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Start a coffee plantation in Guatemala…buy a summer home on the Dalmatian coast…retire in the Bahamas

New Zealand’s unpopular valuables
The current land boom in Florida has roughly doubled the price of raw land in the last five years, and people are starting to look elsewhere. I’ll put my money on New Zealand. It’s been the cheapest developed country in the world for the last several years for two reasons: their dollar has been in a long-term free-fall; and their economy, which runs on wood, wool, mutton, and dairy products, has been extremely depressed as a result of all-time lows in commodity prices. Kiwi voters, awhile ago, elected a Labor government-equivalent to the Democrats in the States, reactively blaming the incumbent Nationals-equivalent to the Republicans, for their problems. The New Zealand dollar hit a new low of US$0.46 as a result, which is probably a panic bottom. It’s one thing when things are dirt cheap in a Third World country. But New Zealand looks, feels, and acts like the United States or Canada-exactly like British Columbia, in fact.

Whatever you buy here costs less than half what it would in the States. Except for real estate. For example, a 2,000-acre farm on the ocean with four kilometers of beach, 30 minutes from a provincial town of 20,000 people, in the heart of the wine country, costs about US$350,000.

I’m a great believer in selling things that everybody wants and buying things of value that are unpopular. Especially when what the market holds in low esteem is more desirable than what it currently doesn’t want. And you can play polo in New Zealand for about 10% of what it costs in Palm Beach. Of course, that’s true of a lot of places, including Nicaragua. - Doug Casey, New Zealand

EDITOR’S NOTE For 19 years Doug Casey has been the editor of International Speculator, uncovering moneymaking opportunities worldwide. For more information go to www.dailyreckoning.com, and follow the International Speculator link in the left column.

Ecuador: 10 things you need to know
I’d taken Gary Scott’s lyrical descriptions of Ecuador with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, there is much truth in what he says. The country’s topography is diverse and gorgeous, including the Amazon watershed rain forest, glaciated volcanic peaks (some of which are active!), and the islands. The food is delicious, the people are friendly, and the soil is fertile; drop a seed into the volcanic soil and it grows-multiple annual harvests are possible for many crops. The climate is yours to choose. Control temperature by varying altitude; control rainfall by moving to differing sides of the mountains. But best of all for potential investors, real estate is absurdly cheap-lots of beautiful, inexpensive coastal property.

Now, I think like an engineer because I trained as one. I prepare for the worst-case scenario, then what actually  happens should be a cakewalk. Here are 10 things I discovered about Ecuador:

1) Guayaquil is downright menacing. Guards in flak jackets sport automatic weapons in defense of nightly entertainment spots. Those with good jobs sleep well outside the city in high-walled residential compounds. The official police are nowhere to be seen.
2) Improved property must not be left vacant. Because of widespread poverty, any dwelling left vacant is liable to be inhabited by squatters. So plan on living in any home you might buy.
3) Expect to contribute to the neighborhood guard’s stipend if you live in the city. Retain a cook or housekeeper, even if you don’t really want one, in order to keep the place 
occupied while you’re out.
4) The real estate market is wildly inefficient. The same home may be listed for two or three times as much in one urban neighborhood as another just a few blocks away. 
5) There is no Board of Realtors, or Multiple Listing Service. Those who want to sell put signs in their windows and ask their neighbors to spread the word.
6) Residential electrical wiring is not impressive-I didn’t find an electrical distribution box with more than 100-amp service (200 amps is common for new construction in the U.S.). Nor did I encounter three-pronged electrical outlets or ground-fault-interrupter outlets, both of which are important safety features. If I were building in Ecuador, I’d demand upgraded electrical wiring.
7) Most homes in the highlands aren’t built with insulated, hollow walls, because of Ecuador’s dependably mild climate. The same brick wall that faces the outdoors forms the home’s inner wall. This is inexpensive and charming, but it means that much electrical wiring must be surface-mounted in ugly wiring channels. When wiring is hidden in plaster or concrete construction, it can’t be easily changed later on. So plan ahead if you’re building, and observe carefully if you’re buying.
8) You will need to filter and chemically treat your home’s water supply.
9) Expect squalor, because the locals don’t notice it. If junked cars, peeling billboards, dusty streets, and heaps of trash offend you, then you won’t like Ecuador’s urban areas, although I’ve seen far worse in certain Chinese-speaking countries. 
10) Expect to speak Spanish. Ecuador is a real Latin-American country, not a tourist camp catering to English speakers.

These are just a few particulars about day-to-day life in Ecuador, nothing I can’t live with. In fact, I consider it an  adventure.  - Jeff Wilson, Groton, MA

Coffee barons of Guatemala
My husband and I weren’t too sure how we were going to deal with retirement. But after leaving Wisconsin for Antigua, Guatemala, we discovered a fun business opportunity completely by accident. Now, at a time in our lives when we expected to be sitting on the porch, we’re busier than ever-and loving it.
 We came to Antigua permanently in 1988. We chose Guatemala over other countries we looked at, mainly because of the people. I would recommend Guatemala Lifestyles Newsletter, website: www.go2guatemala.com, for anyone thinking about living here.
 
About five years ago, we decided that Antigua was turning into too much of a tourist trap, so we started looking for something in the countryside. Ideally, we wanted somewhere our grandchildren could enjoy. Finally we found something, about four miles from Antigua: a 1.25 acre plot, covered in garbage, with around a thousand sad-looking trees, which we later found out were coffee trees. Never ones to turn down a challenge, we bought it, and got a friend to oversee construction of our new house. We didn’t want to cut down the trees, despite what friends said about their appearance, so eventually, the logical thing to do was to cultivate them. 

Another friend of ours was able to divine a well to feed the trees. We employed some of the locals to help harvest the beans, and we were able to find someone who had all the machines needed to process the coffee. Our neighbors packaged the final product in the colorful Maya cloth that is used for dresses. After two and a half years, we broke even!

Now, we roast, bag, and sell the coffee all on site, as well as chocolate-covered coffee beans. We’ve planted about two thousand more trees, and regularly ship samples back to friends all over the States. We are making a good living and the value of our property has increased 500% in the five years since we bought it, but we have no intention of selling. 

 We’ve called our place here Finca Los Nietos. It means, “the grandchildren’s farm.”
- Carolyn Thompson, San Lorenzo El Cubo, Guatemala 

Four reasons why we retired to the Bahamas
For several years we researched the islands of the Caribbean with an eye to relocating to a tropical location. Not yet ready to retire, we were looking for an island that would offer the infrastructure required to continue working with the aid of the Internet. This meant, of course, reliable telephone service and electricity. Other requirements were: a stable government, a predominantly English-speaking population, and the facility for non-nationals to own property.

Although not technically part of the Caribbean, the Bahamas seemed to meet most of our requirements with minimal culture shock. In particular, we liked the outer island of Eleuthera.
 Eleuthera, Greek for “freedom” , is 110 miles long and only two miles across at its widest point. It is one of the most-developed of the outer islands, offering a good road system (the main road is good-the side roads can be a bit challenging), reliable telephone service, electricity, and water. The crime rate is extremely low and the people are friendly and welcoming. There were also other advantages, which apply to the Bahamas in general:

• Proximity to the United States. There are several flights a day directly from Eleuthera’s three international airports to either Miami or Fort Lauderdale. 
• No income tax. Having given up residency in Canada to move to the Bahamas, we are no longer subject to Canadian taxes. Although we cannot work in the Bahamas itself, we are free to derive an income from outside the country.
• No quarantine for pets. As pet owners, this was important to us. For more information contact the Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box N-3028, Nassau, Bahama; tel. (242)325-7502, fax 3960. 
• A pollution-free, temperate climate. The Bahamas offers a perfect escape from cold, snowy winters, and the pollution of urban centers. The weather varies little throughout the year. Average temperatures range from 70 F to 89 F. Winter months tend to be dry, with the most rain falling between May and October. The air is clean and the water is crystal clear. One downside is hurricane season-June to 
November. Although the Bahamas rarely gets hit, Hurricane Floyd did make a mess in 1999. However, most repairs are underway, if not already completed.  - Victoria Wells, Miami, Florida

A Summer Home in Croatia
I’ve just been to the Adriatic Sea along the Dalmatian coast, a fertile region of Croatia. I spent two weeks in a summer home in Tinj. My in-laws built a house there recently for their retirement and the whole family now uses the home for spring and summer trips. My husband and I left Victoria, British Columbia last March for a visit. The house is two stories high, with a balcony, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Many of the materials for the house were imported from Canada. 

Housing costs are a fraction of the price of the average American home. Although food and household costs are almost the same as in America, building and labor costs are much cheaper. The house we stayed in cost $61,815 to build. It’s about 2,600 square feet. The land cost $23,775. Waterfront property starts at $95,000 for just the plot. Every morning, we woke up to have Croatian coffee and cakes at our house. 
In this culture the house belongs to the son as well as the parents. The town of Biograd was only fifteen minutes away by car. We traveled to the Pijaca, a market where locals set up stalls to sell fresh produce. My husband and I enjoyed traveling to this romantic place. The people were friendly and hospitable. The food, especially the prsuto, was superb. I recommend the Dalmatian coast of Croatia to anyone looking for an inexpensive summer home. My relatives are helping others build here right now. Contact Erlic Commerce, Biograd Na Moru; tel. (385)23-383, fax 360, for information on building a house in Croatia. Tourism information is available at www.htz.hr/.    - Lily Erlic, BC, Canada

“Retiring” in Placencia
An article two years ago in International Living about Southern Belize caught my eye and led to my exploration of the area. My wife and I fell in love with Placencia, and bought several properties there. We bought two beachfront parcels: one lagoon parcel in The Plantation, and one lagoon lot in Maya Beach. The average cost was about $50,000 each for the 15,000-square-foot beachfront properties and $20,000 for the same size lagoon lots. We plan to build on three of the sites and sell the fourth later on. 

I own a video production company in Colorado with clients throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean. I will continue to do a select few projects per year but plan to primarily enjoy life on the beach and on the reef and to explore the nearby Maya Mountains. We’ve traveled throughout the South Pacific and Caribbean Isles looking for just the right spot to set up a second home for early retirement. Nothing quite worked until we discovered Placencia. Our primary building site is currently being prepared for construction and we’re designing our home with architect Ken Mitchell, tel. (501)637-013, e-mail: kenn@btl.net.
 -Rand Taylor, Colorado

The most peaceful place on Earth
My friend Pablo and I had been traveling in Laos, on a riverboat on the upper Mekong River. After two days on the river, we arrived in the delightful oasis of Louang Prabang, or L.P as the farangs call it. L.P takes you back to the 19th century, to Kipling and Conrad, to pedicabs and faithful coolies, to sweaty armpits and small lizards. 

If you have ever wanted to live a Graham Greene novel, or have ever dreamed of being Jungle Jim, L.P is the place to start. 

In this century Laos has endured a stifling French bureaucracy, saturation bombing by the CIA, and a communist dictatorship so ruthless, so insensitive to human needs, it makes Ho Chi Minh look like Princess Diana. But-and let’s be frank about this-Laos is probably better off now than if left to its own devices. Before French colonialism, Laos enjoyed 600 years of internecine warfare. 

My guidebook says that Laotians believe “too much work is bad for your brain.” Then again, maybe this lethargic attitude explains why L.P is such a pleasant place to hang out. Especially now, with Laos’s future as bleak as its past, Laotians can feel at home. People can move slowly not only because of a natural inclination to move slowly, but because there’s no reason to move any faster.

Adequate rooms in small guest houses cost a dollar a night per person. The town’s best hotel is a converted French colonial mansion, formerly owned by a Laotian princess. People over fifty speak French, kids in their twenties speak English. The historic temple is perhaps the most peaceful place I’ve ever been in, it’s so quiet and cool. - Paul Terhorst, Louang Prabang, Laos