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In journey information this week: a behind-the-scenes have a look at a “White Lotus” resort, the finest locations to retire in 2026, plus suggestions on avoiding trip stress.
Greece was just lately named the world’s best place to retire for 2026, in line with an annual index by International Living. Panama and Costa Rica ranked second and third on the listing and are notably well-liked with North Americans.
However, the grass isn’t essentially greener abroad. Navigating international tax techniques and financial institution accounts could be notably complicated. NCS spoke to a couple consultants who have completed it and learned a number of hard classes alongside the way. Watch their suggestions in the video above.
Global Retirement Index 2026
Finally, listed below are a few real-life tales of people who made the leap, one to Europe and one to Asia.
New Jersey native Barbara Olpinski moved from Chicago to Poland in 2020, however struggled to adapt to her husband’s house nation. “I cried copious tears,” she tells NCS, and she or he was fearful she’d by no means slot in. However, she took up a new hobby which helped with the transition.
Victoria Kjos, in her 70s, moved to Bali in 2022 after turning into disillusioned along with her life in the US. She tells NCS that she instantly felt “very comfortable” there and beloved the province’s “calm energy.” However, she says she made plenty of “missteps” when it got here to discovering someplace to stay: Here’s what she learned.
Lives of the wealthy and splendid
Inside a ‘White Lotus’ resort
If you’re looking for a much less everlasting life change, maybe a short journey into the giddy heights of luxurious may tempt you.
Season three of HBO’s “The White Lotus” was filmed at a number of resorts in Thailand, together with the Anantara Mai Khao Phuket. NCS Travel’s Karla Cripps visited earlier this yr and took us on a fast tour.
Magnificently grand yachts are the latest big thing in the luxurious resort area, with the Ritz-Carlton, the Four Seasons, Orient Express and Aman all competing with launches on the excessive seas.
“We are introducing people to cruising that would never have considered it,” Tina Edmundson, president of luxurious for Marriott International, tells NCS of the boutique-style choices which might be at the different finish of the scale from the increase in super-sized cruise ships.
Behind the 1982 Air Florida crash that modified pre-flight requirements each winter
In 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed at Washington National Airport, exposing the risks of ice accumulation when flying in winter. It was a tragic occasion that modified how US airways cope with freezing circumstances.
NCS’s Alexandra Skores went behind the scenes and beneath the planes at Chicago O’Hare to see how specialised deicer crews preserve passengers secure.
Dulles International, exterior Washington DC, was alleged to be the airport of the future when it opened in the Nineteen Sixties. It was the first US airport to be constructed for the jet age and its iconic cellular lounges, or people-movers, are what has made Dulles distinctive. After 60 years of operation, nevertheless, Dulles International recurrently makes it onto “worst airport” lists, with President Trump just lately describing it as “terrible.” Here’s the story of how the innovation that made it so unique would additionally make it so unpopular.
Do your trip plans at all times depart you exhausted? Here’s the right way to repair that
Running by a packed journey itinerary solely will increase stress and leaves you exhausted, says journey knowledgeable Jake Haupert. Instead, he suggests embracing “slow travel,” a observe that may deepen your connection to your vacation spot. Watch the above video to be taught the way it works.
The “Unlocking the World” e-newsletter is taking a break subsequent week on December 27, so we’ll see you on January 3, 2026, with extra journey information.
A presidential handle. A multiday manhunt.
A Hollywood legend. What do you bear in mind from the week that was?
Detty December is certainly one of the world’s greatest events.
And that’s a big problem for some.
Americans are hungry for neighborhood.
So why don’t we now have extra European-style squares?
British “teatime” is a really sophisticated enterprise.
Sometimes there isn’t even any tea.