Dec. 20, 2009
Baltimore, Maryland
PLUS: Grand Vestiges Of Colonialism In The Americas--Cartagena Versus Casco Viejo...How To Get Started As A Professional Travel Writer...
AND: The Pooping Log In Catalan, The Christmas Day Swim In Ireland,
La Bûche de Noel In France, And Other Signs Of The Season...
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Be Our Guest At The Live And Invest In Panama
2010 Conference
Attend for free!
Every Panama Circle Member is invited to attend our Live and Invest in Panama Conference in Panama City this February as our guest--and to bring a guest free, too. This is but the beginning of the value of membership in this special circle.
And, right now, for a limited time, you can reap all the rewards and enjoy all the benefits of full-fledged Panama Circle membership without paying full price--at least not all at once, up front.
During this limited-time New Member enrollment period, you can arrange to pay for your membership in installments.
If accepted as a New Member, you are invited to join us for our timely and comprehensive Panama event this February, and every Panama event we hold during your lifetime, as our guest. Like every other Panama Circle Member, you're also invited to bring a friend with you free.
This couldn't be easier. And the opportunities in Panama right now couldn't be bigger.
Go Here Now For Full Details
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Dear
Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader,
Here are 11 things I've learned from the school of hard knocks after three international moves across three continents with two kids, a dog, a turtle, a husband, and two businesses:
1. The first step to any move abroad is to
set your priorities and to be honest in the process. What matters to you most? Evenings at the theater? Friends whose company you can enjoy in English? Cost of living? A reliable Internet connection? Don't kid yourself. If you can't imagine life without a Maytag washer and dryer, for example, you may need to rethink the entire proposition.
2.
Make all decisions jointly with whomever you will make the move. Your spouse's ideas about what he or she wants may shock you...and vice versa. Better to get them on the table sooner rather than later.
3.
Recognize that no place is perfect. No climate is ideal. No city is 100% crime-free. Manage your expectations.
4. Understand that
no other country on earth is as comfortable or as convenient as the United States of America. In many places, shops, banks, dry cleaners, and government offices close for lunch and call it quits for the day by 5 p.m. You can't run errands on your lunch break...or on Sundays. In some countries, you must pay utility bills in person. In the developing world (not only in Latin America and the Caribbean, but in emerging Europe, too), appointments and schedules are more suggestions than commitments. And only a handful of real estate markets outside the States operate with Multiple Listing Services, meaning the search for your new home in Paradise likely will be inefficient at best.
5.
Don't leave your good sense at the border--specifically, don't mix alcohol and property buying. We call it "Margarita Madness." It's a syndrome that can set in shortly after your arrival in any sunny, sandy, tropical locale. The water's turquoise, the sand is soft, the palms are swaying... That guy you just met in the bar downtown (the one who shared a couple of rum punches with you), he's now driving you along the beach road bordering his development, pointing out where his clubhouse will be, where the marina will go, where your new home could be positioned. Look at that view. Feel that breeze. Boy, it doesn't get better than this. And, you know, we've got only two lots at this price remaining. A couple of buyers are expected in town tomorrow. I'd hate for you to miss out...
Would you buy a piece of real estate under those circumstances back home? A piece of property you're seeing for the first time in a place where you've never been before? From a guy you met in a bar?
You need to do more due diligence when investing in a piece of property in another country, not less.
6. There's
no such thing as the world's top retirement haven, no one-size-fits-all Shangri-la. The only one who can determine the best place for you to retire is you. There are dozens of beautiful, affordable, friendly, safe, charming places where you could choose to spend time in "retirement." It's a question of what you're looking for and of what's most important to you (see #1 above).
7.
Your U.S. health insurance won't cover you once you leave U.S. soil. Don't worry, you have options (detailed
here).
8.
Rent first. Don't buy a new home in paradise until you've tried that paradise on for size for several months. Even if the country turns out to be your ideal retirement haven, maybe the city or the region or the neighborhood where you land at first isn't where you ultimately want to be. Give yourself time to get the lay of the land before committing to a property purchase.
9.
Be prepared for panic. In 25 years speaking with people who've made the move to another country, I've yet to know one who didn't experience a moment of, "Geez Louise, what in the world have I done?" Expect to question your sanity for having ever considered the idea of moving so far from home and hearth, if only briefly. Expect it, prepare for it, and understand that it will pass. Everything you made the move for is waiting for you. You just need to give your perspective a little time to adjust.
10.
You need local tax advice in the country where you're planning to reside before you take up residence. When we moved to Ireland 10 years ago, we met with Ernst & Young in Dublin during one of our pre-move visits. This turned out to be super-smart (though we didn't realize it at the time). In Ireland then (this is no longer true today, as the relevant tax legislation has been amended since), if you organized your financial affairs according to a certain strategy that the advisor at Ernst & Young detailed for us, you could reduce your annual Irish tax burden substantially. I won't bore you with the details (especially as they're no longer relevant). The point, though, is that the strategy had to be employed before we had an Ireland address. If we'd waited until we'd taken up residence in the Emerald Isle, our annual tax obligations would have been considerably greater.
11.
Pay attention to your gut. A place either feels right...or it doesn't. All your research and figuring in advance is important, but nothing substitutes for the feeling you get when you hit the ground.
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. These 11 tips for retiring overseas are excerpted from our "
Join the Retirement Revolution: 101 Tips for Retiring Happy and Living Well Overseas" special report...one of four special reports we send free to every new subscriber to my
Overseas Retirement Letter.
Right now, you can take advantage of our
12 Days Of Christmas Sale to subscribe for 50% off the regular subscription rate. When you do, we'll send you all four special reports with our compliments (that's US$277 worth of bonuses).
Go here now to take advantage of these Great Big Holiday Savings!
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Great Big Holiday Sale--Every item in our bookstore is 50% off!
Spotlight On: The
Panama Letter.
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Each month in the
Panama Letter we bring you the real Panama, without the sugar coating.
This is the good, the bad, and the ugly, brought to you by a team of insiders, with, among them, decades of firsthand experience living, investing, and doing business in Panama. Understand, with their help, the opportunities that are right for you in the world's top retirement, lifestyle, investment, doing-business, and embarking-on-a-new-adventure haven.
Subscribe during our
Great Big Holiday Sale and
save a full 50% off the subscription fee.
In fact, every single item in our fully revamped Bookstore is at least 50% off, as we continue to celebrate the
12 Days Of Christmas!
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P.S. What else this week?
- Our Countdown To Christmas continued with a report from Euro-Correspondent Lucy Culpepper: "Every Dec. 8, the Feast of The Immaculate Conception, a little Christmas log (Tío de Nadal) appears in the homes of the Catalan people.
"The log, popularly called 'Caga Tío' ('Pooping Log'), has a perky face painted on one end and a jaunty little red hat and is fed and watered from Dec. 8 through Dec. 23. At bedtime, the log is covered up with a red or tartan blanket to keep it cozy. On the 24th, children and adults gather around Tío and, at first, tap him gently with a stick as they sing Tío's song. The pace and force of hitting picks up, ending with each person giving Tío a mighty whack in the hope that he poops some candy underneath his blanket, which, of course, eventually he does!"...
- Lucy continued, with Christmas coverage from France: "Everywhere I've been recently, as I've been doing my Christmas shopping, I've seen signs asking if I've ordered my bûche."
"It's not too late, don't panic ('ne paniquez pas!'); there's still time to make it a happy Christmas, I'm assured everywhere I go.
"La Bûche de Noel, or Yule Log, is served all over France as the must-have dessert after the midnight feast--the réveillon--that follows Mass on Christmas Eve. The réveillon varies from region to region but is always a rich meal featuring luxury foods. In the Pyrenees-Atlantic region, from where I write, foie gras pate, raw oysters, and salmon are typical menu staples.
"Cooking historians seem divided about the origin of the bûche. Some say it appeared in Parisian patisseries in the 1870s; other say it made its debut during the rule of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1804-1815). One story goes that Bonaparte told Parisians to block their chimneys during the cold winter months to stop cold air descending and to help prevent winter ailments and sickness. This meant fireplaces could not be used, so the Parisian bakers came up with the chocolate bûche for the family to gather around and enjoy during the holiday..."
- "On Christmas morning in Ireland," Correspondent Lynn Mulvihill, a native of Waterford, explained, "from beaches, piers, and coves around the country, people of all ages gather to immerse themselves in waters of around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (maximum).
"'Swim' is a bit of a misnomer. There is no particular distance that you need to cover, nor any agreed-upon duration that you must spend in the water.
"You simply join the crowd of people running toward and then into the water (cheered on by well-wrapped-up spectators), screaming as their bodies hit the ice-cold sea. A quick splash of the arms and legs, then back in to shore to dry off, wrap up, and enjoy a hot drink.
"Wetsuits have appeared on the scene in recent years, mostly among the kids, but the one unspoken rule for the hardy adults taking part is old-fashioned bathing suits only.
"One of the biggest events takes place at 'The 40 Foot' in Sandycove, in Dublin. Here in Waterford, the brave congregate in Tramore and Stradbally.
"Many of the swims have been running 20 years or more. Some do it for charity; others just for the fun--and maybe to work up an appetite for the turkey and ham Christmas dinner that follows later..."
- "Cartagena, Colombia, and Casco Viejo, Panama, are two of the most impressive colonial districts in all Latin America," wrote new Correspondent Evan Forbes. "Both have rich histories dating back to days of Spanish Empire rule and the architecture to prove it, and both of these developing historic districts are beginning to draw attention after years of neglect. Suddenly, the pair are on the international map as competing travel and investment destinations..."
- I have been a travel writer, editor, and publisher for more than 25 years. But I wasn't always a travel writer. For 10 months, straight out of college, I was a computer tech editor. It was a short-lived career, for I realized quickly that computer tech editing came with little upside for fun.
Travel writing, on the other hand, carries unlimited potential for fun, adventure, and, of course, travel.
If you have any wanderlust in your soul and if you like to tell stories, travel writing can seem like a dream come true. How do you get started? How do you become a published, paid, professional travel writer? Here's how...
PLUS: All This Christmas Week, We Continue Our Great Big Holiday Sale!
Continuing through Christmas Day, we invite you to
save a full 50% and more off the price of every single product in our Bookstore. Shop for yourself, for your family, for your friends. At these prices, you can afford it!
The
Overseas Retirement Letter...our new
Panama Letter...the
Panama Bridge Kit...our guide to
international health insurance for the retiree abroad...and every single
Country Retirement Report we publish--
it's all 50% off and more.
Go here now to Shop and Save during our 12 Days Of Christmas Sale!
