My Philosophy on International Retirement

In a perfect world, I would be rich, able to retire wherever I wanted. I could afford to live in any country in the world, buy a house there, and not have to work. But I see two glaring holes in that fantasy....first, I'm not rich, and second, do I really want to "retire" in the literal sense of the word? 

On the first note, my lack of unlimited wealth, I think most people will agree with me. There aren't a lot of people who can just retire, especially at an early age, and never have to work. In fact, if you fit in this category, this blog likely isn't for you. I expect to have to work for many years to come, at least part-time. A big part of this blog is talking about a way I can do that and still see the world for more than 1-2 annual 1 week jaunts to the hottest beachside resorts, struggling to get that last minute of glorious sunshine before gloomily heading back to the rain or the snow, and the daily grind.

I want to travel to countries, get to know their people, see their culture, eat their food, experience life the way they live it. And you can't do that in one week. I want to spend several months in a list of dozens of different countries, and I want the time to get to know the country and the people.

But I am also pragmatic. I need to make money to do this. I also don't believe I can be satisfied without challenging myself mentally...going beyond just travelling around the world. Can I ever see myself completely stopping work? No, I can't. I enjoy the challenge....the testing of my abilities. I don't believe I can just play until I die...I think I need to combine playing with working to fully balance my life. I don't ever see myslef "fully retired", either for financial reasons, or for the need I have to remain relevant and mentally active.

So, what do I see as options? With daytrading I have the ability to be flexible in my work and in my travel. Here are a few of the choices I would like to discuss......

1. Live internationally 4-8 months a year, and return to daytrading the remainder of the time. That would mean being fully committed to travel and semi-retirement for those 4-8 month stretches, and then being fully commited to earning a living to fund my travels the subsequent 4-8 month stretches.  This would mean either renting a home base, or being on the move and living in hostels/hotels while I travel, and then renting when I returned to the US (or Canada).

2. Live internationally full-time, and daytrade from wherever I am living. Logistically that means committing some of my time in other countries to trading. It also means I would be more likely to buy a residence than in the previous example.

Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and it is these I will discuss over the coming posts.

Food for thought.