Restaurants
were fantastic and you can get a great meal for 10-15,000 B’s ($4-6) As
I said before, you can have a great Italian dinner for 2 with a bottle
of wine included for $20 or less. Lots of Italian like I have never
had before but only a few Mexican restaurants. I love good Mexican!
Taxi’s will take you anywhere in Porlamar for 5000 B’s ($2) Airport is
15,000 ($6) (El Yaque is near the airport) Taxi’s will take you anywhere
on the island and you can rent them, or a rental car, by the day. Nightlife
is good, Discos, Opah, Hilton Hotel casino and local restaurants. Of course
beaches are great and there is nightlife really starting at midnight. Beaches
are hot during the day but there is always a cooling breeze. Especially
at night. Tons of windsurfers and kite surfing. There are ultra-lights
on the island, good fishing, party boats, and island tours to Isla Coche,
swimming and surfing.
But you need
to get out of your head that this is a third world country. Yes, many parts
look like Mexico, same with the architecture, but the shopping centers,
pharmacies, big grocery stores, department stores, etc are as nice (or
nicer) than some of the U.S. best.
The only
thing Margarita Island is lacking from the U.S. is congestion, smog and
prices.
However, many
things like electronics and appliances are about the same, maybe a little
higher. Where the real value is lies in property, gas, cost of living,
taxes, insurance, etc.
Gas is still
around $.12 a gallon, cigarettes (Marlboro) are $1 a pack, beer is $3.20
a case of 30, car insurance is less than $100 a year, property taxes the
same or less and groceries are very inexpensive. Anything and everything
else you want is there. Cellular, Direct TV, shopping centers, restaurants,
casinos, nightclubs, everything! A new best friend (England) on the island,
whose house is paid for and two cars, said that he and his wife live absolutely
great on $160 a week and that includes dinner out twice a week.
He had a wonderful
2-bed/2-bath house in a new gated community with a pool/Jacuzzi, outdoor
pool bathroom, outdoor BBQ-kitchen, storage shed and absolutely needed
nothing for around $100k. Another new best friend, John and I ran across
the biggest lobster we have ever seen. Far bigger than my dog and had to
be 25 lbs. It was over 4’ long from antennae to tail. I have a picture,
just not developed yet. The restaurant wanted 200,000 B’s cooked. ($80)
but it would of easily fed 4-6 people. It looked like something out of
a Sci-Fi movie. Land of the Lobster People.
A good 90%
of the roads are in great condition. Far better than Mexico’s old roads
or Costa Rica. Some divided highways, very few accidents even tho you don’t
need to stop for red lights and drinking & driving is acceptable
unless you are extremely drunk. From what I saw, their accident rate and
DUI’s are about 1% of ours. Everybody drives aggressively passive and very
polite unless you are holding up traffic. Then you get the horn.
Should you bump another car and he pays for your car and you pay for his.
What a concept? Not one ambulance chaser on the island. Wow, did I love
that!
Your dog is
acceptable almost everywhere. In bars/restaurants, hotels (but not nightclubs)
on planes, but not in shopping malls but generally accepted most places.
Especially the beach.
They
know that you dog is probably cleaner and better behaved than you are.
Since this trip was to research property, we were very impressed with price’s
compared to the rest of the world. We tried to spend at least 4 hours a
day after we sobered up, looking at property. I found one penthouse for
sale for $110,000 asking and this was brand new but not completed. Structure
was there but needed everything, tile, appliances, furniture, cabinets,
etc. The good thing was, you would get it exactly the way you wanted it.
You would be hard pressed to put another $40,000 into it. So for $150,000
you have a brand new custom 3000 sf, 4 bed/4 bath penthouse with the 3000
sf sundeck on the roof that is perfect for a wet bar, hot tub, lawn, BBQ,
putting green.
Personally,
I would add a little 1200 sf retreat up there just to get away from all
the friends that will come and visit. A great view of the ocean and Playa
el Agua, three blocks away. In Vegas, you have a double wide for $150k
with Jerry Springer neighbors. Found another penthouse that is a
bank repo that is two story with 2500 sf per floor. Each floor has 3-bed/3
baths with a full kitchen, living room, etc connected with a large spiral
staircase in a 2-story atrium. A private elevator exits to each unit, top
floor has a private gym and sauna with master bed and bath.
The unit had
been lived in and again, no appliances. Asking price from the bank is 500,000,000
B’s ($200,000). So you try a buck and a half and put another $25 into it
and you have the million-dollar two-story condo for under $200k.
Association
dues are about $50-60 a month. Both properties were security gated with
beautiful infinity swimming pools, clubhouse, covered parking and fantastic
landscaped grounds. Both with great views of the ocean. For $55,000 I saw
many condos, some on the beach, some with a nice view of the water. All
were security gated with all amenities, 2 bed/2 bath, living room, kitchen,
AC, yada, yada.
A bunch of
these are perfect for 2-4 people buying together and you have a condo year
round. Get together and toss in $15,000 and another $1500 apiece and you
have a car in the parking lot when you get there. So for $16,500 apiece,
you have a condo and a car to use for 90 days a year. Beats the hell out
of $10,000 for a one-week timeshare in Scottsdale or Hawaii.. Use
it for a month and rent out for the other two months. What’s wrong with
that picture…..besides nothing?
One unit I
looked at was VERY cool. Vaulted log beam ceiling, One bedroom had bunks
with another single bed, the other bedroom had a queen bed and the shaped
living room couch would sleep another 2. Over the bathrooms there was a
cozy little loft with a double bed, so this unit would easily sleep 9.
Wonderful little place.
Properties
can range from $20k to $500k depending on you lifestyle. I would recommend
that you change your lifestyle if island living is for you. There is a
wonderful development under way for the high-end retiree community coming
soon and many very nice other communities. Bottom line is, Mike is already
there, Fred is there, John is there, I arrive next week, Leo is following
as well as Gordon, David, Jimmy and her hubby and a bunch more moving shortly.
I feel that we have a great little group only to get better. We really
do have a great bunch of guys coming.
If you like
a little more info on Margarita, check my website www.margaritaventures.net.
And
for more answers to questions, log on to our Yahoo chatroom. Or you can
e-mail me personally at karl_ike@hotmail.com.
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