International Living Reviews 292

I can’t really say how many stars I can give.
My problem with all the information I receive as a subscriber at a higher level is that everything written is absurdly positive. There are no drawbacks, other sides, well-rounded articles ever. I don’t want to receive a glorious rendering of this or that new project over and over again. It about reads the same - no matter where and what it is. It is so tiresome and does not feel honest. Please give us the negatives as well so I can make a truly educated decision to buy or not to buy. Now, I need to do plenty of extra research to get all the information. The publication, the videos, interviews only offer pink shaded descriptions - not the full color scale. Do better to be believable! I’ve been on the brink of buying several times but have withdrawn last minute each time because it’s just too good to be true (even if it might be true.)!

The IL Panama conference was excellent. It was well organized and provided the kind of detailed information needed to help determine whether Panama would be a good choice for a move.

I'm not really a conference going person, but I attended the fast-track Panama conference because I didn't know how to begin the process of moving to a new country.
The conference was terrific - it was broken down into segments and each was fact filled without being boring, the speakers were very accessible, and one goes home with contact information for those presenters whose help might be needed for one's actual move.
There are a lot of extra resources for sale - and those are tough to resist, so think about what it is you truly need and act accordingly. Not faulting the conference for this - IL is a business and businesses have to make money to survive.

The conference was well organized. The presentations were as advertised. The atmosphere was relaxing without any sales pitches. The IL team members were professional, friendly, courteous and knowledgeable.
The presentations will help on my future decision making. Excellent Job!

I've enjoyed the process of learning more about living internationally through this organization - from the magazine to the conferences. While I'm still looking forward to my new build in Costa Rica, I was sold on Panama during the recent "boots on the ground" conference - only to find as I was leaving the country and had a terrible experience at the airport that it is NOT the place for me. I wouldn't have known if I hadn't had the chance to go with International Living and am grateful that I had the experience in a safe and semi-protected environment.

I think the company feels more like a scam at this point. I subscribed over a year ago. The magazine (which is no longer published in print) is OK in content. Some good insights. But there are LOTS of email advertisements for scammy products and services that are probably aimed at 70+ folks who I guess they hope are just naïve.

The scammiest part is that they auto-renew your subscription and there's no way to stop it over email or the website. I think you have to call them which is just slimy.

Even to just sign up for a subscription, you have to scroll through 10+ pages of advertisements. Incredible that they're still in business.

Update: apparently there are two websites for the magazine. One is truly horrible and the other is less horrible.

I have been reading and enjoying IL magazine for about 5 yrs now! I have realized since retiring early at age 50 almost 3 yrs ago that life will simply pass you by if you don't follow your dreams! IL has given me so many dreams and also opportunities to explore many different places in the world through the eyes and ears of the many people writing and sharing their experiences in the magazine! I recently attended the Fast Track to Panama Conference and what an eye opening experience to the many opportunities just there! AMAZING! The conference was very well presented and very valuable for me as we look at places to move to outside the USA. I strongly encourage anyone considering a place outside the USA or their home country to get connected with IL and dig in to all they have to offer! Aaron Skinner

This is a great group of people.

My husband and I have attended conferences put on by International Living in both the US and Ecuador, before Covid. We enjoyed the information but also the contacts made with the IL staff, speakers, and many like-minded individuals. We know the people attending are basically in two camps: the cynics who need to be convinced the info is trustworthy (this same group also has great fear of living or investing in any place outside their home country, and stubbornness rules their world), or the adventurers who listen with open minds to explore the world for quality of life. We are the latter, but we aren’t naive or blind to the issues existing truly everywhere. But “everywhere” includes our home country as well! We saw how we were in Panama, in the weather and with a language barrier to get over, and fell in love. We are renting an apartment for a year, without selling our US house, to be Panamanians! A small investment to see a new lifestyle with now built-in friendships we made!! Thank you for a great in-person conference! To finally feel we can live fully again after 3 years of the pandemic is a blessing. That we socialized again, and met our new neighbors, will set us up for success. To the cynics: you will never be convinced to trust. You demand upfront proof before you’ll jump. It’s a shame for you, because life moves at its own pace: you’re either with it or fighting it. We choose easy to get along with as our persona. And it works beautifully for us! Cheers, IL, for a fantastic conference! And ignore the hateful, mistrusting, almost angry reviews by the cynics. Use your own experience of an organization or place to determine your future. The naysayers tend to be obnoxiously louder than we who are happy. This review is true for us on so many levels. Sift through the jungle of nonsense to find your paradise. IL only presents the place; you bring the opportunity.

My wife and I just attended our 3rd International Living Fast Track Conference and are very happy we did. We have subscribed to International Living for several years and particularly loved the print version. Once we started considering retirement to another country, we utilized more and more IL publications. The books, articles, and conferences have provided what we need to make informed decisions and all the necessary people were brought together at the conferences for us to be able to plan our move. We have signed a rental agreement and have started our application process for Panamanian residency, thanks to International Living's excellent resources. We would never have been confident enough to make such a move without them. Thank you, International Living!

The conference was action packed with great speakers. Information was something we could use right away

I thought International living in general very useful, and I’ve been a member for many years. I’ve also taken out a life time RETA real estate membership which I have also found very useful on a number of different levels

The recent conference in Panama City was also very good, although I wish more time would have been spent on legal, tax and real estate availability in diff areas, pricing and financing versus excessive time on various anecdotes

I used to LOVE international living, but they've taken the human touch out of the equation. Even the magazine, which I used to keep handy to ready has been digitized. You have to sit at a computer to read the magazine now. What a huge step backwards. I no longer would recommend this company. Too bad... I used to love them, but there has certainly has been a change of philosophy there.

I spent thousands of dollars on the Premier Pass membership, along with many other programs offered by Great Escape Publishing. When I purchased the Premier Pass I received an email that includes this statement

"As a Premier Pass Member, you'll have access to everything we publish – for LIFE. As we develop additional products, we'll guarantee you automatically get those too... Forever."

Great Escape Publishing is an International Living company. They closed down Great Escape Publishing and then said they would be shutting down the website so members would need to go to the website to download thousands of hours worth of videos and other materials we were guaranteed to have FOR LIFE. They refuse to answer or address complaints from all of the members who were left in the lurch.

We used to subscribe to IL magazine and enjoyed the stories and information - we received a PAPER magazine. We have not subscribed for a while and decided to enroll again. Cost was $85, but we never received our magazine in the mail so we called - DIGITAL is all they send NO PAPER MAGAZINE! For $85 they push a button and get something you have to read digitally - what a rip off! We have a home in Panama. Explore and research on your own - the "seminars" are a rip-off! You pay your own airfare and hotel and are simply "sold" services by "presenters" who probably pay to present! And these seminars are way too expensive to get nothing but sold to! we have gone to other countries we are interested in living and did our research on our own - you don't get some skewed perspective that way by someone who just wants your business! Don't be lazy! Explore on your own, it's more fun anyway!

I wanted to attend an upcoming conference and wanted more information on it. There is no email or online support only an "events" phone number. I have left 5 messages over the past week with no response. There is NO WAY I am going to give them my credit card to register. What if I ever had an issue, no one will pick up the phone or return a call. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

I subscribed to the International Living for obvious reasons: I want to learn about options to retire in a cheaper country. However, IL subscription turned into a continuous barrage of emails offering various products.

"The $50-an-Hour Game Plan", "Strategy for finding potential NFT gains of 1,095%...1,274%...even 5,627% in as little as 3 months", "Second passport seminar", "Six-figure retirement secrets masterclass", Real estate trend alert and more.

The information in the magazine is ok, but only as a primer. If you decide to move overseas you will have to do serious research yourself. So in essence, you are paying for a spam service.

The quality of content is low

I made the mistake of subscribing to this magazine. Now I get daily emails with no links to unsubscribe, and I cannot find any way to contact customer support at the International Living website.