Index: Volume II Issue Number I - Escape From America Magazine

Index: Volume Two Issue Number One - Escape From America Magazine

Escape From America Magazine
Index: Volume Two ~ Issue Number One

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Paradise Found? - The Expatriate Scene In Xcalak, Mexico - Click Here - We sat around a table under a palapa with Darrell, his fishing guide, Mike from Minnesota, and Stephen, an American expatriate from Sweden, who vacations here once a year for “the quiet and solitude.” Miguel popped open five Sols behind the open-air bar. I looked around and thought, “Is this real?” - The cerulean Caribbean lapped at the scalloped edges of a bleached-white beach, dotted with inward leaning palm trees, and best of all, no people. There in the middle of paradise, the hours ambled by. Stories were told. Palm fronds crackled in the breeze, pelicans landed on the pier and took off again, and the smell of the hamburgers Miguel was grilling filled the air.

“Is this real?” - Xcalak, Mexico
Robin Sparks Daugherty takes you there -

Second Passport from the Dominican Republic - Click Here - Obtaining Residency and a Second Passport from the Dominican Republic - Much less than half of the costs required by other programs, and in fact a much easier process as well. In short, clients have the opportunity to pursue second citizenship from a stable democratic country, at a cost that is downright inexpensive in comparison to some other programs. In addition, should someone wish to retire, live or perhaps start a business in the Dominican Republic, there are a number of attributes that make this country one of the best places for relocation as well.

Moving To Guatemala - Click Here - Why Guatemala? First its affordable. A middle - class retirement can buy an improved life style, with plenty left over to support your activities. You can attain a much higher standard of living on your social security, investments and retirement income. An introduction to the subject from Guatemala Lifestyles Magazine - includes information on obtaining residency.

Re-Building The Bridge On The River Escondido - Click Here - All materials had to be moved by the crew, piece by piece, loaded on the flatbed and taken to the work site, unloaded and constructed “a mano”. The beams weighed 100 lbs. per foot and were 6 to 14 feet long. All would be carried and maneuvered into place by the workers, who were thin and tough, and existed on a diet of tortillas and beans. - A true tale told by Jim Hearne, Publisher of Guatemala Lifestyles Magazine. He makes it clear that the thrill of living isn't gone for those who've decided to restart their life in a new nation.

Living in “Strange and wonderful” Budapest - Click Here - Budapest, where the living is increasingly pleasant...and still very cheap - "The best arrangement I ever had in this city of 2 million was living a block from the river off Szabadság Bridge, just west of the Hotel Gellért on Bartók Bela. It was an elaborate, dusty three-bedroom apartment with 18-foot-tall ceilings and a living room the size of a fine restaurant, and I got the luxury of walking across the Danube each morning on my way to work. I shared the place with two colleagues, for a total of $160 a month. On warm spring nights, we would open the huge windows to the street below, an endless circus of squeaking trams and honking Ladas, and let the Danubian breeze flow through while we conjured the ghost of Bartók and let his spooky Gypsy string quartets play through the boom box. On $800 a month, I lived better than I have in San Francisco, New Orleans, or Washington on $3,000."

Looking At Real Estate In Bangkok, Bali & The Philippines - Click Here - I then went to Bangkok, a hot and crowded place, but my favorite city in this part of the world, probably even ahead of Hong Kong. Poor planning got me there in the middle of the Thai New Year, which meant everything was shut down for a week, and I didn't get a chance to see a lot of property. On the other hand, the whole city goes wild with a water festival; you walk down any street and after five minutes you're completely soaked from squirt guns and buckets of water thrown at you, day or night. It's great fun. Bangkok reminds me of L.A. without the social problems. If you're thinking of living in the Orient for a while, this is the place. - Doug Casey looks for real estate in the Orient."

The Wasteland - From The Daily Reckoning - Click Here - T.S. Eliot, American by birth, English by choice, was once asked why he had moved to London, instead of settling down in St. Louis with a nice woman from the midwest. "I didn't like being dead that much," was his reply. - A new feature on Escape Artist, The Daily Reckoning, by Bill Bonner - Bill is the publisher of a group of investment services, called Agora Financial Publishing. Agora has offices in Paris, London and Baltimore, so Bill had a choice of where he wanted to live. While he shuttles back and forth between these offices he chooses to live in a château in France which he and is wife Elizabeth renovated.

Getting Established To Do Business As A Foreigner In France - Click Here - A very informative article by Daniel Laprès - covers such subjects as, Who can immigrate to France? What kind of work can foreigners do? - - Daniel Laprès an Avocat à la Cour d'Appel de Paris, specializes in immigration to France, international commerce and Multimedia / e-commerce -

Exchange Controls, International Real Estate & Foreign Currencies - Click Here - The purchasing power of a nations currency profoundly effects the actual price of that nations property. Currency rates are cyclical and nations with high rates of inflation have weak currencies subject to periodic devaluation. Immediately following a devaluation the price of commodities produced within that nation, (as well as it’s real estate), becomes cheaper to buyers who have sound currencies and are capable of using those sound currencies to make their purchases. This buying opportunity will only exist for brief cyclical periods, from the moment of devaluation up until the time when the nations ‘internal’ prices are adjusted to compensate for the difference between the internal prices and those existing ‘externally’ to that nation. There is usually, but not always, a lag time between the moment of devaluation and the moment of adjustment. The lag time can be quite brief, however the differences in a strong currencies buying power within that lag time can some times be quite pronounced.

Understanding Expatriate / Travel Insurance - Click Here - Traveling and living in a foreign country can be exciting and rewarding, but it can also prove challenging and expensive, especially when sickness or injury occurs and medical services or worse, medical evacuation is needed. Medical costs have risen dramatically worldwide and the quality and costs of both routine and emergency medical care can also vary tremendously from one country to the next. Consequently, many world travelers purchase supplementary international medical insurance or travel insurance in order to avoid the potentially staggering financial costs that could result from serious sickness or injury in a foreign country.

Boxing a Bicycle For Public Transit - Click Here - No, it's not rocket-science to box a bike, but there is a right way and wrong way to do it. If you've got your heart set on riding your bike through a foreign county you had best be aware that shipping your bike on any public transport requires following their rules. Learn their rules, learn the estimated cost of shipping your bike, learn how to package it right and more in this article by Harvey Botzman. Also worth noting is our new sponsor, WorldTravelCenter.com. They provide expatriate insurance and travel insurance, you should add them and their services to the list of things to include on your biking trip.

New Sections on EscapeArtist.com - We've added new sections for Singapore, Thailand, and for Malaysia. Also new is the Daily Reckoning, Bill Bonner's daily email letter that goes out to expatriates and international investors around the world. The Daily Reckoning is a free - The Daily Reckoning - We've also upgraded our section on Monitoring Human Freedom - resources for analyzing the global conditions of Human Rights & Human Liberty - We also have a section on International Volunteer Jobs If you want to try to make a difference in the world and do something really interesting at the same time why not check this out. - Books On Volunteer Jobs Overseas are also listed. If you have questions, comments or suggestions regarding our webZine please take a moment and send us your comments. We are working hard to bring you content you can value - we do appreciate your feedback. See you next issue.

To find out how you can become an Escape From America issue sponsor contact EscapeArtist.com -

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