@Michael Johnson there are many criteria to consider when relocating, and in my experience the one that most focus on is cost. Everyone look at cost, which is base on living locally - line a local, which many expats don’t want to do. If you take your North American way of living anywhere in the world, it’s going to cost you the same or more. So picking a place you actually want to live in is THE crucial decision, and there is nothing like spending time before committing AND experience ALL the seasons.

@Christine Berencz Yeah... I love slowmad - it's very fitting :) I've seen someone doing this in all possible imaginable situations you can think of. You have to secure your own oxygen mask before helping others. If you aren't living a life that fulfills you, you can't be the best version of yourself for your kids/grandkids/familly. Think of it like this: If my baseline life fulfillment is at a -6, I'm starting in a deep deficit. Now, I love my kids and my grandkids fiercely; they are a massive blessing. But even if having them in my life bumps my mood up by 4 points, I’m still at a -2. I’m still operating in the negative, and everyone around me can feel that underlying drain. But if I choose a"different" life that genuinely fulfills me, my baseline jumps to, let's say, a +5. Because I am finally thriving, the joy of my kids and grandkids doesn't just act as a temporary band-aid; it multiplies my happiness. It pushes me up to a +7 or an +8. Securing your own fulfillment isn't about leaving them behind; it's about shifting oneself out of the negative so that they can have a parent and grandparent who are genuinely overflowing, not just surviving.

@Christine Berencz Reframing is one of the most underrated skills an advisor can build, so I'm with you on that. Where we differ is what I do when price shows up at all. Cheap, good value, low, whatever the wrapper, I tend to step back. 😂 Not because those are bad people. It's usually a sign they haven't done the work to figure out what they actually want, and I prefer cients who know what they want and need, Think about a car dealership. Almost nobody walks in and says, "I want a cheap car." They know the type, even what brand, what they need it for, and the features that matter. When travelling, most people skip that process entirely and default to price as the sole decision driver. We have access to air tickets, but it's not as advantageous as other travel opportunities. The standard is ID-90, which is 90% off the Y fare, and honestly, most often the published fares are the same or lower, so it's not worth the hassle. I pay for mine and expense them all :)

@Christine Berencz

@Christine Berencz I'm with you about parsing those articles, and steering clear of drama 🤲 My angle, or at least what was my intent, is that regardless of which news is out there, my way of calming the client is always to turn it back to them. Client: "Lary, I heard they are going to run out of jet fuel?" Me: "What if it's true, how do you feel about it?" Client: " Well, I definitely don't want to get stuck in Italy if they run out of jet Fuel." Me: "Alright, we don't know for sure (or if they will), and will not know till they are days from running out, so since we cannot guarantee you will not get stuck in Italy, we should delay Italy till 2027"

@Christine Berencz Yes, but clients has to be ok with it, otherwise it's just another stressed-out day :) I would take it as you describe it, but I'm an outlier!!!

@Christine Berencz Most cruiser still need a flight to get to their cruise port 😉

@Christine Berencz

Curious as to what do you think the cons are of price anchoring? Personally I love price anchoring as a sales tool but I also think that it serves a purpose to provide context. Most travelers have a hard time giving a realistic budget for anything. Giving multiple pricing provides context to anchor their own decision and to be comfortable with the decision.

@Michael Johnson we can talk about anchoring or any other strategy but that's just what we think as advisors and often why we're the bottleneck in a lot of these conversations. The reality is that it's not about us; it's about them. If we spent more time with our clients, asking questions to figure out exactly what they want and extracting all that information from them before we go out and find solutions, we would hit the nail on the head more often than not. You likely would never find yourself in a place where you quote something that is so high-minded at a range that you would lose trust with your client. In a weird way, we love to think that we hold all the answers, but the reality is that our clients hold most of the answers.