When people think about retirement they often think about lounging by the poolside or living somewhere warm such as Florida.  While retirement should be a time when you enjoy the fruits of your labor, many people find retirement to be lacking fulfillment. If you are about to retire but you feel you have much more…

Everyone can agree that it’s important to prepare for retirement. But believe it or not, not that many people consider what they want to do. Many people envision that retirement is all about being at home and pursuing hobbies like painting or listening to music while reading. Others believe it’s about achieving goals you could…

You’re over 40 now. Starting to think about retirement? If so, you probably have a lot of questions about what your future holds. How much money will you need to retire comfortably? What can you do today to get ready for tomorrow? Where do you begin? These are all valid concerns – and fortunately, there…

The cost of living in Mexico is super-cheap, right? So, living in Mexico on $500 a month is easy, right?  Wrong!  That’s all a misconception. The reality is that while it certainly can be more affordable, it depends entirely on your lifestyle.  So how much does it cost to live in Mexico? Let’s unpack it.…

Retiring abroad may not be the easiest path, but it is certainly worth it — for the adventure alone! But you can’t just show up in Mexico and stay forever. There are proper methods and routes you’ll need to follow to get your Mexico retirement visa. And since you may not want to retire full-time…

In this episode, Risa and Puerto Vallarta real estate agent Taniel Chemsian talk about their upcoming free Dream Retirement in Mexico webinar. If you are someone who has always been curious about moving to Mexico, set aside an hour on June 8th, 9th, 13th, or 16th and come to the webinar. You will learn about…

In this episode, we explore what it is like to live in Playa Del Carmen Mexico, located in the Yucatan Peninsula. Real estate agent Susana MacDonald shares her thoughts on why Playa Del Carmen is a great place to retire to in Mexico. She talks about affordability, entertainment costs, real estate (renting vs buying), safety,…

Tracy and Glen are recent expats to Cabo, Mexico. They are originally from South Africa, but lived in Tampa, Florida for years. They always dreamed of retiring in Mexico, so when the Covid-19 Pandemic closed the doors on them, it prompted them to do more research. They realized that they didn’t have to wait until…

I’ve been a real estate agent in Puerto Vallarta for over 14 years, with over 400 real estate transactions for clients from the US, Canada and other parts of the world.  Throughout the years, there are several questions that I get asked all the time.  I thought it would be helpful to put them in…

Everyone dreams of living in paradise, right? If your idea of paradise is a place where the golden sand meets the pristine azure ocean. Where you can have your fave fish tacos for lunch and then sundowners and steak for dinner. A city where you can buy local fruit off the truck on the corner…

I’m often asked why I love Puerto Vallarta. Why would I risk leaving everything behind, including family, friends, career, and everything else that provides comfort and familiarity, only to move to another country without any guarantees or financial security in place? How am I going to find work when I’m not fluent in Spanish? How…

One of the best things I’ve done is move to Mexico. One of the most exciting things I’ve done is move to Mexico. One of the most challenging things I’ve done is move to Mexico. Packing up and moving across the border wasn’t just about relocating, it was also about rebooting my life, which basically…

Overcome your fears and retire in Mexico! The guest on this episode of Modern Aging is real estate agent Taniel Chemsian. You may have seen him on  HGTV’s House Hunters International!  Taniel shares tips on how to buy a house in Mexico and most importantly, things you need to be aware of before you purchase…

Does the idea of retiring to Mexico excite you? Sure, you’ve been there on vacation a bunch of times and love it. But now that you’re thinking about moving there as a retiree, it’s a whole different ball game. Mexico is a huge place with diverse communities, meaning you can have any kind of retirement…

On this episode of Modern Aging, we chat with Jim White of Route to Retire about retirement in Boquete, a small town in the mountains of Panama. Jim retired at age 43 and moved to Boquete, Panoma with his family in 2019. If you are looking for places to retire to, this episode is a…

While most of us are in our winter coats and probably shoveling snow, Risa is in short sleeves enjoying Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Risa has been Puerto Vallarta since December 1st where she has been working with real estate agent Taniel Chemsian on Modern Aging’s upcoming Dream Retirement in Mexico program (launching in 2021!). After receiving…

In this episode of Modern Aging, real estate agent Susana MacDonald shares why you should consider retiring to Playa del Carmen and what to expect if you decide so. Susana lived in many different places. Before she moved to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, Susana lived in South Florida. She started coming to Playa del Carmen…

In this episode of Modern Aging, host Risa Morimoto chats with her friend and real estate agent Taniel Chemsian in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They talk about the top reasons why you will want to consider Mexico as a retirement spot.  In November 2001, Taniel visited Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the first time. He was living…

“The purpose of life is self-discovery.” – Darel Rutherford One thing I find very meaningful and rather surprising during this period with COVID-19 is that many people are showing up more real. As we experience a massive pause from the constant bombardment of highly produced advertising, live entertainment, sporting events, fashion shows and more, we…

It’s never too early to scout for the best place for you to retire to. On another casual day in sunny Costa Rica, Manu and Dane share why they love Costa Rica. Manu was born and raised in Costa Rica and Dan was born in Queens, New York. When Dan was a little boy, he’d…

Risa: “Manisha, thank you so much, how are you?” Manisha Thakor: “I am great, thank you so much for having me on.” Risa: “I’m super excited to talk to you. This is a super stressful, yet very important topic and I think if we have some takeaways and some planning that we can do in the next…

Boquetes, Panama is a small little town nestled in the mountains on the western side of Panama.  It boasts 75 degree (or 24°C) weather all year long because of its altitude.  That sounds pretty good to me!!  I sat down with Jim White who recently retired there at the ripe old age of 43 with…

In our lifetimes, the average person eats about 80,000 meals, 80,000. How much of those meals incorporate fruits and vegetables for you? Probably not enough. If you look at the blue zones around the world, you know, those areas where there’s concentrated number of people who live to be like 90 plus, a hundred plus,…

If you have yearned to live in Mexico, then Puerto Vallarta should be on the top of your list. Real estate agent Taniel Chemsian shares his reasons why he moved to Puerto Vallarta in 2003 and hasn’t looked back. He has helped hundreds of people find a home in the Puerto Vallarta region. Puerto Vallarta…

Getting a dementia diagnosis is one of the moment you hope never to experience. Although usually by the time you get to the doctor’s, you pretty much know as there are signs of Alzheimer’s Disease and signs of dementia along the way. Families need to know the diffences between vascular dementia, lewy body dementia, frontal…

Not everyone is interested in moving abroad, but those who do yearn to be surrounded by a culture and atmosphere that is different from home, it can be a lifelong dream.   Puerto Vallarta real estate agent Taniel Chemsian made the leap from Los Angeles to Puerto Vallarta in 2003.  He was tired of the rat…

Getting a dementia diagnosis is one of the moment you hope never to experience. Although usually by the time you get to the doctor’s, you pretty much know as there are signs of Alzheimer’s Disease and signs of dementia along the way. Families need to know the diffences between vascular dementia, lewy body dementia, frontal…

Have you ever dreamed about buying real estate in Mexico but were too scared? Well, you don’t need to be scared anymore. The process is a lot simpler and straightforward than you would imagine. I have been to Mexico a million times (okay maybe not a million but close…) to film episodes of House Hunters…

My parents are artists. They are also Japanese so it is no surprise that beautiful, simple design and aesthetics were emphasized in our upbringing. In fact, to this day we often hilariously quote my father when we see something ugly.   “Why so uguri uguri?” he would ask. Haha. Yeah, my sentiments exactly. Why as we get older and we need more assistance, does the design often have to be so ugly and institutional looking?

I think we can all agree that we would prefer to live our later years in comfort and independent as opposed to living in a fluorescent light filled, smelly nursing home where every minute of the day is structured and the food sucks.   It makes me super sad to think that is my father’s existence…