Oct. 9, 2008
Granada, Nicaragua

PLUS:

• Outdoor Cafes, Galleries, Museums, Souvenir Hawkers…Just Like In The City Of Light…
• Blame It On Granada…This Town Will Bring Out The Romantic In You, Too…
• Don’t Go In Search Of Golden Frogs…
• Eight Reasons To Like El Valle…
• “Isn’t Nicaragua Hot And Humid?”…

AND:

• “Please Stop This Irritating And Silly Terminology”…

Your Retirement Doesn’t Have To Be
About Difficult Compromises

In the right places overseas today, you can live a Rolls Royce Lifestyle on a Dodge Dart budget.

This economic meltdown is going to force millions of retirees into survival mode. Cutting back on pleasures like dining out or vacations. Even downright frugal living.

Yet you could retire in style for as little as $694 a month. More than 441,000 retirees are already doing it. I’d like to show you how to join them…

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Dear Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader,

Harry and I are rocking slowly, back and forth, in big wicker chairs…answering e-mails and preparing this letter to you...

Before us is a small waterfall, flowing over the edge of a swimming pool surrounded by palm trees and red-flowering plants. We hear the sound of the water falling…the sound of music out in the street…the sound of children calling to each other…of birds chirping all around…an ice-cream vendor ringing his bell…

We have wireless Internet. Flor de Cana rum and Coke. No ice…but, hey, we’re not ones to complain.

It rained briefly a little while ago. Otherwise, the sun shone bright all day, despite the season. After our meetings this morning, Harry and I wandered through Granada. And I took a bold position with my young marketing manager:

“This is the Paris of Central America,” I told him.

Harry had little choice but to agree. You, dear reader, may be skeptical. And, indeed, this is not France. There are no high-speed trains. Nicaragua doesn’t have the world’s best health care. There’s no opera. There’s no Seine.

There is, however, a lake, at the end of what is now a stone-paved thoroughfare lined with shops and cafes with tables and chairs out front where you could enjoy a glass of late-afternoon wine.

Granada, Nicaragua, now is home to outdoor cafes, small galleries and museums, souvenir hawkers, and lots of tourists.

Just like Paris.

OK, OK…the metaphor is a stretch. But Paris is a city for romantics. And so is Granada.

Walking from the Condos de Xalteva, where we’re staying these two nights, to the center of town this morning, I was struck by the simple, timeless beauty of this place. On this point, I exaggerate not at all.

The centuries-old church steeples, white and gold and pale blue against the deep blue sky…the red-tiled roofs…the bell towers…the long, wide Xalteva boulevard…

Paris is special because it’s lovely without peer.

Granada is lovely without peer in these parts.

Paris is special because you need only, at any moment, step outside your door to be treated to delightful sounds and sights and smells…to pass impressive architecture, well-tended parks, and tempting window displays.

Just like in Granada. Step out onto any street, at any time of day, and something interesting is going on. There’s something pleasing to look at. Something tempting you to linger and to investigate.

Paris is special because it’s a city made for walking. A car is a liability. And why would you want to drive anyway? You’d miss the chance to be part of Paris street life.

Just like in Granada.

Granada, Nicaragua, is Paris, France, without the twice-daily street-cleaning and the every-10-years mandatory building facade refurbishment.

My sentimental side is showing. I blame this town.

Come see for yourself. Granada, with its many colonial churches and many more colonial houses, many now carefully restored, will bring out the romantic in you, too.

Kathleen Peddicord

----- Best Condo Buy In Nicaragua ------

Lock-It-And-Leave-It Turn-Key Retirement In The Heart Of Nicaragua

Condos de Xalteva

TODAY:

“You might want to think twice about sending Kaitlin off in search of the famous Golden Frogs of El Valle when she visits you in Panama City this weekend,” writes Costa Rica correspondent Lucy Culpepper in response to a recent letter.

“Sadly, most of the frogs have been wiped out by a toad virus. However, I will be writing all about the things she could do in El Valle for the next issue of the Overseas Retirement Letter.

“She could:

• Go horseback riding…
   
• Paint herself with volcanic mud and sit in warm mineralized water pools…
   
• Hike to the El Macho waterfall and many more beautiful places…
   
• Swoop through the rainforest on a zip line…
   
• Go on nature tours and visit some of the best birding sites in Central America…
   
• Visit the famous artisan market (definitely worth it…the prices are very reasonable…she could even ship her purchases back home from the El Valle post office)…
   
• Visit El Nispero Zoo...
   
• Eat at local bars, a fab pizzeria, or a gourmet restaurant…

“There's an internet cafe to keep in touch, and a whole range of places to stay, from 'backpacker' level to immaculate B&B and on up the scale to an exclusive Tuscan-style boutique hotel.”

Lucy promises full details in the November Overseas Retirement Letter issue.

FROM THE MAILBAG:

“The humidity in Nicaragua is terribly high. I didn’t notice you mentioning that fact?”

-- Reader in the United States

Indeed, dear reader, Nicaragua is hot and humid. As countries in the tropics (and sub-tropics, depending how you classify this country) tend to be.

***

“Please drop this irritating and rather silly ‘Dear Reader’ terminology. It only worked for Dorothy Parker and that was a long time ago.”
 
-- Thelma D., United States

I’m sorry to offend, dear reader. I’ll try to think of other ways to address you.