Time-Out from America

 Randall Wixen built a successful life in Los Angeles—a career in music publishing, a home in the Santa Monica Mountains, and decades of adventure traveling the globe. But Los Angeles had become a city he no longer recognized: choked with traffic, obscenely expensive, and frantic in pace. As retirement approached, he and his wife Sharon began searching for somewhere to breathe—somewhere with better food, slower streets, and people who aren't in a constant rage. 

They didn't end up in Portugal or France or Greece, where many expats now land. What started as a practical quest for EU residency through one of Europe's lesser-known Golden Visa programs— Latvia's—turned into something neither of them expected: delight at a place they'd barely considered. 

Time Out from America follows the Wixens through five months in Riga, told in real-time journal entries. Laugh at his fumbling Latvian, feel his frustration with bureaucracy, commiserate with his hip, and celebrate with him as he signs papers on an apartment. And ask yourself whether you've ever considered Riga, Latvia, as a place to settle. 

Funny, occasionally maddening, and more affecting than the author probably intended, this is a book about the courage of starting over, the pain of watching your home country change, and finding that the most unlikely address in Europe might just feel like home.