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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. La Isla, what the locals call Margarita, is truly what I am looking for and I know many others are as well.   Once other Americans discover this little Paradise they will fall in love as I did. The island has warm, kind, friendly handsome people(and from a male point of view, the women are stunningly beautiful). The weather is great and predicable, between 78-85 and a nice breeze at all times. The pace is slow (so get out of the rat race). There is only one large town over 100,000 population (Porlamar). There are numerous small towns(of 2-10,000 people), very little crime, inexpensive medical care and the cost of living is easily under $1,000 per month including rent. You are never more than 10 minutes from a beach or 20 minutes from the largest city of Porlamar where the nightlife goes til 2 or 3am or until whenever. I say, sometimes, you just gotta go for it. You only go around once in life, so go for the gusto NOW!

As I write this article, I am reminded of my age, soon to be 58 and wondering where I want to live as I move towards retirement. I grew up in Memphis, TN.(it gets hot and humid there), however, I have lived all of my adult life in central Wisconsin. I am sure you know what the weather is like in Wisconsin. Today, March 2005, just had 1-2 inches of snow and the high is around 20. This is not exactly what I want to look forward to in the coming years. I want to ride my goldwing any time I wish. I want to go to the beach any time I wish. I want to fish any time I wish....................how about you?

So, what changes do I make as I inch toward retirement. Let's see, I visited Mexico 4 times in the past 20 months and thought central Mexico was wonderful. I love the area south of Guadalajara, and specifically on the north shore of the largest lake in Mexico, the area is called Lake Chapala and I thought this is the place for me.   The weather touches 70 degrees everyday and there are about 10,000 Americans and Canadians living there.  The locals are friendly. So as I read about the area, I found out there is a large Gringo population there, good weather, cheap medical, less expensive to live there than in the States......what's not to like about this. This is where I am going to retire or so I thought. Then, I began reading Escape Artist newsletters and discovered Costa Rica and began emailing several people there and thought this could be interesting but the infrastructure isn't that good. Realtors are driving up the prices rapidly. And as I continued to read and surf the net, along comes some info on Panama and I read and read about Panama and felt I needed to take a trip there and check out this unique country. Panama is currently my overall 2nd choice at this time. So much to see and not enough time to do everything.

Just when I thought I was getting close to a decision, along came some information about a small island off the coast of Venezuela called "Margarita Island", Venezuela”. You might want to do a google or dogpile search on this island. Some call it "La Isla" or the "Pearl of the Caribbean". I call it "MY" future retirement home. As I read everything I could find on the internet, I was so charmed by this small island that I just had to see it. You might ask Why? Well, the temperature rarely varies and is generally between 78-85 with moderate humidity. There are gentle breezes of 5-15 mph all day and night, sunshine over 320 days per year and one of the lowest costs of living in the world. They have very good infrastructure and very friendly people. The price of beer is between 40-80 cents and gasoline cost 12-16 cents a gallon............you say you gotta be kidding me. What's not to like about that. This can't be real or so I thought. I have got to take a trip to Margarita Island and check this out for myself.....and I did just that.

Well, 4 of us guys, living all over the country began emailing each other and all wanted to see this Island of Paradise for ourselves. We all decided to meet on the island for 7 days or more. My stay was for only 7 days, and what a wonderful and enjoyable time it was. This little island is truly everything I was hoping it would be and I fell in love with everything I saw. It is now all I can think about and I yearn to return to Paradise. You should visit Margarita and check it out for yourselves. Can you imagine buying a nice 2-3 bedroom house for about $40-50,000 and wah la, you have a 2nd home on a georgeous Caribbean island. You can visit Paradise anytime you like..........well you can dream can't you? 

We drove the entire island looking at anything and everything we could see. Everyone was impressed. Driving was no problem as gasoline, was between 12 and 16 cents a gallon. I know, you are thinking that is a bunch of Bull, but it is true, so go and check it out for yourself. As soon as I returned to the States and filled up my car, I realized the price of one gallon in my city was ($2.07 a gallon) and was more than a complete fillup on Margarita Island............amazing! This little island is 100% duty free and since Venezuela is a member of OPEC and the world's 3rd largest producer of oil, they pass the low cost of gas along to anyone on the island.
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I was very impressed with the infrastructure or the road system. All roads were paved and for the most part nice and wide with an occasional pothole here and there. The locals drive very fast, weaving in and out of traffic but suprisingly very few accidents. Everyone is courteous and patient. People make U-turns anywhere they want, without any problems. People also drink and drive, but don't get into an accident, or it could be a problem. The police are virtually non existent, and the few they have, keep a low profile. The sidewalks are nice and wide as well. Most towns are small or about 2-10,000 in population, very charming. Every town has a nice block square plaza where people hang out to relax and visit with their neighbors. I wish that Americans would do this. Every town has a large church. The one large city is called Porlamar with a population well over 100,000. This is where most of the action is, and I might add that whatever you want, you can get for the right price in Porlamar. The overall population of the island is about 400,000. There are many high rise buildings in Porlamar..........which surprised me. Most of  high-rise buildings are apartments or condos, and there are plenty of each to choose from. I saw condos as low at $15,000 and up to $140,000. I saw an incredible condo which was over $140,000 that was soon coming off contract with the realtor and we were told it could be purchased for about $110,000 from the owner. This unit had about 3500 sq ft inside plus the entire roof(another 3500 sq ft which could be used as an outdoor patio).....fabulous. WOW, what a buy. The beach was about 4 blocks away and the ocean was clearly visible from the rooftop.....a million dollar view.

Apartments can be rented from $100 to about $300 a month. You just have to look around and bargain with cash. Cash or American dollars always is the key. When I left, the Bolivar which is the currency was 2120 = $1.00. On the open market(which most people use), you could get as much as 2500 and sometimes more bolivars to a dollar. It pays to haggle. You could go anywhere on the island for less than an $8 via taxi.

Some of us strongly believe we need to build a small North American community on this beautiful little island, or at least provide tourism assistance for those wishing to come for a visit. There aren't many Americans living there but there are some Germans, English and Italians. I believe it is just a matter of time before Americans find this little island and the cost of land and properties start to rise. After all, how can you go wrong at these prices. My suggestion is to visit the island for yourself and get your own small piece of Paradise. If you want someone to manage your property(just send me an email). On the island, you can find  2-3 bedroom, 2-3 bath houses as low as $27,000.  What a great buy for a second home. It costs about $10-15 to visit a doctor on Margarita Island. Meds are sold over the counter and I am not sure of med prices. I feel it is time for me to get myself back to Margarita where the lifestyle will be easy-going and my money will go much, much farther.

Some tips if you go for a visit. Take a pocket dictionary and an electronic translator (best $16 I spent at Walmart). Very few people speak English. I plan to enroll in an intense Spanish class here and again on the island when I return permanently. There is a great Spanish language school there. Send me an email and I will be happy to provide you with a contact. Take lots of cash....because you can't cash checks, ATM's don't always work and travelers checks are not easy to cash. I tried unsucessfully to cash a travelers check at 2 banks in the mall. If you have cash, you can exchange it in most stores and on the street at or above the market rate. Just be careful when you exchange and know what you are getting. For example, $100 should easily get you a minimum of 2500 bolivars to a dollar, or at least 250,000 bolivars. That is a wad of bolivars.
. The food was terrific everywhere we ate, which was about 5 or 6 different places. We ate pizzas, appetizers, steaks, seafood linguini, spaghetti, hamburgers, salads and club sandwiches. None of us got sick. We ate at our hotel, several outside restaurants, in the Sambill Mall, and at the beach. If you are thinking this island is 3rd world, think again. The high-rise buildings all around the island, but especially in Porlamar will impress anyone.   There are many hotels but I think there are 3 major hotel chains, Hilton, Best Western and Howard Johnson.   Attached to the Hilton is a fantastic Casino, that has everything  you can imagine. We did visit the casino a couple of times and had some good luck overall. Blackjack is the game for me, but there are numerous bingo establishments in Porlamar. Bingo on the island is actually where they play slot machines and not what we call actual Bingo. 

Back to the people? In general, they are a very handsome race, dark skinned, and of Spanish descent. They wear very tight clothes. which might cause you to look twice as they go by. On the beach, thongs and skimpy suits are everywhere and tops are optional. Male and female escort service is legal on the island and is available for the asking. Just be safe and be careful.

From my limited time there, I know there are hospitals and one can secure private medical care.........at what price I do not know but will soon find out when I get there again. There is direct TV which gets many American programs, DSL high speed internet is available. There are at least 3 newspapers printed in English. Not sure about how to telephone back to the US, however, if one goes on the internet, you can acquire the VOIP(voice over internet protocol) at a fee. Most everyone I met or saw that was using cel phones were using a tri phone with a sim chip and buying the prepaid calling cards for minute usage.

The size of the island is about 78 miles from east to west and about 25 miles from north to south. However since the western part of the island is sparsely inhabited, and most of the people live on the eastern part of the island.

The Sambil Mall is truly a 1st class mall comparable to anything we have in the States. Many of the name brand stores and eateries are the same as we have. The air conditioning makes it a very chilly place to shop. Walk fast or wear something long sleeve or long pants. The prices in the Sambill Mall are similar to our prices here, but other than the Mall, prices are quite inexpensive. So, tell me, how do you want to spend your retirement? A question for all of you.... Where you presently live, are you afraid to go outside, especially at night? Do you have extra $$$ to spend? Will your retirement income allow you to live a comfortable lifestyle? This is something only you can decide and I have already answered these questions in my mind. Are you cutting corners on everything, especially your meds? Are you fretting on how to pay your health insurance? Well worry no longer. Feel free to email me and I will be most happy to provide you with as much info as I can on how you too can live in Paradise.  Each and every day, more and more Americans are moving out of the Land of the Free and Expensive. You just have to remember one thing, you will be the newbe wherever you move, and it is up to you to change, if you want to get along. And that is really easy if you want it to be. Put your frustrations and worry aside, live the good life, relax and don't worry about anything as the locals on Margarita are never in a hurry.................so why should you? Margarita Island, Venezuela.............check it out for yourselves, I dare you.

How to get there? You will need to cross check airfares anyway you can to get the best rate. I went to www.intratours.com for my flight from Milwaukee to Miami, and I went on Aeropostal Airlines from Miami to Caracas and on to the island. No problem.

Well, that about wraps up my fun filled and most enjoyable 7 days in Paradise. I can't wait to return to My new home. If you wish to contact me with any questions…..you can email me at mktman47@excite.com or  mktman47@yahoo.com, or call me at work at 888 360 5959 and I will be happy to share whatever insights I can with you. 
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