Two flats in Antalya were close on everything that shows in photographs, and what separated them was software. One building runs everything through an app: water and electricity readings, the monthly charge, a chat with the caretaker, even booking the lift for a move-in. The other still slides paper notes under the door and takes cash for the pool. Living remotely for part of the year, the first one saves me a trip and a lot of guessing. We shortlisted both on https://turk.estate/en/ and the app tipped it. For anyone buying abroad, ask which systems the building actually runs on before you ask about the view.

My search in Bali changed shape the day my mother said she would like to come for a longer stay each year.

That added things to the list I had not considered: a bedroom and a bathroom on the ground floor, a doorway wide enough, no steep step at the entrance, and a clinic within a reasonable drive rather than an hour of traffic.

Two of the houses I liked most failed on the stairs alone. The listings come from https://global-property.investments/ and I now open each one looking at the floor plan before the photographs.

She is 76 and travels well, and the plan is three months a year starting next spring.