Hi Elmat, while in Thailand have you noticed what the bottom looked like? Did you notice all those half built high-rises with no occupants, highway off-ramps leading to mid-air emptiness and expressway on-ramps connecting to no roads? I will bet you that hardly anyone you met talks about stocks, even though the market is improving week by 7 days?
<<That was about USD1500 when the Real was 2.32 per USD and now is about USD1250. Quality of life is reasonably good. Not so much security problems like Sao Paulo or Rio>>
My Moscow-based Russian brother must have at least USD 300/month to live comfortably in his paid-for country place (if bought now, then USD 500k, obvious not affordable for 68-year old brother), with caviar and vodka on the table, wood in the fire, steam in the sauna, gas in the car, and programs on the television; doctor visits could double the monthly cost. A new Russian built Fiat cost about USD 3,000 new. There are no particular tax issues because Russia no longer have to police places beyond Chechnya, and has no computer system to keep track of much of anything other than the missiles they already have.
My Beijing-based English brother must have at least USD1,500/month to keep happy in apartment that has no mortgage. Apartment would cost around USD 200-250k if bought now. New China-built VW Jetta goes for about USD 20k. There are no particular tax issues because China is not interested in policing much of anything, and what computers they build, they export or use to play computer games on.
I, along with many more, unfortunately, must generate about one standard US home worth of productivity or speculative gain every 8 months just to keep body and soul taken care of, without considering the carrying cost of sleeping capital tied up in the roof over my head. The speculative gain is much more difficult than before, and productivity is lacking the speculative momentum;0) and thus Hong Kong is in trouble.
For all, Hong Kong has no social net to catch the unfortunates that fall off the trapeze, but do not lack the carrion eaters that would take advantage of the weak. Darwin should visit Hong Kong if he was alive now. Look into the darkness that surrounds one, while along, and see the shiny eyeballs, listen to the heavy breathing, and know one is not alone for long:0/
Needless to say, I keep thinking that I took a wrong turn somewhere on the highway of life and ended up in treadmill hell, hooked up to my five telecommunication lines at home, forced to pay attention to every financial perturbation and each stroke of geo-political masturbation in the world, as they can all matter, each in a financially fatal way.
My situation is worrisome because I am not vain enough to think that in god’s big budget book, Jay has a non-revocable expense line item, or, for that matter, a golden parachute.
Now perhaps you see why I must aggregate my own hard-money central bank facility, just in case, and not depend on New Economic nonsense to save me by way of Maurice’s telecosm light channels and ethereal wave guides.
Also, perhaps you also appreciate why we are constant on the lookout for bolt holes in economically more real places, like China for some, Thailand for others, North America for some others, and AustraAsia for a few.
So far, as bolt holes go, Tobago for none, with no good earthly reason; and Russia same, understandably.
Chugs, Jay |
