A comparison study between Austin, Texas, and Lucca, Italy. I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately on the subject of money, how much of it you need in order to live abroad and what things cost here. Of course, the responsible answer is to say I couldn’t tell you because the cost of living varies wildly, depending on what part of Italy you’re in. As a general rule of thumb, the farther north you go, the more you’re going to pay for the stuff you need. Major cities like Rome, Florence, and Milan are commensurate, cost-wise, with cities like New York, Austin, and Los Angeles. The only way we’ve managed to squeak by on our freelancer/artist wages is to sell blood. Joking! Sort of! No, we avoid the major cities where rent is $1200-1800 a month and live in smaller, more far-flung, and yet charming and affordable villages.
Mexico is still attractive to retirees and people on fixed/limited incomes, *PROVIDED* you live as a modestly well off Mexican and NOT like an American Retiree. If I ever get out from under the albatross of this house, property, and animals that Toni left me, it is a genuine consideration. A small place, away from the larger cities, maybe up in the mountains, maybe some midway point on Baja.
Yes, I think it's pivotal not to be ostentatious in one's way of living there, and for a variety of reasons. You don't want your neighbors to constantly roll their eyes. And you don't want any opportunists to kidnap you and ransom you, which is NOT fun. I could see you living a Van Gogh kind of lifestyle there. And it is ravishing to look at.
Or you could just wait for a war to break out. The living is easy, if a bit rough around the edges...but you never know when someone might accidentally (or deliberately) deposit a mortar shell in your living room. It can be cheaper, but the risks? Well, as you say, it's not for everyone.
I remember being in Oslo, Norway, and thinking how nice it would be to live there. It also happens to be one of the most expensive places in the world. And the likelihood of a war breaking out any time soon is pretty close to nil.
The one thing I've learned from living in some real $#!*holes in the US and abroad is that you can be happy anywhere you put your mind to it. Some of my happiest memories involve life in a war zone. Sick and twisted, I know, but in a situation like that you learn to find joy in things you might not think of in more stable situations.
It just depends what your tolerance for risk and upheaval (and death and destruction) happens to be. :-)
See, I absolutely believe that. I was happy living in a shithole apartment in Houston. I'm happy here. Happiness is not getting what you want; it's wanting what you have.
Mexico is still attractive to retirees and people on fixed/limited incomes, *PROVIDED* you live as a modestly well off Mexican and NOT like an American Retiree. If I ever get out from under the albatross of this house, property, and animals that Toni left me, it is a genuine consideration. A small place, away from the larger cities, maybe up in the mountains, maybe some midway point on Baja.
Yes, I think it's pivotal not to be ostentatious in one's way of living there, and for a variety of reasons. You don't want your neighbors to constantly roll their eyes. And you don't want any opportunists to kidnap you and ransom you, which is NOT fun. I could see you living a Van Gogh kind of lifestyle there. And it is ravishing to look at.
Or you could just wait for a war to break out. The living is easy, if a bit rough around the edges...but you never know when someone might accidentally (or deliberately) deposit a mortar shell in your living room. It can be cheaper, but the risks? Well, as you say, it's not for everyone.
I remember being in Oslo, Norway, and thinking how nice it would be to live there. It also happens to be one of the most expensive places in the world. And the likelihood of a war breaking out any time soon is pretty close to nil.
The one thing I've learned from living in some real $#!*holes in the US and abroad is that you can be happy anywhere you put your mind to it. Some of my happiest memories involve life in a war zone. Sick and twisted, I know, but in a situation like that you learn to find joy in things you might not think of in more stable situations.
It just depends what your tolerance for risk and upheaval (and death and destruction) happens to be. :-)
See, I absolutely believe that. I was happy living in a shithole apartment in Houston. I'm happy here. Happiness is not getting what you want; it's wanting what you have.