Don't Waste Your Retirement

International Living Postcards-- your daily escape

Thursday, March 1, 2007

If you're a print subscriber, your March 2007 issue of International Living will be with you soon, courtesy of your local mailman. Or, you can get instant online access here: http://www.internationalliving.com/issues

If you're not yet a subscriber…whet your appetite below.

- Buying a second home in Costa Rica's Central Valley--why now is the time to revisit this expat-friendly land. A couple of decades ago Costa Rica was near the top of the list for almost anyone interested in a second home in the sun. Then things started to change. Prices rose, the bureaucracy became stifling, and the country abandoned its famed pensionado program that provided financial incentives to foreigners on a fixed income. Today the situation is improving… [Subscribe now to read on…]

- On the path to progress in medieval Europe. "The early money has been made in Romania," was the reasoning a client gave for not wanting to consider the country's real estate market for his portfolio. Of course, he's right. Two years ago, I made an 80% profit in about a year and a half, flipping an apartment in Bucharest. That rate of early appreciation is no more. However, ignoring a market because the easy-picking returns have already been made isn't sound logic. [Subscribe now to read on…]

- Bella Vita: The ins and outs of living in Italy. Many foreigners have a tendency to travel to other countries with a quiver full of misconceptions. In the world of TV ads, Italian cities are entirely populated by pompous priests, gondoliers warbling O Sole Mio, and Sophia Loren lookalikes in low-cut dresses. If you believe all those colorful commercials for dried pasta, pop-in-the-oven pizzas, and tinned tomato sauces, the real Italy may come as quite a surprise. [Subscribe now to read on…]

- Shake things up--don't time-waste your retirement days. Nearly all retirees say they are busier than ever. Some seem to stay vital and energetic, delighting in the fact that they no longer have to rush through their days. But others simply fill their days with something, anything. They've made wasting time into an art form. They go to the bank and wait in line to pay bills, for example, instead of paying on the Internet or mailing a check. Let's be clear about this… [Subscribe now to read on…]

- Ecuador's sleepy Pacific coast--come here to honeymoon, write a novel, or die happy."Agua, aguita! Helados, heladitos!" cry the food vendors on the bus. "Papas, papitas!" Ecuadorians love diminutives. However, there's nothing diminutive about our bus driver and his assistant. They are big boys and they drive the ancient bus over the potholed road at top speed. We are now watching them eat meat stew at a dusty road-side canteen, where they've taken an unannounced break. Across the road, I spy the local government house of Manabí, in a building not unlike a disused railway station. Next to it is a beauty school, "Always Happy." We are in… [Subscribe now to read on…]

- From the walled city of Cartagena to the beautiful beaches of the Caribbean coast--this Colombian property market is on the move. Cartagena is surrounded by a 40-foot-thick wall. This puts a premium on the prices within the city. Here, the Spanish colonial architecture has been faithfully preserved. I've never seen a colonial city where such a high percentage of structures is in such a fine state of preservation. [Subscribe now to read on…]

- In the footsteps of Icahn? A hassle-free bet on the German property market. Here is a share that your average broker will not yet recommend that you buy. Not only is your broker unlikely to ever have heard of it, he'd probably warn you off once he had actually looked into the company's details… The plan seems almost insanely ambitious for a company that has yet to buy its first apartment. However, a number of investors were happy to inject an initial 9 million euro in cash into the shell to set up a proper business structure… Such creative deals usually aren't open to the public… [Subscribe now to read on…]

- Budget airlines…with the frills. As I grow older and richer, I find that living gets cheaper. I now enjoy senior citizen discounts on rail and bus fares and reduced entry to museums, cinemas, and theaters. When in London, my travel on that city's red buses and underground trains is free. In Paris, public transport costs half what it used to when I was younger. Air travel also got cheaper with the arrival of no-frills, low-cost airlines. But that saving was at the cost of my comfort--tiny seats, squeezed together, and non-existent service. This never appealed to me so I avoided such aircraft until a new breed of low-cost luxury airlines flew onto my radar-screen a few months ago. [Subscribe now to read on…]

- Travels with Fido--tips for taking your household pet overseas. For most pet owners, leaving your dog or cat behind when you go abroad for any considerable length of time is not an option. So, can you take your pet overseas? And what are the requirements? It all depends where you're going. [Subscribe now to read on…]

- Your own piece of the auld sod. To celebrate St. Patrick's Day this month, we've dipped into the property market in Ireland and found several Celtic gems--from pubs to castles to converted schools. There's something for every Irish dreamer. [Subscribe now to read on…]

From the entire far-flung staff of International Living

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