Jan. 14, 2010
Castries, St. Lucia, Windward Islands
PLUS:
- It's Official--Panama City Will Have A Metro System! Construction To Begin In August...
- "Should I Think About Leaving My Wife So I Could Purchase Land In The Philippines?"...
----------
Asia Now
This is the best time in our lifetimes to consider Asia. This beautiful and exotic region is more open today than ever, and it's possible for Westerners to travel almost anywhere they'd want to go. At the same time, Asia is fast-changing, and you have now a window to experience it before the face of this ancient land of emperors and adventurers is too dramatically altered.
But perhaps the best reason to take a good look at this part of the world right now is that it hides the world's most affordable retirement havens...the cheapest places on earth to live well.
Intrepid Correspondents Paul and Vicki Terhorst have been tempting me with tales of comfortable US$11-a-night hotels and tasty, filling lunches for 50 cents for the past year-and-a-half, as they have been on the ground, scouting the opportunities.
The verdict? See Asia now.
Paul tells you more here.
----------
Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,
"
St. Lucia is like a pretty girl with only her smiles to live off," writes Correspondent Paul Lewis, continuing the reports from his early-winter cruise through the Caribbean.
"The island's main export is Nobel Prize winners--it has had two so far. With a population of only 160,000, this makes it the world champion Nobel Prize-winning country.
"St. Lucia's first laureate was Sir William Arthur Lewis, who received the Economics award in 1979. He launched the United Nations Development Program and championed the idea that education is more important than money in promoting development.
"St. Lucia's second win came in 1992, when Derek Alton Walcott carried off the literature prize for his poetry, which mixes English and French in tribute to the island's complex ancestry--it changed hands six times between Britain and France before Britain finally secured it in 1814. Here's an example of his verse:
"'Moi c'est gens St. Lucie. C'est la
Moi sorti, is there that I born.'
"But producing Nobel Laureates doesn't pay the rent. So, at first, St. Lucia grew sugar and then switched to bananas, which it still produces for British supermarket chains, with each bunch ripening in a blue plastic bag to keep off bugs. But this isn't enough either, so St. Lucia decided to attract tourists, for which it has developed a wicked talent.
"White cruise ships crowd the anchorages in the tiny capital of Castries, barely six blocks long and four deep but home to a cavernous Catholic Basilica (no less), where a
creche shows a black Virgin and Child, as do two stained-glass windows.
"The island is mountainous and densely forested, but the roads are excellent and the villages neat and clean. It has a waterfall in the middle and two striking volcanic mountains on its southern tip, which look like giant upside-down ice cream cones and are called the Pitons.
"The people have charming French names dating from a century ago, like Theopilius Mondésir, Nelson Fevrier, and Myrille St. Phor. The Governor General, who represents Queen Elizabeth II, rejoices in the name Dame Peralette Louisy.
"Everyone speaks English, many speak French, and all communicate in an impenetrable
patois of the two mixed up together."
Kathleen Peddicord
----------
Don't Be Left Without A Seat For The Most Important Panama Event Of The Year
Where: The Four Points Sheraton Hotel, downtown Panama City.
When: February 24-26.
Who Should Attend? Anyone thinking about the idea of living, retiring, investing, or starting a business in this country.
Why Panama? Top banking and offshore center...tropical sunshine...easy residency...first-class health care...best place on the planet to start a business right now...best land opportunities in the Americas...Gold Standard
pensionado program of benefits for foreign retirees...two long coastlines...best infrastructure in the region...more than two-dozen top international schooling choices...affordable cost of living...tax haven (you could pay zero tax)...easy access to the States, Europe, and the rest of Central America (they're not joking when they call this country the "Hub of the Americas")...
How Long Should You Plan To Be In Panama? When you register for the Live & Invest in Panama Conference, you're also invited to join our experts on
Real Estate Tours around the city and country. Once you register, we'll get in touch to help schedule your tour. Plan to stay in Panama for a couple days before or after the event.
Is The Special Discounted Hotel Rate Still Available? Yes, the special rate is guaranteed as long as you make your hotel booking by February 1.
Can You Avail Of This Special Conference Attendee Hotel Rate If You Arrive Early Or Stay On At The Hotel After The Event Is Over? Yes, as long as you book with the help of Conference Director Sofia Hogan.
What Will The Program Cover? Cost of living, health care, banking, residency, visas,
pensionado benefits, real estate purchase, shipping, telecommunications, transportation, taxes, real estate investment opportunities, business opportunities, introductions (to attorneys, bankers, mortgage brokers, insurance agents, etc.), health insurance, medical care, the weather, the bugs, import duties, Spanish study, capital gains, the property tax exemption, investor incentives, renovating an historic building, furnishing your new home, building a house, finding a doctor, expat stories of success...expat tales of horror, financing, sightseeing, bird-watching, tourism investment, monthly living budgets...
Full program details here.
If you still have questions, don't be shy. We're standing by to take your call. Here's where you can reach us: 1-888-627-8834, or email at
SHogan@LiveandInvestOverseas.com.
----------
"
Panama begins the New Year with more important developments and plans for improvements," writes Panama Editor Rebecca Tyre. "The really big news has to do with the new Panama City metro system. It's official. This country's capital will have a metro; construction is now scheduled to begin in August. Once complete, this ambitious infrastructure undertaking will provide a much-needed cross-city transportation option.
"The government has just unveiled the metro's future route, and it includes stops at the Albrook transportation terminal, at Via España and Bella Vista downtown, and as far northeast as the Los Andes neighborhood. We're disappointed the planned route doesn't extend to Tocumen International Airport, meaning we'll have to keep paying US$30 for a taxi ride back and forth...
"By the way, those airport taxis we'll be stepping into are now all yellow. After years of delays and extensions, the government is finally enforcing the all-taxis-must-be-painted-yellow rule in an effort to make them more easily recognizable and to prevent unauthorized drivers from posing as licensed taxi drivers. As of Jan. 1, over are the days of multicolored taxis indistinguishable from regular cars.
"The problem is that not all taxi drivers have the money to paint their cars...meaning those vehicles are now out of commission. This is tough, I'm sure, for the drivers, but it's having an unexpected upside. I have noticed a major improvement in the flow of traffic since the taxi law came in to full effect. Sure, there are still traffic jams, but, even during rush hour, I can't help but think, 'Where are all the cars?'"
"Kathleen, in response to your
Overseas Opportunity Letter dated 1/10/10, in the second paragraph from the end, where you explain that
Lief is going to Malaysia and the Philippines, I'm writing to ask when the
Philippines began allowing foreign ownership of land?
"The last time I checked was about a year ago, when I confirmed that a foreigner could only own a condo in the Philippines, as in Thailand. The situation in the Philippines, though, is even worse than in Thailand, where a foreigner can lease land for 30 years and then renew the lease for another 30 years. In the Philippines, you can lease land for only 20 years, and lease renewal is questionable.
"Of course, I could always divorce my wife of 40+ years and marry a local girl, but, frankly, I like the wife I already have."
-- Erich F., United States
Resident global real estate investing expert Lief Simon replies:
"You've got it right. A foreigner in the Philippines can own a condo but not land. That's why our reference last week spoke not of land but of 'real estate.' Sorry for any confusion.
"P.S. I agree. No property deal is worth the love of a good woman."
