Return To Panama

Jan. 10, 2012, Panama City, Panama: Returning to Panama after nearly three weeks in the States, we find the sun shining and the roads empty.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

Today is our first day back in the office after a nearly three-week-long holiday tour across America. We're frantically trying to catch up and get back on track, and you, dear reader, are the big winner, for today's dispatch will be mercifully brief.

I'll share more ruminations born of our recent extended U.S. adventures later this week. Meantime, today, returning to Panama City, we're greeted by three things...

First, blue skies and sunshine. This year's rainy season continued well into December, with deluges up until the day we left for the States last month. I'm delighted now to be able to report that, back in Panama for the start of this New Year, we find the sun shining, the temperatures lower, and the humidity much reduced. Ah, the dry season.

Why Would An American Want To Leave The United States?

Jan. 9, 2012, Panama City, Panama: The best reason to think about living, retiring, or investing in a country other than the one you were born is more, better, and new opportunity.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

People ask us all the time...and, on our recent extended U.S. tour, we got the question a lot, from family, old friends, people we met at cocktail parties:

Why would an American want to leave the United States?

I'm not in the business of persuading someone to make a move like this if the idea doesn't make sense to him. From where I sit, after living outside the States for more than 14 years, my real response to the question is, why wouldn't an American consider leaving the United States?

What In The World Are You Supposed To Do With This List?

Jan. 8, 2012, Chicago, Illinois: The only way to make a decision as to where best you should live, retire, or invest overseas is to compare and contrast your options.

Also This Week: When Is The Right Time To Retire Overseas? Right Now!...How To Retire Sooner Than Never...How To Figure A Budget For Your New Life Overseas...at Least You Won't Likely Get Bit By A Cobra--And Other Predictions For The Year Ahead...

Dear Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader,

Depending on your budget, here are my picks for the best places in the world to move on, to start over, to reinvent yourself, to launch a new life, and to live better, perhaps for less, in this New Year...

Super Cheap

#1: Cuenca, Ecuador
#2: Leon (cheapest), Granada, or San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
#3: Nha Trang, Vietnam
#4: Chiang Mai, Thailand

The Secret To Your Success In 2012 And Beyond

Jan. 6, 2012, Santa Fe, New Mexico: The secret to your personal and financial success in 2012 and beyond is planting your five flags offshore as soon as possible.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

Here's my best advice for this New Year: Whatever flags you're planning to plant offshore, plant them sooner rather than later.

Last week, a client wrote to tell me he was in St. Kitts trying to decide which of their two economic citizenship options to apply for. He had made this trip, between Christmas and New Year's, because the St. Kitts government had decided to increase the costs of its economic citizenship program as of Jan. 1, 2012. The powers that be on this island nation gave very little notice about the planned increase, having made the decision in September or October.

The offshore world is an ever-moving target. Governments change the rules of the game regularly. Residency and citizenship options, requirements, benefits, restrictions, etc., change often. Panama made wholesale changes in 2008 that had people clamoring to get in before the new rules took effect.

At Least You Won’t Likely Get Bit By A Cobra—And Other Predictions For The Year Ahead

Jan. 5, 2012, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Here’s what Retirement Planning Correspondent Paul Terhorst predicts lies ahead for the offshore investor in 2012.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

"A few weeks ago," writes Retirement Planning Correspondent Paul Terhorst, "three friends and I went to look at birds in northern Argentina's jungle, near the Brazilian border. We stayed at a cabin in a nature reserve. One of the young workers there, Jorge, noticed my accent.

"'You're not from here,' he remarked.

"I said, in Spanish, 'I'm from the United States. California. Ever heard of it?'

"He shrugged. 'I'm not really up on that kind of stuff. Is there a jungle in California?'