Ever dream of moving to Europe after you retire from the military? Milton Soler, an Army retiree, decided many years ago that he wanted to retire in Europe, and in , he realized his dream by moving to France.
I decided that I would retire somewhere in Europe. I wanted to move to Europe immediately after I retired from the Army in , but my daughter was only a year old. My wife suggested that we stay in the U.
We moved to France when my daughter was 7 years old. I had four countries in mind as possible retirement destinations, listed in order of preference: Spain, Germany, Portugal, and France.
After talking through the options, we decided to skip Spain, because our daughter already spoke Spanish and would not get the benefit of learning a new language. Portugal was a good option, but I did not bring the required apartment lease to the visa appointment. They would have granted me a visa if I had the lease with me.
The following week I had an appointment for our French visa. I brought all the paperwork, and they granted me the visa with no ifs, ands, or buts. France was the last country on my list because I thought it would be difficult to obtain the visa due to the language barrier and our lack of familiarity with the country.
