• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result
Home Travel

Black Gold Brings Good Fortune To The Port Of Spain

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
Jan 13, 2010
in Travel
0
Trinidad overlooking the blue caribbean sea
209
SHARES
3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Black Gold Brings Good Fortune To The Port Of Spain

“Trinidad has oil, a lot of oil,” writes Correspondent Paul Lewis, continuing his sunny island adventures. “And here in the capital of Port of Spain, it shows.

“Downtown colonial buildings have been replaced by green glass skyscrapers, and the freeways are packed with black-windowed Mercedes and BMWs. The city is crowded and bustling. Many of its fine old buildings are being restored and repaired to celebrate the new found good fortune.

“At Woodford Square, the ornate Parliament building, known as Red House after it was inadvertently painted red on the eve of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, is now encased in matching red scaffolding.

“‘The Magnificent Seven’—the seven ornate Victorian mansions on Maraval Road, including the Prime Minister’s office, the Archbishop’s residence, and the President’s home—are all in various stages of restoration. Port of Spain is smartening itself up, thanks to the new black gold. Up on the hill the new shiny steel cultural center (vaguely reminiscent of the Sydney Opera) has just opened.

“But little has changed at Holy Trinity Cathedral, close to the Red House, built to serve the British garrison stationed on the island in colonial days. Magnificent carved mahogany beams support the high roof while the wall plaques record the tragically young age at which many Europeans were carried off by fever.

“Still surviving, too, are a few of the wooden villas with elaborate window shutters against the sun and fretwork decoration that once made up much of the town, often brightly painted in pink and salmon, blue and white. Boisterous, crowded Charlotte Street is still where the poor shop. But in a sunny, typically slow-moving part of the world, Port of Spain is moving at a new speed in a new direction.”

Kathleen Peddicord

 

***

MAILBAG:

“Here’s a piece of advice for fellow readers: Check out any country before moving there permanently to find out if your bank cards (savings or credit) will work locally. Your bank probably will tell you that their cards are accepted just about anywhere in the world. However, I can tell you from personal experience that this is untrue.

“You may be able to use your card to withdraw cash from an ATM in your new country only to find that you cannot use it to make a purchase in a shop, or vice versa. Your bank (even major international banks) will tell you that there is no problem from their end.

“You are in your new country, and no one will accept your Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards. The problem often lies with Visa or MasterCard, and they can be most unhelpful.

“I have lived in many countries, and my advice is to check these things out thoroughly before making any relocation decision.”

— Irene P., Peru

I wouldn’t recommend that you choose where you want to live based on whether or not your current bank cards may or may not work locally.

We’ve lived and spent extended time in many countries, too, and we’ve had only limited issues using our credit or ATM cards anywhere we’ve roamed. Our pet peeve on this subject has to do with the fees we’re sometimes charged, but that’s another matter.

Bottom line, it isn’t the country that is an issue, and it’s not Visa or MasterCard either. Yes, Visa and MasterCard have put fraud prevention systems in place, but these are managed through your bank. Which means that, if there’s a problem, you should address it with your bank, not with Visa or MasterCard. As you suggest, you aren’t likely to get far trying to take up these kinds of things with Visa, for example, directly.

Our Schwab debit card was cut off in Baltimore while we were in town for Christmas. Yes, it was Visa’s systems (this is the logo on the card) that raised the red flag (they recognized that we were operating outside our normal use patterns), but, to get the card turned back on, we contacted Schwab. They were able to reactivate it immediately.

Here’s my best advice on this subject: Don’t travel with just one credit or ATM card. As identify-theft and other security protocols become ever-more-restrictive, it’s likely that, yes, you’re going to run into problems now and then. You don’t want to find yourself unable to access cash in some remote or distance spot on this planet, so don’t rely on the systems of a single bank.

***

“Kathleen, if I relocate to another country, can I renew my U.S. passport while there or would I need to return to the States to do that?”

— Bill S., United States

If there is a U.S. consulate or embassy in the country where you relocate, yes, you should be able to renew your passport locally. For Americans, this means you should be able to renew your passport most places you’d likely be interested in living. However, if you are a citizen of a smaller country, you may have to send your passport to the nearest consulate in your region or even back home when it’s time to renew.

Tags: Port Of SpainTrinidad
Share84Tweet52
Previous Post

See Asia In 2010

Next Post

Nobel Laureates, Sugar Cane, And Cruise Ships—The Productive Assets Of Pretty Little St. Lucia

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.

Her newest book, "How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad," published by Penguin Random House, is the culmination of decades of personal experience living and investing around the world.

Related Posts

Puebla streets in historic center
Mexico

10 Things To Do In Puebla, Mexico: Must-See Landmarks And More

by Louisa Rogers
July 20, 2022
0

One of the pleasures of being an expat in Mexico is getting to know other beautiful colonial cities in the country...

Read more
Christopher Columbus Palace on Plaza de España in the historic center of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo: Dominican Republic’s Colonial Capital

July 3, 2022
Mangrove trees grow on the beach in crystal clear tropical water in Las Terrenas beach, Dominican Republic

Top 10 Things To Do In Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic

June 29, 2022
Marsaxlokk bay harbour of Malta, with beautiful architecture and boats at dusk

The 7 Best Places To Travel In Summer 2022

May 29, 2022
police and criminal on side of a poster that says "7 countries to live or retire in that have little to no crime"

Crime Overseas: 7 Countries That Have Little To No Crime

May 10, 2022
Male dentist treating female patient

The World’s 7 Best Countries For Dental Tourism

May 9, 2022
And old yellow school bus on a dirt road in Belize

Tales From The LIOS Archives—Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day

April 28, 2022
Next Post
st lucia harbour with boats on Caribbean sea

Nobel Laureates, Sugar Cane, And Cruise Ships—The Productive Assets Of Pretty Little St. Lucia

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.







LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2022

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2022 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2022 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

The World’s Best Places To Be In 2022?

Discover Them Here…

Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY