Mega, Colossal, Huge…Ultimate II

It has taken us more than 27 years to pull this together, and, at the risk of sounding immodest, I've got to say: Nothing compares, and no one competes.

It's a near-endurance test. Four full days, more than 100 speakers, general session presentations, workshops, cocktail receptions, poolside parties, VIP dinners, after-hours drinks, private early-morning breakfasts, between-sessions networking…

It's a graduate-level education in How To Identify And Take Advantage Of The World's Top Opportunities Right Now For Living Well, Traveling For Adventure And In Style, Retiring Better, Investing With Big Upsides, Starting A Business, And Starting Over Overseas.

Don't come for rest or relaxation. Those are two of the few things we won't serve up in abundance at International Living's Ultimate Event II, which I take pleasure today in announcing formally. Registrations are on. Space is limited. If you want to be in the room, I suggest you get off your derriere.

What would you like to do, and where would you like to do it? I defy you to find a better venue for sourcing whatever help, contacts, introductions, information, and insider intelligence you need to pull it off, whatever "it" might be.

Want to grow malbec grapes and make your own wine in Argentina? Day-dream about renovating a farmhouse in Istria or Umbria? Keen to acquire residency in Panama or Thailand…to set up a bank account in France or New Zealand…to get in on the top two emerging market investments to be made right now (our resident Profit Hunter Sven Lorenz will name them)…

In the market for an architect in Ireland or an attorney in Mexico? Need guidance as you consider the options for financing in Spain? Looking for partners to help you start an import-export business in Honduras…to farm shrimp in Panama, to grow coffee in Nicaragua, or to invest in rentals in Punta del Este? Interested in the idea of positioning yourself for profits in the most unsung destination in Central Europe today (our Woman in Europe, Maria Savage, will tell you more)…understanding the best wholesale international real estate investment opp on tap right now (my dear husband, Lief Simon, will detail it)…or playing the currency game for big profit (as many we know are in the current market)?

Join me and the entire far-flung staff of International Living at our Ultimate Event II, dear reader, and I promise you this: You'll find there, among the more than 100 speakers, friends, correspondents, contributors, and expatriates in attendance, someone who will be able to share with you secrets and tips, firsthand wisdom and hard-won caveats related to all the Big Ideas and Current Opportunities I've just proposed…and many, many others.

Have no particular agenda in mind but intrigued by the idea of exploring the best global opportunities Fourth Quarter 2007? Again, dear reader, you have my personal guarantee: You won't go away disappointed (exhausted, maybe…but not disappointed).

As I said, to put together our second annual Ultimate Event, we're leveraging our 27-plus years of experience traveling the world in search of opportunity for fun and for profit. With in-country contacts and representatives in dozens of countries around the globe, the IL team is maybe the only one in the world capable of staging an extravaganza of this caliber. Last year's event was a sellout, and this year's will be bigger and better.

For me, it's a chance to see old friends I'm too seldom able to spend time with (I've mentioned Sven, our globe-trotting Profit Hunter…Steenie Harvey, too, will spend the full four days with us, spinning travel yarns as only Steenie can…plus Tuey Murdock from First American Title Insurance--one of the most important contacts you might make if you're looking to buy real estate in another country right now--as well as Bob Bauman, our resident Offshore Expert)…to check in with old friends Lief and I are currently doing business with (we'll take this opportunity to meet with Rainelda Mata-Kelly, for example, our attorney in Panama, for an update on current business dealings in the country, as well as Robert Kroesen, with United Nature, with whose help we've just arranged for reforestation visas for ourselves and our two children)…and it's an opportunity to reconnect with people I don't know well yet but intend to get to know better over the course of the event (Phil Hahn, for example, who's developing land in Belize, one of my favorite places to spend time).

For the staff of International Living, this is a big investment. They gather all, from every corner of the globe, committing to pursue no objective these four days other than making sure every attendee at the Ultimate Event II is wowed by the experience.

What: International Living's Ultimate Event II

Where: The Sheraton Hotel & Convention Center, Panama City, Panama

When: Oct. 24-27 (with optional registration and group dinner Oct. 23)

I've got the dates marked in my diary. In fact, this is the one event on our IL Calendar each year at this point that I'm committed to attending.

I wouldn't miss out. Hope you don't, either: click here.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living

P.S. For this Ultimate Event II, we're pulling out all the stops:

* Most important, we're preceding the four days of the conference with our first-ever Thom Hickling Charity Golf Event. You may recognize Thom's name. He was our friend, one of the best travelers we've ever had the privilege of knowing, and author of many of these International Living dispatches over the decade we counted him among our staff. A year-and-a-half ago, Thom got himself into a car crash in Africa, where he'd gone to visit his daughter. We won't forget Thom, but we've decided to do more than remember him individually. We want to pay our respects to Thom collectively…in a way he would have appreciated. That means a party. Therefore, the day before the Ultimate Event II (Monday, Oct. 22), we're planning a fiesta golf event. Don't worry if you don't play. Thom didn't, and I don't either. But it's an excuse to spend a day soaking up the Panamanian sunshine in the company of good friends, old and new, while raising our glasses in toast and our voices in song (we couldn't have a party in memory of Thom without live music and singing)…as well as, we hope, not an inconsiderable amount of money for a very worthy cause, one Thom would have embraced, as well. All proceeds from the Golf Event will go to Fatima Parish, our neighbors in Casco Viejo, doing what they can (for the past 50 years) to lend a helping hand to those who need one in this, one of the poorest sections of Panama City. Full details of the Big Golf Event here.

* Our VIP readers in attendance (this means you, dear Publisher's Roundtable, Panama Roundtable, World Club, and Lifetime Society Member) are invited to make use of our VIP Lounge, open for the duration of the event. Schedule private meetings, stop in for a quiet cup of coffee, use the wireless to check your e-mail, and attend private VIP-only sessions with special speakers and presentations. Full details when you register. Like the VIP lounge in the airport…only better.

* VIP members are also invited to join us for special VIP events, including, on Oct. 25, a private reception (the location of which will be disclosed to you by a separate e-mail if you are a VIP member). We've reserved the entire venue for our group and are arranging for special entertainment, food, and drinks. Even if you're not able to participate in the conference, but find yourself in this part of the world on the 25th of October, please stop by for this special, private event. We and your fellow VIP members would enjoy the chance to spend the evening with you.

* Travel-publishing great Arthur Frommer will join us Opening Day as Keynote Speaker to help kick things off.

* Events Director Grant Perry would like me to remind you that, when you join us, dear reader: "You'll get a monster-thick binder of materials (country reports, contacts rolodexes, background and information papers…), plus audio recordings of every session (including not only the general sessions but the workshops, too) and access to a website containing every speaker's PowerPoint presentation…all to help you avoid information overload during the event. You won't have to worry about taking in every idea and picking up on every recommendation during the conference…because you'll be able to take the conference home with you."

* The Ultimate Event II isn't Panama-specific…but, of course, attending would give you an ideal opportunity to take an up-close look at what Panama has to offer. When you call to register, ask our events staff about city and country tours (including special city, beach, and highlands property-viewing excursions) you can join.

Watch the countdown clock on the IL home page. Seats are filling fast.