In this video Dan Prescher reviews International Living’s postcards for the week ending May 1, 2010.

You’ll learn about some of the best places to live, retire and prosper overseas.

The postcards for this week included:

On Monday, April 25, the executive director of Pathfinder Real Estate, Ronan McMahon, introduced us to Brazil’s next big investment play.

In his Monday postcard Ronan points out that Brazil is energy independent, makes its own planes, trains, and automobiles, is one of the world’s largest food producers, and is politically stable.

For Ronan, that all adds up to a good investment environment, and he especially likes one real estate play in Northeast Brazil with rentals yields that he says could throw off more income than stocks.

On Tuesday, April 26, we ran a postcard that Dan sent in from Kobbe Beach at the Playa Bonita Resort, just across the Bridge of the Americas and Panama Canal from Panama City, Panama.

Dan wasn’t on vacation… he was MCing our biggest Live & Invest in Panama conference to date, and right across the road from us was the former Howard Air Force Base, on of the biggest U.S. military installations from the old canal days.

The news here is that Howard is about to become a city unto itself… The government of Panama is working with London & Regional Panama Development Corporation for the next 40 years to create what they call a “dynamic business center and residential Mecca named Panama Pacifico.

That’s a project with legs, and for anyone looking to live, work, or invest in one of Central America’s most stable and prosperous countries, it’s full of opportunities.

The mysterious Simon Black, who some call the “freest man in the world” was in Panama as well, and on Wednesday, April 27, he sent in an International Living postcard about Boquete, the little mountain town with big ambitions in the highlands of Panama’s Chiriqui province. Chiriqui is as far west in Panama as you can go without being in Costa Rica and has an identity all its own. The locals even call the place the Chiriqui Republic, and Simon gives us some of the reasons why Boquete is one of the most popular expat destination in the country.

Jessica Ramesch, a Panama native and International Living’s eyes and ears on the ground there, sent in a puzzler in her Thursday, April 28 postcard. She challenged readers to guess the location of a beautiful tropical island just from the picture at the top of the postcard. Waving palms, sugary sand, blue water… it could be mistaken for an island paradise in the South Pacific or Caribbean, but you’ll be surprised to find out where it really is… and what makes it special.

Ronan McMahon returned on Friday, April 30 with an update of his take on the Panama City condo market during the last several years. 

Three years ago, he saw the anomalies at work. A unit he had bought pre-construction for $1,200 per square meter was valued at $2,100. Next door, the same developer was selling pre-construction units in an identical new development for $3,000 per square meter. It just didn’t make sense.

 So, Ronan sold…walking away from big short-term rental yields. He also stopped recommending Panama City pre-construction deals at that time.

But as Ronan explains, the time to pick up new deals in this market could be just around the corner.

On Saturday, May 1, our publisher, Bill Boner, introduced the May edition of International Living magazine, an edition that marks our 30th anniversary. To celebrate, the May issue is packed with packed with opportunities for fun, pleasure, financial security, and profit. Some may say the U.S. is a sinking ship, but in the May issue we report on where you’ll find the best lifeboat.

That’s it for our wrap-up this week.  Don’t forget to signup for our free daily postcards.