Global Living Index
What is the Global Living Index?
The Interlude Global Living Index is a future resource for experienced people thinking differently about where and how they live.
Unlike traditional retirement destination lists, the Global Living Index doesn't begin with the assumption that life is winding down. It starts from a different reality: many people are still working, learning, caring, earning, moving, building, and making complex decisions about where life now works best.
That changes what a "place" needs to be.
A destination is no longer just somewhere to retire, escape to or settle down. It may be a working base, a recovery space, a family bridge, a lower-cost living option, a creative environment, a health-supportive setting, or a place that gives someone more room to think.
The Index is designed to examine places through that wider lens.
It looks at how different towns, cities, and regions support the practical realities of less linear lives: work, money, health, lifestyle, people, culture, learning, mobility, affordability, and long-term optionality.
Yesterday, the question was: where is the best place to retire?
Today, the question is: where does this next part of life actually work?
A Modern Approach to Global Living
Location decisions are changing.
For many experienced people, place is no longer fixed by one career, one employer, one family structure, or one retirement plan.
Work may be more flexible. Family may be more distributed. Health, cost of living, tax, climate, culture, belonging, and access to care may all matter more than they used to.
The Interlude Global Living Index reflects that change.
We look at destinations not as escapes, but as possible bases for work, life, recovery, contribution, connection, learning, and long-term optionality.
Who is the Index For?
The Index is being designed for people who are not simply looking to settle down or switch off.
It's a useful tool for:
Sabbatical seekers
Considering a short but meaningful change of place.
Remote workers and independent professionals
Looking for locations that support work, focus, connection, and flexibility.
Founders, consultants, and creators
Building work around independence, mobility, and new forms of contribution.
Flexible explorers
Considering weeks, months, or years in a different location without treating it as a permanent endpoint.
Longer-horizon planners
Thinking about where health, money, work, family, culture, and belonging may fit together over time.
How We Rank Destinations
The Interlude Global Living Index will evaluate cities, towns, and regions across a range of factors that matter to experienced people building less linear lives.
These may include:
Liveability and daily rhythm
Connection and belonging
Work and business environment
Culture and learning
Health and care access
Affordability and flexibility
Mobility and transport
Climate and environment
Our aim isn't to produce a generic “best places” list, but to create a more useful way to think about place in the context of nonlinear living. Not longer just a backdrop, but as part of the structure of a life.
The Interlude Global Living Index is more than just a directory. It's designed to reflect how experienced people are now thinking about place: not as an endpoint, but as part of work, health, connection, flexibility, and the life ahead.
Purpose of Stay
Different places serve different purposes.
A destination that works well for a three-month reset may not work for a long-term base. A city that supports business and connection may not offer the quiet, affordability, or access to healthcare that someone else needs.
The Index will consider different types of stay, including:
Short-term
Places suited to sabbaticals, recovery periods, focused work, or exploratory stays.
Medium-term
Locations that may support remote work, creative projects, consulting, learning, or a flexible base.
Long-term
Places that may support deeper relocation, family decisions, health planning, financial structure, and a sense of belonging.
What Matters on the Ground
Each destination profile will aim to include the practical details that shape whether a place can actually work:
Cost of living
Healthcare access
Visa and residency considerations
Transport links
Work and business conditions
Climate
Community and cultural life
Daily practicalities
Our goal isn't to sell the fantasy of escape or retirement. It's to help people think more clearly about place at a time when our lives are becoming more mobile, flexible, and less tied to a single career, employer, home, or endpoint.
Most destination coverage still treats place as travel, property, relocation, or retirement. The Index looks at place as part of the stucture of life: work, money, health, connection, culture, mobility, and long-term optionality.
Stay in the Loop
The Index is still in development.
Subscribe to The Interlude Café newsletter to receive updates as the project develops, along with new essays, resources, and early access to future tools.
If you have experience with global living, relocation, remote work, sabbaticals, later-career mobility, or place-based life design, we’d also like to hear from you.
