This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ward Chartier, a 70-year-old retiree living in Penang, Malaysia. It has been edited for length and clarity. I've lived border to border and coast ...

Ward Chartier, 70, spent his career living and working across the US, Europe, and Asia. When it came time to retire, he narrowed his options down to Penang, Malaysia, where he'd worked years earlier.