Retire Overseas!

INTERNATIONAL LIVING has been helping readers discover and benefit from the many opportunities the world has to offer since 1979.

You read about one side of the world in your daily paper, you see it on TV newscasts. Murders. Wars. Airplane crashes. Politics. But there is another side of the world...one you can't find out about by reading the paper, certainly not by watching TV. It is a world of delightful opportunities...opportunities for fun...pleasure...financial security and profits...romantic discoveries...adventure...It is a world full of things you can do to make your life more fun—and more profitable.

This world of international opportunities is available to anyone...not just the rich and famous. That's one of the major reasons we publish INTERNATIONAL LIVING...to show you how to benefit from the rich rewards of an international, jet-set lifestyle without spending a fortune.

To learn more about INTERNATIONAL LIVING and how you too can become a subscriber, click here.

Invest, Live, Travel, Buy Real Estate Overseas

International Living Postcards are unique, free e-letters from around the world. Each day you’ll find an intriguing story in your inbox from one of our network of more than 200 correspondents across the globe. They’ll give you insider tips and tricks for living a more comfortable, more exciting, more profitable life in a tropical paradise for less than you thought possible.

Good News if You’re Thinking of Buying in Brazil

By Ronan McMahon

When I was in Brazil last month with some Real Estate Trend Alert members, I met a young Brazilian/American couple in Fortaleza. They explained to me that as soon as someone from southern Brazil can afford to, he visits the beaches of Ceara (the state which Fortaleza is in). This is a common trend throughout the world--when incomes rise, people begin buying things like cars and vacations. The emergence of a new middle class drives consumer spending.

This is good news for us because Fortaleza is one of Brazil’s biggest domestic tourism destinations, and visitor numbers increase every year. Last year it attracted 3.25 million visitors. Three million were Brazilian--mostly from congested areas of the south like Sao Paulo.

No country has seen a new middle class emerge as quickly and as strongly as Brazil. If you have a job in the formal economy, access to credit, and you own a car…in Brazil you're considered middle class. In the past six years the percentage of the population that fits these criteria has increased from 44% to 52%. Brazil is now considered a middle class country…with a relatively weak currency.

When I first visited Fortaleza last year, $1 bought you R1.7…today a dollar gets you R2.3, a third more of the Brazilian currency. Foreign vacations are now much more expensive for Brazilians. And trips to Brazil are much cheaper if you are spending dollars.

That's why short-term rentals have been running at pretty much 100% occupancy since early December. Official hotel figures are the same--indeed, the hotel I stayed in was fully booked. This trend makes small condos on Fortaleza’s boardwalk (like the ones I recommended to Real Estate Trend Alert members) look even more appealing. These units will be perfect for short-term rental. Limited developable land nearby means that new supply will be limited…and therefore more desirable.
If you've yet to invest in this part of Brazil, my advice is: Don't wait too long.

Ronan McMahon
Executive Director, Pathfinder Ltd.

Mexico: The World’s Best Retirement Haven

For the second year running, Mexico wins our annual Global Retirement Index.

With rapidly rising fuel, health care, food, and travel costs, it’s nice to know there are still places where you can live well without burning through your retirement nest-egg. And Mexico is one of those special places. In Mexico, you can still enjoy a lifestyle that’s probably all but unaffordable for most people in the U.S. and Canada.

Find out more about this and other retirement havens here.

© International Living