A Second Life in Sri Lanka

The Two-Country Life

Keep the life you love. Discover another way to live.

What if the next chapter of your life was not about retiring, but about having more freedom to choose how you live?

For many of us in our fifties, sixties and seventies, the traditional idea of retirement no longer quite fits. We may want to work less, travel more, escape the winter or simply enjoy the things we never found time for. But we are not necessarily ready to leave behind our families, friends, professional interests or the familiar life we have spent years building. What if we could enjoy another life without giving up our first?

Imagine spending three or four months each year in Sri Lanka—an island of golden beaches, lush tea-covered hills, ancient cities and remarkable wildlife, all within easy reach of a modern, comfortable home of your own.

One weekend you might be exploring a historic coastal town, the next watching wild elephants on safari. Or perhaps you are simply enjoying a leisurely morning in Colombo, with good coffee, excellent food and the whole day ahead of you.

With eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, numerous national parks and more than 1,300 kilometres of coastline, Sri Lanka offers an extraordinary variety of experiences in a remarkably compact island. You might continue working remotely, enjoy a leisurely morning by the pool or simply decide what the day holds over breakfast.

And when it is time to return home for family, friends or other commitments, you simply do.

Sri Lanka also becomes your gateway to the wider world. From Colombo, you can explore Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Europe. Your second home becomes a base for new experiences, not simply somewhere to spend the winter.

There is a practical attraction, too. Foreigners can purchase qualifying condominium apartments, creating a home to enjoy while in Sri Lanka and, potentially, a source of rental income while away. A carefully selected property may also offer longer-term capital-growth potential.

It is an appealing possibility: a place to enjoy today, and an asset that may continue to work for you tomorrow. You might begin with six weeks, extend that to three months or eventually divide your year between two countries. The arrangement can evolve as your circumstances change.

Rather than asking, “Where should I retire?”, perhaps the more interesting question is:

“Where would I like to spend part of my life—and where might that life take me?”

That is the idea behind the Two-Country Life: keeping the people, places and connections that matter while giving yourself the freedom to enjoy something new.

You do not have to leave your life behind to discover another one.

How might a two-country life work in practice? How long would we stay, what sort of home would suit us, and how could we maintain the connections and responsibilities that matter at home? Sri Lanka offers an interesting place to explore those questions.