International Living Postcards–Sunday Edition
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Paris, France
Dear International Living Reader,
Buy what you see…and see for yourself. You’ve heard it before…and we’ll remind you again.
If we’re doing our jobs, these are uncharted territories we’re inspiring you to consider. We mean to provide a compass. Still, you’ve got to find your own way…which means standing on the soil. Nothing–no amount of planning, reading, consideration, or Internet research–can substitute for it. Sometimes you know within hours, even minutes, of arriving in a country for the first time that it’s not for you. Too hot. Too dirty. Too buggy. Too something…
More often, though, you need to give yourself a chance to get to know a place over some more extended period to begin to pass judgement on it. And to make an informed judgement, you need an experienced, savvy guide to make sure you’re introduced to both the highs and the lows of a place during your visit.
This is the point of the tours and conferences we offer. After more than 15 years escorting readers personally to the locales we recommend, our calendar has evolved to include particular events for readers with particular interests and agendas.
Know thyself. For thereby can you best choose the tour or conference that will most efficiently help you reach your ultimate goals…be they the goals of a would-be retiree, investor, entrepreneur, expat, or traveler…overseas.
Here’s a rough guide to help:
Every year, either once or twice, we organize a Live Overseas event. This is a chance to window shop. Intrigued by the idea of living or retiring, either full- or maybe only part-time, outside the States…but completely uncertain as to what country might make sense for you? Then you need a Live Overseas experience. During each of these four-day events, we consider 12 to 14 countries that, at the moment, make the most sense for the would-be expatriate. Where can you live better while cutting (maybe dramatically) your overall cost of living…where can you enjoy better weather…reduce your tax burden…take advantage of special benefits for foreign retirees…and have the adventure of a lifetime? Let us help you consider the best current options with help from others, just like you, already living their dreams abroad. Our next whole world Live Overseas will take place in Montreal, Canada, Sept. 6-9.
Last month, we held our first-ever Live Overseas Latin America event–a window-shopping experience for readers who’d narrowed their searches down to the Latin American region. Over three days in sunny Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, we looked closely at the top eight havens in this part of the world. We’ll do it again next year. Plus, next year, for the first time, we’ll do the same thing for Europe, convening our top Euro-experts for three days in Barcelona, and for Asia.
Another first, later this year: International Living’s Ultimate Event. Do you have a big appetite for all the world has to offer? Big dreams, big plans, and multiple agendas? Consider all of them, at once, with help from the top experts in every field International Living covers. International real estate, business opportunities, offshore havens, tax planning, banking, and retirement…this mega-event will answer your questions and hook you up with current opportunities on all fronts. Want to find a job, start a business (maybe import/export?), invest in real estate, open a bank account, structure your financial affairs, become a travel writer, buy a second home in the sun, or reinvent yourself in Paradise? No agenda is too big or too far-fetched. After 26 years covering the world and all its opportunities for fun and for profit…I’d bet you’re not likely to come up with an idea one of us here on the International Living team can’t help you pursue.
We’ve not attempted so grandiose an event in the past. This will be an unprecedented chance to advance whatever agendas you’ve got on your mind. We’ll organize the program around four major tracks: Retire/Live Overseas; Own a Second Home in the Sun; Reinvent Yourself in Paradise; and How to Profit in the World’s Top Markets.
IL’s Ultimate Event (to be held in Panama City, Oct. 18-21) will give you a chance to consider the whole world…from all angles. (It’ll also give you a chance to meet one of our favorite travel writers, whose perspective and pithy prose we appreciate: PJ O’Rourke, who’ll join us as keynote speaker for this special event.)
At the other end of the spectrum, our Live & Prosper events zero in on one country and the opportunities it offers for a new life abroad. On our 2006/2007 calendar, we include 24 Live & Prosper events, in Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, Belize, Croatia, and New Zealand. Once you’ve identified two or three countries you believe make sense for your particular circumstances and dreams…you need to focus on getting to know that country up-close and on getting connected on the ground. These are the two objectives of our Live & Prosper programs. Over three jam-packed days, we introduce you personally to every reliable contact and resource we’ve identified in the country, and we arm you with everything you’d need to make a go of a new life in this Paradise yourself.
Not in the market for residency advice, visa details, rental recommendations, or information on the local cost of living? Ah, ha…you’re not considering these destinations we report on for a new life abroad…you’re looking to make some money. Specifically, you’d like to know where, when, and how to profit buying and selling international real estate.
Our Live & Prosper events are not for you. Instead, join us for a Real Estate Tour. As the name implies, these are straight-up real estate buying excursions, led by our in-house real estate scouts. These Real Estate Tours are not for you if you want sightseeing, shopping, or sunset cruises. These are serious, focused programs for serious buyers looking to get in and get out with what they came for. Our first Panama Real Estate Tour sold out in a week. (The second is scheduled for June 15-18.) Our first Nicaragua Real Estate Tour is half-sold out and filling fast. (Yes, we’ll do this one again, too.)
This brings me to another point. No hype: Our events sell out. We create waiting lists and plan follow-up events…but if you don’t want to be disappointed first time around, get in touch sooner rather than later. For example, our first-ever Import/Export Conference, planned for June 11-14, sold out last week. The first-ever Nicaragua Real Estate Tour (June 21-25) and the second Panama Real Estate Tour (June 15-18) both will sell out. (Note that we’ve scheduled these two real estate excursions such that you could attend one, then the other, if both markets interest you.) And our events managers tell me the next Live & Prosper in Mexico event, scheduled for July 9-11, is on its way to selling out early.
Every one of these events is a bargain. Believe me: You couldn’t do this on your own for several times the cost. Nevertheless, we like to make sure our Roundtable and Lifetime Society Members are rewarded at every opportunity. Therefore, Roundtable Members are invited to join us at one Live Overseas, Live & Prosper, or Ultimate event as our guest. Thereafter, Roundtable Members save $200 on any and every event they attend (with the exception of the Real Estate Tours, which we make available at our cost). Lifetime Society Members can take advantage of a 50% savings on their first Live Overseas Conference with us, including our next Live Overseas planned for Montreal this fall.
Hope to see you there.
Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living
P.S. I’ll be on hand not only for Live Overseas in Montreal, but also for Live & Prosper in Europe in Barcelona, as well as our premier Ultimate Event in Panama in October. You’ll meet Lief at these events, too, as well as at other Live & Prosper events, as his schedule allows…and, of course, also at his International Real Estate Forums. He’s returned this week from the most recent one of these, in the Dominican Republic, and is making plans for next time ’round in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November, where he’ll not only host the seminar, but also lead attendees on private field trips to view, in person, with Lief, current buying opportunities in this city of opportunity. When Lief offered these property field trips as part of an International Real Estate Forum in Panama last year, a waiting list quickly formed. For more on this or any other event I’ve mentioned here, get in touch with a member of our Events Team by e-mail: Events@InternationalLiving.com, or by phone, toll-free: 1-866-381-8446. You can view our full 2006/2007 calendar here: http://www.internationalliving.com/Events.
P.P.S. Not a Roundtable or Lifetime Society Member? First, I encourage you to consider becoming one (see below). Second, don’t worry. You still can save, by signing up as an Early Bird. These early-in discounts save you $100 to $200 per event.
