September 8, 2014
Sovereign Valley Farm, Chile
When Ferdinand Magellan and his men arrived in the harbor of Rio de Janeiro in 1519, throngs of naked native women swam out into the surf to greet them.
Having spent the previous months battling through the brutal waters of the Atlantic, this was certainly a welcome sight.
In those days, getting on a ship to sail across the world was akin to playing Russian Roulette. A lot of folks just didn’t make it.
Fortunately the last five hundred years has been rather generous to human kind.
Our technology has virtually eliminated the risk of traveling across the globe, slashing the time, and minimizing the cost.
(Yes, with all the gazillions of point programs and ‘hack’ methods out there, international travel can be done easily on a shoestring.)
This means that in less than 24 hours, you could be on the other side of the planet… experiencing for yourself the tremendous opportunities that the world has to offer.
Case in point: the town of Noiva de Cordeiro in Brazil is home to more than 600 women and only a handful of men.
Unhappy with the idea of their lonely future, they recently put out a very public call for potential male suitors to move to their town.
As we talked about before, marrying a Brazilian is one of the fastest ways to obtain Brazilian citizenship and an excellent Brazilian passport, but that’s not what I want to talk about today.
When we discuss overseas opportunities, it’s not just business and investment opportunities we should look at. The world can be your playground to explore and experiment with different lifestyles.
Activities that are illegal in one jurisdiction are considered normal in another.
Tired of the police state ruining your nights out? In Brazil you can party down the street with the locals until sunrise.
Want to leisurely converse about the state of the world while sipping coffee and watching a Mediterranean sunset? Try Greece, Croatia or Spain.
Feel like your hometown is just too stale and boring? Try Colombia, where you’ll find a vibrant culture and adventure waiting for you at every corner.
Are you addicted to skiing? Try Andorra (or even right here in Chile).
Looking for someone to talk to about your online business? Stumble into any café in Chiang Mai, Thailand and you’ll find a plethora of budding entrepreneurs.
Every country has something different to offer, and there’s a city and a country to fit every personality type.
As a tourist you generally get treated better in these places than actual citizens.
Perpetual travelers can enjoy the best of what a country has to offer without being weighted down with excessive bureaucracy and taxes.
Modern travel and communications have made and are making the world an ever-smaller place. You don’t have to be physically present somewhere in order to make money.
If you’re willing to make the leap abroad, a whole new world of opportunities awaits you.
Sure, often those opportunities relate to business and investing.
In the West, for example, most nations are debilitated by excessive debt and tax burdens, cajoled along by central bankers who have completely distorted the marketplace.
Yet there are a number of exciting markets in the world underpinned by strong demographic fundamentals and the emergence of a new middle class.
This is real growth. It’s not just some central banker printing money.
It’s really invigorating to see on the ground first hand. But to be fair, life isn’t all about money, wealth, and business.
This is, after all, why so many people head overseas for vacation. They unplug from the rat race for a few weeks each year and go to a beautiful place surrounded by friendly people where they can live the good life for a short time.
And the entire world is full of other opportunities as well…
