Let’s Talk Story
We’re CamHong and Paul, retirement-obsessed explorers who believe the best stories have not happened yet. Somewhere between “what if” and “let’s go” is a place we want to experience.
Planning retirement? Ever had that mental itch:
“Could I really live on a beach, or is it just a song?”
Four years ago, we retired and set out to find one place we could feel home—a spot that calls to our hearts while offering a destination that our friends, family, and especially, grandchildren look forward to visiting. We have called several places home over the years as we watched our kids grow and experienecd a life full of adventure and change. Now that the house is a bit more quite, the feelings about a place also changes. The kids, have kids. Waking up at 5 has led to 8 (more often 9), and the 2 week vacation we took five years ago, just feel the same. What we realize is that we are no longer traveling to relax, any more relaxation and we’d slip into a coma. So why are we traveling?
We realized recently that we were just waiting. Waiting for winter. Deciding if the grass needed mowing. Feeling our joints ache while we waited for life to come to us.
Our kids are grown, taking their own vacations, and their visits often mean babysitting duty. We love being grandparents, but those moments also remind us of how we raised our own family—watching a son learn to scuba dive off a coral wall in Okinawa, or sharing street food and laughter with locals in Saigon.
The wake-up call was an unexpected two-week stint in the hospital. When the medical bills started rolling in three months later, the illusion shattered: this was not the retirement we had planned for at 40. We realized that our years spent working and living abroad—while never a permanent setup—gave us our best family memories.
It forced us to rethink everything:
- If we are going to spend time with our grandkids, why not offer them a destination they can’t wait to visit?
- If healthcare is a growing concern as we age, do we really have to sacrifice our life savings to afford it?
Traditional retirement wasn’t delivering what we worked so hard for. Instead, we were faced with a new challenge:
What is our new definition for “Quality of Life“?
That question has become The Social String. A thought transformed into a tangled ball of twine unspooling around us as we seek out questions that may just give us a few answers.
Real Talk with no glossy brochures
There are thousands of websites dedicated to retirement planning and living abroad and from experience, we can assure you that many we share provide verifiable information to make informed decisions. Through The Social String, we are providing a venue toward defining Quality of Life. We will travel and hopefully enjoy the journey. However, each stop is guaranteed to give us a better sense of direction.
We live on the ethos, “you don’t know what you don’t know.” Ask the right questions and your knowledge will grow exponentially.
We often hear our older peers say to themselves, “We’ve had a great life.” We find that phrase fundamentally flawed. Retirement doesn’t mean the story ends. It took us 60 years to achieve this chapter. It’s time we change our mindset and untangle those social expectations. The Zac Brown Band was onto something when they put our toes in the water: Retirement…it’s a whole new adventure!
Our lives and careers have spanned five continents, 39 countries, and 48 U.S. states. We have called corners of the globe our home and walked across island beaches as the evening sky flashed green. More importantly, we watched our children embrace friends from dozens of cultures, saw them marry as incredible adults, and now experience the immense joy of being grandparents. It is through these memories that we are able to see beyond the fears and anxieties pushed upon us by the social or political agenda of others.
Global travel teaches you that perspective is everything. “Quality of Life” means something entirely different depending on who you ask—even between a husband and wife.
Before retiring, I traveled extensively with my 70-year-old mentor. We told lies in Barcelona cafes, realized Victora Bitter was better in Gladstone pubs, and over Thai food on a pier in Phuket, sunsets were stunning. We also gained a deep appreciation for the phenomenal healthcare available across Asia after a couple broken bones, dislocated shoulders, and four weeks fighting covid. When retirement came, our paths diverged: he spent a decade tramping across Thailand before moving to Malaysia, while I enjoyed the cooler climate of Japan and later a set of twin waterfalls on top of Kauai. Yet, our different definitions of “Life Style” complemented each other perfectly, allowing us to swap homes as the seasons changed. Over the years, we made many more friends in many more locations.
Today, CamHong and I are exploring, not a place, but a definition: Quality of Life. The Social String is the thread that connects our perspectives, offering each of us something to pull on as we design our next great adventure — Retirement.
Our Journal and our friends: The road we traveled – Hành trình phía trước!
The Social String isn’t fixating on packing your bags and moving across the world. Think of it as a tether—or better yet, a sturdy rope—to tie down emotional baggage long enough to ask some honest questions:
- Is where we are right now truly where we want to be?
- Will our retirement income and benefits sustain the life we actually want not just the one we need?
- Will Medicare and supplemental policies genuinely cover our future medical needs?
- Don’t we already have the best healthcare in the world, or has medical costs simply kept me from seeing the forest for the trees?
- Can we get or even afford long-term care while living abroad?
- Just how safe are these other countries, really?
- Can we actually afford the lifestyle showcased in international living magazines and travel brochures?
- Could we ever bear to leave our grandchildren?
- And above all: What the heck does “Quality of Life” actually mean for us now or in another ten years?
Pull up a Chair a Sit a Spell
While CamHong pours a cup of coffee and I pour a glass of iced tea, let’s begin to seperate the chaff from the wheat. Life is more than numbers, and it is way more than pretty places. It is definitely not a one stop shop for all. We must confront the difference between adolescent fantasy and grown-up reality. We didn’t stop dreaming simply because we retired, we hopefully just got a bit wiser. We recognize there is a difference between a travel video and actually stepping out onto a beach side veranda with your name on the post box. Folks with the videos are usually getting paid or at least reimbursed for their efforts. As a retiree, it’s an expense. The question is, will that expense be less than it is now while offering the lifestyle that we want?
The US SSA office reports that over 1.5 million U.S. retirees receive their benefits abroad in 2026 while over 1.6 millions sought health and dental services outside the U.S. We firmly believe the United States is one of the greatest countries in the world to raise a family and build a career. But we also face a new reality: We are no longer raising our children; they are raising theirs. We are no longer building careers; we are retired. And that changes the economic and family dynamics for Quality of Life.
There is a chance that when this journey ends, CamHong will happily be back tending her garden and I’ll be mowing the lawn with the dog sleeping under our big oak. Then again, there’s the possibility that our hearts will melt while watching our grandchildren point out across the cliffs of Greece or swim atop rainbow corals in the South Pacific, and that dog enjoys chasing waves. It’s not about knowing the outcome. It’s answering the question, “what does a retired QUALITY OF LIFE look like?”
Our careers intruduced us to the world. Retirement allows us to enjoy the adventure!
39
Countries Visited
15,300+
Days Abroad
146
Beaches Explored
10,000+
New Friends
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