Country Article / Postcards

International Living 101

Date: 09/11/2003

Dear International Living Reader,

In our top retirement destinations you can, simply put, live better. That means less stress... more freedom... and a higher quality of life. And what's more, in many places you can enjoy these benefits of "the good life" for significantly less than they'd cost you back home.

In Panama, Italy, Ecuador, France, Mexico, Honduras, Spain, New Zealand, Ireland, Argentina, Nicaragua... and beyond... you'll be astounded at some of the excellent values you'll find on both real estate and the cost of living.

Join us this fall (November 5-9), and we'll profile these destinations and others. We've invited a distinguished panel of experts from around the world to join us in Newport Beach, California, to share with you their secrets to better living and more profitable investing overseas. I hope you'll be there, because I guarantee: You'll gain more valuable information in these four days than you ever could in a year spent researching this material on your own. (Plus: Charter Lifetime Members attend free. More below on this.)

At our upcoming Live Overseas Conference 2003, you'll hear not only from our International Living contributing editors, but from high-level legal, financial, tax, privacy, and real estate experts based around the world. From them you'll learn about...

* The best places in the world to retire overseas. Beachside retreat... mountain hideaway... big-city apartment... quiet farmhouse... we'll give you our proven checklist to help you prioritize what it is you're really looking for in a new home... and we'll tell you the countries where you'll find the best quality and values on everything from real estate to groceries.

* A plain-English interpretation of property laws around the world. Far from straightforward, property laws are in some places open to creative interpretation... in others very cut and dry. Find out, in easy-to-understand terms, what you should do to stay out of trouble and protect your investment.

* Ten things you should consider before you move overseas--surefire ways to save yourself time, money, and hours of frustration later on....

* How a second passport--perfectly legal--can increase your flexibility, make travel easier, and allow you more overseas living and work options. Find out what countries offer "economic citizenship" programs, which ones are the best, and how you can qualify and apply.

* How to make money from the world's most undervalued real estate... and the top five destinations right now for international property investment. Find out about emerging markets where you can buy property today and resell it within months for profits... where to find raw land likely to appreciate many times over in the coming years...and where to buy rental property that more than pays for itself...

* How to reduce your tax burden and keep more of your hard-earned money. You cannot evade taxes. And you cannot eliminate them altogether. But you can preserve more of your wealth for generations to come. Find out what basic building blocks you need to construct your own offshore presence. It's not complicated to "go offshore," but you'll want to be absolutely sure you're doing it legally. Our experts will outline the steps you need to take and the pitfalls you'll want to avoid.

* Where to find the most profitable business opportunities overseas. From a country where an investment in tourism gets you 10 years tax-free... to a nation where you could make 15-20% per annum on forestry projects... we'll tell you about the best places to launch a business overseas... and give you on-the-ground insights about what works... and what doesn't.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Best Destinations for Overseas Living
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Whether you're looking for a place to reinvent yourself... a place to own a retreat you can enjoy a month or two a year... or a place outside the United States where you can put down new roots in retirement... our speakers will profile the best choices. Our editors from around the world are already busy preparing in-depth presentations for you about the countries where they live and about which they write, complete with slide shows and even country reports you'll be able to take home with you and read through later.

You'll learn all about...

* The country with the world's best retirement program, which grants 25% off airfares... 15% off doctors' visits... discounts on groceries, and more. Not only that, but you needn't even be retired. If you're between 18 and 78, you can qualify... and you only need live here four months a year.

* Untouched Caribbean islands, a direct flight from the States where you can snorkel right outside your front door or linger on the sand under a tropical sun. Here, a lot with a water view can be yours for as little as $12,500. A small but beautiful two-bedroom, three-bath home on the beach lists for just $135,000...

* A glorious retreat just a couple of hours from the States where the weather lingers near 68 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, which means you can play golf January through December. Stores like Costco, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart stock familiar items at reasonable prices. Medical care is excellent... and a full check-up will run you just $30. Crime is nearly unheard of. And the pace of life is slow and gentle. For $89,000 you can retire to a bright, two-bedroom home with a blossom-filled garden and lake and mountain views.

* A community in South America, nestled among tall, snow-capped peaks where you can hike, ride horses, watch birds... and breathe clean, fresh, mountain air. For less than $1,900 a month here you can live like royalty. We'll tell you about a wonderful capital city where you can still pick up a three-bedroom, two bath home of three stories that has a terrace with a spectacular view of the historic city center for a paltry $30,000...

* Flanked by over seven miles of sandy Mediterranean beaches on one side, and rocky rust-colored coves on the other, this quiet town will enchant you. Topped by an old castle, and fronted by seafood restaurants, streets behind the harbor front are a painter's palette of cottages colored cobalt blue, salmon-pink, mossy green, bright tangerine and primrose. Many have a songbird in a little cage outside the front door. Here you could buy a 660-square-foot apartment in a tastefully designed residence with a communal pool for $152,000.

* A Pacific coast retreat for tennis players, fishermen, divers, snorkelers, and beachcombers. Even those with limited financial resources can still be find property bargains. In this community we'll tell you about, condos with a view of the bay start at $80,000. Three-bedroom homes, with a view of the ocean and glorious rock formations, start at $140,000.

* Imagine a lifestyle that allows you to wake up to a warm croissant and a cup of frothy hot cafe... purchase rich creamy brie fresh from the farm... see the world's greatest masterpieces displayed in a King's palace... shop for a Hermes scarf and stop for fresh-cut flowers on your way home... and all in the same day. That life in France is more affordable than you might think. You can find a pied-a-terre on the Left Bank for as little as $48,000... or an ancient stone house in a village of the Vaucluse in Provence for as little as $59,700.

* A little-known corner of Tuscany with castles, country churches, and clusters of walled villages where small, stone-built homes in habitable condition still pop up for less than $54,000. We'll tell you about other places, too... southerly, Pacific-coast retreats... Mediterranean islands... capital cities with First World sky-scrapers, but developing-world prices... and much, much more...

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Four Days: From Retirement Dream to Reality
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Come to this conference with your idea of the perfect retirement locale in mind. Our contributing editors will be there to help you match that mythic haven you muse about to a place that really exists. They'll take you years closer to making your dream a reality.

From them you'll gain invaluable on-the-ground insights about everything from the actual cost of day-to-day life to the short list of top local towns for living or investing. Find out what brought them to their new homes (and the nearby countries they report on)... and discover what they like (and dislike) about each.

Plus, we've invited local real estate agents and developers who will profile exactly what kinds of properties you find in each locale and how much you can expect to pay. Several local attorneys are coming as well, and they'll detail the ins and outs of buying property, getting residency and citizenship, and talk about the pitfalls you'll want to avoid.

Expatriate entrepreneurs will be on hand as well to talk about what businesses they have underway overseas and the ways in which you might join them as a partner or investor. If you're an adventurous soul looking not for retirement... but for unique, exciting business challenges (and terrific potential profits) then you'll want to hear what these intrepid folks have to say.

---------------------------------------------------------
Earn 800% Outside the Stock Market
---------------------------------------------------------

Adding international real estate to your investment portfolio is one very smart way to hedge the U.S. stock markets, especially in these uncertain times. International Living has been covering this beat for over two decades. In 1987, for instance, IL told readers to consider Acapulco. At the time, you could buy a quarter-acre lot on the beach for $950. Today, that lot would cost you at least $75,000. Had you bought back when IL recommended, you would have enjoyed an average annual return of 34% every year for 15 years.

It was the early 1980s when IL's editors first recommended the Costa del Sol. At the time, you could buy a villa on the beach for $30,000. Today that same property would cost you at least a quarter-of-a-million dollars.

The good news is: extraordinary earning opportunities like that still exist. Identify the right market at the right time, and you can invest for returns of 800% and more in as little as three to five years. In Newport Beach this November, you'll find out where--and how--you can position yourself to profit. My husband, Lief Simon (editor of Global Real Estate Investor) and I will profile the five top real estate markets in the world, among them...

* A country where top-rated oceanfront real estate is selling at 1990 prices... and values are poised to skyrocket.

* The "Costa Rica of this Decade," where political, economic, and social stability has this nation on the fast-track to First World status. Get on board now, and the profits could be spectacular.

* A crisis-investing opportunity in a nation where, if you're shopping with dollars, properties are a bargain.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protect Your Personal Privacy and Financial Freedom
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the months following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. congress hastily passed laws that severely curb your personal privacy and your financial freedom, limiting your choices and legal rights when it comes to cash and assets within U.S. jurisdiction and control.

But by taking advantage of opportunities overseas and offshore, you can better protect your freedom and your hard-earned assets and investments. That's why we've asked a panel of the world's leading "offshore" minds to come and speak to you this November.

Among the experts you'll hear from are Robert Bauman, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and editor of The Sovereign Society Offshore A-Letter; Larry Grossman, Managing Director of Sovereign International Asset Management; Erika Nolan, Executive Director of The Sovereign Society; and Peter Zipper, senior vice president of Anglo Irish Bank-Austria.

* Learn exactly what to watch for when you're considering an offshore haven in this day and age... and get the inside scoop and an up-to-the-minute report on jurisdictions from Europe to the Caribbean.

* Discover how you can legally take your IRA or pension plan offshore to better protect your wealth and gain greater investment diversification.

* Find out how you can get connected to a network of proven professionals - financial managers, bankers, attorneys, and more - who can help you create an offshore program that's tailored to your specific needs.

----------------------------------------------------
Explore All Your Options at Once
----------------------------------------------------

Perhaps the most important advantage you gain by attending the Live Overseas Conference 2003 is that in just four days, you'll learn about an extraordinary number of opportunities available to you all over the world. If you were to go trekking in search of them on your own, you'd be at it for months... years, more likely.

But for the past two decades, our staff has been doing that legwork on your behalf. This conference in November is your chance to benefit from the stockpile of knowledge and perspective we've gathered.

In addition to the meetings and the workshops, you'll gain entrance to our Exhibit Hall of invited sponsors--real estate agents, bankers, and others--who will be on hand to tell you about their services and help round-out your understanding not only of each destination, but of the resources available to you as you consider internationalizing your life and your portfolio.

The truth is: you can live better... safer... freer... cheaper outside North America. And that's why we've arranged this one-of-a-kind conference.... to help you do just that. Join International Living's editors and panel of experts in Newport Beach this November, and in four power-packed days you'll learn the offshore strategies... investment insights... and country-specific know-how you need to profit overseas and improve your lifestyle forever.

For all the details and to reserve your place, call Conference Director, Michael Whetstine, at (888) 968-8007 today, e-mail: conferences@internationalliving.com or fill out this online registration form.

I look forward to meeting you in Newport Beach... and to helping you launch a whole new life.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living

P.S. With the economy, markets, and world events in flux, there has never been a better time to take advantage of the best opportunities for overseas investment. It's more important than ever to diversify your portfolio...and what better way to do it than with an investment that you can enjoy while it's appreciating in value?

Retiring overseas may seem like a far-off dream... but it needn't be. Your paradise really does exist... and we'll tell you how to get there. Call Conference Director, Michael Whetstine, at (888) 968-8007 today or e-mail: conferences@internationalliving.com to sign on.

P.P.S. The experts you'll hear from in Newport Beach this fall come bearing groundbreaking ideas for investing more profitably overseas and living better... safer... freer... for less. You can meet them here.

P.P.P.S. A quick note about special discounts for this Live Overseas Conference: Spouses attend for half-price…if you reserve your place on or before October 10, you're entitled to a $100 discount…and Lifetime Members attend for free (you only pay a small administrative fee, but for Charter Lifetime Members, we waive even this small fee.) For a full explanation of all discounts, and to register to attend, go here.