January 6, 2010
Reporting from: Estepona, Spain
I’m sitting now in lovely Estepona, Spain– a coastal town on the Mediterranean that experienced a massive property boom over the last decade.
The community I’m in is anchored by a five-star Ritz Carlton golf resort, and surrounded on all sides by the mountains or the ocean. Ancient military tacticians marveled at the defensibility of such a position and likely did not envision it being turned into a holiday hot-spot.
As the coastal region here is generally dry, warm, and nestled in the mountains, it’s ideally suited for me. I prefer clean places that are reasonably priced with great weather, access to major transportation, vibrant culture, and yes, a single’s scene. Coastal Spain is all of these… but to buy now I would be overpaying. Here’s why:
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Tagged as:
expatriation,
foreign real estate,
investing,
Italy,
Spain
I’m sitting on a sunny terrace overlooking the Gulf of Taranto in Italy’s southern Puglia region, and it’s absolutely spectacular. If the world goes to hell in 2010, this will be on my short list.
Puglia is Italy’s breadbasket– staple crops here grow like wild flowers due to the temperate climate and rich soil. It hardly rains here (this is a plus for me), yet ground water is abundant, so it’s fairly easy to yield quality crops.
Plus it’s cheap, especially by European standards… land costs, food costs, living costs, etc. are well below the Italian average, which is well below the Western European average.
The region also produces some of the strongest, most exquisite grapes in Europe. The better known Tuscan wines often fortify their blends with ‘Pugliese’ grapes, and I’m convinced that this area will become the next ‘it place’ in the wine industry.
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Italy