See the video below, where Dan Prescher reports from Merida, Mexico, with your weekly wrap-up of International Living postcards for the week ending November 13.
On November 8, my wife Suzan Haskins writes that if you’re a U.S. citizen, you already know that there won’t be a cost of living increase to Social Security payments again this year. We’re a few years shy of collecting ourselves, but it still doesn’t make us happy. It does, though, reinforce the fact that we made the right decision when we decided to take the plunge and move overseas 10 years ago. Suzan tells you why in her postcard.
International Living magazine editor Eoin Bassett reminds us that Panama didn’t earn top marks in IL’s recent Global Retirement Index for nothing. Panama has one of the world’s best pensionado programs and a quality of life that can’t be beat. You can also rent in one of the best districts in Panama City for as little as $500 a month. The list of Panama’s advantages is long, and Eoin ticks off the boxes for you in his November 9 postcard.
IL Lifetime Member Sarah Booth says that when she first arrived in Panama, she was like a kid in a candy store. As a real estate investor, she immediately saw the opportunities. After an International Living conference there several years ago, she bought her first apartment for $76,500, and she says it’s generated close to $40,000 a year for the last few years. Find out what else Sarah found in Panama and why she loves living here in her postcard.
On November 11, IL contributor David Dell writes in from a fertile mountain valley that many call a real-life Shangri La…the town of Volcan in Panama’s western Chiriqui province. It’s a bustling town of 10,000 people, and David says if there is a global recession, the people in Volcan haven’t heard about it. Life is as clean, healthy and abundant there as ever, and David says that on top of all that, it’s the most affordable retirement destination in Panama.
International Living’s financial editor, Chris Hunter, explains that what Obama didn’t say during his recent trip to India is probably more important than what he did say. For example, there was no mention that the Indian stock market is one of the most expensive in the world, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.3. What could this mean to you and your investments? Plenty, as Chris explains in his November 12 postcard.
Ronan McMahon of Pathfinder real estate takes a look at João Pessoa, Brazil, and runs the numbers of a beachfront condo that actually pays for itself. If you’ve ever dreamed of spending half your year basking on the beach, Ronan has a formula that makes it possible and, in the long run, doesn’t cost you a dime. Read the details in Ronan’s November 13 postcard.
That’s it from me for this week. Sign up for all these postcards and more for free and don’t forget to visit the International Living Facebook page.
