Posted December 19, 2011 at 1:09 am
Mark Svoboda is a Russian originally from a “tiny town in Siberia” who spent 5 years in Moscow studying in college during the post-Perestroika “crazy 90s” (his words), after which he worked in the Russian oil and gas industry. Tiring of their routine in Russia, Mark and his wife moved to Louisiana where he worked on deep water oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
While Mark and his wife “spent an incredible few years in the US”, both feel that it is time for them to find their next America — a place that values personal freedom and offers economic opportunities.
This article will serve as the first in a series of educational articles by Mark dedicated to the “personal” element of the IM triangle.
He and his wife have explored over 10 countries around the world in their search and today’s article features the first of them… Malaysia.
by Mark Svoboda
So why begin with Malaysia?
We believe that Malaysia has much to offer and contains elements of the best of both worlds: a developed economy with solid infrastructure and very reasonable price levels for everything from housing and clothing to food.
Additionally (and very importantly), the country has a simple and very straightforward residency program without any age limits.
In the following overview we will share a few points taken out of [continue]…
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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Posted December 6, 2011 at 5:57 pm
by Bobby Casey
I had a very interesting conversation with a reader this week. ‘Hank’ is an American citizen living in Ecuador and running a local business exporting raw materials around the world.
Hank was very familiar with asset protection and international taxation issues and had previously worked at a law firm assisting international clients with these issues.
The two of us had very similar ideas about politics, economics and ways to reduce the risks is your financial life. We chatted on the phone for quite awhile about these and other issues.
Politics – We’re screwed. Politicians are all liars. Democrats and Republicans are all alike. President Bush presided over this country during the largest increase in government spending in history (at the time).
He waged war in countries that never asked for us in order to enrich his political cronies at the oil companies and defense contractors. He effectively colonized the Middle East.
In the name of national security he robbed us of privacy and personal freedoms through the Patriot Act. We now are subject to phone taps, email interception, bank and property seizures, and vigorous, yet gentle groping while passing through security at airports all over the country.
King Bush also grew entitlement programs at a break neck pace further indebting us and our heirs to a generation that we have no responsibility for, nor can we afford.
But luckily, Komrade Obama came on the scene. He has taken the Bush playbook and doubled down on [continue]…
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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Posted October 26, 2011 at 9:04 pm
by Adam Taylor
Europe may be facing a crisis, but there still remains investment opportunities.
With the help of the Global Property Guide we’ve come up with a ranking of the top places to buy property in Europe. You may be surprised at some of the results.
#20 – Paris, France
Gross Rental Yield (% Per Year) – 3.26%
The Good
The Bad
#19 – Helsinki, Findland
The Good
The Bad
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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Posted September 23, 2011 at 3:24 am
from The Escape Artist
The most frequently asked question on this website always refers to the issue of obtaining a second passport. It is very apparent that the desire to have a second passport has entered the mainstream of our culture … the cat is out of the bag.
We get ten inquiries about how to go about getting a 2nd Passports for every other inquiry that we get.
Why?
The world has changed and we have changed along with it…….
We are no longer willing to entrust our life and our freedom to the vagaries of any one government. Most of us no longer trust government as being a modality that is capable of creating liberty.
The world is going global and more and more of us are discovering that we can make better livings abroad and that the possession of a 2nd Passport increases our degree of freedom, our latitude of movement and protects the money we earn from unfair taxation.
In addition even the most casual glance at history demonstrates that a second passport can easily save our life. Those that needed one in a desperate hour may have wished with all their might they had learned about them when they had the opportunity.
Those that ignore the lessons of history are bound to repeat the mistakes of history.
Will the Doors Soon Shut Locking Some Americans In?
It is surprising how many people don’t believe what has happened elsewhere can happen in America.
Despite the fact that there is an almost civil war action occurring in America between splinter groups in conflict with the U.S. Government; despite the fact that street crime is at an all time high; despite that fear of violence, racial tensions and an atmosphere of government surveillance into every aspect of American life… a continuing percentage of the population have not yet accepted the fact that what did happen elsewhere will happen here.
It is difficult for people bred into ignorance to know the difference.
Let’s talk about the Positive [continue]…
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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Posted September 12, 2011 at 12:58 am
from International Living
The rock-bottom cost of living in Ecuador, where retirees can live comfortably on less than the average U.S. Social Security payment, has seen the country remain firmly at the top of International Living’s annual Global Retirement Index for the third successive year.
When putting together the Retirement Index 2011, International Living’s editors collated data from sources such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations, government agencies and from its team of experts in the most popular countries among U.S. expat retirees. They then came up with a comprehensive annual list of the world’s top retirement destinations.
“Ecuador has once again topped our Index as the number one retirement destination on the planet, and its low real estate and living costs were the key factors,” said International Living editor Eoin Bassett.
IL’s researchers recorded the monthly budgets of American couples living in different locations around Ecuador, many on the equivalent of a Social Security benefit. According to recent figures from the [continue]…
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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Posted September 5, 2011 at 11:22 pm
The Economist
ALONG with death and taxes, the one thing that used to be taken for granted in life was Vancouver’s pre-eminence in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability ranking. Well not any more. After almost a decade as—officially—the best place to live, the Canadian city has been consigned to third spot in August’s survey, with Melbourne (pictured) rising to first, ahead of Vienna.
The ranking scores 140 cities from 0-100 on 30 factors spread across five areas: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. These numbers are then weighted and combined to produce an overall figure.
In the case of the top cities, these figures are very high and very close together: Vancouver, which can blame its fall from grace on increased congestion, is just 0.2 percentage points behind Melbourne. And yet, given that the numbers were calculated before the riots that afflicted Vancouver in June, its total is likely to head downward in subsequent iterations.
The first 63 cities in the table (down as far as Santiago in Chile) are all considered to occupy the top tier of liveability. Thus the suggestion for HR managers is that employees posted to these cities require no extra remuneration to soften the blow.
Recent unrest in Greece means Athens is no longer in this group, though: send a worker there and you may need to consider a hardship payment.
The cities that stand out in the ranking share [continue]…
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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Posted June 6, 2011 at 3:55 am
via Kiplinger.com
An estimated five million Americans live overseas, according to the U.S. State Department, with a steadily growing number of affluent baby-boomers at or close to retirement.
The allure of a more laidback, lush lifestyle and lower cost-of-living are easy sells for popular expat destinations in Europe (which has a population of about 1.2 million Americans, according to the Association of Americans Resident Overseas).
In Central and South America, warm weather year round 
and a low cost-of-living are big draws (InternationalLiving.com reports that 1 million Americans live just in Mexico).
It’s not only baby-boomers adding to the ranks of expats, either. As the world economy recovers from a global recession, companies are once again sending execs overseas, with families in tow.
So how much home can you afford abroad? Here are seven properties for sale overseas at prices around $300,000 (Note: We’ve done the currency conversion in U.S. dollars as of May 25). Before you consider permanently switching international time zones, you’ll need to do some homework:
Contact the domestic branch of the international realty firm nearest you. They’ll be able to connect you with real estate brokers in your desired country, who can explain local home-buying guidelines — from property taxes to converting currency, says Rafaella Pace, a marketing executive with Coldwell Banker Italy.
And when you’re ready to seriously start looking at properties, take a couple of vacations to the destination you’re interested in to make sure you actually like the lifestyle, suggests Audree Mevellec, a real estate specialist with RE/MAX based in France.
Here’s a sampling of beachfront villas, downtown apartments and mountain-side homes…
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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Posted April 29, 2011 at 3:22 am
by Margaret Summerfield
via PathFinder International
April’s best property deals include houses in a beachfront development from $115,000…half-acre ocean-view lots in an elite community for $100,000…and a city condo in Panama at a very attractive price.
Read on to discover these hot spots…places where your real estate dollar will stretch further, and buy you a slice of overseas opportunity.
The setting is unrivalled…2700 acres of secluded forest, green valleys, rolling hills and sandy beaches on the stunning Pacific Riviera…and this community has more than three kilometers of coastline. Tucked away between rocky outcrops, you’ll find five beaches…where you can enjoy the sun, sand and surf away from the crowds.
The recreational options here are almost limitless. Surfers dash across the sand towards the white-topped waves on one beach…while a couple snorkels in the calm waters of another. Riders weave their way through trails on horseback…a cheer rings out from the basketball court…and a duo in crisp tennis whites heads for a relaxing massage at the spa.
In the evenings, residents gather over cocktails in the clubhouse for a gourmet meal in the restaurant,while watching the fiery scarlet sun sink into the crashing waves below.
This exclusive haven is not mainstream or mass market. You won’t see crowds of spring breakers, or wild nightlife here. It’s not that type of place. Instead, this hideaway offers…
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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Posted February 16, 2011 at 6:05 am
Maybe over the course of your exploration in and around financial freedom, investment income, and cash, you’ve come across terms like:
> Perpetual Traveler
> Sovereign Individual
> The 5 Flags Approach to Living
All intriguing, all bringing to mind elements reminiscent of how we might see a character, like James Bond, traversing around the world.
And, certainly as a private club that is essentially a rolodex of money-growing, wealth-building, and asset protection / privacy resources, our paid-up members do have access to individuals they can consult with in this arena.
Yet what if, for now, you could just get your hands on a self-study report (one that’s inexpensive, too) that is a blow-by-blow account of what one person has learned over the past 10 years living “off the grid”?
In it, David MacGregor — a man who walks his talk — discloses the steps you need to take to break free too.
He calls it:
“The ultimate plan for escaping Big Brother’s matrix and creating your own world of freedom and wealth”.
I spoke to David for two hours a few weeks ago and, without question, he is in the freedom, privacy, and lifestyle design publishing arena for all the right reasons.
He is super-committed to ensuring that anybody who has the desire to learn the “international living” strategies — which the super-wealthy have enjoyed for years — can do it too.
It’s a highly recommended starter report worth every penny. Get it here…
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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Posted February 11, 2011 at 1:18 pm
by Cindy Perman:
Retiring in another country used to be a foreign concept to most Americans but it’s becoming more common thanks to two main factors: the Internet and the economy.
The Internet has provided some much-needed connectivity and the economy has priced many retirees out of warm-weather cities in the U.S.
“You can live better for less in a tropical paradise,” said Dan Prescher, the special projects editor for International Living magazine. “All you have to do is think outside the border.”
AARP found 10 of the best places to retire outside the U.S., using five criteria: the cost of living, housing costs, health care (both quality and accessibility), cultural and recreational options and if there’s already an expat community there.
They include Buenos Aires, Argentina; Corozal, Belize; Le Marche, Italy; Boquete, Panama; and Cascais, Portugal, as well as five other locales.
Click through to find out more about them…
Filed Under: Lifestyle Design
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