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.
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.
