Why Paris?

In December 2015, I came across an online article about less expensive places to retire around the world. To my surprise, some regions in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal were included in the article. I had read that countries like Belize or Mexico were good places to retire.

When I started doing more research on the Internet, I came across the nomadic and “location independent” travelers. There are forums, blogs and web articles about moving to other countries. I was very interested in the cost of living and how people can make their budget work.

So I started work on my plans about what I will do after I retire in 2024. Yes, 2024 is eight years away. These plans have many parts if I am to be successful.

I want to travel – mainly in Europe. Why should I have to be tied to one location in the United States and travel back and forth across the Atlantic? I decided to move to France. I will apply for a long-stay visitor visa and renew the visa every year until I can become a more permanent resident.

After a few weeks of reading, I noticed a common theme. If you want to live outside of the major French cities, you will probably need a car. My car is currently one of my major expenses and one I do not want to have in France. I updated my plan to move to Paris. With the excellent transportation system, I will not need a car to do everyday things like grocery shopping.

As I am typing out my plans and explanations for future blog posts, it feels good to have a plan. Of course, these plans are as of today and may change over the next eight years.