What If You Fall Ill Far From Home?
If you are drawn to a small island, find out what care is nearby and what happens if you need more than that.
Picture a couple named Edwin and Margaret on a small island, six months into retirement. Edwin wakes at night with a pain he does not like. Margaret sits beside him and thinks, for the first time, about how far they are from the people who know them.
I think this is the question that sits under every plan to retire abroad. Not the money, not the weather. What happens when one of us is ill?
Cabo Verde: advice and a hard sentence
People who write about retiring in Cabo Verde tend to be practical. One long thread I read was full of advice for newcomers on Praia, written by people who had been there a while. They told you to prepare, to ask questions, to learn the place before you trust it.
Another voice was shorter and blunter: do not get sick. The writer said the hospitals were not adequate. I cannot tell you if that is right today, and I would not rest a decision on one comment. What I can say is that a sentence like that deserves a proper check. If you are drawn to a small island, find out what care is nearby and what happens if you need more than that.
Morocco: homesick and at home
A person who writes about Morocco described something I find wise. She was homesick and she also had a sense of home. Both were true at once. When you are ill, the homesick part gets loud. The sense of home is what answers it.
I think that is a useful picture. A health scare far away is less frightening when you have a doctor you know, a neighbor who would knock, and a few words in the local language. These are small things. They are also the things that make a place feel like home.
| What people describe | What it might ask of you | |
|---|---|---|
| Cabo Verde | Practical advice, and a warning about care | Check what care is close before you commit |
| Morocco | Homesick and at home together | Build the small ties before you need them |
"Do we know where the nearest clinic is?" Margaret asked the next morning.
"I have no idea," Edwin said.
"Then that is our first job today."
They went out and found it. That evening they both slept better.
You could…
- Find the nearest clinic and hospital before you need either.
- Ask other retirees from abroad who they call in a hurry.
- Keep your medical history in one folder, in two languages if you can.
- Picture the worst night and write down what you would want close by.
What would you want near you on the night you felt unwell?
Tell us in the comments