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Costa Maya, the next Belize, with 80 miles of virgin coast - Click Here - After a week of exploring Belize on the most recent Discovery Tour there, I took a ride north to Quintana Roo, the southeast state of Mexico best known for the concrete nightmare of Cancún.  But we weren't headed for the malls & supermarkets of that tourist trap, with its shantytowns surrounding high-rise hotels. The real Mexico Chetumal is the opposite of Cancún: It's a real Mexican city, charming, green, clean, and small-scale, with terrific local architecture, two universities, dozens of good cheap restaurants, many lush parks, a huge botanical garden, a romantic sea wall across from the government palace, an impressive Mayan museum, and a bustling main street... by Ken Layne
Real-estate tycoon reveals: “My secrets to a lifetime of making money in international markets” - Click Here -  “If the global community continues to boom,” I figured, “companies from the United States, Japan and all over the world are going to set up regional offices in some major European city.” If real-estate prices were high in Frankfurt, Brussels, and Paris, and low in London, I realized, those companies would relocate in the British capital. I knew this would force London property prices up. This is one of the most powerful investment lessons I have ever learned…and I've used it to make a fortune since. Look for local distortions.
Easy living in Antigua on $20 a day - Click Here - Some people call Antigua, once the colonial capital of what was to become Guatemala, mysterious. Others call it beautiful.  The truth is that it's both, plus one other important attribute: It's extremely affordable. by David Morgan
Emerging markets outlook, where to put your money this year - Click Here - "You invest in emerging markets because of the high potential return. But you should be aware that there is a price. To avoid risk, the most basic lesson is to diversify, across industries, across countries." "In 2000, the best emerging markets will probably be those which did worst in recent years, like Russia.... Another market I am optimistic about is Israel.  They are both satellites of the developed country group which has the best outlook for 2000: Western Europe."  by Vivian Lewis
Ireland: The best place to start a business in Europe, a tax haven following in Hong Kong's footsteps - Click Here - For hundreds of years, Ireland wanted nothing more than to be left alone. And for decades after the country's independence from Britain in 1921, politicians led Ireland down a path of protectionism and isolationism… right into decades of depression. They cut off trade and kept out efficient non-Irish businesses.  But now, through a turn of events over the past 30 years, this is one of the best places in the world to start a business. In fact, a U.S.-based operation that relocates to Ireland can cut its taxes by about 66 percent. by Joel Nagel
Save as much as 90 percent on international phone calls, wherever you are in the world - Click Here - Though deregulation of the U.S. telecommunications industry dramatically reduced the cost of international phone calls from the United States, no such changes have occurred elsewhere.  International call rates in other countries can be up to 10 times higher than what you'll pay back home.  However, you can lower them significantly by subscribing to a “callback” service, a phone service that allows you to make international calls from anywhere in the world on a U.S. phone line.
Readers write: My experience in Panama: the best taxi driver, worst hotel, and where I’d choose to live - Click Here - Boquete is indeed beautiful: well-forested, mountain streams, the white water of the Chiriqui River perfect for rafting, warm days, cool nights, and mostly friendly people.  That said, what are the problems? The biggest, in my opinion, is that unless you want to spend your time hiking through the woods, there just isn't much to do here. Also, I think it would be difficult to get along unless you spoke at least some Spanish.
A house in the French countryside for $24,925…or an apartment in the French Caribbean for $55,000 - Click Here - If you've ever dreamed of having a little getaway in the French countryside, a place to spend a few weeks of peace and quiet with friends and family each summer…here’s a way to do it for less than $25,000.  Vivre En France, an all-inclusive French property service, is listing a home on the Charente/ Dordogne border countryside, near a medieval castle and the town of Villebois Lavalette, for only FF167,000 ($24,925). The house sits on a small lane and has great views of the rolling hills nearby.  By Jennifer Stevens
Belize Update... "Belize is no longer a secret" - Click Here - In a concise review, Ken Layne tells us about his upcoming article on Belize.  One traveler on an Internet bulletin board had this to say about Placencia: “We hesitate to even tell you since it's so tempting to try to keep this little ‘secret’ to ourselves. We literally didn't wear shoes for a week. Go!”  by Ken Layne
 

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