Buy
a piece of Lenin's House and more...
The Online Edition of
International Living Magazine
|
|
| As we
went to print, our consulting editor, Vivian Lewis, learned of a unique
investment opportunity in the fashionable financial district of London.
Our forum will return next month.
In 1870, Vladimir
Ilyich Lenin resided at St. Paul's Square in Clerkenwell, just north of
the City of London (financial district). It is both traditional and trendy
today, with lots of bars and restaurants.
Now that communism
is dead, Lenin's old haunts have become fashionable for capitalists working
in banks and the stock market. The site also includes a former holding
pen for prisoners who were drunk and disorderly-not quite a prison. The
price of a one-bedroom apartment (715 sq. ft.) starts at, 140,000. Flats
of two bedrooms are 850-1,200 sq. ft. and start at, 210,000.
There are also
newly built 1,300sq. ft. houses with three bedrooms, for which the starting
price is a distinctly noncommunist E295,000.
These are developers'
prices, since the complex is all for sale now.
For more information,
contact Comrade Simon Hodson of Bellway Homes; tel. (44-171)8248822.
by Vivian
Lewis
Erratum
Spanish
inquisition
We've identified
mistakes and clarifications for our February 1998 report, "Hassle-free
building on the Costa Brava -how one couple created a dream home for $24,500."
First, the area is the Costa Blanca, not Costa Brava. We also neglected
to list two important sources for building in Spain: real-estate agent
Martin Perrín, Perrín & Sons S.L., Avenida Gabiel Miro,
26, Edificio Dextel la Entlo 2, 03710 Calpe (Alicante), tel. (3496) 5830554,
fax 7435, and Bank Ban Caja Officina Moraira, Cattetera de Calpe, s1n,
03724 Morair a/Teulada (Alicante),tel. (34-96) 5744026, fax6492020. Finally,
as of April 4,1998, all numbers in Spain require a 9 before the city code.
OUR EDITOR
WRITES
Dear reader,
Sometimes we
come across a place that offers all the criteria for the perfect retirement
destination: a low cost of living, low real-estate costs, friendly people,
and an easy going lifestyle .... and it's right in our own backyard. Nova
Scotia, Canada, is one such place. It came as a surprise to us when Robert
Fordi came back from his first trip there last summer and told us that
he had put a down payment on a property. We fell in love with the area
right after he did. (I myself have my eye on a 19th-century home he told
me about-with five bedrooms and an almost decadent number of fireplaces-nine
-for $113,000.) |
|
With storybook
type villages, lovely vistas on the sea, first-class seafood, and a low
cost of living, we think you'll like it as much as we do. Discovery
Tour
Director Barbara Perriello and Robert Fordi are hosting a trip there this
summer. See page 3 for details.
Also in this
issue is a report on tasty victuals in Swedish enteries at bargain prices
(page 8), details on a little-known offshore banking haven in the blue
Caribbean (page 14), and the lowdown on retirement in New Zealand, where
there are more sheep than people (page 16). Also, after a brief hiatus,
our roving real-estate reporter, Steenie Harvey, is back with hidden property
gems in the heather and highlands (page 1).
Sincerely,
Siri, Lise
Doub
Editorial
Director
DISCOVERY
TOURS
Quiet and
secluded, Utila is the perfect alternative to Roatan
Dear reader,
In our December
issue we profiled an IL subscriber who has made Roatan her home-since then
eleven more subscribers have followed suit and invested in Honduras. We
were fortunate to meet with several of them when we visited in March with
our last Discovery Tour group and will have an opportunity again this September.
These resident expatriates always prove to be wonderful sources for the
insider's know-how you'll find invaluable if you're looking to invest.
Our ears to
the ground, we went looking for more beachfront bargains and found wonderful
properties for sale on the island of Utila. Smaller and flatter than Roatan,
this island is also more secluded and quiet.
In town, gingerbread
houses dot the town streets and most of the roads are still sand and dirt.
In a word-pristine. On this unspoiled island many property prices are lower
than on Roatan. You can buy a little under half an acre on the beach for
$49,500. The water is clear blue and the reef right of the coast offers
some of the best diving in the Bay Islands.
Access to much
of the best property is by boat only-but you'll find it worth the trip
as you come around a cove to find palm trees waving in the wind along a
pristine beach that's untouched. Utila will never become as developed or
cosmopolitan as the bigger Roatan. But if you're looking for an escape
this may be the paradise you've always dreamed of.
Also, you'll
meet Marcell Fellipe, an IL contributing editor and U.S.-based attorney
who will speak about how you can use offshore structures to ensure that
you're minimizing your taxes and maximizing your investments. (See his
piece on Honduras in last month's issue of 1L.) I hope to see you in Honduras
September 20-27.
Sincerely,
Barbara Perriello,
Director
Discovery Tours
P.S. Would
you like a Mediterranean retreat to call your own? It's not such a far-fetched
idea. We've found lovely, affordable homes in Southern Spain and in Mallorca
and Menorca (See our Spain coverage in the February issue of this year)
that you'll love. Come see them for yourself October 12-21. Look for details
on the insert enclosed with this issue.
Travelers'
Bulletin Board
You are Invited
to submit listings CM for our monthly Travelers' Bulletin Board. Your fellow
subscribers may then contact you directly to work out the details of the
trip. International Living presents these listings as a service to subscribers
at no additional cost. Listed announcements are in no way screened, verified,
or authenticated by the publisher. Therefore, we can accept no liability
for the behavior of the companion or the outcome of the journey.
Chauffeur/guide
for Europe
A mature German
lady speaks four languages, is a well-informed driver/guide, and specializes
in sightseeing tours of any length, tailored to your itinerary.
Contact Friederiken
Sablerolles, Am Wingertsberg 24, D-76857 Waldhambach, Germany, tel. (49-6346)6431,
fax (496346)6518.
Follow the
silk road
Join me for
the excitement and adventure of the Silk Road. Many places there have changed
little since Marco Polo's time.
Visit Beijing,
Urumqi, Kasgar, Turpan, Donhuang, Jiayuguan, Lanzhou, Xi'an, and Shanghai.
If China fascinates you, the far Northwest will humble you. Be prepared
to rough it some.
Contact
Wendell
Ratcliffe, tel. (604)433-8617 or fax (604)433-6164, to get tour package.
I have left the best for last: You get 22 days for only C$4,100.
West African
tour
A professional
female, an experienced African traveler, seeks companions, 45-65, to share
a three-week package tour to West Africa this November. The trip includes
Dakar, Ivory Coast, the Gold Coast, and Tim buktu. No camping or tents;
all lodging in hotels. The all-inclusive cost is $5,000.
Contact Dr.
Chris Barret, P.O. Box 675, Sewanee, TN 37375, USA.
Driving
through Paris
An experienced
Paris based entertaining and multilingual North American with a late model
car will make your stay in Europe the best ever. Hourly, daily, or weekly
rates.
Flexible, will
travel anywhere.
Contact Robin
Matthews, 66 rue de la Montaigne Sainte-Geneviéve,
75005 Paris,
tel. (33-01)43-29-59-17
A year abroad
A former TV
actress/ psychologist in her 60s, whose interests include theater, dancing,
music, and photography, seeks gentleman travel companion, 65-75, for year-round
travel abroad. Contact Amanda Kevin, Suite 22, 333 Washington Blvd., Marina
del Rey, CA 90292.
Send your listing
to:
Travelers Seeking
Travelers
c/o International
Living
105 W. Monument
St.
Baltimore,
MD 21201
USA |
