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| Articles
About Living & Investing In Venezuela |
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| 10
Years On Margarita Island, Venezuela ~ Making A Business And Living In
The Caribbean ~ by Peter van der Hoek - After living some ten years
on Margarita Island I can truly give an honest opinion about life here.
First of all let me tell you that life on an island, especially a tropical
one, is incomparable to life anywhere else! The daily routine is slow paced
no matter how important the stuff you have to do. There is after all, always
tomorrow. Because of the always shining sun people are chronically in a
good mood and laid back. Everybody’s willing to help you with about everything
as long as you aren’t in a hurry to do so. Jan/05 |
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| Escape
On Isla Margarita - Terry Bannon found true escape on the Isle
of Margarita off the Venezuelan Coast where he could have been satisfied
just sipping coconut milk under a swaying palm sitting on the cool swept
sands of this Caribbean island. Instead, he and his escape artist friends
decided to have a little fun. The Mosquito Coast Bar and Grill is a laid
back place enjoyed by locals, tourists, and yachties, worldwide; it's mentioned
in several guidebooks to the Caribbean, and it was named the region's best
disco by Rum and Reggae. |
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| Beaches
Of Margarita Island - Venezulean Beauty ~ by Scott Boswell - The
huge birdcage at the entrance - 8 feet high and large enough to hold about
six standing people and looks like a medieval torture chamber. One sassy
parrot greets visitors in several languages, his less gregarious cage-mates
just do the parrot thing. That’s the first thing you notice at Jak’s, a
rustic restaurant down by the marina at Playa Concorde. It’s in an adobe
colored building just at the water’s edge, about 20’x35’ with a shed-type
patio alongside, 100 yards from the marina and near the dinghy dock the
cruisers use to get to and from their boats anchored out in the bay.
May/05 |
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| Christmas
& New Year On Margarita Island ~ Tropical Holiday ~ by
Scott Boswell - Just as in most of the rest of the world, the colored lights
are strung along the the major roadways, houses are decorated, and stores
are abundantly stocked in anticipation of the shopping frenzy. Homes are
repaired, painted, and ‘spruced up’ to be ready for all the visiting friends
and relatives, and parties are everywhere! In my neighborhood alone one
house had 24 cars parked around it! Jan./06 |
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| Isla
Margarita Revisited ~ Travels In The Caribbean ~ by Karl Ike -
After my article that was published in Escape Artist, I got a landslide
by faithful readers EA who inquired as to what I had found on this beautiful
Caribbean island south of Caracas. |
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I had a 10 day reunion with a handful of inquiring minds that couldn’t
wait to discover Margarita Island Venezuela. If you don’t want beautiful
beaches, affordable living, wonderful weather, this place is not for you.
Aug./05 |
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| Is
The Grass Greener? - The focal point of downtown Grenada is of
course the plaza or the Parque Colon. It is the pride of the city and very
clean. There are kiosks scattered around the plaza selling soft drinks
and all manner of tourist items. Everyone we encountered was very pleasant
and not “pushy”. You can rent a horse-drawn carriage here that will take
you on a tour of the city. A variety of hotels and restaurants line the
square. We found these to be adequate for a tourist city, and several were
very good. Most seem to be run or owned by expats from all over the world.
May/07 |
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| Live
On Margarita Island On $800 A Month? - Answers To Questions ~ by
Scott Boswell - Retire to the Caribbean on $800 a Month? ...is this a true
story or fiction? There have been several articles published about Margarita
Island, Venezuela in the last few months. (Margarita Island is located
in the Southern Caribbean, just off the northern coast of Venezuela - it
is the State of Nueva Esparta, Venezuela). One such article suggested that
you could retire to this island on $800 a month. Mar/05 |
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| Living
In Venezuela ~ Merida And Margarita Island ~ by Christopher Hyland
- For those who are recently off the boat, so to speak, the best place
to start in Venezuela is Merida. Merida is a small city, relatively safe
and has a lot for the newcomer to see and do. It is also one of the least-expensive
parts of Venezuela. Merida has a lot of inexpensive posadas to pass the
night and healthy but inexpensive restaurants. If you go to Merida, expect
some great service. A few months ago while visiting Merida, I went to the
Whiskeria Bar on Urdaneta Avenue. Dec./04 |
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| Living
on Isla Margarita, Venezuela ~The Essentials ~ By Daniel
O'Brien - This article is very informative because it gives you the kinds
of hard details that you need to know before moving to a country. And in
the case of Venezuela right now that is important. Daniel O'Brien moved
with his wife from Canada to Isla Margarita in the 1980s, so he knows what
it takes to set up shop on the island. The island is connected to Venezuela,
but experiences little of the political problems that face the mainland.
People from Colombia and Panama tell me that Isla Margarita is one of their
favorite beach resorts and looking at the pictures I can see why.
June/03 |
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| Margarita:
Mr Butcher - Here’s
the thing that makes this story worth telling. How many times have
we run into a Spanish speaker in America who was struggling to convey a
message and we simply got frustrated and thought to ourselves…if they are
going to be in America they should learn to speak the language! Jul/06 |
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| Margarita:
The Cook's Tale - Needless to say I was floored by the quality
of this food and the prices. I really hadn’t noticed until now. I had always
done my guestimates of prices, which gets me pretty close, but until you
get the old calculator down and really crunch the numbers it just doesn’t
hit home. Jun/06 |
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| Margarita
Island ~ Cheapest Vacation Spot In The Caribbean ~ by Scott Boswell
- There are actually three islands - Margarita, Coche, and Cubagua, with
Margarita being the largest and most populous of the three. Isla Coche
is sparsely populated and very popular with sun worshippers because of
it’s beaches and beautiful water. There are a few hotels, B&B’s, and
restaurants. Cubagua is almost totally uninhabited and is perfect for exploring,
snorkeling and diving. Jun/05 |
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| Margarita
Island: A Woman’s Point of View - This island is beautiful-warm
and inviting like the people. The Margaritans genuinely care about our
perception of their island and are wonderfully welcoming and hospitable.
We have been looked after by both natives and fellow adventurers and whilst
this place isn’t for everyone, everyone is welcome. By Cindie
Baxter May/06 |
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| Margarita
Island Free Medical Care ~More From Margarita Island, Venezuela
~ by Scott Boswell - We’re both fortunately pretty healthy, but a few months
back we were roaming around the island playing ‘tourist’ and KC, my significant
other, stepped wrong and hurt her foot. I took her to a hospital that was
close by. It was clean, efficient and a very nice doctor saw her immediately,
examined her foot, ordered two x-rays and diagnosed a sprain. He also wrote
a prescription for arch supports to help give her more stability in future
and told us where to order them. Oct./05 |
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| Merida,
Venezuela - In The Venezuelan Andes ~ By Christopher Hyland - Nestled
in a valley in the Andean range of Venezuela lies a medium-sized city named
Merida, with slightly over a half million inhabitants. Known as the
city of gentlemen, the city boasts many attractions and is the second largest
tourist destination in Venezuela, after Margarita Island. July/04 |
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| Orinoco
River ~ In The South Of Venezuela ~ by John Spampinato - It’s sarcastically
referred to as a ‘milk run’, a throwback to the days when dairy products
were delivered door to door, requiring the milkman to make uncountable
stops. Only in our case it was on a somewhat grander scale, starting in
LA with stopovers in Mexico - where the plane got a flat tire; Guatemala
- where our first landing attempt was aborted a disconcerting fifty feet
shy of touching down, and on to Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama,
Columbia and at long last, Venezuela, by which time we had pretty much
joined the ranks of the living dead and had probably logged more take offs
and landings than the Blue Angels. Feb./05 |
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| Paradise
For Pennies ~ Vacation To Isla Margarita ~ by Jean E. Middleswarth
- It’s all true! Those folks who’ve found their mecca on Isla Margarita,
and have shared their thoughts with you, tell it like it is! Gentle tropical
breezes, the azure blue Caribbean, exquisite views, fun of all types, friendly
and welcoming people. And, with the current exchange rate, all for
pennies a day! After a most memorable vacation, this is definitely my Paradise
for vacations to come! I figured it out. My week in Isla Margarita cost
me less than a week at Myrtle Beach, SC! How did I do it? Oct./05 |
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| Prices
On Margarita Island ~ The Most Inexpensive Spot In The Caribbean
~ by Scott Boswell - In recent articles for Escape From America I’ve been
telling people that Margarita Island is probably the cheapest place to
vacation or live in all of the Caribbean. The one possible exception I
thought might be the Dominican Republic. I just received an e-mail from
a couple who want to come see Margarita Island and who are currently living
in the D.R. I asked them why they were thinking of moving, and to my surprise
their reply was - Nov./05 |
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| Retire
In The Caribbean On $800 A Month? ~ Isla Margarita ~ by Karl Ike
- Do you know the average life span in the United States is 76.9 years?
That’s 28,068 days and I have already lived 21,900 of them, which means
that I have only 6168 days left and I really want to make the most of them.
That is unless I get T-boned at an intersection going to a job that I don’t
like and get to work with a bunch of people that I do not socialize with
away from work, but I get to do the same thing every weekend except for
two weeks a year on my paid vacation. Then I get to clean out the garage
and sleep late. I really don’t think I will ever see 76.9 cause if I don’t
get T-boned going to work, a cancer will probably rot a part of my body
away. Jan/05 |
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| Retiring
to Paradise ~More On Margarita Island ~ by Mike Inglis - After
spending 7 days on Margarita Island, Venezuela, I can say, this is where
I will semi-retire, sooner rather than later. I enjoyed virtually everything
about this delightful island some call the Pearl of the Caribbean.
It is famous for oysters, seafood, and fresh fish, etc., etc. Venezuela
has allowed this island to be 100% duty free. On a fixed income(social
security for example) anyone can afford to live here. And when I say live,
I mean live and enjoy life and not just squeak by as many of us will have
to do once we retire. You only need to have an income of $1200 to actually
be considered for residency. April/05 |
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| Three
Christmases On A Caribbean Island ~ Many Changes ~ by Scott Boswell
- Approaching my third Christmas season on Isla Margarita, I find I’ve
seen and done a lot. There have been many changes on the island since I
first arrived here. Then, Venezuela was in a state of political turmoil.
Prices were down and many wealthy locals were leaving the country. They
were afraid of what might happen, but no one I talked could tell me exactly
what that might be. Just that they didn’t like the political situation.
Since I hated current administration in the U.S.A. and after looking
over the possibilities here, I decided it was a good time to buy. Dec./05 |
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| Venezuela:
Hato Nuevo - Hato
Huevo is a nearby oasis for the weary cruiser who must hide from the ‘tormentas’
for the whole summer and with all the work, doesn’t have a lot of time
or simply needs a breathing spell. Here is a place to find a tranquil
getaway and a place to retouch nature, llanos style. If you go on
any weekday, you may be the only visitor, as I was - the weekends are very
busy with the local Venezuelans enjoying this special place. Aug./06 |
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| What
Don’t We Have On Margarita Island? ~ More On Living In The Caribbean
~ by Scott Boswell - “We got sunlight on the sand, we got moonlight on
the sea, we got mangoes and bananas you can pick right off the tree” and
we got dames...everywhere you look there are beautiful women! (to mangle
a phrase from the musical “South Pacific”) We also have some of the finest
shopping in the Caribbean. The largest mall in Latin America and ultra-modern
supermarkets. Jul/05 |
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| Working
In Paradise ~ Hot Dogs To Charter Boats ~ by Scott Boswell - Since
I’ve been writing for Escape From America I’ve gotten lots of e-mails from
people wanting to “get out of Dodge”...i.e., leave the United States. Many
of them haven’t reached retirement age and have asked if they can get work
here on Margarita Island - often they don’t include any information about
their skills, present employment, trade, no other information, just
“can I get a job there?” Naturally, I couldn’t answer their questions.
Aug./05 |
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