Living Like a Local: The Future of Travel for Retirees – As Featured on the Rock Your Retirement Show

Published: September 1st, 2025

What if retirement travel wasn't about checking off a list of landmarks, but about actually living somewhere new? That's the question at the heart of a recent episode of the Rock Your Retirement Show, hosted by Kathe Kline and Barb Mock. Their guest, Andrew Motiwalla, founder of The Good Life Abroad, joined them for a conversation that challenges the traditional model of retirement travel and offers a genuinely different vision of what it can look like.

The episode, titled "Living Like a Local: The Future of Travel for Retirees," aired September 1, 2025, and runs just under 40 minutes — but it's packed with insight for anyone who has ever dreamed of slowing down and truly experiencing a place rather than passing through it.

From Peace Corps to The Good Life Abroad

Andrew opens the conversation by sharing his lifelong connection to travel — from a study abroad semester in Ecuador in college, to two years in the Peace Corps in Central America, to a 30-year career in the travel industry. That career took him from organizing student travel, to family and multigenerational trips, to eventually noticing a pattern: the older travelers on those family programs kept pulling him aside to ask the same question. They loved the trips, but they wanted something slower, something more independent, something just for them. That observation became the seed for The Good Life Abroad.

Why Tours and Cruises Aren't the Whole Answer

One of the episode's most relatable moments is the acknowledgment that tours and cruises aren't bad — they're great for seeing a lot of places quickly, especially in the early years of retirement when the bucket list is long. But Andrew points out that many retirees, a few years in, find themselves having done all the tours and cruises and still feeling like something is missing. The pace is relentless. The experience, while exciting, can feel shallow. What they're really craving is something more soulful — a chance to go deeper into a place rather than skim across the surface of many.

The Good Life Abroad was built specifically for that moment.

What Living Like a Local Actually Means

Rather than hotels and itineraries, The Good Life Abroad places participants in vetted, furnished apartments in some of Europe's most beloved cities — Lisbon, Florence, Barcelona, Rome, Palermo, and more — for a month or longer. Every apartment is personally checked to ensure it meets the standards expected by North American travelers 55 and older: spacious enough, accessible, and genuinely comfortable.

Each program comes with a local Community Manager — not a tour guide, but something closer to a knowledgeable local friend. This person organizes community activities like happy hours, cooking classes, and historical walks. They know which restaurants are worth it and which neighborhoods to explore. And when life throws a curveball — a transit strike, a medical question, a logistical puzzle — they're there to help navigate it.

Participants live near a cohort of fellow travelers, which means there's a built-in social circle from day one. But the key distinction is flexibility: there's no bus to catch, no schedule to follow. If someone wants to spend a morning at a museum and an afternoon reading in a café, that's the day. If they want to join the group for dinner, they can. The program provides structure and support without taking away independence.

A Blank Canvas — Everyone Paints Their Own Picture

One of the most compelling parts of the conversation is Andrew's description of how differently participants use their time. The program, he explains, is essentially a blank canvas with support. Everyone brings their own interests and paints their own picture.

Some participants arrive with a specific passion to pursue — art history, language learning, genealogy research, cooking. Others simply want to absorb the rhythm of daily life in a beautiful city, without the pressure of seeing everything. A retiree in Florence who had spent his career as an accountant used his month to finally pursue his lifelong dream of painting. In Palermo, one participant spent her time tracking down her family's roots while another went deep into Sicilian cuisine. Same program, same city, completely different and deeply personal experiences.

This is the heart of what makes long-stay travel so different from traditional tourism: when you have a month rather than five days, you stop performing travel and start actually living it.

Practical Advice for the DIY Traveler Too

Kathe and Barb also draw out some practical wisdom for listeners who may want to try long-stay travel independently, without a structured program. Andrew is generous here. He points to affordable destinations across Europe, the value of local organizations and language institutes for meeting people, and the growing number of Facebook groups and expat communities that can provide support and social connection to independent travelers on a budget.

His overarching message is that the model — slowing down, going deeper, building community — doesn't require a specific program. It requires a shift in how you think about travel.

Solo Travelers Are Welcome Here

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on solo travel, and for good reason. Andrew notes that a meaningful share of Good Life Abroad participants are traveling solo — many of them widows or single retirees who want the experience of living abroad but are understandably hesitant to do it entirely alone. The program's combination of vetted accommodations, a local support person, and a nearby cohort of fellow travelers makes it a particularly compelling option for solos. They get the independence they want without the isolation they fear.

As Kathe and Barb note, that sense of community — having friendly faces nearby, people to share a meal with or explore with on a whim — is something that's very hard to replicate when you're booking a month-long Airbnb on your own.

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Listen to the Full Conversation

🎧 Listen to the full episode on iTunes

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About the Rock Your Retirement Show

The Rock Your Retirement Show, hosted by Kathe Kline and co-host Barb Mock, focuses on the lifestyle side of retirement — not money, but the things that make retirement meaningful: adventure and travel, family, health, purpose, spiritual life, and connection. It's a show for people who want to live well in this chapter of life, regardless of the size of their nest egg. Learn more and listen at rockyourretirement.com.

About The Good Life Abroad

The Good Life Abroad is a travel program designed for adults 55 and older who want to experience Europe not as tourists, but as temporary locals. With vetted furnished apartments, on-the-ground community support, and a built-in cohort of like-minded travelers, The Good Life Abroad makes extended travel in Europe more accessible, social, and meaningful than ever.

Ready to explore what a month abroad could look like for you? Browse our destinations or request a free brochure to learn more.