Entrepreneur Expat

Tips for Moving Overseas: Best Countries for American Expats

• Justin Keltner

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V I D E O S    T O    W A T C H    N E X T :



Online Business Tips to Working and Traveling In Mexico: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zGH0voCyOc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j&index=2


Moving to Mexico: 10 Reasons Why We Chose to Live in Guadalajara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK23vD8_xjc&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_LAY7UV78YMgms-f2e1UcwN&index=23


Tips for Moving Overseas: Top 5 Remote Work Skills That Make Money: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFzjCrlNAL8&list=PLh3xKhkMgH_IA6s3KvB_g9Cc9Ze1eji8j



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Amanda Abella:

In this video, we're going to be talking about other countries that are making the expat hotlist, as we are calling it. Some of these countries you're going to notice are in Latin America a lot. That's because of the time zone, which is why a lot of American expats love Latin America. You're also going to hear some that, you know, have been making waves for a while. And we're going to talk about some of our picks that we're noticing that are starting to trend and take off on YouTube. Whereas you may not have heard about these, in previous years.

Justin Keltner:

Welcome to the Entrepreneur Expat. I'm Justin.

Amanda Abella:

And I'm Amanda.

Justin Keltner:

And on this channel we talk about all things doing business, living, and moving to other countries outside of your home country, especially for people coming from the U. S. and Canada. And we talk about some of the intricacies of how to really make this work. Entrepreneur expat journey work, how to build a business and a lifestyle, uh, that really integrate and work well with each other so that you don't have to worry about a business and a lifestyle. That is not supporting you or your needs while you're busy traveling around the world. How do you actually streamline things? How do you make it easy? We talk about a lot of those things as well. If you like this content, make sure to like and subscribe to this video and this channel and if you're interested in learning more, about how to build the kind of business that will fuel this lifestyle. Definitely check out the funnel guide below this video where we talk a little bit more in depth about all the funnels and automations that we've created in our business to allow us to explore all of these different countries.

Amanda Abella:

We've automated about 80 to 90 percent of our businesses which allow us to do more videos like this and also explore a lot and even move to another country, which gets us to the first one on our list in terms of expat hotspots around the world. Mexico. Mexico is the country we ended up moving to in order to start this whole journey of living overseas and, digital nomadism and global diversification. Uh, we did a whole other video on all the reasons why, so make sure to check that out. Long story short, Mexico had easy time zones, easy residency requirements. Had a lot to see just within Mexico itself and is very well connected to other Countries, so for that reason and also a really good quality of life and cost of living It's extremely popular with American expats. In fact, the largest Enclave, did I say that right? Enclave?

Justin Keltner:

Enclave?

Amanda Abella:

Enclave? Is that how you say it? The largest enclave of American and Canadian expats worldwide can be found in Lake Chapala, uh, the Ajijic area of Mexico. Which is

Justin Keltner:

just about an hour south of us, southeast.

Amanda Abella:

Really cool town, if you get a chance to check it out.

Justin Keltner:

So number two on our list is Portugal. Now, if you're from the West coast, especially places like California, you may have said something like you really cannot beat the weather in California. There's nothing else that compares. Well, Portugal has very similar weather with super temperate climate all year round. Uh, you also have some beautiful beaches and English is fantastic. Relatively widely spoken there. A lot of places in Europe actually have a fairly high level of English that's spoken, and if you already speak Spanish like we do, Portuguese is not that hard to learn, but most people at least speak and understand a little bit of English. The cost of living in Portugal is also significantly less than it is in the United States and a lot of Western Europe as well. So you're going to find very affordable rents, very affordable, uh, homes to purchase, especially if you're coming from the West Coast or the East Coast of the U. S. And, uh, extremely friendly people, really, really, really amazing food as well. That's why Portugal is up there, uh, for the top places that we see expats moving to.

Amanda Abella:

The next one can be found in Southeast Asia, and it's Thailand. Now, a lot of American expats choose Thailand, number one, a lot of people, instead of doing Latin America or Europe, they feel like, you know what, that's still, like, too similar. Let me just go all the way to the other side of the world in Southeast Asia. And let me go immerse myself in that culture and what that's like. The cost of living is a lot less expensive. I think, when I compare it to Mexico, based on videos I was seeing recently, it's, um, Mexico is twice as expensive as Thailand. So the U. S. dollar is going to go even further.

Justin Keltner:

Sounds about right. In Thailand.

Amanda Abella:

And

Justin Keltner:

way more affordable for a pad thai as well. Um, I'll add in just a side note that If you want really good Asian food, I, I crave that all the time and sometimes it's impossible to find really good Asian food in Latin America. Like I would even back home in, in somewhere like the Bay Area or L. A. Thailand, you're gonna get some bomb pad thai and it's only a couple dollars compared to, uh, The 20 or 30 you might pay in southern california. So

Amanda Abella:

so Thailand is very popular among american and canadian expats again for cost of living Uh, it's very inexpensive to live there and eat there and just basically afford life. There's a lot to go see So for example, if you're based out of thailand There's a lot of countries that you can go to nearby in the southeast asia area pretty easily

Justin Keltner:

Next on our list is Indonesia. Now, of course you've heard of all of the people going to Bali and having their, their vacations in Bali, all the Instagram selfies and everything else. Bali definitely is one of the most popular tourist, uh, spots there, and one of the most popular spots for digital nomads. There's a lot of other places in Indonesia that are super cool as well. I know you mentioned one called Kanggu. Sorry if I said that, uh, incorrectly, but that's going to be like the next Bali.

Amanda Abella:

Yeah, because there's a lot of expats in Bali and then they needed to find somewhere else to go So they're trying to find other spots within Indonesia, and that's one that I've seen come up quite a lot

Justin Keltner:

And the cost of living in Indonesia is super affordable Uh, you can live there for as little as four or five hundred dollars a month if you're going to be there for an extended period of time. And they did just introduce a remote worker visa which allows, uh, people to come and stay and live there for up to a year. Now there's, there's a lot of other things there. Of course, you've got many beaches, beautiful beaches, really cool city life as well. Uh, and it's in Southeast Asia. So if you like that region, you can travel to many of the different areas around the Southeast Asia.

Amanda Abella:

So the next one on our list over here is Greece. Now Greece is somewhere that people have been talking about a lot more recently because it's so affordable in terms of cost of living. I think they also had some visa options where they were making it pretty easy for people to start moving over there if you're retired or a remote worker. I think they were trying to repopulate a lot of the islands. So I think that's part of what's going on over there and, and obviously it's Greece. I mean, you could go to Athens, you can go to Santorini, there's a lot to see and experience in Greece. Um, as basically like the birthplace of Western civilization, I think that would be pretty cool. The downside that people have said about Greece, uh, is that the language is kind of difficult to learn and also a whole other alphabet, which we should probably do. Side note, Thailand. Same problem, but there are more people who speak English in Thailand than perhaps Greece.

Justin Keltner:

Yeah, and you have, uh, like Amanda mentioned, low cost of living and just beautiful, beautiful architecture there. Um, there's, there's so much to see and it just feels like a, like a totally different world apart. I'm looking forward to it. to visit in Greece soon as well. I've had more experiences in Central and Eastern Europe, um, but if I do visit Western Europe, or if we do, then that, that's definitely high up on our list for that part of the world. Now, the next country that we have here that a lot of expats, especially American expats, have gone to live in as a digital nomad or entrepreneur expat is Costa Rica. Costa Rica has some stunning beaches, especially for surfing. If, if you love to surf, if you're a fan of surfing, Costa Rica has hands down some of the best surfing in the entire world. And, uh, people come there from all over to experience the surf in Costa Rica and, uh, Pura Vida, very laid back. Atmosphere now there's pros and cons to that because sure people might be a little bit more relaxed, but if you need to get your alternator repaired Might take a little bit longer than you're anticipating But overall I got to visit Costa Rica Amanda actually was there separately, uh, at a different period of, uh, in a different period of time. And we both really, really enjoyed our stay. Very friendly people, not as affordable as it was maybe a couple decades ago. It's definitely gotten expensive, but if you do have the budget for it, And, uh, you are looking for hotspots of other American expats. There's a lot of other expats currently living in, in Costa Rica.

Amanda Abella:

One thing to note about Costa Rica is you're not going to find any expats in the cities and that's because the cities in Costa Rica are horrendous. They're basically like you fly through there and that's it. Most people go to Costa Rica for the nature. So if that's something The

Justin Keltner:

volcanoes, the beaches, the mountains.

Amanda Abella:

Yeah, which is awesome. So if that's something that you are into then costa rica Might be the place for you and other things that i've heard about costa rica is that the infrastructure like internet wise isn't as good So that's just something to keep in mind. So if you're working a lot, maybe that's an issue if you're retired It might not be an issue Um, and also let's be real the food is not as good in costa rica As it is in for example, mexico So just being honest

Justin Keltner:

So the next country is Panama. I did have a chance to visit Panama for several days. I was actually doing a visa run from Colombia and I got to travel around Panama. Uh, staying both in Panama City and also taking a road trip to the East Coast and doing a little bit of diving on the Caribbean side of Panama. Also staying, uh, off on a little island. I forget what the name, we're going to have to find it. But yeah. Uh, there's a little island off of the coast of Colón, so got to stay there, uh, pretty secluded type, type of stuff. Scenery and everything just just like very isolated very Tranquil beaches and things like that on the east coast. On the west coast Not really that interesting. Panama City is the place where most expats go But it's kind of like a slightly cheaper version of LA or maybe even Honolulu on the water minus the nice beaches We

Amanda Abella:

have a friend there now checking it out and then she's gonna be on her way back to Mexico The beaches

Justin Keltner:

in Panama City itself are really ugly. They're almost non existent. It's like rocks and You

Amanda Abella:

Yeah, we have a friend there now, who's just stopping by and then we'll be returning to Mexico and she says it's basically just a cheaper version of Miami. It's Panama City, um But great

Justin Keltner:

nightlife, from what I hear, there's really good nightlife there. Shopping that kind of good

Amanda Abella:

health care all that kind of stuff. So a lot of expats

Justin Keltner:

especially retirees

Amanda Abella:

Yeah, a lot of expats end up really enjoying and liking panama. I'm from miami. So i'm not that interested in Personally, sorry Um, so the next one on the list Um, it has run into some issues lately, so in terms of safety, um, but it's been an expat hotspot for many, many years and, um, also I haven't seen expats necessarily stop moving there or making YouTube videos about it, which is Ecuador. Ecuador, um, Is somewhere Americans have been going to for a long time. They have some pretty easy residency options from what I've heard Specifically they like to hang out in a town called Cuenca which looks absolutely amazing and really beautiful little mountain Uh, city, and we're into the mountains right now, so it just caught my attention. Uh, but, uh, Ecuador has been going through some political issues recently, and some violence, uh, with the cartels and things like that. They have been having a bit of an issue the last couple of years, um, but you know, it's kind of like, from my understanding, it's kind of like a similar thing as Mexico. Which is don't get involved in stuff. You shouldn't be involved in and you'll be fine Exactly. Stay out of

Justin Keltner:

trouble. Stay

Amanda Abella:

out of trouble. The difference is that the government and the cartels have been bumping heads in ecuador the last couple years, which has caused Some security issues, but we have a lot of expats in ecuador saying that they don't feel unsafe there Even though there's been some issues the last couple of years, uh some big issues the last couple years so You know, take, take all that news and violence and all that with a grain of salt because it seems like there's still tons of Americans moving there and living there and feeling safe. Um, the other thing to know about Ecuador is that it is dollarized, so it is going to be slightly more expensive depending on where you are.

Justin Keltner:

So next on our list is a country that I have spent quite a lot of time in and that is Colombia. I actually, along with my faithful traveling companion back there, Daisy, You may or may not be able to see laying down on the floor. Um, Went, uh, we were both in, uh, in, in Colombia and it's funny. I think I was actually in Colombia at the same time that you were, you were planning on traveling there, but you couldn't because of the pandemic and all the craziness with travel that happened around those times.

Amanda Abella:

Yep.

Justin Keltner:

Um, but I spent three years in Colombia. This is

Amanda Abella:

before we knew each other, by the way. I

Justin Keltner:

lived in Medellin. I also lived in a little town in, uh, the coffee producing region called Armenia, which is not to be confused with the country of Armenia. Uh, but it's near a town called Salento that's very famous for, uh, the, the old jeeps that they have there. And the coffee, uh, what's it called? There's, there's a very, very beautiful, we'll have to put a picture of this, um, Sona Cafetera?

Amanda Abella:

Sona

Justin Keltner:

Cafetera, but it's, uh, it's a very big, beautiful, like picturesque valley that a lot of tourists go to in that area, very close by to Salento. And Colombia is such a gorgeous country. Like there's just so much nature. Um, there's so many like beautiful waterfalls and, and parks and, uh, I went to Hacienda Napolis, which is Pablo Escobar's old estate that they actually converted into a family friendly theme park. It's like, man, they're, they really figure out ways. Yeah, we saw the hippos and there were rhinos and everything. And like hybrid zebras and it's a trip if you ever find yourself in Medellin, it's a great thing to check out if you've got a day or two to kill. Um, but Medellin itself, really cool metropolitan city. I liked it a lot better than Bogota. I visited actually on my first trip there, uh, Medellin, Bogota, and Cartagena. And Medellin very

Amanda Abella:

gringo right now with these names. No, that's how you

Justin Keltner:

say it. It's Medellin, not Medellin.

Amanda Abella:

Right, but you're like Bogota. It's Bogota.

Justin Keltner:

Bogota.

Amanda Abella:

I'm

Justin Keltner:

sorry I'm not as Latin as you.

Amanda Abella:

Cartagena. What did you say? Cartagena. Well, I've heard some people say Cartagena. And I'm like, where did you find? I could say

Justin Keltner:

it with a Latin, uh, Spanish accents in Cartagena, but then people might not understand. Okay,

Amanda Abella:

that's fair because it's an American Canadian. But i've heard some people say Cartagena.

Justin Keltner:

It's definitely not. And i'm like, where did

Amanda Abella:

that extra I come from? I don't understand. I don't know where they came up with that.

Justin Keltner:

But uh, Medellin is a very cool city. Lots of things to do. Lots of nightlife. Uh, definitely a lot of expats. Really good co working places and The internet infrastructure wasn't the best when I was visiting several years ago, but it's gotten substantially better and especially if you're going to get like a WeWork or another co working space, uh, they usually have like multiple dedicated internet fiber lines and backups and all sorts of things like that. So, uh, I was able to live really comfortably there. The cost of living in Medellín has gone up significantly because of inflation and other factors, but you can find places In other cities or outside of the common like touristy gringo areas in Medellin for a reasonable price It's actually cheaper than than Mexico if you're willing to go off the beaten path a little bit And there's just so much to do between nature the city that the beaches Cartagena has some beautiful beautiful beaches and islands to explore and There's really something there for everyone and it's I know people talk a lot about safety You Has it gotten a little bit more precarious in recent times with a lot of a lot of immigration from different places and Some petty crime and things like that. Yes, but as long as you're they say that you want it You want to not give papaya? So as long as you're basically watching your phone not keeping it out on the sidewalk and look staring down at your screen While texting alone without anybody else there so that someone can swipe it from you as long as you're not doing things like that You Uh, and, and keeping your wits about you, you're probably going to be fine. This whole idea that you're going to fly to Colombia and the first day you land you're going to get kidnapped because you're American. Like it's absolutely ridiculous. There's, there's so many Americans that go there and visit.

Amanda Abella:

When I was doing my research, when I was trying to do a scope, a scouting trip to Medellin a few years ago, that never happened. Um, but I was doing some research on Medellin and I thought it was really funny that there had been local Colombians Uh, who for example did tours or helped expats and things like that and they kept saying in the videos And I thought it was a I kind of thought it was a joke and then I realized it wasn't a joke at all But they kept saying in the videos, you know, if you're gonna come to Medellin, um Don't do drugs and if a woman, uh Seems like she's out of your league She probably is and she's probably a prostitute and her pimp is probably around the corner I was like they have to make videos You Yeah, some people are a little naive or behaving

Justin Keltner:

badly. Were

Amanda Abella:

expats behaving badly? That happens. Oh,

Justin Keltner:

yeah, expats behave horribly there and think that they're just gonna go and ravage the entire city as their conquest.

Amanda Abella:

The Passport Bros? Passport Bros. Oh, God.

Justin Keltner:

That's a whole other video. Yeah. Yeah.

Amanda Abella:

Alright, so the next two on our list, um, I see making some waves. on YouTube recently. Um, so they're gonna be, one of them's probably gonna be way more out there than what anybody on this channel has probably considered but I wanted to make sure to talk about it and that is that there are actually quite a lot of Americans coming out. Moving to Africa. Um, there's a YouTube channel I'm following where I have learned so much. And it's called Ashley in Africa. she talks specifically to African Americans. Uh, she talks about what it's like to move and do business and live in Africa. I think specifically she focuses on South Africa and Tanzania right now. There's also other YouTubers who talk a lot about Ghana and other parts of Africa, and the reason I found this is because one of my closest friends, who is African American, was very much interested, uh, in South Africa. I think she finally ended up deciding on Spain, but South Africa was a country that she was really looking into for a while. So if you want something a little bit more off the beaten path emerging market, There's a lot of, from what I'm hearing, there's a lot of potential for investment and things like that. Then, you know, Africa might be a place you want to consider. And then the last one, uh, on the list, which is also, I don't know if this is really like an expat hotspot, but it's definitely been making a lot of waves. Online on YouTube and I actually ran into someone at the airport last time. I was in Miami who went here and that is Dominican Republic not

Justin Keltner:

just a destination to go to a five star resort and Hang out by the beach sipping margaritas for a few days, but a lot of people Especially from the U. S. are moving to the D. R.

Amanda Abella:

They're moving to the D. R., they're buying a property in D. R., they're raising their kids in D. R. Um, I'm not sure what the residency process is like, but I do believe that they have a digital nomad visa now, which is one of the reasons why so many people started going over there. But yeah, Dominican Republic, I've seen a lot of, um, American expats talking about Dominican Republic lately. And how there's a lot more Americans moving over there.

Justin Keltner:

I love beaches. I love islands. I love the DR. Yeah,

Amanda Abella:

I've been to Dominican Republic a few times, Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, La Romana. I've not been on the northern coast. Dominican Republic is absolutely beautiful. Dominicans are a good time. And in terms of safety, um, because a lot of people think Latin American countries are all crazy. Um, it's the same thing. A lot of the expats have said, I feel safer here raising my kids. than I do in the United States and actually the the ones in Africa also said the same thing that they felt a lot safer Raising their kids there than they did in Atlanta Wow Yeah, so really fascinating. So if you want to check out some more Up and coming or maybe off the beaten path. Those are definitely some that you're going to want to check out because those are really starting to make some waves on YouTube. So normally when they start to make waves is your time to get in. Before

Justin Keltner:

it's too late. Yeah. By the time everybody hears about it and says, Oh, this is the place to go. Like Mexico, for example, that's happening here. It's a lot less affordable to move here, but especially to get a visa here than it was five or 10 years ago, because. People are finding out that, hey, this, uh, really is not a bad life, uh, south of the border, as they say. So that was our list of the top places around the world for American expats. We hope you enjoyed and we really look forward to having you follow us along here for the adventure. Don't forget to like and subscribe and check out the guides in our comments if you'd like to learn more and join us even further. See you next time.