Why Every Global Investment Portfolio Should Include This Asset

Aug. 20, 2010, Panama City, Panama: A rental investment overseas won’t make you rich, but it can provide solid, reliable returns in the range of 5% to 8%. Any property appreciation is a bonus.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

Scouting in Medellin this past week, I've been reminded of the long-term sense of having some of your real estate investment portfolio in rentals.

Rental investments won't make you rich, but they can provide solid, reliable returns in the range of 5% to 8%.

"Lief, you are spot on about renting first. After our attendance at your Live and Invest on Panama earlier this year, we looked at real estate to buy and even wrote a couple of contracts. Nothing seemed right. We hired an attorney to give us advice in Panama City. He suggested renting, rather than buying right away, and we did.

"He also noted that finding the right rental agent is crucial. We have been blessed with a smart and highly competent agent who worked very hard to find just what we wanted. She did all the legwork, even took us shopping for everything we needed to furnish our place. Our rental was new (in Vista Del Mar) and needed everything! Our agent pre-shopped for furniture for us, so that, when we arrived, she took us around to show us what she'd already found. We simply had to choose.

"We intend to move permanently to Panama City within two years. Your conference and daily posts got us started. We thank you!

"And we hope to see you and Kathleen soon!"

-- Victoria F., United States

"Kathleen, I've been reading your e-mails for some time now, and the idea of moving and working in another country is getting very appealing. I am an artist making a modest living doing landscape paintings in North Carolina (www.mccarter-gallery.com). My wife is fluent in French and loves the culture. France would definitely be her first choice--and, if she's happy, I'm happy!

"Do you have anything specifically that would be helpful in learning how to make such a move and to understanding if this is even possible?

"Finally, I am very interested in having a 'safe' bank account outside this country, not in U.S. dollars. Can you recommend something?

"Thank you so much. I really look forward to hearing from you and to making the move!"

-- Alan McC., United States

We're sorry that you missed our Live and Invest in France Conference in Paris last month. This could have been an ideal opportunity for you and your wife to spend a few days with us and our top France contacts having all your questions answered.

We recorded this live event and are editing those recordings to be bundled as part of our new Live and Invest in France Kit, which will also include a "Live and Invest in France Manual." In addition, we will be holding our Live and Invest in France Conference again next July (we intend to make this an annual event).

Regarding a bank account, we recommend Belize as a top offshore banking jurisdiction right now. And, in that country, our preferred bank is Caye Bank, which offers non-dollar accounts. You can contact the bank here. Continue Reading:

• Retire Overseas

Foolish Questions

Aug. 8, 2010, Panama City, Panama

AND: French Country Life For €70,000...Foolish Questions...13 Things To Know Before You Buy Foreign Real Estate...And More...

Dear Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader,

Kathleen is making her way from Paris to Panama this weekend. She'll be back online tomorrow. 

Meantime, read on below for all that's new this week... 

The Best Of French Country Life For 70,000 Euro Or Less

Aug. 2, 2010, Languedoc, France: You could purchase and renovate a small house in southwest France for a total cost of 70,000 euro or less.   

  Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,

At our recent Live & Invest in France Conference in Paris, France-Correspondent Lucy Culpepper got everyone's attention with her tale of a friend, a fellow expat in southwest France, who'd bought a small stone house for 50,000 euro, invested 15,000 euro in the renovation, and created for herself in the process a cozy and charming French country home. In the photo Lucy showed the group, the little house her friend had renovated couldn't have been cuter. 

The Secret To Success Living Anywhere In The World

July 27, 2010, Paris, France: The secret to success anywhere in the world is to penetrate the gringo market and to operate at the local level.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader, 

This month in Paris, we're giving our little apartment a face-lift. Plastering, painting, new furniture, and new curtains. Ready-made curtains don't work for our 300-year-old windows, so I set out, last weekend, for Sacre-Coeur, home to the city's best selection of fabric shops.

I found the sheer white cotton fabric I was after in the third shop I visited. I approached the counter to ask, in my best-accented French, both the cost of the fabric and the cost of sewing it into curtain panels to fit my windows.

Free Paris

July 25, 2010, Paris, France: You don't have to spend a lot to enjoy a big experience in the City of Light. Sometimes, you don't even have to spend a little. Some of the best experiences this city has to offer come free.

 Dear Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader,

For the closing afternoon of our Live & Invest in France Conference this week, we invited our daughter, Kaitlin Yent, 21, who lived in Paris for four years and graduated high school here, to introduce our assembled group to some of the fun things you can do in this city at no cost.

Living here as students, Kaitlin and her friends were motivated to seek out every opportunity to make the most of their Paris experience...while operating on student budgets.

It's Not A Question Of What Is Legal Or Not Legal...It's A Matter Of What Can Be Tolerated

July 22, 2010, Paris, France: In France, it's not a question of what is "legal" or "not legal." It's a matter of what can be tolerated, and, in practice, most anything can be tolerated.

Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader, 

"France and the United States date to about the same time," began French friend and legal expert Jean Taquet in his address to our group assembled in the St. Petersbourg Hotel in Paris this morning. 

"The trouble in France was that, unlike in the United States, where the enemy of the Revolution wore red coats, the enemy of the French Revolution, the aristocracy, was unrecognizable on sight.

Rediscovering Ambergris Caye

March 28, 2010, Ambergris Caye, Belize

Dear Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader, 

My first visit to Ambergris Caye, Belize, I arrived in San Pedro Town, climbed down from the little plane, collected my suitcase from the runway where it had been off-loaded for me, carried it across the dirt road to the Sunbreeze Hotel, checked in, then set out to explore. 

San Pedro, I discovered, boasted three dirt roads, a handful of rustic little hotels (most without hot water), a single nightclub, a school, and a string of dive shops. This unassuming fishing village was just beginning to attract the attention of intrepid divers. They were the only ones at the time who recognized any reason compelling enough to make the trip out to these well off-the-world's-radar white-sand shores.

Retirement On The Pampas

July 18, 2010, Paris, France: Retirement to Argentina means a life of wide-open spaces, good food, and great wine.

Dear Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader, 

"The older I get, the more the idea appeals to me," remarked an old friend over drinks the other afternoon. "I've always thought we'd return to the States when the time came for retirement, but, more and more, I'm drawn to the wide-open spaces of Argentina." 

My friend and I were sitting outdoors at a café across from the Seine, sipping champagne and watching the river. It was 7 p.m., but the sun shone bright. This time of year in this part of the world, it doesn't set until well past 10.

We’re having to shout at each other in the apartment today to be heard above the roar of the jet engines passing all around overhead. We’re but a few blocks from the Champs d’Elysees and the Place de la Concorde, the location of today’s Bastille Day parade and celebrations.

The French Air Force (the fourth-largest in the world) uses the day as an excuse to show off its highest-tech planes and its fanciest flying. It’s really something to see…and the kids have just gone out the door, in the rain, to watch. Coming toward Concorde right now (according to video images the kids downloaded before they took off to see the real thing) is a squadron of tanks…Continue Reading:

• Bargain Global Real Estate