I was there 3 times in the past year researching and reporting on the "Costa Maya" property market for the just released, Year 2000 Caribbean Property List Limited Edition. Over half of the new issue is devoted to reports, articles and over 300 property for sale listings in the Western Caribbean.

THE YUCATAN: The peninsula of Mexico that juts out into the Gulf is know as "Yucatan".  Very few Cancun visitors actually cross the invisible line over into Yucatan provence.

Some go on one of the "Pyramid" day tours via the new toll-road.  If you take the other road, you add 15 minutes but see an authentic colonial town from 1552, Valladolid, and actually experience a small piece of the pre-tourist past and different type of property than you find in Cancun. If you continue on another 90 miles you will arrive in Mérida, the "Paris of the West". The city dates from the 1500's and offers, plazas, promenades, parks, intl and regional restaurants, tree-lined boulevards, big old mansions, Spanish colonial ambiance and Mayan tranquility. Mérida is very clean and safe. Just 30 miles from the Gulf coast, it has the lowest crime rate per capita in all of Mexico. If you want to retire to México, but don't want to live in a resort town lacking soul and history, come to Mérida. Its a big surprise to first time visitors.

PROPERTY OWNERSHIP IN MEXICO -  Americans and other foreigners may obtain direct ownership of property in the interior of Mexico. However, under Mexican law, foreigners cannot own property outright within the "restricted zone": all land within 62 mi of the Mexican border, and within 31 mi of any Mexican coastline.  A real estate trust must be set up with a bank to hold title for a foreigner.

BELIZE - A small country, pop. 235,000, is the only Central American country with English as the official language. Pyramids here indicate that Belize was originally inhabited by the Mayans around 300 A.D. Foreigners can own property in Belize with little or no restrictions.

Belize has introduced a simple, very beneficial "Residency Program" for foreigners which has a lot to offer. The law has so many benefits that attorneys are saying it is the best program of it's kind anywhere in the world. You don't have to be retired, you don't have to spend a certain amount of time in Belize and you can live tax free. The new CPL has a full page article about this exciting new program as well as 70 Belize properties listed for sale.  The article can also be found in a recent edition of this Ezine.

NICARAGUA - A big surprise to most people is that Nicaragua has the lowest crime rate of any Central American country; the fastest growing economy; and the lowest priced property.

This is why some major players have started buying land here and some publications like Intl Living have recently started writing about this country that has had more than its share of USG intervention and resultant turmoil.