Retire There with Gil & Gene

Celebrate the New Year with Gil & Gene! Tune in as we reflect on the remarkable growth and transformation of the Retire There Podcast throughout 2024. We share behind-the-scenes happenings, revisit standout episodes, and offer a sneak peek into the exciting plans for 2025. If you value the Retire There podcasts, consider supporting Gil & Gene by making a $5 donation at https://buymeacoffee...

Marsha Scarbrough worked in Hollywood for 20 years as an Assistant Director on major feature films and prime-time television shows. In 2006, she retired and moved to Sante Fe, New Mexico, a place she thought would be her “forever home.” In Sante Fe, she used her small nest egg to purchase two houses as investments. Unfortunately the Great Recession of 2007-2009 rendered her real estate near worthl...

Jennifer Oliver O’Connell and Lynn O’Connell were living in southern California and were hit hard by the Great Recession of 2007-2009. They had thought long and hard about relocating to a less expensive part of the United States. After doing extensive research, in 2023 they finally made the big move to a small town in Alabama: Muscle Shoals. It may be rural there but it is known around the world f...

Maxwell Lee and Kelly Lei were living in Florida but believed it was important for their school-age children to experience other cultures. This prompted their decision to move to Asia and selected Taipei, Taiwan due to its relative ease of accessing a visa and comparative low cost of living. Viewing the move as a practical task rather than an idealistic dream made their transition smoother. In Tai...

Retire in Frankfort, Michigan! Mike Andersen had lived in Chicago for many years but he loved exploring small-towns. Whenever he had a chance, he would take short car-trips staying at hamlets along the way. Those excursions led him to an eighteen-month trek across the United States visiting villages. Those towns and more are featured on Mike’s website, BestSmallTownsInAmerica.com. When the opportu...

Retire in Valencia, Spain - EP195 Christopher Wells enjoys experiencing new cultures and meeting new people, so it was no surprise when he moved to Valencia, Spain. However, an attractive job opportunity brought him back to the US. When the chance to return to Valencia arose, he jumped on it. The city seamlessly combines old world charm with new styles and technology. Hear Christopher share his st...

Retire in Istanbul, Turkey! Lisa Morrow is a travel writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, CNN Travel, The Guardian, and BBC Travel to name a few. She grew up in a quiet leafy suburb of Sydney, Australia but caught the travel bug at a young age. With a world to choose from, Lisa, and her husband Kim, fell in love with Istanbul, Turkey, the land of grand empires, monumental mosques,...

Retire in Portsmouth, New Hampshire - EP 193 When Cathy Donnally moved from New Jersey to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, it was primarily to be near her son and his family. She was thrilled to learn that Portsmouth had small town charm and big city amenities. She was further surprised that dance lessons taken for her son’s wedding would lead to ballroom dance competitions around the world. Learn more...

Retire in San Antonio Tlayacapan, Lake Chapala, Mexico - EP 192 When we first interviewed writer Janet Blaser about living in Mazatlan, Mexico in June of 2021, we were convinced she had found her forever place. There, she had a large apartment a stone's throw from the beach for under $500 per month. Needless to say, we were surprised to learn that Janet had moved to San Antonio Tlayacapan, a small...

Retire in Dublin, Ireland & Celebration, Florida - EP 191 Powerhouse Gail Clifford is a doctor, podcaster, writer, blogger, coach, foster parent, tremendous Disney fan … the list goes on. Naturally, she’s not one to retire, or stay at one venue too long. But she loves life, down time and having fun. Her chosen long-term destination homes are in Dublin, Ireland, Celebration, Florida and Guanaca...

EP 190 Retire in Rosarito, Mexico! How would you like to live on the ocean and enjoy the near perfect weather of San Diego, California? Most of us would, but not many of us could afford its beachfront living. Jym and Renee Varnadore found a way to live such a lifestyle on a budget. The couple moved to Playas de Rosarito, Mexico, a small city located on the ocean only 10 miles south of the US/Mexic...

Retire in Traverse City, Michigan! Fred Anderson has lived most of his life in Michigan. He considers himself vintage, not old. When retirement rolled around, Fred and his wife decided to move from Lansing, Michigan to Traverse City, Michigan. Sadly, Fred’s wife passed while the couple was preparing their Lansing home sale. Fred carried on, moved to Traverse City and has kept himself busy with the...

Selena Medlen, an attorney, and Jason Luban, an acupuncturist, had successful careers in Oakland, California, but they were stressed out. After taking a trip to Spain, they fell in love with Ronda, a small mountain top city in the southern part of the country. The next thing you know, Jason was selling his practice, Selena was quitting her job and the couple was moving to Ronda for a change of pac...

Imagine being a college student for the rest of your life. Enjoying a college town with lifelong learning while living on campus, what could be better? No exams! Former university president Jessica Kozloff and her husband Steve Kozloff, a former physician, chose this lifestyle and couldn’t be giddier. The active couple retired to Mirabella at ASU, on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe...

Ed, an American guy, and Tomo, a Japanese gal, were living and working in Tokyo when they thought about retiring somewhere less expensive and more relaxing. They soon developed a fondness for Thailand after visiting a few of its locations. The couple agreed that the island of Koh Samui seemed like their dream location and they quit their jobs and moved there. Koh Samui was not a nightmare for the...

Can a couple of longtime Brooklynites survive the peace and quiet of a 17 acre property in Upstate New York’s Hudson Valley? It took a little time for Lisa Preudhomme and Servulus Billy, who moved from Brooklyn to Holmes, New York, but they eventually fell in love with the beauty and serenity of country living. The couple aren't always alone on their property - their estate contains three homes, t...

Lori Cronwell is a writer, travel and lifestyle blogger, small home advocate and designer, slow travel aficionado, and the recent owner of a home in the French countryside. As a part-time expat and digital nomad, Lori divides her time between Portland, Oregon; Loire Atlantique, France; and traveling the world. Check out Lori’s life in this region of France on Episode 184 of Retire There with Gil &...

From 2020 to 2023, Boston area residents Kathy and Tom traveled the U.S. extensively enjoying the sites while also keeping their eyes open for potential retirement locations. A number of “B” towns caught their attention, including Boulder, Bozeman, Bend, and Boise. The small city of Boise, Idaho won out as it seemed to possess just the right amount of culture and wilderness. Find out more about Ka...

Oklahoma native Ryan Crain had just spent an exhilarating year traveling the world when he found himself back in Oklahoma during the pandemic. He wanted to take a stab at living in another country but most of the borders were closed. Although it was far from his first choice, Mexico was allowing foreigners in. After visiting a few Mexican locales, he and partner Kayla MacArthur landed in Sayulita,...

Living in the Silicon Valley, Bill Ross and his family were fed up with the state’s high cost of living, crime, and politics. Wanting to leave the west coast, they searched for a place without the major problems of California but with a friendly community. They found all that plus a quintessential “Main Street” in Boerne, Texas, a town located about 30 minutes north of San Antonio in Texas hill co...

For Philip and Sonya Hubbard figuring out where to retire was all about compromise. She wanted somewhere not too cold and he wanted a place not too hot. They narrowed locations down to Europe, then to France, then to Brittany. They had their hearts set on a house with an ocean view in Brittany, but the prices exceeded their range. Ultimately, they found a very nice large house inland in Brittany,...

Surf, sand and big hair! Would you like to live in a quiet beach community with walkable access to a town with a quaint main street and another known for hosting famous music acts. Rosa and Guy Losa found their way to Bradley Beach, New Jersey, with its neighboring towns of Ocean Grove, recognized for its abundant examples of Victorian architecture, and Asbury Park, legendary for its rock ‘n roll...

At the age of 51, Patricia Brooks had a well paying corporate job in Richmond, Virginia but there seemed to be something missing in her life. She yearned to live in a French speaking country. As someone who was a painfully shy child and still considered herself an introvert, she surprised many, including herself, by moving to the South of France. A few years later, Patricia is living in Ceret, Fra...

If you are searching for a charming and historic southern city, AND, near the ocean, investigate Charleston, South Carolina. Keith Lucas, a realtor and YouTube influencer, moved from Florida to a suburb of Charleston and has become a huge advocate of both the city and its state. He is considered a valued expert on retiring in South Carolina and his YouTube channel contains over 200 videos. Will Ke...

City and suburban residents imagine living in the countryside and some consider purchasing a home on a large parcel of land far from a metropolis. Would you be willing to make such a move to a foreign country? Brits Beth and Jack Haslam’s rural fantasy came to fruition when they purchased a 400 acre estate outside of Toulouse, France. Learn about their journey on Episode 176 of Retire There with G...