The New Sun Belt: Why US Baby Boomers Are Retiring in Latin America Daniel B. Wood - The Christian Science Monitor
go to original December 5, 2013

Former US Marine James Cummiskey is seen on one of his coffee farms near Medellín, Colombia. (Christian Gonzales/CIMA Coffee Farms)

After 20 years in the US military, James Cummiskey was divorced and looking for a change. Relenting to his buddy's request, he flew to Medellín, Colombia, for a visit. He looked, he saw, and, by dinner time, he decided to stay. Permanently.

"After four to five hours, I was immediately captured by everything I saw," says the exmarine, who has lived in 35 countries. He spent the next four months selling two homes, three vehicles, two motorcycles, and one airplane. He put the money aside and decided to retire early.

Now he lives in a posh section of the mountain city of 3.8 million, surrounded by lush vistas. He married a Colombian woman, started a coffee export business, and seems to get goose bumps every time he thinks about his new life. "I tell you honestly I have had more fun here in the past four years than in the previous 50," he says.

Mr. Cummiskey’s story is being repeated thousands of times – minus perhaps the sale of a personal plane – as more and more Americans retire to countries all over Latin America. Lured by sundappled landscapes and cheap living costs, they are settling in culturally vibrant towns in central Mexico, beach communities in Costa Rica, highrise enclaves in Panama, and mountain retreats in Nicaragua.

Read the rest at The Christian Science Monitor

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