Travis Chappell and his producer, Eric, react to a retired American couple who traded their old life in the US for a more affordable, higher-quality retirement in Malta. By downsizing their costs, leveraging rental income from their U.S. home, and tapping into cheaper healthcare and everyday expenses overseas, they’ve created a lifestyle they never could have afforded if they stayed put in the States. Their story is a real-world case study in using self-awareness and geography—not just income—to design a life you actually want.

On this episode we talk about:

How Mary and Kevin retired to Malta on Social Security and rental income

Why your ideal life might be more about where you live than how much you earn

The mindset shift from “big house and car” to “low overhead and freedom”

Tradeoffs of retiring abroad: distance from family vs. more time and presence when you visit

Countries where you can live comfortably for under $1,000 a month

Why lifestyle bloat traps people in jobs they hate longer than necessary

How to reverse-engineer your cost of living around the life you actually want

Top 3 Takeaways

You don’t have to become a billionaire to live well in retirement; you may just need to move somewhere your Social Security or modest income stretches a lot further.

Success starts with self-awareness—getting brutally honest about what you really want (time, freedom, experiences) instead of defaulting to status symbols like big houses and luxury cars.

Geographic arbitrage is real: by lowering housing, transportation, and healthcare costs abroad, you can often buy more free time, less stress, and more meaningful time with the people you love.

Notable Quotes

“The choice was basically stay in the U.S. and keep working—or go to Malta and actually enjoy our retirement.”

“You don’t have to dedicate your life to becoming the next Steve Jobs; you just have to do the math on the life you want and engineer it on purpose.”

“If you just float and let life happen to you, you get the kind of results that come from living that way—and that’s not how I want to live.”

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