Tag: foreign real estate

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Two interesting opportunities in Panama

June 9, 2010 Panama City, Panama Panamanians are generally a carefree lot… but there are a few things that they curiously take very, very seriously. Mother’s Day is one example– it’s held in December, and the entire country shuts down for the day, including banks and government offices. Voting is another example– it’s

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Selling snake oil in the Valley of Longevity

April 22, 2010 Vilcabamba, Ecuador There must be something in the water down here.  They call this place the “Valley of Longevity” because it’s not uncommon for people to live well past the century mark… and it’s true. Driving around the town last night and this morning, I couldn’t help but notice so

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Pricing in Ecuador

April 21, 2010 Cuenca, Ecuador Last night I ate at one of the fanciest restaurants in Cuenca.  Everything except for the Chilean wine was locally grown and absolutely delicious, right down to the banana flan for dessert. The total bill for my beautiful companion and I rang in at $40.02, including 3 courses

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What emerging markets have in common with puberty

April 8, 2010 Panama City, Panama Do you remember that really awkward phase we all went through as adolescents? Growth spurts, voice changes, menstruation, and yes, pimples– in the end, while we all came out of it more mature and grown up, there was a difficult and sometimes painful transition period in which

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The strongest Latin economies for buying property

March 31, 2010 Panama City, Panama It appears that not all is amiss with sovereign debt: Panama may be one of the only bright spots, at least in the western hemisphere… the country recently had its debt rating upgraded by Fitch to ‘investment grade’ with a positive outlook. Now, I have been quite

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This survey will make you want to leave immediately

February 17, 2010 Bangkok, Thailand I couldn’t believe what I was hearing… and I found myself wondering out loud- “Are these people insane??” Apparently, yes. I was watching Richard Edelman this morning on Bloomberg Television discussing the latest results of his research and PR firm’s annual “trust survey.”  Edelman takes a scientific poll

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Three real estate traps in Panama

February 3, 2010 Panama City, Panama Panama is a popular destination for expats, and for good reason. But there are some critical property traps that you should be aware of if you’re looking to buy. The first trap to watch out for is the tax law; for years, the government stimulated the real

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Why you don’t want to go at it alone

Blair is in her early 40s from Southern California.  She’s intelligent, fairly aggressive, and an experienced financial executive at a mid-sized manufacturing company. In total, she has about $250,000 in savings, some of which she used to buy property in Panama. She is single with no children and has been traveling to Panama

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Panama vs. Costa Rica

January 27, 2010 El Valle, Panama For a future expat, there are three places worth seriously considering in Central America– Panama, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.  Much is written about Panama, and rightfully so; the country is the most stable, economically liberal, and business oriented. Not to be completely ignored, though, Costa Rica has

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A sustainable community in Panama

January 26, 2010 Panama City, Panama I’ve been on the ground in Panama for a week, and thus far, the majority of my time has been spent investigating the sustainable community concept that I wrote about several weeks ago. To refresh your memory, the idea is to develop a small, cost-effective, subscribers-only expatriate

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