一种方法来负担这种生活方式。认真的数字计算表明，把我们在加利福尼亚的房子卖掉，可以让我们舒适地生活在世界上几乎任何地方。不用交房产税，也不用修葺屋顶，省下来的钱可以买很多火车票。
下面说说一些关于钱的细节。我们的财务顾问每月给我们寄大约6,000美元，这笔钱来自于投资。我们还能领取到社会保险和一小笔养老金。我们有一笔大约20,000美元的“改善生活基金”，这让我们可以提前订购房间、邮轮、机票、酒店等等──而不影响我们的现金流。
我们采用一些简单的策略来保持预算平衡。有住在巴黎或伦敦等物价较贵地方的时候，就有住在墨西哥、土耳其或葡萄牙等物价较便宜国家的时候，以此来平衡。我们每周出去吃几顿饭，但多数时间是在家吃。我喜欢烹饪，购买食物是了解一个国家的好方法（在布宜诺斯艾利斯找到小苏打并不像听上去那么简单。）
你完全可以做到比我们更节省。在住宿方面着手省钱是个很好的开始，国外的租房成本因房间大小、季节、地点和便利设施的差异而有很大差别。
当其他方面没法省钱的时候，步行和发呆总是免费的，在任何地方都是如此。
大把的机会
尽管我们搭过飞机、火车、公共汽车、出租车、汽车和渡轮，但现在我们最喜欢的交通方式是跨大西洋换季航行。
当邮轮换季转场时，会有很高的折扣。能够在淡季时花几周时间穿越大洋的人并不多。但这对于我们来说很完美，因为我们每次不仅到了目的地，还解决了两周多时间的住宿、吃饭和玩乐。搭船旅行让我们无需倒时差，并能快速游览我们在深度旅行中可能不会选择的有趣地方。
我们没有成为哪家邮轮公司的固定客户。蒂姆会购买他能找到的最划算又适合我们时间表的船票，只是我们有时要根据邮轮安排时间。票价不尽相同。5月，我们两人的穿越大西洋之旅──16晚的海景房──价格约为2,500美元。这包括所有餐费和我的葡萄酒套餐。11月，我们搭同一家邮轮公司的船从巴塞罗那到迈阿密的回程费用大致相同。
我们已经预定了从现在到2014年的多趟换季转场邮轮的船票，这成了我们今后旅行计划的基础。目前，我们已经订好明年在葡萄牙、西班牙、法国、德国、荷兰和俄罗斯的住处。我们已经确认了2014年6月至7月在巴黎要住的公寓。
根据我们的经验，vrbo.com和homeaway.com是最可靠的短期租房网站。它们提供几乎适合任何预算的房子，因为我们通常在每个地方至少待一个月，因此有时我们可以谈成更便宜点的价格。
定居
我们运气最好时，能租到当地人的房子。他们会提供关于交通和购物的信息，满足合理的特殊要求，而且通常会很快改正任何的不足之处。当我向我们在巴黎公寓的房东提出锅碗瓢盆都有点旧了时，她第二天就拿来了一套新炊具和两个很棒的不锈钢煎锅。
当然，每个目的地都有挑战等待着我们，包括：学会如何与杂货店讨价还价；使用当地交通工具；连接互联网；剪个得体的发型；操作暖气和制冷设施；破解异国的DVD机，等等。
在陌生的厨房做饭通常是个特别的挑战。法国和土耳其的微波炉说明会很耽误做饭，而我们遇到的每台洗衣机/烘干机都有一堆全新的神秘设置按钮。
美妙的远方
与我们日常生活中从未遇到的人交流是我们的生活方式中最激动人心的部分。
在巴黎我最喜欢的那家社区奶酪店中，店主给我选择了一片布里干酪(Brie)，他保证它会恰好在我们的客人到达时完全融化，事实的确如此；在一个俯瞰佛罗伦萨的露台上举行的一场晚宴中，我们遇到了两位才华横溢的塞尔维亚年轻老师和一位国际知名的意大利诗人；我们在土耳其库萨达斯(Kusadasi)住的那家华丽的建于16世纪的酒店的老板和我玩了一下午快速激烈的西洋双陆棋。这些经历让烦心时刻──比如仍在学习驾驶换档在左面的汽车时被堵在伦敦路上──也显得非常值得。
我们还享有不被“琐事”所累的自由。实际上，四海为家的好处之一是，我们在路上遇到的人感兴趣的我们这两个人本身，而并不关心我们的房子、古董、艺术品或其他财产。这是一种非常坦诚的交友方式。
多数日子，我们早上八点起床，边喝咖啡边阅读网络报纸。如果这是“旅游”日，我们就尽量在游人挤满博物馆、历史景点或我们要参加的活动之前出门。有时我们只是过着简单的生活：逛逛杂货店，买买衣服，或者把该洗的衣服洗了，把该读的书读了。
在去理发的路上漫步于泰晤士河畔令一件平凡琐事变得意趣盎然，许多次，我们都与路上遇到的有趣陌生人聊得很高兴。我丈夫每天花一些时间来制定未来的旅行计划并写一本小说，而我则尽量定期更新我的博客，homefreeadventures.com。许多个晚上，我们都一起看从网上租来的我们喜欢的电视节目或电影，我们通常会熬夜到很晚，就像我们在家时那样。
网络联接
既然我们已经卖掉了房子，就没什么账单要付。我们使用一项网络付账服务，用信用卡买几乎每件东西，因此我们可以累积里程奖励。我们的一个女儿帮我们收取邮寄来的信件，不过这类信件几乎已经没有了。
良好的网络连接很重要。电脑将我们与家人和朋友联系起来，帮助我们计划未来的旅行，而且是我们在看不到英语电影和电视的地方时的娱乐活动来源。我们每人都有一台笔记本电脑和一部iPhone，Kindle里装着我们的图书馆和旅游书籍。
我们有医疗保险和补充医保，当我们回到美国时，会去看医生，接受年度体检。我们还有覆盖急诊和医疗转运的国际医疗保险。该计划有很高的扣除额，有助于降低我们的开销，因为我们在国外医疗机构的治疗效果很令人满意。例如，一天早上在墨西哥，蒂姆醒来时出现了严重的流感症状。一个小时内，一位医生就出现在他床边，给他打了一针，并开了一张方子。他收了50美元，蒂姆很快就痊愈了。
当然，我们很想念家人和朋友，但他们原谅我们的离开，并当我们租下他们附近的房子前去做客时也会热烈欢迎我们。甚至我们的财务顾问也很不情愿地承认，我们的计划效果很好。
对我们来说，放弃2,500平方英尺（约265平方米）的加利福尼亚州优裕住宅，换取巴黎或伊斯坦布尔的500平方英尺公寓不仅是个合算的取舍。代替我们耐用的煤气炉、名牌锅碗瓢盆和巨大冰箱的是我们现在用的小洗碗槽、冰吧和一些可爱的简单炊具。我们共用有一个洗手池的浴室，并在一台13英寸屏幕的电脑上看电影。
同时，我们享用着如同来自天堂的美味鹅肝午餐，驾车穿过风景如画的法国乡村──那里甚至连牛都那么美丽──并在饭后徜徉在意大利的阿诺河(Arno River)畔。
只要还走得动，我们就不会停止这种旅行。
LYNNE MARTIN
2012年 11月 16日
The Let's-Sell-Our-House-And-See-The-World Retirement
I'm 70 years old. My husband, Tim,
is 66. For most of our lives, each of us lived and worked in California.
Today, our home is wherever we and our 30-inch suitcases are.
In short, we're senior gypsies. In early 2011 we sold our house in California and moved the few objects we wanted to keep into a 10-by-15-foot storage unit. Since then, we have lived in furnished apartments and houses in Mexico, Argentina, Florida, Turkey, France, Italy and England. In the next couple of months, we will live in Ireland and Morocco before returning briefly to the U.S. for the holidays.
As I write this, we have settled into a darling one-bedroom apartment a hundred yards from the River Thames, a 25-minute train ride from the heart of London. We have a knack for moving in. Within a few minutes of plunking down our belongings in new digs, we have made it our own: The alarm clock is beside the bed; my favorite vegetable peeler and instant-read thermometer are in the kitchen; and our laptop computers are hooked up and humming. Together we begin learning how to make the appliances cooperate.
Given all that, I suppose a better way to describe us is gypsies who like to put down roots. At least for a month or two.
Why we're doing this is simple: My husband and I─in a heart-to-heart conversation during a trip to Mexico─realized that both of us are happier when we're on the road. We enjoy excellent health and share a desire to see the world in bigger bites than a three-week vacation allows. The notion of living like the locals in other countries thrilled us, and after almost 18 months of living 'home free,' we are still delighted with our choice. Even a 'cocooning' day is more interesting in Paris or Istanbul.
How we're doing this is more complicated. But we think our plan would work for many retirees with a reasonably healthy nest egg. A budget on the road─as in a stationary life─depends on how a person prioritizes expenditures and what kind of lifestyle he or she wishes to pursue. Someone who needs a large wardrobe or thrives on giving lavish dinner parties wouldn't find our life appealing. (Rented places seldom offer much in the way of attractive dinnerware.)
We certainly have moments when we question our sanity. Being up to our knees in water, completely lost in the middle of a torrential rainstorm in Istanbul, or discovering that we have locked ourselves out on a third-floor Paris balcony does give us pause.
But we've learned three things. First, coping with new situations and making complicated travel plans even as we're on the road keep us sharp.
Second, we aren't alone. We meet fellow retirees on a regular basis, some who are taking extended vacations, others who are leading a life similar to ours, and some who have settled permanently overseas. A man I met early on in our travels said to me, 'There are a lot of us out there who have figured it out.'
Third and most important, the rewards far outweigh the risks. The moments when we glance out 'our' living-room window at Florence's skyline or turn a corner in 'our' neighborhood and see the tip of the Eiffel Tower winking at us make the scary times worthwhile.
Taking the Plunge
Becoming international nomads sounded appealing, but we first had to find a way to afford such a lifestyle. Serious number-crunching showed that selling our home in California would allow us to live comfortably almost anyplace in the world. Not having property taxes or a roof that needs fixing can pay for a lot of train rides.
A few specifics about money. Our financial adviser sends us about $6,000 a month, generated from investments. We also collect Social Security and a small pension. We have a 'slush fund' of about $20,000, which allows us to make advance deposits─for housing, cruises, flights, hotels and so forth─without affecting our cash flow.
We follow some simple strategies to keep our budget in line. Stays in more expensive locations, like Paris or London, are balanced by living in less pricey countries like Mexico, Turkey or Portugal. We dine out several times a week but eat at home much of the time. I like to cook, and food shopping is a great way to learn about a country. (Finding baking soda in Buenos Aires isn't nearly as simple as it sounds.)
People certainly could live on less than we do. Accommodations are a good place to start; the cost of rentals overseas varies considerably with size, season, location and amenities.
And when all else fails, walking and gawking are free everywhere.
Ocean of Opportunity
Although we have used airplanes, trains, buses, taxis, cars and ferries, our favorite means of transportation is now trans-Atlantic repositioning voyages.
When cruise lines move their ships seasonally, they offer big discounts. Not many people can spare several weeks in the off-season to cross the ocean. But it's perfect for us because we not only reach our destination, but we also are housed, fed and pampered for more than two weeks each time. Traveling by ship, we arrive in sync with local time and get a quick peek at interesting places that we probably wouldn't choose for an extended visit.
We are not married to any particular cruise line. Tim shops for the best deal he can find that fits into our schedule, although we sometimes schedule around the cruises. Prices vary. In May, our Atlantic crossing─16 nights with an ocean-view room─cost about $2,500 for the two of us. That included all of our food, and a wine package for me. Our return trip in November from Barcelona to Miami with the same cruise line will cost about the same.
Our repositioning bookings extend into 2014 and form the base from which the rest of our travels plans will grow. At the moment, we have reservations for next year to live in Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Russia. We are already confirmed for a Paris apartment for June/July 2014.
In our experience, vrbo.com and homeaway.com are the most reliable sources for short-term rentals. They offer a wide range of properties to fit almost any budget, and because we usually stay at least a month in each place, we can sometimes negotiate a slightly better deal.
Settling In
We have had the best luck renting properties whose owners live locally. They offer information about transportation and shopping, grant reasonable special requests and are usually quick to correct any shortcomings. When I mentioned to our apartment owner in Paris that the pots and pans were a bit tired, she appeared the very next day with a new set of cookware and two wonderful stainless-steel frying pans.
Of course, challenges await us at each destination. A partial list: learning how to negotiate the grocery-store routine; using local transportation; connecting to the Internet; getting decent haircuts; operating heating and cooling systems; deciphering exotic DVD players.
Producing meals in an unfamiliar kitchen is often a particular challenge; microwave instructions in French or Turkish can considerably delay meal preparation, And every washer/dryer we encounter presents a whole new group of mysterious settings.
So Far, So Wonderful
Connecting with people we would never have encountered in our regular lives is the most thrilling part of our lifestyle.
In Paris, my favorite neighborhood cheese vendor chose a slice of Brie that he guaranteed would melt perfectly at the precise time our guests arrived, and it did; we met two brilliant young Serbian educators and an internationally known Italian poet at a dinner party on a terrace overlooking Florence; and the owner of a gorgeous 16th-century hotel where we were staying in Kusadasi, Turkey, whiled away an afternoon with me playing fast and furious backgammon. Such moments make the uncomfortable times─like being stuck in a London traffic jam while still learning to drive a stick-shift car on the left side─more than worthwhile.
We also enjoy the freedom of not being weighed down by our 'things.' Indeed, one of the benefits of living home-free is that people we meet on the road are interested in us and could care less about our house, our antiques, our art or other possessions. It's a remarkably forthright way to relate to others.
Most days we're up by 8 a.m., and we read our newspapers online with our coffee. If it's a 'tourist' day, we try to get out in the morning before the crowds fill up the museum, historic site or event we're bound for. Sometimes we just attend to life with grocery or clothes shopping, or catching up on our laundry and our reading.
Strolling along the Thames on the way to have a haircut turns a mundane chore into an event, and many times we enjoy a chat with an interesting stranger along the way. My husband devotes some time every day to making travel plans for the future and writing a novel, and I try to work regularly on my blog, homefreeadventures.com. Many evenings we watch our favorite shows or a movie we've rented online, and we usually stay up too late, just as we used to do at home.
Online Connection
Since we have eliminated homeownership, we have few bills to pay. We use an online bill-paying service, and we buy almost everything by credit card so we can rack up mileage rewards. One of our daughters receives the mail, which has dwindled to almost nothing.
A good Internet connection is essential. Our computers link us with family and friends, help us plan future travels, and are our source of entertainment in places where movies and television in English are elusive. Each of us has a laptop and an iPhone, and our Kindles house our library and travel books.
We have Medicare and supplemental plans, and when we return to the U.S., we see our doctors for annual checkups. We also have international health insurance covering medical emergencies and evacuations. The plan has a big deductible to help reduce our overhead, since our experiences with health-care providers abroad have been very positive. For instance, Tim awoke one morning in Mexico with raging flu symptoms. A doctor was at his bedside within the hour, administered an injection and gave us a prescription. He charged about $50, and Tim recovered quickly.
Of course, we miss our family and friends terribly, but they have forgiven us for leaving and welcome us enthusiastically when we rent a house near them for a visit. Even our financial adviser has grudgingly admitted that our plan is working well.
For us, giving up 2,500 square feet of gracious California living for a 500-square-foot apartment in Paris or Istanbul is more than a fair trade-off. In place of our heavy-duty gas stove, big-name pots and pans and enormous refrigerator, we now find ourselves using Barbie-size sinks, bar fridges and some pretty sketchy cookware. We share bathrooms with one sink and watch movies on a 13-inch computer screen.
At the same time, we enjoy lunches where the paté comes from heaven, drives through the luscious French countryside where even the cows are beautiful, and strolls along the Arno River in Italy for our after-dinner exercise.
We don't plan to quit until the wheels fall off.
LYNNE MARTIN
In short, we're senior gypsies. In early 2011 we sold our house in California and moved the few objects we wanted to keep into a 10-by-15-foot storage unit. Since then, we have lived in furnished apartments and houses in Mexico, Argentina, Florida, Turkey, France, Italy and England. In the next couple of months, we will live in Ireland and Morocco before returning briefly to the U.S. for the holidays.
As I write this, we have settled into a darling one-bedroom apartment a hundred yards from the River Thames, a 25-minute train ride from the heart of London. We have a knack for moving in. Within a few minutes of plunking down our belongings in new digs, we have made it our own: The alarm clock is beside the bed; my favorite vegetable peeler and instant-read thermometer are in the kitchen; and our laptop computers are hooked up and humming. Together we begin learning how to make the appliances cooperate.
Given all that, I suppose a better way to describe us is gypsies who like to put down roots. At least for a month or two.
Why we're doing this is simple: My husband and I─in a heart-to-heart conversation during a trip to Mexico─realized that both of us are happier when we're on the road. We enjoy excellent health and share a desire to see the world in bigger bites than a three-week vacation allows. The notion of living like the locals in other countries thrilled us, and after almost 18 months of living 'home free,' we are still delighted with our choice. Even a 'cocooning' day is more interesting in Paris or Istanbul.
How we're doing this is more complicated. But we think our plan would work for many retirees with a reasonably healthy nest egg. A budget on the road─as in a stationary life─depends on how a person prioritizes expenditures and what kind of lifestyle he or she wishes to pursue. Someone who needs a large wardrobe or thrives on giving lavish dinner parties wouldn't find our life appealing. (Rented places seldom offer much in the way of attractive dinnerware.)
We certainly have moments when we question our sanity. Being up to our knees in water, completely lost in the middle of a torrential rainstorm in Istanbul, or discovering that we have locked ourselves out on a third-floor Paris balcony does give us pause.
But we've learned three things. First, coping with new situations and making complicated travel plans even as we're on the road keep us sharp.
Second, we aren't alone. We meet fellow retirees on a regular basis, some who are taking extended vacations, others who are leading a life similar to ours, and some who have settled permanently overseas. A man I met early on in our travels said to me, 'There are a lot of us out there who have figured it out.'
Third and most important, the rewards far outweigh the risks. The moments when we glance out 'our' living-room window at Florence's skyline or turn a corner in 'our' neighborhood and see the tip of the Eiffel Tower winking at us make the scary times worthwhile.
Taking the Plunge
Becoming international nomads sounded appealing, but we first had to find a way to afford such a lifestyle. Serious number-crunching showed that selling our home in California would allow us to live comfortably almost anyplace in the world. Not having property taxes or a roof that needs fixing can pay for a lot of train rides.
A few specifics about money. Our financial adviser sends us about $6,000 a month, generated from investments. We also collect Social Security and a small pension. We have a 'slush fund' of about $20,000, which allows us to make advance deposits─for housing, cruises, flights, hotels and so forth─without affecting our cash flow.
We follow some simple strategies to keep our budget in line. Stays in more expensive locations, like Paris or London, are balanced by living in less pricey countries like Mexico, Turkey or Portugal. We dine out several times a week but eat at home much of the time. I like to cook, and food shopping is a great way to learn about a country. (Finding baking soda in Buenos Aires isn't nearly as simple as it sounds.)
People certainly could live on less than we do. Accommodations are a good place to start; the cost of rentals overseas varies considerably with size, season, location and amenities.
And when all else fails, walking and gawking are free everywhere.
Ocean of Opportunity
Although we have used airplanes, trains, buses, taxis, cars and ferries, our favorite means of transportation is now trans-Atlantic repositioning voyages.
When cruise lines move their ships seasonally, they offer big discounts. Not many people can spare several weeks in the off-season to cross the ocean. But it's perfect for us because we not only reach our destination, but we also are housed, fed and pampered for more than two weeks each time. Traveling by ship, we arrive in sync with local time and get a quick peek at interesting places that we probably wouldn't choose for an extended visit.
We are not married to any particular cruise line. Tim shops for the best deal he can find that fits into our schedule, although we sometimes schedule around the cruises. Prices vary. In May, our Atlantic crossing─16 nights with an ocean-view room─cost about $2,500 for the two of us. That included all of our food, and a wine package for me. Our return trip in November from Barcelona to Miami with the same cruise line will cost about the same.
Our repositioning bookings extend into 2014 and form the base from which the rest of our travels plans will grow. At the moment, we have reservations for next year to live in Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Russia. We are already confirmed for a Paris apartment for June/July 2014.
In our experience, vrbo.com and homeaway.com are the most reliable sources for short-term rentals. They offer a wide range of properties to fit almost any budget, and because we usually stay at least a month in each place, we can sometimes negotiate a slightly better deal.
Settling In
We have had the best luck renting properties whose owners live locally. They offer information about transportation and shopping, grant reasonable special requests and are usually quick to correct any shortcomings. When I mentioned to our apartment owner in Paris that the pots and pans were a bit tired, she appeared the very next day with a new set of cookware and two wonderful stainless-steel frying pans.
Of course, challenges await us at each destination. A partial list: learning how to negotiate the grocery-store routine; using local transportation; connecting to the Internet; getting decent haircuts; operating heating and cooling systems; deciphering exotic DVD players.
Producing meals in an unfamiliar kitchen is often a particular challenge; microwave instructions in French or Turkish can considerably delay meal preparation, And every washer/dryer we encounter presents a whole new group of mysterious settings.
So Far, So Wonderful
Connecting with people we would never have encountered in our regular lives is the most thrilling part of our lifestyle.
In Paris, my favorite neighborhood cheese vendor chose a slice of Brie that he guaranteed would melt perfectly at the precise time our guests arrived, and it did; we met two brilliant young Serbian educators and an internationally known Italian poet at a dinner party on a terrace overlooking Florence; and the owner of a gorgeous 16th-century hotel where we were staying in Kusadasi, Turkey, whiled away an afternoon with me playing fast and furious backgammon. Such moments make the uncomfortable times─like being stuck in a London traffic jam while still learning to drive a stick-shift car on the left side─more than worthwhile.
We also enjoy the freedom of not being weighed down by our 'things.' Indeed, one of the benefits of living home-free is that people we meet on the road are interested in us and could care less about our house, our antiques, our art or other possessions. It's a remarkably forthright way to relate to others.
Most days we're up by 8 a.m., and we read our newspapers online with our coffee. If it's a 'tourist' day, we try to get out in the morning before the crowds fill up the museum, historic site or event we're bound for. Sometimes we just attend to life with grocery or clothes shopping, or catching up on our laundry and our reading.
Strolling along the Thames on the way to have a haircut turns a mundane chore into an event, and many times we enjoy a chat with an interesting stranger along the way. My husband devotes some time every day to making travel plans for the future and writing a novel, and I try to work regularly on my blog, homefreeadventures.com. Many evenings we watch our favorite shows or a movie we've rented online, and we usually stay up too late, just as we used to do at home.
Online Connection
Since we have eliminated homeownership, we have few bills to pay. We use an online bill-paying service, and we buy almost everything by credit card so we can rack up mileage rewards. One of our daughters receives the mail, which has dwindled to almost nothing.
A good Internet connection is essential. Our computers link us with family and friends, help us plan future travels, and are our source of entertainment in places where movies and television in English are elusive. Each of us has a laptop and an iPhone, and our Kindles house our library and travel books.
We have Medicare and supplemental plans, and when we return to the U.S., we see our doctors for annual checkups. We also have international health insurance covering medical emergencies and evacuations. The plan has a big deductible to help reduce our overhead, since our experiences with health-care providers abroad have been very positive. For instance, Tim awoke one morning in Mexico with raging flu symptoms. A doctor was at his bedside within the hour, administered an injection and gave us a prescription. He charged about $50, and Tim recovered quickly.
Of course, we miss our family and friends terribly, but they have forgiven us for leaving and welcome us enthusiastically when we rent a house near them for a visit. Even our financial adviser has grudgingly admitted that our plan is working well.
For us, giving up 2,500 square feet of gracious California living for a 500-square-foot apartment in Paris or Istanbul is more than a fair trade-off. In place of our heavy-duty gas stove, big-name pots and pans and enormous refrigerator, we now find ourselves using Barbie-size sinks, bar fridges and some pretty sketchy cookware. We share bathrooms with one sink and watch movies on a 13-inch computer screen.
At the same time, we enjoy lunches where the paté comes from heaven, drives through the luscious French countryside where even the cows are beautiful, and strolls along the Arno River in Italy for our after-dinner exercise.
We don't plan to quit until the wheels fall off.
LYNNE MARTIN
想想他们回美国老巢时那个固定的家已经没有了，心里有点酸酸。。
人生就是这样，没有十全十美，哎！
谢谢美文～