Several years ago, at one of our conferences in Panama, I met an American gentleman from Tennessee who explained that he had been researching real estate investment opportunities in the Dominican Republic for two years.
“I’m convinced the DR is a market I want to invest in right now,” he told me, “but I’m just not sure what to buy. Before I started looking closely at the Dominican Republic, I researched the market in Costa Rica for four years.”
“What did you end up buying there?”
“Oh, I never bought anything. After four years of looking, prices had risen so high that I figured it no longer made sense to invest.”
“Ah, well, that happens,” I offered.
The truth is, it happens a lot.
I have business associates who follow a strategy they refer to as, “Ready, fire, aim.” I think it works for investing, too… and for life.
As friend and 35-year retiree (since the age of 35) Paul Terhorst puts it, “You can plan to retire overseas… or you can retire overseas and then make some plans.”
Whether you’re looking to invest in real estate in a new market or to start a new life somewhere exotic and exciting, sure, you want to carry out your due diligence. But realize that, all the while you’re researching, the market is moving…
And your life is passing.
That gentleman I met from Tennessee was so worried that another, better opportunity might come along that he could never bring himself to carry through with any one particular chance.
He was a smart guy. And an experienced investor. He’d done well for himself buying long-term rentals in his hometown. He felt comfortable with that market. And perhaps that was the great hindrance to his plans for diversification abroad…
Because he understood his home market in Tennessee so well, he was frighteningly aware of how much he didn’t understand the markets in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and beyond.
He kept researching and investigating and scouting, trying to identify the right time to invest and the best thing to buy.
There is no “right” time to buy, and there is no “best” time to make the move abroad.
After more than seven years in Ireland and four years in Paris, we moved to Panama, where I lived with my family for more than 10 years. Before the move, someone asked, “Why Panama? Why now?”
I think she was looking for a clear-cut response that would have made the case for why right now is the “right” time to take up foreign residence in the Panamanian capital. And I fear I likely disappointed her.
Panama makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons, but is it the best place for me or you or anyone thinking about spending time or money right now? Who could answer that question? Not me.
I can only tell you, as I told the woman, why we went to Panama: Because it’s a better place to do business than France.
I’m running a publishing business (I appreciate having you along for the ride, by the way), and my husband is developing property.
We like France, and we’ve been happy in Paris, but we’re not complete fools. And, frankly, I think you’d have to be at least a bit daft to try to indulge entrepreneurial inclinations in France.
Why did I settle in Waterford, Ireland, years ago? I was relocating myself and the business I was running at the time to Ireland because the parent company wanted a presence in the EU. But why Waterford specifically?
Because my then brand-new husband was considering investing in a real estate development just outside that city. That project didn’t pan out, but, meantime, the choice had been made and Waterford became our home.
Why did we begin spending time in Paris when we did? Because our daughter suggested it.
Paul Terhorst took early retirement and began his overseas adventures when he was 35 years old because the accounting firm he was working for decided to pull him out of Argentina.
He and his wife had grown to like Buenos Aires, where Paul’s firm had assigned him a couple of years earlier. When his superiors told him the Argentine posting was over, he told them his retirement had begun.
Another friend also took early retirement, about five years ago, when the engineering firm he was working for was bought out by a larger one.
He saw the corporate restructuring as a chance for a bigger change. Instead of moving up the company ladder, he moved down south, to Cuenca, Ecuador.
New Life Overseas
Sometimes life takes you by the collar and pulls you along.
Sometimes it waits for you to create your own momentum.
I say again, there is no best opportunity and there is no right time.
So here’s what you do…
You do something right now.
If your life’s circumstances aren’t conspiring to pull you in the direction of new horizons, get yourself up to start chasing them.
“But… but… but,” you may be thinking.
But what? What’s holding you back?
You’re worried you can’t afford it? We show you regularly that you could retire and live well in interesting, comfortable places like Chitré or Medellín or Placencia or Mazatlán… and beyond… on a budget of as little as US$1,500 per month or less.
Worried it’ll be a lot of hassle and work?
You’re right. It will be. It’s easier to stay put and to do nothing.
But where would that leave you at the end of the day? What stories would you have to tell? What adventures to remember?
Don’t like the idea of moving far from your children or grandchildren?
Don’t.
Try the Dominican Republic or Mexico. A new life in either of these countries would put you not much farther from your loved ones than would a move to Arizona or Florida. You (and they) could even drive to Mexico for visits.
Generally scared to death?
What are you afraid of? That your new life won’t work out as you hope and expect? So what? You could always return home.
Or move on. Again, there’s no “right” place, and trying different places on for size is part of the fun.
Maybe it is the fun.
On the other hand, maybe you’re not worried your living and investing overseas plans might fail. Maybe you’re worried they’ll succeed.
Where would that leave you?
I can’t imagine.
But you can.Until next time,
Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter
P.S. If you’re still trying to pinpoint the perfect place to start your overseas adventure then consider Latin America…
It’s a vibrant wonderland of opportunity and adventure where you can live a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget. And at our upcoming Live And Invest In Latin America Virtual Conference we’ll show you the very best of what’s on offer here.
This Oct. 18-20, our Latin America experts are gathering together to give you the inside track on expat life in Panama, Colombia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Mexico, and Belize. Registration has now opened. Don’t delay… Book your spot and lock-in an early bird discount now.
