i have some ideas... some i have already visited, some not.
here is the list and a few comments, which clearly have some very personal considerations that may not apply to others.
1. argentina. while buenos aires is still good, i believe that the mendoza province and more specifically the cities of mendoza and san rafael have to be my favorites. here there is a personal preference in reference to vineyard land. (as in... would you buy land in napa, sonoma, alexander valley, etc. in the 1970’s?)
2. chile. while i am less familiar with chile, i still think that land on the west side of the andes (opposite to mendoza, in the argentinean side) near the maipo valley, viña del mar, and valparaiso would also be attractive, with the added feature of the pacific ocean nearby could be a candidate.
i like argentina and chile the best because although they still have a tinge of banana republic taste (as all latin-american countries do), they have a little more advanced markets and even some claim (mainly by argentineans) that they belong to the 'first world'. take that with a grain of salt, since it is common knowledge throughout latin-america (except in argentina) that the preferred method of committing suicide in argentina is climbing to the top of their ego and jumping off it -lol
3. ecuador. i have not research this as much as # 1 & 2 but the little i have read piqued my interest. i believe that there has to be some major league deals along its coast, particularly when you consider the tourism surrounding the galapagos islands... i believe also that it may be more rustic than most, although i could be surprised... then again, i am not particularly in search of another crowded spot
4. panama. i like it because it is relatively near and of easy access to the usa, it is a dollar based economy, (which could be good and bad), and it probably offers some considerable upside once the hordes of baby-boomers realize that retiring in the sun may include "outside of the usa"
5. costa rica. a few years ago my # 1 favorite, yet today, the easy spots have been bought out and so it is not as inexpensive as it was... therefore, now you are left with more far away places to get good possible good deals...
6. nicaragua.... maybe why maybe... because uncle danny is back, and i do not care how re-made he is... he is still a communist, and probably now he is more dangerous because in all probability he has learned from his usa counterparts, the dems. so the strategy now will be... don't scare the gringos, let them buy and invest in RE... then tax them to death... so the only reason i still consider nicaragua as a maybe is because there may be some scared shitless would be investors wanting out badly of their misfortune... hence, a little enhanced risk, but possibly some upside as don daniel tries to tame his red demon image, he may allow for opportunity... deep inside of me... i won't touch it -gg
btw.... in all central american countries my preference is the pacific coast since the caribbean is full with mosquitoes, indeed, i think in honduras and panama there are a couple of places called costa mosquitos, and golfo de los mosquitos... i wonder why... -lol
other countries i would consider would be uruguay, and maybe brasil (but in the more isolated areas, which leaves me wondering about the wisdom of such choices)... brasil has a big problem, (like mexico) that their population is growing at explosion rates, and the gulf of poverty is growing... so this presents a similar problem to the one here in the usa except in latin-america is on steroids...
and this brings me back to the three best countries (in my opinion) in south america... argentina, chile, and uruguay because their populations are in relatively 'controlled growth' more in line with the usa. in addition, i see these three countries as a clear alternative to europe, without the muslim problem... indeed, i think europe ought to change its name to eurabia.... -g
one more country that intrigues me is bolivia; however, their leader is another nutcase like venezuela's chavez... another rogue out of control. this has diminished my interest, but then again... if bolivia piqued butch cassidy's interest... (for different reasons -of course-) it may still have something for me
other locations...
primarily.... new zealand and australia... except that... they have communists as their governors... granted, they are very civilized, but that's like saying... robbery is fine if it is executed with a white glove...
other islands and more exotic places in asia... well... i do not speak chinese, thai, or whatever.... therefore.... why tempt fate. as it is the business world increasingly is filled with all sorts of sharks, why would i want to be in a country where i could be swindled in a language i cannot understand?
as they say... if i am going to be f*** at least i need to be kissed in a language i can understand, then it becomes consenting -lol
all of the above requires a complete change of frame of mind, since living in any of the countries above will be very different to the usa... but i want to believe is more like an adventure... a better environment than the perceived... 'retirement' which i just simply could not see myself under... i probably would go nuts before long... well, some consider me already in that category, so i have nothing to lose... |
