Time for a coffee?

'Time for a coffee any time soon?' texted one of my girlfriends the other day.  Her question was aptly worded as meeting for a coffee is not a hurried affair here - it takes time. 

Going out for a coffee has become one of our favorite pastimes in this chosen expat life of ours, although, doing it 'the Greek way' was initially one of the most difficult behaviors to wrap our heads around.

Morning coffee at seaside in Stoupa village

We came to this new life bringing our American coffee break habits with us: drink it hot and drink it fast, visit quickly and don't get a parking ticket. So, in Greece we carried that rapid consumption mindset with us, drinking - not sipping - our coffee and observing those around us.  'How can they sit so long over a cup of coffee?' we'd ask ourselves.

Coffee and complimentary cake in the village

Here, the sipping is done so slowly that the coffee can actually cool down before it is finished.  Then you tag on a bit of extra time to drink the glasses of water and nibble the complimentary cookies or cake bits brought with it.

I'd wager that indulging in a coffee over the span of an hour or more, is almost a rite of passage into Greek culture and community. 

This Greek coffee culture is serious business as shown by statistics from the World Coffee Portal: Greeks consume 40,000 tons of coffee a year, 40% of which is consumed outside the home. 

Kalamata coffee stop while running errands

The coffee culture is so pervasive that the Athens Coffee Festival, September 28 - 30, this year is expected to attract some 32,000 aficionados, vendors, and coffee professionals. 

We aren't sure when we morphed into sipping coffee in the appropriately slow manner, but we have become believers in its benefits.

Watching the harbor is a popular coffee activity in Ag. Nikolaos

Here going out for a coffee can be done with groups of people or by oneself. Coffee sippers might open a book and read for an hour or more, join in a game of backgammon, watch the village happenings, visit with friends or simply sit and sip. You might find some looking at their mobile devices, but seldom will you see people bent over computers as you do in a Starbucks in the States.

Watching traffic is a favorite activity while sipping coffee.

No, coffee in our village is a time for watching traffic make its way down our only north-south route through town. And it is always fun to speculate on which big truck might not squeeze past the balconies and awnings. Or we might watch the fishing boats come and go in the harbor. Or we might just visit with friends or with tourists seated at nearby tables or walking past.  

Take a book and leave a book at the local coffee shop.

Sometimes we use the coffee time to select books from the 'take a book, leave a book' shelves available at a number of the cafes in town. This is a particularly nice feature of having coffee out, when living in an area where we don't have libraries or bookstores.

Morning coffee at the Kafenio in our village

And going out for coffee could almost be reasoned to be healthy here because often it is paired with a walk.

Getting to the Coffee

A grove on my way to coffee called out for a photo

For most of the year the weather is conducive to walking to the coffee shop, taverna, or the traditional kafenio. We have versions of them all in the two villages that are walking distance from our Stone House on the Hill. So, when we go for a coffee, we generally get in a two-mile walk. Walking is such a normal activity, done by so many, that we often pass friends and neighbors, and we get in a visit or two as well as exercise. 

On my way home from coffee - the seaside route

Our route takes us through olive groves and along the sea - I never tire of photographing scenes along the way.

A 'friend' on the coffee shop route

We've obviously adapted to this coffee culture as we often chuckle at how easily the mornings 'get away from us' these days when all we've done is to go out for a coffee. 

 And we now understand why some jokingly say that drinking coffee is the National Sport of Greece.

Coffee Pantazi Beach February coffee

That's it from Greece where winter is still hanging on, although the wildflowers have sprouted along our 'coffee route' and spring is just around the corner. We can even sit outside for most of our coffees.  We thank you for the time you've spent sipping coffee with us. We send wishes for your continued safe travels.

Too Old to be Expats?

At almost 101, she is probably the oldest expat in the area.  

She is the expat I want to be 'when I grow up'.

I am not naming her because her name isn't as important to this tale as is her age.  She is simply living proof that quality time lived as an expat need not be age defined. 

Agios Nikolaos, our expat world

Just last week I saw her studiously bent over her latest needle work, chatting away with her longtime friends at a weekly crafter gathering in the village. A couple years ago, while seated next to her at a fundraiser she kept me entertained with her stories, . . . well, until the band started playing and she headed to the dance floor! 

Three birthday cakes, a party and many friends as I hit 70!

Although not as spry as she once was, I think of her as the poster child for the 'aging expat'.  And since becoming a septuagenarian last July, I now qualify as both 'aging' and 'expat'. 

So, finding someone 30 years my senior is gratifying as I ponder the question: Can one be too old to be an expat?

'It's only a number,' chided my just-turned-50 expat friend, as my tongue swelled in July when I attempted to say my age. Saying '70' in Greek (ev-do-MIN-ta) and English (s-s-seventy) continues to be difficult. When I can't wrap my head around something, I usually can't wrap my tongue around it either.

Coming of Age in Greece

Celebrating the purchase of our home with its former owners 

'Are we too old?' we asked ourselves as we debated the pros and cons of buying a home in Greece a decade ago.

Getting those first residency cards!

'Are we too old?' we asked ourselves again, a few years later, when we pondered becoming expats in Greece.

To think, that was back when we were mere 60-somethings!

When we decided to take the plunge, we reasoned that when we were 'too old' for the expat lifestyle, we would likely move back to the States. At the time we didn't think about how to define 'too old'. Instead, we set up 'age gauges'.

Our stairs would be an 'age gauge' we reasoned.

For instance, when we were no longer able to navigate the flight of 30-steps we climb between our Stone House on the Hill and our car, it would be time to pack up and move on. Thankfully, we still climb those stairs regularly, but now we talk about the logistics of a sloped sidewalk through the garden alternative when the 'time comes'.

Olive harvest equipment replaced us!

Olive harvest has been another 'age gauge'. When we couldn't actively participate any longer, we'd say, 'it just might be time to. . .,' never really completing the sentence. Well, thankfully our hired crew is so mechanized, that we no longer play much role in the hard part of harvest, so that gauge is out the window. 

In the blink of an eye, we are 70-somethings

We know that the unconventional lifestyle of an expat doesn't ward off the pesky signs of aging. We are now 70-somethings and despite the claim that 70 is the new 50, our bodies often dispute that after a walk home up the hill on which we live, or a day spent working in the garden or grove! 

We probably do sound like 'old people' when reminding friends who've been saying for a decade that they were coming to visit us in Greece -- that it might be time to schedule that trip. But seriously, time could be running out. Even living a Mediterranean lifestyle, the longevity factor in Greece is 80.2, roughly the same as that of the European Union. (And that is better than the US, where it is only 77.5 years).

The Elderly Expat

Expats of 'a certain age' set off on the sea

The expat and Mediterranean lifestyle combine to keep us far more physically and mentally active in our Greek world than we are in the States. Expats of 'a certain age' here are pursuing any number of activities, among them: gardening, swimming, biking, hiking, trekking, traveling, socializing, and participating in volunteer activities.  

Expat friends of 'a certain age' at lunch in the village

I like that phrase, 'a certain age', possibly inspired from a similar French phrase, that puts a person in a pleasant holding pattern of sorts, 'not still young but not yet old'. It, like Mae West's, 'You are never too old, to become younger', are far more agreeable to me than 'elderly'. The World Health Organization defines elderly persons as 60 or older. 

Spring hike on a kalderimi

If that is the case, then there are a lot of elderly American expats scattered about the world. Of the approximate 10 million American expats, (U.S. State Department statistics) about18 percent, or 1.8 million, of us are 61 years of age or older. 

The ability to live as an expat isn't defined by chronological age alone; we all know that health, mobility, and mental attitude have much to do with the quality and quantity of life regardless of where one lives.

Too Old or Not?

In researching this post, I came across a hodge-podge of thoughts on age, three of which I felt worthy of repeating:

How old is too old?

First, according to a survey by TD Ameritrade 73% of women and 59% of men felt that 70 IS the new 50, based on the fact that we are living healthier and longer lives. (It didn't list the ages of those surveyed though.)

Second, American writer, Anne Lamott, in an opinion piece for the Washington Post titled, "Living on Borrowed Time,' made me laugh: 'Getting older is almost like changing species, from cute middle-aged white-tailed deer, to yak. We are both grass eaters, that that's about the only similarity.'

Short, shorter. . .vanished?

But if was an article on aging by fellow septuagenarian Robert Reich, an American political economist and professor, that provided a new perspective on the question I've been pondering. He cited a study that said: after age 60 one loses a half-inch in height every five years.  And that gave this once-five-foot-tall writer, a whole new perspective on being an aging expat. If I live long enough, I just might vanish. Then I won't need to figure out if I am too old to continue being an expat!

That's it for this week from sunny, but chilly, Greece. 

So how about you?  Have you reached 'a certain age' that now influences travels or expat adventures? Share your thoughts via comments or email.

As always, thanks for the time you spent with us today - hope to see you back again. . .bring a friend with you!

In Greece Where There's Smoke. . .

The old adage, 'where there there's smoke, there's fire' takes on a different meaning in Greece. 

Olive harvest and burn season in Greece.

Because in Greece where there is smoke, it is likely from a cigarette. 

Our recent house guest was the one who called it to our attention as he viewed our world from the perspective of a first-time visitor to Greece. 'Don't they worry about lung cancer?' he asked, as we approached an eating establishment. Then reminding us of the impacts of secondhand smoke he directed us to areas where we might least be impacted by the neighboring table's smoke.

The ubiquitous ashtray 

While smoking inside public facilities is illegal and punishable by fines, it is okay to smoke outside while seated in restaurant and bar patios, waiting areas at bus or train stations, and outside of airports. 

What gobsmacked our guest was the numbers of people smoking. 

What gobsmacked us was the realization that it didn't bother us anymore - in fact, we hadn't paid it any mind until it was pointed out to us. 

Smoking is a tradition, a part of Greek everyday life. They smoke packaged cigarettes, they roll cigarettes, they vape. A survey a couple years ago showed that nearly 37% of the population regularly lights up. In fact, Greeks aren't the only ones. Many of our fellow expats and tourists who hail from countries on this side of the pond also smoke. 

Cigarettes and coffee cups a normal table next to us this morning

 

Each time our guest pointed out instances of smoking, we thought about how little attention we pay to it and behaviors that once could have caused us great concern and consternation.  

Mom and the kids 

Smoking is simply such a part of the fabric of Greek life that despite the implementation of a spate of laws and fines to curb it within the last decade, there appears to be little desire or peer pressure to kick the habit. 

It got me to thinking about other behaviors we have come to accept as normal, but which are bona fide health hazards. Things like not wearing helmets on bikes or motorcycles, transporting multiple people onto a motorcycle or scooter at a time, or riding in the back of a pickup.  We see them done all the time.

Helmet-less in Greece and having a good time

Don't get me wrong. There are laws and fines concerning smoking and they have - generally -succeeded in preventing smoking inside public venues.  Greece has a helmet law, dictating a 350 euro fine for failure to wear them on motorized bikes of any power. (Once we laughed at an elderly man who zipped past bareheaded on his scooter, but he stopped and put on his helmet before pulling into his driveway. He was more fearful of his family's reaction than getting a ticket, we speculated.) 

Tourists travel the main highway to Kalamata with helmets

You can tell a tourist on a rental bike by the helmets he or she wears. Helmets are recommended for bike riders but not required. Despite our narrow roadways and uneven surfaces, there is a slew of locals who ride bikes but don't wear helmets. 

Harvest time vehicles at the olive processor

It isn't illegal to ride in the back of a pickup.  From a practical standpoint in our area, that is the way many olive harvest crew members get to a grove and back. It is normal to see workers seated in the bed or a truck atop nets and holding onto equipment. Sometimes they ride atop the load in the small trailers pulled by tractors. 

Making a right hand turn after stopping for a red light is illegal in Greece. Maybe it is for safety, maybe not. But it is done so routinely in the United States that we have to think twice when the light is red, and we stop then start to make a righthand turn before it turns green.

Annual equipment tests are mandatory.

Wearing a seat belt is compulsory inside a car but some of the vehicles driven here are so old I doubt they are even equipped with seatbelts. It is interesting, though, that all car owners are required to have an annual vehicle test; one year it is for emissions and the other year for brakes, lights, shocks and a number of other parts. We suspect few of the old beater cars actually are tested by their owners.  

The law requires child restraint seats and the young parents we know adhere to without question by young parents.

A new way of life

In our area of the Peloponnese, we have two police officers and one patrol car. Sometimes we see them on break at a local taverna having a coffee and cigarette, other times patrolling the area. We suspect they don't spend a lot of time monitoring smoking in local establishments nor making stops for minor traffic offenses. If unhealthy behaviors are going to change, it will need to be from personal choices. 

Frankly we like this somewhat contrarian approach to life. While we haven't taken up smoking or riding in the back of a pickup, we certainly don't find it objectionable. It is a part of the culture of the community in which we've chosen to make our home. Sometimes we find the lack of laws and government enforcement refreshing. Here you take responsibility for your own actions and can't blame someone for not warning you of hazards. 

Wild boar warning sign in the Mani

A goal of our expat life was to experience a new culture, even adapt to it.  And after nearly a decade of cultural emersion -- without even being consciously aware of it -- I think I can safely say we have adapted to much of the Greek lifestyle.

Yet, if this post has made you think we are living somewhat on the wild side of life here. . .let me assure you that we probably aren't. Because here they do warn us about the wild side of life. . .the wild boar warning sign pictured above is case in point.

How about your travels? Have you encountered any local behaviors or traditions you found objectionable? Or which you thought of as a health hazard, but the locals didn't? 

We thank you for your time and send wishes for safe and happy travels to you and yours~ hope you'll join us next time when I ponder the question of being too old to be an expat. . .

In Greece ~ The Curse is Lifted!

 Last week we officially lifted the curse that had been cast upon us.  

Back in ancient Greece curses were a real thing. And for a time, I'd started thinking they were a real thing in this 21st century Greece as well.  It seemed as if we had been targeted by the famed and feared 'evil eye' and a curse or spell had been cast upon us.

Mati's to ward off the 'evil eye'

Although our Stone House on the Hill sports any number of 'matis' the Greek icons that are believed to ward off the evil eye, we had fallen victim to our curse sometime during or in the aftermath of 'those Covid years'.  

For that reason, I named it, the Covid Curse.

Amathus archeological site in Cyprus

In comparison to some Greek curses that have been cast over the centuries, ours was a mild one.  It thankfully was nothing at all like the one unearthed in 2008 during excavations of Amathus, the ancient city state in Cyprus. Archeologists there in 2008 discovered a lead tablet, believed to date back for centuries, on which was written, 'may your penis hurt when you make love' and with it the image of a man holding in his hand something described as being the shape of an hourglass.

Covid-cursed castaways?

Our curse was one that didn't inflict pain or hardship on us, just a bit of mental anguish and embarrassment. It seemed to have made us: castaways.

Visitors return to the village in droves.

While expat friends in the village began welcoming houseguests as soon as the Covid travel restrictions lifted, we waited . . . and waited . . .and waited.  No one came to visit. No one even mentioned coming to visit. In the pre-Covid years we had guests both coming to the village and to our home to see us and our world at regular intervals.

A long-haul flight between West Coast USA and Greece

For a time, we reasoned that it was the lingering fears of Covid that kept them away, or perhaps, the distance they would need to travel. The majority of our guests - back when we had them - came from Washington State in the US Pacific Northwest.  

 But then our friend Chuck, who hails from the same Washington town and now lives just down the road, started using a calendar to keep track of his upcoming guests. Then our expat friends from California, now just down the road the other direction in the village, started using a calendar to keep track of their guests. Another couple from Portland, Oregon has also been hosting guests from back home regularly.

Easter dinner with expat friends and their guests

Thankfully those expat friends who had guests let us share them - inviting us to join them for holiday celebrations, dinners, drinks or morning coffees.  Friends quit asking if we had guests coming anytime soon.

Finally, The Curse is Lifted

For a time, I actually thought that maybe what we needed was a 'curse expert', one who in ancient times, specialized in the writing of curses and spells, according to historian/archeologist and author Jessica Lamont. I figured if they could write a curse or spell, they could probably conjure up a removal incantation of some sort as well. 

Lamont, by the way, is an expert on the subject and her most recent book published by Oxford Press is titled, 'In Blood and Ashes, Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in Ancient Greece'. 

Curse was lifting. Dinner with two sets of visitors!!

Before we resorted to some sort of exorcism, we started seeing signs of the curse losing power. A blogger friend visited at the same time as friends returned to finish the visit, they'd cut short in 2020 when Greece closed down for Covid.

48 hours of guests. . .how great it was to see friends!

Then former neighbors of ours in Kirkland, WA, now of California, tacked on a side trip to the Mani to visit us as part of a whirlwind Greek trip.  We had a fabulous 48 hours with them in June.

The curse was officially lifted last week with the arrival of our first houseguest since November 2019.  

Curse was lifted: our first houseguest since Nov. 2019

My friend and writing colleague, Brian Cantwell, (cub reporters together in our 20's and then he became my travel editor at the Seattle Times, during my freelance years) arrived for a long weekend stay as part of his 10-day tour of Greece. Brian lives on a remote San Juan Island, called Center Island, year-round population of 10 households.  He adapted well to our rural Peloponnese expat world. He writes of life on his island at Cantwell's Reef. He also wrote about his time with us if you want his take on the visit!

Exploring our world with our guest

His arrival at the Kalamata bus station on a Friday kicked off a long weekend of eating, touring, drinking, touring, hiking and swimming that continued until his Tuesday departure.  

The curse was lifted!

It was like the olden days of having guests!  But just as he admitted being rusty at travel logistics (his first trip after Covid) we were a bit rusty at being hosts.  It was good to get back into practice again.

More to Come?

Our slice of the Mani

Between January and August 2023, some 18.76 million travelers to Greece transited the Athens Airport. That is 8% more than traveled through it in 2019, before Covid.   We are so thankful for our guests who were among them and who made the effort to get to the Mani to see us.  

We expats agree that folks back home don't understand just how much it means to us all to have friends and family who want to come and experience our slice of Greece.  We hope the trend continues.

Your travel tales:

Travel isn't for sissies!

And speaking of travel, we want to thank those of you who responded to our question last week about your unexpected travel detours and delays after you read of ours. Here's a sampling of your responses:

 Emily from California told us: 

 'Our latest travel nightmare was due to a late arrival and missing our connection on a SFO to Istanbul flight. Although we were whisked all over CDG (Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris), up and down elevators to the tarmac and sent in a van careening around planes, other vans, baggage carts, and meal wagons, we ultimately missed our connection. We then had to wait in CDG for 12 hours for the next flight to Istanbul, arriving in the middle of the night. On the return, we missed our connection from LAX to MRY and sat for 7 hours waiting for our 45-minute flight. Flying these days isn’t for sissies.' 

Tom and Jackie from Washington who traveled to Normandy echoed of her experiences with the Paris airport: 

'We have a history of dissatisfaction with CDG from past trips that was reaffirmed. We deplaned and walked the long hallways to Passport Control. The place was overwhelmed with travelers. We were sent to an Air Priority line to get faster service. Not so, other lines were moving while we stood not moving for over an hour and fifteen minutes. Fortunately, our driver waited, and we were able to get to Saint Lazare railway station in time for our noon departure to Rouen.'  

                                                                            ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

That's it for this week. Thanks for being with us! Olive harvest season is upon us in the Mani. We'll tell you more about autumn here in our next post. Until then safe travels to you and yours~

Greek Expat: To Be or Not to Be

To be or not to be an expat in Greece?  

From the correspondence and conversations, we've had with quite a number of you in recent weeks, that seems to be the question du jour. 

 

Saturday night out on the town in our Greek village

A number of folks we've chatted with are hitting the just-retired-and-ready-for-a-lifestyle-change phase of life. Other are simply thinking it is time to stretch themselves a bit and try something new. 

Life isn't always a beach for an expat

And from what they've told us, it seems like I have managed to make expat life in Greece sound pretty inviting, invigorating, and downright enticing in my writing about life here. 

And it is. . .IF you are serious about making lifestyle changes and experiencing a new way of living. 

We chose expat life because we wanted to live differently; to turn off the auto pilot button of our retired lives in suburbia U.S.A. and plunge ourselves into a new world where nothing is done like it was 'back home'. Now, six years later, I can assure you that we got what we came for!

That is crazy!

Can you face constant change and new ways of living?

I was telling an American friend who is considering expat life a few of the nitty-gritty details of daily life here and at least a half dozen times he responded, 'That is crazy!' 

Well, not crazy, I would caution, simply different. And if you can't deal with different, you may want to refocus those expat dreams.

While on the topic of crazy, a Canadian couple told us, 'Our friends think we are crazy to pursue this dream. . .'.'

Six years later glad we listened to the heart and head

How well we remember those looks from friends when we said we were going to move to Greece. They didn't need to ask, "Are you crazy?" their rolling eyeballs pretty much asked -- and answered -- that one for them. Some of those folks are still waiting for us 'to come to our senses' and return to the old lifestyle.

Living Differently

We do live differently here than we did in the States. And, as with all things 'different', that can be both good and bad.

A horta (wild greens) hunting and harvesting we went

A new country definitely means a new lifestyle. And a new way to function day-to-day. Shopping when all items from food to fashion labeled in Greek can be a challenge.  New flavors and foods (which are a novelty on a vacation but can become a tad bit repetitive when an expat). New medical care systems, doctors, dentists. New language. New customs. New ways of measuring distances, weights, and temperatures (if you are an American). New everything can be both exhilarating and exhausting.

Learning is often times priceless. The photo above shows us horta (wild greens) hunting with our Greek friend, Maria.  We'd have never learned the art of harvesting wild greens back in the suburbs of Seattle. The skills we've developed, the joys of participating in centuries-old traditions - all decidedly different - add a richness to the expat experience.

Conversion charts like these become everyday guides

We caution those we've talked to that no matter how green the grass looks to be in Greece, it will require mental adjustments to live here beyond getting used to the daily routine changes. Every country has its issues and those seeking the greener grass of this other side may find themselves in for a great disappointment when they realize that: 

 

Sunsets from our Greek home, an added bonus

As North American expats, 'third country expats' as we are known, you can't vote, so you have no say in the big picture, politics and politicians.  It is a curiously refreshing circumstance from my point of view, but it has been frustrating for others.  

A point to clarify is that I am speaking of a residency-permit-holding expats of which most of us are. We are residents of Greece and not citizens of Greece. Those of Greek descent who move back here are able to obtain citizenship which does allow them to vote.  

However, resident expats do pay taxes, just like citizens.  If you buy a home, you will pay annual property taxes. Car owners pay annual road taxes.  You will pay 24% tax on most goods and services, including gas for the car, 13% on others.

More residents mean more garbage and less water

The country's leaders talk about addressing issues of sustainability, conservation and the like, while our local officials struggle to strike a balance between an influx of expats and the infrastructure that was built to support a small fishing village of a few hundred residents. If water shortages, power outages, infrequent loss of wi-fi and overflowing garbage cans cause you stress -- all of which are realities here, -- you might rethink being an expat in Greece.

Several years ago, I wrote about the municipal water supply drying up in our slice of the rural Peloponnese in August when tourism peaks here. In has shown improvement, but we still have periods during which time no municipal water is coming to the house.  

A village homeless cat

Actually, garbage collection, water supply and animal rescue have all vastly improved overall since we moved to the village but are far from what they could be and are certainly nothing like the systems we had 'back home'. Of course, we pay nowhere near the taxes we did back there, so you might say we get what we pay for.

We do recommend coming and living in an area of Greece for a few months to experience these day-to- day realities before packing up and relocating here.  

It's Greek to Me!

Are you able to function in a country where many people speak English but where there will be situations in which you resort to pantomime, translation tools on the mobile device and having others translate for you to communicate your needs and desires? 

It is Greek to me!

We are making strides in 'speaking Greek' but are still light years away from really 'speaking Greek'.  But we have a cadre of Greek friends now who will correct us and cheer us on as we haltingly place an order or try a sentence or two of greeting.

It is frustrating when you buy an over-the-counter medication and then can't read the directions for use and laughable when trying to follow packaged mix directions using Google Translate or Google Lens. Functioning in a land where you don't speak the language is a fact of expat life that needs to be considered.

Expats not Missionaries.

 

Road construction warning sign at the construction site

You will be baffled by customs and practices, but you will remind yourself that you came to live differently, not to bring your way of life to a new region.  

The road construction stop sign in the photo above, is a good example of 'different'. We are used to construction detour signs for miles in advance of the work. Here the sign is placed at the point of construction and in this project, it was up to you to figure out  that you needed to drive through a parking lot to get around it. 

We walk a fine line here in wanting to help better the area by suggesting other ways of doing things, like in this case, maybe more advance warning signs. We realize it isn't our role to impose imported behaviors on a Greek community that has gotten along just fine for centuries without us. 

When it doesn't work out

Most of our expat friends have flourished in this new Greek world we've all chosen.  A few haven't. They recognized that either it wasn't what they had anticipated, or the desire to be 'back home' overpowered their desire to live differently.  They've moved back to their home countries.

The Stone House on the Hill tucked behind bougainvillea

And that is the nice thing about being an expat - it doesn't have to be a lifetime commitment to living differently. We tell expat wannabes about the escape clause we gave ourselves when we caught our daydream: we would give 'it' five years. If our Stone House on the Hill. If it wasn't what we wanted to continue, the 'for-sale' sign would go up.

The Stone House on the Hill - a place called home

And then we add with a wink, that next year marks a decade of home ownership here and we've no plans to change that anytime soon. 

For those who'd like to talk more about expat life, please don't hesitate to contact us! And to all of you, thanks for being a part of our adventure.  Until the next time, wishes for safe travels to you and yours ~