Why wait to retire? These Canadians are embracing the adult gap year instead [Video]

Nick Thompson and his wife, Melanie, love to watch their kids swim in the river near a waterfall on the property where they live in southern Ecuador, on the edge of the Amazon rainforest.

“It’s the land of eternal spring, so it never gets below 16 [C] and never gets over 27,” Thompson told Cost of Living. “It’s sunny every day and there’s no bugs because we’re just high enough in elevation. So it’s kind of like this really cool Goldilocks zone.”

Right in their rented backyard, in an area referred to as the Valley of Longevity, they have chickens, mango trees, avocado trees, passion fruit and seven different kinds of bananas, he says. 

The couple left their home in rural Ontario’s Norfolk County a little over a year ago with their four kids, ages five to nine, in tow. “We’re on a mini retirement,” Thompson said.

Human resources professionals say Canadian …