CNN  —  After spending years traveling the world while working in the United States military, Christopher Boris dreamed of one day moving overseas permanently. But the retired veteran, who grew up in New Jersey but was based in Maryland at the time, ended up relocating earlier than he’d intended after struggling to cope with the rising cost of living. “I really couldn’t afford my mortgage payments and my utilities anymore,” Boris tells CNN Travel. “I struggled. I was living off of VA disability,