Retire To Northeast Brazil
My Four-Year Search For My Dream Retirement Home Overseas Led Me To This Beach…
Aug. 31, 2009
Fortaleza, Brazil
PLUS:
- The Good Life Among The Vines In Mendoza...
- Single, Female, And Safe In Uruguay...
----------
Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader Alert:
You Have Less Than 24 Hours To Save US$250
World markets are spinning out of control creating serious opportunity. If you know what you're doing--and where to do it--this could be the best chance in your lifetime to grow your wealth.
Over two-and-a-half days in October, Lief Simon is convening the top 15 global real estate investing experts and professionals he knows.
The agenda is clear: How and where to take advantage of the incredible opportunities on the table right now, worldwide, to make money from international property investments. Lief and his A-list team will detail not only specific strategies to follow to take best advantage of current market conditions, but also specific markets to focus on and specific current deals to consider.
In total, the assembled panel of investor speakers, with many decades of profitable global real estate investing experience among them, will bring at least 13 current opportunities to the table.
You want to be in the room.
You have until midnight tonight (Monday, Aug. 31) to take advantage of the special early bird discount! Full details here.
----------
Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,
"Super-cheap beachfront," says new Brazil Correspondent Will Davis. "That's what attracted me to Brazil at first. That and the super-low cost of living.
"When my wife Eileen and I first left the States, we settled in Cuenca, Ecuador. We enjoyed Cuenca, but, frankly, this colonial city wasn't our dream. Our fantasy retirement involved a home at the beach. I spent four years, therefore, scouting the beaches of Latin America in search of a beach house available for an affordable cost. It was on the island of Itamaracá, about an hour from the city of Recife on Brazil's northeast coast, that I finally found what I'd been looking for.
"Now my wife and I are the proud owners of a 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom house. It has good living space and a little winter garden on the roof, and the bedrooms have been built in such a way that they all have great views to the ocean. But perhaps the best part is this: We bought the property (the land and the house) for the equivalent of about US$60,000.
"Right now, you could get an acre of beachfront land (on which to build your own dream home) for maybe 180,000 to 200,000 reals (around US$100,000 to US$110,000 at today's rate of exchange). I can't think of anywhere else in the world where you could buy a slice of beachfront at that price...and actually want to live there. I speak from experience. More than a house at the beach, here in Brazil, we've invested in a dream house at the beach that has brought us our dream lifestyle, too.
"What surprises me most about Brazil is how neglected it is by North Americans. Europeans are coming to this country's northeast region for vacations and part- or full-time living. On Itamaracá, for example, there are maybe 45 British families in residence, but only 4 or 5 American families.
"I think a lot of this has to do with the living options here. We Americans are more accustomed to the protection and the amenities of a gated community. In Brazil, that option really doesn't exist. You have to get out and live among the locals. Gated communities likely will come in time. But, for me, the fact that my neighbors aren't gringos is part of the attraction.
"A lot of people, I think, are put off Brazil by the language. For some reason, Portuguese has a reputation of being more difficult to learn than Spanish. I've had to learn both, and I can honestly say that the learning curve is the
same.
"Another big attraction of this country for me is how far removed it is from what I was used to back home. This is the Third World, meaning the experience of living here is completely different from living in the more developed world. In Brazil, there's no mistaking that feeling of other-worldliness.
"Of course, 'other-worldliness' has its downsides. Getting things done, for instance, can be painfully slow. I was frustrated when I had to get my driver's license translated into Portuguese. After paying a translator to do the job, the local police would certify it for only six months. (I was tempted to ask when the language was scheduled to change.) I'm not looking forward to going through the process again. But you get used to these little 'quirks'...to gritting your teeth and dealing with the red tape.
"And, in fact, in many ways, Brazil is ahead of other Latin American countries. I've had friends in Nicaragua complain about the common power outages and the unreliable Internet connectivity there. Eileen and I have been living full-time in Brazil for three months now, and we haven't lost our electricity once. Nor can I moan about connectivity issues. Last week, I had an hour-long call, via Skype, with a business contact in Europe. We had a clear line for the duration of our call and didn't get cut off once.
"Whatever frustrations we've experienced during our time here so far are easier to put into perspective when we remind ourselves of the low cost of living we're enjoying. We eat out regularly at one of the local restaurants by the beach. For less than US$25, we enjoy a grilled shrimp dinner, including salads, dessert, and drinks. The downside is that the two-dozen or so restaurants on the island, serve pretty much the same menu. If you want diversity, you'll need to cook at home--or escape to one of the mainland cities for a weekend.
"This is part of the reason that we've decided to live in Brazil just four months of the year. The rest of the year, you'll find us in Punta del Este, Uruguay. We prefer Punta's amenities but could never afford a beachfront home at this world-class resort. Plus, the Uruguayan winter is a little too cool for me. Brazil makes the perfect complement. Here on Itamaracá, I don't own a coat, and I can swim in warm water year-round.
"We've chosen to settle on Itamaracá, but my favorite city in northeast Brazil is actually Fortaleza. The city has lots going for it--far more amenities and dining-out options than anywhere else on this stretch of coast. The problem with Fortaleza right now is limited inventory. And prices, while affordable, are higher than what I've found on Itamaracá.
"For my US$60,000, I might have bought a 700-square-foot condo in Fortaleza, for example, which wouldn't have been as comfortable for long stays.
"A condo in Fortaleza, on the other hand, is an ideal vacation home rental..."
More on this tomorrow.
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. Northeast Brazil is one of the handful of places worldwide where resident global real estate investing expert Lief Simon sees serious opportunity right now. At his Third Annual Global Real Estate Profits Summit in Panama City, Oct. 15-17, Lief will be joined by 13 fellow international real estate investing pros, including our man on the ground in Fortaleza, Anthony Archer, who promises at least one in-the-room-only special offer for conference participants looking to position themselves in this important market.
Note that the Early Bird Discount for registration for Lief's Global Real Estate Profits Summit expires Midnight tonight. Other important discounts are also available if you register now. Details here.
----------
Why You Don't Have to Worry About Outliving Your Nest Egg...
You can retire in style overseas and live better than you do now...for as little as $694 a month...
Live well -- including a maid, a gardener, a driver -- all on a Social Security budget...
Arrange health insurance for $150 a month or less...some places, you can even enjoy free medical care...
Own your own home in the sun for as little as $99,000...and wake up each morning to the sound of the waves on the sand...or the freshness of clean, mountain air...
Find out The Six Best-Value Destinations for Living and Investing in the World Today -- Free here.
----------
"A question about your retirement report on Mendoza, Argentina. Does it talk about the city of Mendoza in general or does it concentrate only on the wine-growing aspect of life in the province of Mendoza?
"I know a lot about the wine growing and am more interested in learning about the city of Mendoza as a retirement choice."
-- Dr. D.H.B., United States
Each of our "Retirement Reports" covers all aspects of retirement living in the featured city or region, including cost of living, health care, residency and visa requirements, the weather, the infrastructure, taxes, safety, transportation, banking, etc. In the case of our Mendoza report, yes, we talk about opportunities for growing grapes and enjoying the fruit of the vine (you couldn't report on life in Mendoza and ignore these elements altogether!), but the focus is on making a new life in this part of the world as a retiree abroad.
The Mendoza Retirement Report is available here.
From our www.LiveandInvestOverseas.com message board:
"What has been the experience of single women living in Uruguay? What cities in this country would be a good choice?"
-- Lee L., United States
Our Uruguay Correspondent, Sol Maria Tuya, a single woman herself who has recently taken up full-time residence in Punta del Este, responds here: Single and Safe.
Our La Barra, Uruguay, Retirement Report is available here. |
