Discovering
The Good Life Abroad
Have you ever wanted to live in a European city — not just pass through it, but actually settle in for a couple of weeks and feel the rhythm of daily life — without giving up the comfort of community or the reassurance of local support? That's exactly what our latest "Discovering The Good Life Abroad" webinar explored.
Founder Andrew Motiwalla was joined by alumna Karen Krumeich, a part-time finance consultant in the biotech industry from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who recently completed a Two-Week Short Stay in Nice, France — her first program with The Good Life Abroad. Together, they walked through what a Short Stay actually looks like, from the vetted apartment to the community that formed around her, and the practical considerations anyone should weigh before booking.
Why The Good Life Abroad Exists
Andrew has spent nearly 30 years in the travel industry, and the idea for The Good Life Abroad grew out of a pattern he kept hearing: travelers with more flexibility in life who wanted to slow down and skip the rigid, checklist-driven itinerary. But that dream of living abroad for a month or two came with real hesitations — will I get lonely? What if something goes wrong? What if the apartment doesn't match the photos?
Andrew's answer was community. Vetted apartments suited to the needs of travelers 55 and older, a local Community Manager in every destination, a built-in group of fellow travelers, included travel medical insurance, and connections to optional wellness options like yoga or a local gym. The goal is to make the leap of living abroad feel completely turnkey.
Signature Programs, Short Stays, and Everything In Between
The Good Life Abroad offers two core formats. Month-Long Signature Programs run in bigger cities where there's enough to absorb over 30 nights, while Short Stays run two weeks and tend to be in slightly smaller towns, often in more full-service, apartment-hotel-style buildings with on-site staff. Karen chose Nice as a Short Stay — a city she'd wanted to revisit — partly because a shorter commitment fit well alongside her ongoing consulting work.
Many travelers link the two formats together: a month in Lisbon followed by a Short Stay in Porto, for example, or — as Karen is now planning herself — a Short Stay in Bordeaux paired with other destinations to build a longer, multi-city adventure. The Good Life Abroad also offers Solo Traveler Sessions for those who want a guarantee of fellow solo travelers (even though, on average, about a third of travelers on any given program are already solo), a Bring Your Own Housing option for those who'd rather source their own apartment, and Specialty Programs — including a partnership with Pride Vacations offering LGBTQ+ focused sessions in Barcelona and Amsterdam.
Life Inside the Apartment
Karen's apartment in Nice was in a beautifully renovated historic building, centrally located near the train station, restaurants, and grocery stores. Because Short Stay buildings tend to have on-site staff, laundry was handled for her rather than requiring her to track down a machine herself — one of the small conveniences Andrew says is common across the Short Stay format, where the shorter timeframe means travelers can hit the ground running without extra logistics to sort out.
Community Is the Whole Point
If one word came up again and again in the webinar, it's community. Karen, who normally travels solo and is very comfortable doing so, said the balance of planned activity and free time in Nice was exactly right. "There was people to have happy hour with, dinner with," she said — a welcome contrast to the solo dinners she was used to.
Her group bonded over food (several members were self-described foodies who traded restaurant recommendations) and shared interests, from art museums to an impromptu group outing to a concert at the cathedral one evening that wasn't even on the official schedule. A smaller group later found a hotel rooftop nearby for a nightcap with a view over the city. On another day, a few travelers hopped the local train across the border into Italy just for lunch — something Karen said was made effortless by Nice's coastal rail line.
Communication happened through WhatsApp, with an announcements channel run by the Community Manager and smaller member-created groups for shared interests — in Karen's cohort, this included a running buddy group and a book club.
Meet the Community Manager
Every Good Life Abroad destination has a local Community Manager at the center of the experience — part concierge, part local friend, part fountain of neighborhood knowledge. Nice's Community Manager, Celine, was on her first assignment with the company and, as a Nice native, brought deep local knowledge along with genuine enthusiasm for her city.
Karen said Celine met with the group individually early on to understand their interests and dietary needs — noting Karen's intolerance to cow's milk cheese and making sure a wine-and-cheese tasting she planned used goat cheese instead. Celine also pointed the group toward small, family-run restaurants, arranged a customized perfume-making workshop (a nod to the region's centuries-old perfumery tradition), organized a lunch in the seaside town of Villefranche-sur-Mer, and suggested a violin-and-piano concert at the Chagall Museum for Karen after learning she loved classical music. "She really personalized it," Karen said.
Setting Honest Expectations
Both Andrew and Karen were candid that this style of travel isn't a tour. There's no bus, and travelers are expected to navigate on foot, by train, or by rideshare using apps like Google Maps and WhatsApp. Karen pointed out that comfort with basic smartphone navigation is essential — she recalled a fellow traveler who struggled because they'd only ever traveled on guided tours before and weren't used to finding their own way. Her advice: get comfortable with Google Maps (and be patient — it sometimes needs a moment to catch up to you in an old town's narrow alleys) and consider Google Translate a helpful companion, even though most people she encountered in Nice spoke enough English to get by.
Who Joins These Programs
The Good Life Abroad programs are built for adults 55 and older, with groups averaging around 15 travelers, roughly a third of whom are solo, and about 90% coming from the United States. Karen described her cohort as well-traveled people with genuine curiosity about the places they visit — a mix of art lovers, foodies, and history buffs who each found their own niche within the larger group.
Practical Questions Answered
The webinar's Q&A covered several details prospective travelers often ask about:
Trip cancellation insurance isn't included in the program fee, though The Good Life Abroad can point travelers to partner providers; travelers are free to use any insurer they choose.
Medical care is handled through pre-vetted local clinics and English-speaking doctors that Community Managers already have relationships with, so there's a plan in place before an emergency ever happens. Travel medical insurance acts as primary coverage; travelers pay upfront and submit for reimbursement, and Andrew noted that out-of-pocket costs in Europe tend to be dramatically lower than in the U.S.
Elevators are the default in apartment buildings more than one flight up, though a small number of historic buildings can't accommodate them for preservation reasons — any mobility needs are addressed during a pre-trip welcome call.
Traveling with family under 55 is generally fine for a spouse or partner close in age; the program isn't designed for young children or a family vacation dynamic, but exceptions are evaluated case by case — anyone with a specific situation is encouraged to reach out to info@thegoodlifeabroad.com.
Flights are easiest to book into a major gateway city (London, Paris, or Rome, for example) with a short connecting flight to the final destination.
LGBTQ+ travelers are welcomed across all programs, and The Good Life Abroad also partners with Pride Vacations on dedicated sessions in Barcelona and Amsterdam.
Ready to Learn More?
A $495 per-person deposit holds a spot, with the remaining balance due closer to departure. Cancellations 120 or more days before the start date are fully refunded, with the deposit converting to a credit that never expires. Program pricing covers the apartment, all scheduled community activities, and travel medical insurance; airfare, airport transfers, and groceries are not included.
Karen has already booked her next chapters with The Good Life Abroad, including stops in Bordeaux and Seville — proof, she says, that once you try this style of travel, it's hard to go back to dining alone every night.
Curious where a Short Stay or Month-Long Signature Program could take you? Explore our destinations or sign up for an upcoming webinar to hear more firsthand stories from our alumni and team.