Edd:  On the plane from Cuenca to Quito it dawned on me that with our new travel adventure we’re once again going through the same stages as the titles of our trilogy of books.

Cynthia:  H-m-m-m. Well, I certainly agree that abandoning what many people would consider an ideal life to roam the planet with no agenda is a "Leap of Faith!"

E:  But to be fair the circumstances now are completely different from 11 years ago. Initially we moved abroad because we had to. We metaphorically hurled ourselves off a cliff and hoped the parachute opened.

C:  That’s a little dramatic but I get your point. This time we’re making a proactive decision to do something very different because we want to.

E:  And if everything goes sideways, we can always return to our residence in Cuenca. Still, I don’t want to minimize the fact that choosing to basically live out of carry-on luggage for months at a time in unfamiliar places is a pretty edgy choice.

C:  Like we say about living abroad in general—it’s ...

Edd:  I never anticipated the feedback we’ve gotten since announcing our plans to reimagine our own retirement.

Cynthia:  The support has been remarkable. So many friends and relatives all over the world have said, “You must come stay with us!”

E:  And we’ve heard from a lot of our subscribers and members too. Not only to wish us well. Several have recommended really interesting places for us to visit.

C:  You know what else has been a surprise?

E:  The film production company contacting us from the UK?

C:  Well, yeah, that for sure. I’m talking about the number of people who have shared that what we’re about to do—freely roaming the planet with no agenda—is a dream of theirs too.

E:  That’s true. I think “freely” is the key word. Whether it involves travel or not, who doesn’t want to enjoy a sense of freedom in life?

C:  Yet so few are willing to do what it takes to achieve it. Like we frequently say, hope without action is only wishful thinking.

E:  You know me with the song ...

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

For years we’ve been encouraging all of you to follow your dreams.

We’re extremely proud that Retirement Reimagined! has provided enrollees with the in-depth guidance and knowledge they need to make their desire to move abroad a reality.

Now, after 10+ years living in Ecuador, we’ve decided that it’s time to reimagine our own retirement.

Thoreau’s quote is on a refrigerator magnet that has been part of our lives for longer than we can remember. Turns out our dreams are about to lead us in many directions!

In celebration of our upcoming 50th anniversary, at the end of this month we’re going to “hit the road.” Or, more accurately, to spread our wings and take flight.

While maintaining our residence in Cuenca, we will divide our time between more frequent family visits and scouting trips to the countries we spotlight in our program.

You may be thinking, “But you always talk abo...

It’s exciting to see nuggets of optimism that the worst of this pandemic is behind us.

According to the CDC, the percentage of new COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions has declined over 60% since the first of the year.

As of now around 70 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the United States, with over 1.5 million more doses of vaccine happening each day.

Many states are starting to loosen restrictions, and entire countries are once again opening their borders to visitors.

All this good news is giving a lot of people hope that life will soon be back to normal.

But that’s not going to happen. The COVID-19 pandemic was a global game changer, and things will never be the same.

The economic, social, and psychological disruptions have been so disastrous that the damage is still being assessed. Even the most knowledgeable experts are uncertain what the future holds.

Where does that leave each of us? What will our new normal look like?

While we individuals have no con...

If last year had been “2020-The Movie”, it would have been a box office disaster, would you agree?

And thus far trailers for the sequel, 2021, don’t look remarkably better.

Many Americans are becoming nostalgic about how life was for them growing up and longing for simpler times when:

• You didn’t bother to lock your doors
• Kids freely played outside until it was time to come home for dinner
• You knew and socialized with your neighbors
• People behaved civilly and respected each other’s property

“Ah,” you think sadly, “those days are gone forever.”

In much of the U.S. perhaps, but not elsewhere in the world, we’re happy to report.

We recently returned home to Cuenca, Ecuador after a long trip to the States. Not surprisingly, our refrigerator and pantry needed restocking after 3 ½ months away.

Stepping out of our building to go to the grocery store, the restaurant owner across the street saw us, smiled and said, “Welcome back! We missed you!”

As we were walking up the sidewalk,...

Cynthia:  “Would you like to round up?” We didn’t know what the checkout clerk was talking about when we paid for our groceries with cash.

Edd:  I asked, “Round up to what??” “The nearest dollar,” he replied. I said, “If I have a choice, I’d prefer to round down.” He wasn’t amused…

C:  And when we asked what happens to that extra change he said, “It goes to charity.” “Really? Which charity?” Crickets.

E:  We’re actually used to clerks asking weird questions. For years in Ecuador they always want to know if you have exact change. And for sure we don’t have the coin shortage supposedly going on here. We more often use Sacagawea dollar coins than bills.

C:  I’m noticing more differences now that we’ve been here awhile. We walk almost everywhere at home, and it takes us about 25 minutes to go maybe 2 miles from our apartment to Parque Calderon, the central square in Cuenca’s Historic District. The house where we're living in NC is also about 25 minutes from our son’s home. It’s 23 mile...

Hooray!

This week coronavirus lockdown restrictions were relaxed as Ecuador appears to have “flattened the curve.”

We learned that a handful of restaurants have been allowed to reopen with proper safety protocols.

After 2 ½ months of our biweekly, grocery store trip being the “Big Event” at Casa Staton, we were beyond anxious to dress up a bit and walk into town to enjoy a sit-down meal somewhere other than our dining room!

Even though more cars are allowed out, we found most streets to be nearly empty.

Parque de la Madre, a large park normally filled with families on the weekend, is taped off and deserted.

It’s heartbreaking to see how overgrown and unkempt the entire space has become.

When we arrived at Café del Museo we were stopped at this table to have the bottom of our shoes sprayed. At the restaurant entrance we stepped into a tray to again clean our shoes (not sure what’s up with the focus on that particular article of clothing), applied hand gel, and had our t...

Cynthia:  Do you know what today is?

Edd:  Is this a trick question? It’s Sunday, May the somethingth.

C:  It’s the 17th. Do you know why today is special?

E:  See, I know you. It was a trick question. OK, I remembered Mother’s Day and your birthday isn't until next month. So I think I’m safe saying, “No, baby, why is today special?”

C:  Because 10 years ago we got off the plane here in Cuenca, Ecuador. It’s our 10th anniversary of being expats!

E:  Shut up... Really?? That seems impossible.

C:  I know. I can’t believe it either. Remember how excited we were?

E:  I sure do. But you know what, I don’t remember us being scared. Do you? Honestly, we had every reason to be. We didn’t speak Spanish. We didn’t know anybody. Our shipping container was on its way and we had no place to live. What in the hell were we thinking?

C:  That this was gonna work no matter what because it had to work—that’s what we were thinking. And you know what? It did!

E:  Yep. I think overall these have b...

With coronavirus spreading across the globe, hopefully you’re staying safe and you’ve been able to stock up (or at least find) hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. Even toilet paper and bottled water are being rationed in many stores. Nobody really knows the extent or duration of this pandemic so it’s prudent to be prepared.

Things are happening at such a dizzying rate that it’s hard to even stay focused on what to do next, so we want to remind you to keep an eye on your future as well.

Specifically, what’s happening with your retirement savings? Have you even had the courage to check your balances recently? The stock market has been on such a stomach-churning ride that it’s understandable if you haven’t. Spoiler alert: the news isn’t good.😟

Everyone’s hoping once this worldwide illness runs its course things will quickly bounce back to normal. But what if that doesn’t happen? Do you have a Plan B if you’re close to retirement and your nest egg experiences a slower than expected r...

Edd:  Wow, we sure covered a lot of topics on the Now It’s My Turn! TV show last weekend!

Cynthia:  We never seem to be at a loss for words. I especially enjoyed our discussion of Super Agers.

E:  Readers may not know what that term means. Harvard Medical School defines this group as "people in their 70s and 80s who have the mental or physical capability of their decades-younger counterparts."

C:  Well, that covers one of us.

E:  Ha! You’ll be joining me in a few years. And as we pointed out to Lana McAra, the show’s host, our current state of optimal health and wellness isn’t a lucky accident. A lot of intention has gone into it.

C:  Yeah, you touched on our aspiration to become Super Agers in the blog you wrote about being a septuagenarian. Regarding the mental part of the equation, I feel like living abroad in Ecuador for the past decade has greatly contributed to our well-being and unshakeable optimism.

E:  Remember that report from Humana we recently read? They found that th...