Retire There with Gil & Gene

Where should you retire if you wish for a place with water warm enough to enable you to swim in the ocean year round? Oh, and you don’t want to leave the United States. Don and Linda Hurzeler discovered their ocean paradise in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Too expensive, you say? Don scoffs at that notion, maintaining that living in Hawaii is doable if you are flexible with some of your must-haves. Learn m...

Dreamt of living on a little Caribbean island? Has the fear of being distant from city conveniences prevented you from realizing your fantasy? Isla Mujeres in Mexico may be the answer. The island is a short commute from the stores, restaurants and services of Cancun. Dawn Fleming and Tom Clifford moved to Isla Mujeres and claim it’s an 18 minute ferry ride and a world away from Cancun. While aroun...

Do you really know The Villages, the world’s largest retirement community in central Florida? There have been numerous depictions of The Villages by those who don’t live there. Jack and Pam O’Brien moved from Pittsburgh and say The Villages is the perfect place for them to work on their writing, volunteer, enjoy fun ways to exercise, and spend time with their new friends. Hear our guests share wha...

Retire early and dedicate more time to your passion? Is the fear of not having enough retirement savings holding you back? That was the case for Alyson and Dave Sheldrake of Devon, England. The couple crunched the numbers and determined doing it in England would be difficult, but they pulled it off in the Algarve region of Portugal, a place they loved. They retired and moved to the Algarve in 2011...

What would it take for you to retire in a small rural town? How about free land? Lincoln, Kansas is giving away free build-ready plots of land in an effort to get people there. Bradley Roberts relocated to Lincoln from - WAIT FOR IT - San Francisco! While Roberts didn’t take advantage of the deal, he purchased a converted barn home for $22,000!! What else drew Bradley to Lincoln, Kansas? Listen to...

Do you dream of living like the Jeffersons, ‘in a deluxe apartment in the sky?’ Most of us would be unable to afford such a place in New York, London or Singapore. For city loving retirees who desire residing in a large and luxurious apartment, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia may be the answer. Former Pittsburgh residents Jessica Coup and Scott Bergstein now call home a magnificent four bedroom, 5 bath apa...

Jim and Rita Santos retired to Ecuador and loved it but missed their 9 grandchildren back in the U.S. When searching for a home in the States, they wanted a mild winter climate, great healthcare, a good airport and scenic hiking trails. Knoxville, Tennessee checked all the boxes. Learn more about Knoxville, The Marble City, on Episode 94 of Retire There with Gil & Gene . For Jim’s life as an autho...

Linda Correll had traveled around the world, but when it came to selecting a place to retire she narrowed it down to two countries: Spain and Portugal. Its more liberal visa and resident requirements gave Portugal the edge. Of the many wonderful cities available, Linda chose Porto for its cool weather and myriad of activities. Check out the more-popular-than-ever city of Porto, Portugal on Episode...

Mel and Patricia Schlesinger love Mexico but they wanted an inexpensive home in the States to come back to annually, so as to not lose their Medicare benefits. They ended up purchasing a casita in one of the many 55 plus communities in Green Valley, Arizona, 30 miles south of Tucson and 60 miles north of the Mexican border. Residents of the city love Green Valley Recreation, an entity which consis...

What would you do if your other half dreams of living in Europe but the thought hadn’t even occurred to you? This happened to Nancy Hampton! Instead of dismissing the idea, she broadened her mind and ended up loving life in Europe. First in Germany, where her husband Luther found a job, and thereafter in Italy where the couple retired. They stumbled upon the 16,000 resident city of Umbertide in Um...

Some retirees long for the luxurious amenities and numerous clubs of a 55+ active adult community, but also want both the culture of cities and the natural beauty of rural areas. Marsha and James Cuddington seem to have found it all at On Top of the World in Ocala, Florida. Marsha especially loves its fully-equipped wood shop. Outside the community are great parks, hiking/biking trails and hundred...

Ever fantasize about living on an Island in the middle of an ocean? At some point you probably talked yourself out of it, believing that it would be too isolated, too expensive and too hot. According to Bill Strickland and Sam Palmer, the Portuguese island of Madeira, off the African coast, is none of those. Bill and Sam retired to the city of Funchal on Madeira in 2021 without ever having stepped...

Bob Wheeler and Kurt Kleespies lived and worked in San Francisco for years. When they retired, they desired a warmer climate and great outdoor activities without compromising excellent medical care and longtime social connections. Naturally, they were drawn to the quintessential Southern California city of Santa Barbara. They purchased a home and are loving everything about their new city. Find ou...

When Mark L. Hinshaw and Savina "Sunny" Bertollini were seeking a vacation in Italy, they desired the beauty of Tuscany but without all the tourists and high costs. They stumbled upon the small ancient hilltown of Santa Vittoria in Matenano in the le Marche region and purchased a beautiful home with stunning views at a very, very affordable price tag. In the few years they have lived there, the co...

Peppy Castro, one of the founding members of the legendary rock band Blues Magoos and a lifelong New Yorker, dreamed of living on the water but he couldn’t afford most waterfront price tags. A few years ago he happened upon a one-bedroom waterfront condo in Lake Worth Beach, Florida and his life changed immeasurably. The beach calms the musician and there he met his partner, Jeanne McNaney. Peppy...

Have you always assumed Hong Kong would be  prohibitively expensive to live in? When Brits Ben Zabulis and Hilary Garland spent nine hectic years living and working in Hong Kong, they didn’t consider retiring there. The worklife in the city grew tiresome and the couple returned to England. Unbeknownst to them, that move would mark the beginning of their retirement while still in their 40s. Eventua...

Have you ever seriously considered getting rid of almost all of your stuff and moving to a tiny home. Brandy Beverly had been intrigued with tiny homes for over 30 years, ever since she met a client who made flat-packed living quarters for oil field ‘man camps.’ When Beverly unexpectedly retired in 2020, she sold her 1,700 square foot home in Houston, the land of McMansions, and purchased a home i...

Bill Mauro and Marcus Laurence retired early while living in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. They soon realized that the high cost of health insurance would make it difficult to maintain their lifestyle in America. A vacation to Spain convinced them that retiring there was the answer! However, due to Spain’s residency rules they surprisingly learned that health insurance would be costly ther...

Lorrie Cox moved to Woodburn, Oregon because her husband found a house in a 55+ community and promised to renovate it to her liking. Her husband made the home beautiful. Sadly, he passed. Lorrie stayed on in Woodburn, as she loved the warmth and generosity of her community, beauty of the region, and many things to do. Lorrie became a real estate broker and she stands out when showing properties to...

Sally Carrocino started traveling later in life, but she made up for it. She traveled extensively in Europe and even married in Italy. When her husband passed away, she was devastated but it did not stop her from pursuing her retirement dreams. California’s high cost of living motivated her to look at other states, but none seemed to meet most of her needs. Then she had an epiphany. While she coul...

You are fortunate to be part of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement and retire in your 40’s, but the American health insurance available is either inadequate or prohibitively expensive. What do you do? Tim and Amy Rutherford decided to sell their home and the vast majority of their belongings to live as global nomads in the U.S. and around the world. They accomplish this by tr...

Craig and Melanie Briggs were what some may describe as early adopters of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement years before they knew what it was. Twenty years ago, while they were both around 40, the couple gave up their jobs and moved from the industrial town of Huddersfield, England to the beautiful rural countryside of the Northwest corner of Spain, known as Galicia. Craig...

You love to travel, but you also love spending time with your children and grandchildren who are spread out mostly in the Western United States. How do you split your time? Carol and Bill Colborn decided to spend 6 months per year in a permanent home, 3 in a timeshare in Mexico and 3 visiting family. Due to its location, weather and cost of living, the well-educated, well-traveled and well-budgete...

We all expect to be respected at every age, especially when we retire, perhaps even revered. We also wish to spend less, but not compromise on healthcare, culture, traveling, our accommodations and safety. If you’re a single woman/man/person, safety may be on or near the top of your checklist. Deborah Tobin, teacher and travel journalist, found all of the above and more. She even bought a condo, g...

Peggy Cleveland grew up a military brat, served in the Army for 12 years, and was a military spouse until her husband retired from the service. It’s no surprise, Peggy has literally been around the world and has moved 33 times. Being exposed to so many locations, where would such a person choose to retire? Not long after she and her husband Richard saw the place, they knew the quaint town of Steil...