NEWS/BLOG

Don’t Cross Costa Rica Off Your List

Not yet, anyway. Costa Rica began attracting retirees over 20 years ago, at a time when would-be expats didn’t have as many choices as they do now. Meanwhile, Panama, Belize and other countries have opened their doors to foreigners with liberal residency programs, while Costa Rica’s residency requirements are tighter than they once were.

Costa Rica is still beautiful, however, still lush, still filled with an almost unimaginable variety of flora and fauna. The people are still friendly and can boast a literacy rate of about 95%. (Having decided in 1948 not to have an army, the country has been able to budget more funds for services such as education and heath care.) The health care system, which is free to Costa Ricans, has been praised by the World Health Organization. The New Economics Foundation ranks Costa Rica 5th worldwide in its “happiness index.”

It’s still possible for U.S. retirees to live here, albeit modestly, on social security or a pension of just $1,500. Those who can afford a luxurious lifestyle will find numerous new developments, many of them along the Pacific. The expat population is mainly concentrated in teo areas: the Pacific area and the central highlands in and near San Jose.

True, many roads still have ruts and potholes, but a new highway connects San Jose with the Pacific Coast. Many U.S. companies have opened factories or branches in Costa Rica.

Is Costa Rica for you? You won’t know until you make a visit, look around and meet others who’ve chosen to live there.

Job Fair in London

The Bilingual People Fair for multi-lingual recruitment will be held June 19, 2010, from 10 AM - 6 PM, at the London Hilton Metropole, Edgware Road, London in 2010.

The largest event of its kind for language jobs and multi-lingual recruitment, the job fair is free to all job seekers. Employers from the UK and elsewhere in Europe will be present. Positions are available in various sectors including customer service, shared service and finance, IT, sales, marketing and translation. There will also be an Expat Zone at the event offering useful information and services to expatriates living or planning to move to the UK.
For more information, see www.bilingualpeople.co.uk.

Belize - A Small, Spectacular Country

Belize is part of Central America, but many people think of it as a Caribbean country, even a Caribbean paradise. Before becoming independent in 1981, it was British Honduras, and the legacy of the British is still apparent.

For one thing, this small, exceedingly friendly country has English as the official language. For another, the banking system in Belize is both sophisticated and solvent.  It’s easy for foreigners to open a bank account, which could either be in your own name or held by a structure, such as a trust or a business. Banking secrecy is observed here and it’s possible to open an account without ever setting foot on the country. Banks here are extremely healthy, one reason being that they are required to maintain a liquidity rate of 24%. Recently, as banks were failing worldwide, not one bank in Belize failed. When it comes to mortgages, banks here lend only 50% of the value of the property.

Belize has still poverty, to be sure, but the overall economy is prospering. The growth rate has held steady at about 6% per year. The major industries are finance, tourism and oil. (Oil is supposedly being extracted in ways that preserve the barrier reef and the shore.) Inflation is at a low 1.4% per year.

Residency requirements are easy. Belize welcomes expats, including those not yet of retirement age. Internet access enables them to continue to work free-lance or operate small businesses. Affordable beachfront properties make it possible to enjoy diving, snorkeling and fishing near to home. Other pastimes here include horseback riding, enjoying the country’s biodiversity and visiting the spectacular Mayan ruins.

For those interested in learning more about living in Belize, there’s a “Live and Invest in Belize” conference scheduled for June 21 - 23, 2010. For more information, see www.liveandinvestoverseas.com/belize-conference10. 

Coming Home is the Hardest Transition

For some, being an expat is forever, while for others, it’s an interlude that may last a few years or perhaps many but with the intention of returning home at some point. Peter Hessler, who went to China after college and stayed 15 years, has written a New Yorker article “Go West” about his coming back to the U.S., with many keen observations of the cultural differences between the two countries.

He and his wife arranged for movers without knowing where they’d be living. Since it would take five weeks for their possessions to reach the U.S. by ship, they figured they’d have plenty of time to decide.

He describes how the Chinese movers worked, carefully fitting cardboard around the shape of each piece of furniture. A chair became a box shaped like a chair; another package resembled a bed. He writes, “It was like watching a tam of sculptors work backward, until every object we owned had been converted into a larger, rougher version of itself.”

Finally he and his wife, who was from New York born of Chinese parents, decide to live in a small town in southwestern Colorado. It’s a long way from Beijing and not just in miles or even in population density. He notes, however, that the Americans he encounters here have an “appetite for loneliness.”

The individuals he meets willingly tell him their stories in a way that Chinese people would never do. In this lonely landscape, it seems that everyone has a story, and fortunately, he enjoyed listening. He observes that Chinese people, on the other hand, like to talk about relatively impersonal subjects such as food or weather, rather than disclosing much about themselves, and they unabashedly ask foreigners all sorts of questions. They are genuinely interested in other people.

Americans, he notices, like talking about themselves are less keen on listening. Merely mentioning that he and his wife had lived in China is a conversation stopper. There’s more, and you can read it in The New Yorker, April 19, 2010 or online at http://www.newyorker.com, where there other examples of Hessler’s writing, including an article titled “the Doorknob,” about the Peace Corps. His most recent book is Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory.

The Hague Hosts Job Fair

The Bilingual People Fair, dedicated to multi-lingual recruitment, will take place in Grote Kerk. The Hague, Netherlands, on Saturday, April 24, 2010 from 10 AM - 6 PM. The largest event of its kind for language jobs and multi-lingual recruitment, the job fair is free to all job seekers who wish to attend.

Employers from The Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe will be present. Positions are available in various sectors including customer service, shared service and finance, IT, sales, marketing and translation. There will also be an Expat Zone at the event offering useful information and services to expatriates living or planning to move to the Netherlands.

To obtain a free ticket to the job fair and for more information on this and upcoming recruitment events, see www.bilingualpeople.nl.

Mexican National Denied US Visa

"I have been living and enjoying Mexico for a while now. During my time here I have made a fantastic friend who has introduced me to his family, friends, colleagues and business associates.

“I and my family were so pleased with the budding friendship that we extended an invitation to host a visit to the United States and share a bit of our country, family and friends with him.

“Unfortunately, obtaining a visa turned out to be a nightmare and very hurtful experience for our Mexicano friend. It left deep scars that can only be overcome by find a way to procure a visa.

“An interview at the US Embassy in Mexico City was made and paid for - the applications were complete (honest and well done - nearly 2 inches of paper) and guarantees were made for all expenses and a return to Mexico after spending several weeks in the US - many hours were put into the application as good cheer and planning for the visit proceeded. By the way, my friend had never been in trouble, was a good student and is very close to his family (his father died when he was very young and as the oldest son he always worked hard to contribute money and ease the burden on his mother).

“Finally the day of the interview arrived. My friend arrived at the Embassy at 6:00 am (carefully groomed and dressed) and waited for 4 hours outside before entering the building - he was all anticipation and smiles at this point.... but that changed.

“After nearly 6 hours of waiting he was called to the desk of an Embassy employee who promptly asked 2 questions:

“1) What are you going to the US for?
Answer: Visit with my friends (a complete list with full contact information and itineraries were attached); and
2) How much money do you have?
Answer: About 3000 US Dollars for spending money, but ALL of my expenses (round-trip travel, accommodations, food, entrance fees for museums, etc) are completely covered by my hosts).

“The Embassy employee (after 2 minutes, 2 questions and some note taking) promptly ripped the official forms from the top of the meticulously prepared 2 inch application (which she did not look at), then stamped the application ‘Denied.’ The actions and gruff attitude of the Embassy employee was that of total rejection. My friend would never say so, but to hear him recount the experience I know that tears had come to his eyes and he was heartbroken, not only by the result by the way the Embassy employee made him feel.

“Since this happened I have been doing some investigation and have found that 98% of all applications end with this sad result. Embassy officials summarily reject applications in a way that most Americans would not agree with. Bear in mind that these are not Mexicans that want to “fly under the radar” and enter the country illegally - these are Mexicans that want to visit their neighboring country (often times with more money than Americans have when they visit Mexico).

“Mexicans (without a visa) cannot even enter the United States to make connecting flights to other countries (at generally lower rates). They are just told and shown by Embassy officials that they are some sort of bad people… guilty before being proven innocent (even when fully documented).

“I think this situation is appalling and should be changed. We need the tourism dollars in the United States, we need more people traveling on US flag carriers, we need to reciprocate the generous hospitality and genuine caring between the people of our countries. We are, after all, neighbors and NAFTA partners aren’t we?

“This discrimination must stop if we ever expect to have a respectful, honest relationship with average Mexican citizens. They are good-hearted people.

“We are now seeking ways to re-apply. If anybody here, or anybody they might know could offer assistance I would truly appreciate it.”

Respectfully,

TM Wiley

tmw775@gmail.com

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Dublin Hosts Job Fair

The Bilingual People Fair, dedicated to multi-lingual recruitment, will take place in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 10 AM - 6 PM. The largest event of its kind for language jobs and multi-lingual recruitment, it will be held at the Guiness Storehouse in Dublin. There is no charge for job seekers to attend.

Employers from around Europe will be present. Positions are available in various sectors including customer service, shared service and finance, IT, sales, marketing and translation.

Candidates are asked to register for their free admission tickets at www.bilingualpeople.ie/get_ticket.

Nicaragua - Real Men Don’t Carry Umbrellas

If you want to live in the tropics on a budget and don’t mind foregoing certain amenities, Nicaragua might be the place for you. There are drawbacks: the roads are bumpy and sometimes flooded; temperatures range from hot to very hot; utilities aren’t always reliable. Umbrellas are available, of course, but as Randall Wood and Jashua Berman write in Moon Living Abroad in Nicaragua, “...although Nica men sing dance, and write poetry, real men definitely do not carry umbrellas.”

This is just one item in their list, “What Nicaragua Has Taught Me.” Wood and Berman moved to Nicaragua in 1998 and they write, “it ended up being the perfect fit.” These writers know and understand Nicaragua; it may help that Wood has Nicaraguan in-laws. This the book to read if you’re seriously thinking of Nicaragua as a place to live or even to visit. Part of Moon’s respected Living Abroad series (not related to Network for Living Abroad), it’s one of the best in the series.

Nicaragua is either the second or the third poorest country in Latin America, depending on your source of information. However, low prices should never be the prime reason for moving to a new country and a new culture, and these authors warn against moving to Nicaragua to take advantage of cheap land and cheap labor.

Expats who come here because of the friendly people, relaxed pace and breathtaking landscape won’t be disappointed. While expats often fail at becoming part of the local culture elsewhere, Nicas take an unusual interest in foreigners. Very little English is spoken, and the authors recommend learning at least some Spanish.

Nicaragua has visa and residency programs that allow foreigners to live here. There’s red tap, of course. Wood and Berman suggest getting to know the vendors outside the immigration building because you’ll be making many visits and eating many lunches here. They acknowledge that the process may be discouraging, and they offer some useful tips.

A special program lets retirees bring in a vehicle and up to $10,000 worth of personal possessions. Since cars, electronics, furniture and linens cost more here, this can make sense. These authors note, however, that many don’t take advantage of this.

The book suggests budgeting $800 to $1200 for living expenses, more in some areas, and other sources hae recently pegged the amount at $1000. Individual needs vary, of course. Doing business is possible in Nicaragua, but this book warns that it’s “not for the faint of heart.” Opportunities to volunteer abound, however. Many expats who are far from wealthy come here hoping to make a difference.

Like others in the series, the book gives sample itineraries for trips lasting one week, two weeks and one month. The most pages, however, are devoted to various cities, towns and neighborhoods where expats may want to live. Also included are fascinating profiles of expats with details of their lifestyle along with any complaints and advice to others.

Employed expats are more likely to live in Managua, the capital, and the book describes various neighborhoods. Expats who have a choice may opt for the charming,colonial city of Granada, situated on Lake Cocibolca. Nearby Las Isletas, a peninsula, is a tourist destination with some restrictions on buying property.

The Southwest, along the Pacific and to the north of Costa Rica, draws more local tourism as well as backpackers. The town of San Juan offers rentals and real estate in all price ranges. Note: no building is permitted along the beach. Further south, Isla de Ometepe is a charming spot that has avoided the real estate boom across the lake in Granada.

Leon, the other colonial city, is in the north, with a more pronounced dry season along with higher temperatures. Home to the National University, and a haven of progressive thought, it offers old world charm equal to that of Granada with housing costs are lower. Nearby are beach towns with reasonable rentals.

The Caribbean Coast is a world apart, a rustic spot even by Nicaraguan standards. It was colonized by the British, who left the indigenous peoples intact and armed them with muskets, hence the name “Miskito” (no, not mosquito) Coast.

Also included here are Spanish phrases, basic vocabulary, multiple resources and bibliography. It’s all in a paperback small enough to take with you.

Swiss Banks Resume Secrecy

Swiss courts have ruled that disclosing names on bank accounts in would be in violation of Swiss laws regarding banking secrecy. This is after UBS, the large Swiss bank, had announced the intention to reveal the names of its U.S. clients who might be in violation of U.S. tax laws. The Swiss cabinet plans to continue its talks with the U.S. government and acknowledges that the U. S. might continue civil proceedings against UBS.

Expat Artists Choose China

Life-size ice sculptures of children left to melt in a Beijing park were shown on television all over the world. Meant to dramatize global warming and commissioned by Greenpeace, the sculptures were the work of Joseph Ellis, an expat in China who left New York five years ago. He attended China’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, becoming the only Westerner to graduate from the prestigious school. In addition to the Greenpeace commission, he sells his work to major corporations and to Chinese collectors. He now works in Jingdezhen in the south of the country, where his studio of over 10,000 square feet rents for about $245 per month.

Cheap digs are usually what draws artists to certain neighborhoods, cities and countries. However, China also offers art materials at prices far lower than those in the U.S. or Europe. This offers artists the opportunity to experiment with media that would be prohibitively expensive anywhere else.

But that’s not all. As an article in The New York Times, January 10, notes, China is edgy, dynamic."The whole country’s on the hustle. It’s like New York in the ‘70s. I fit in here,” says Brooklyn-born artist Alfredo Martinez.

Recently bulldozers were dispatched to demolish illegally build structures, some of them artist studios, outside of Beijing. Some studios were destroyed, but then the bulldozers stopped, leaving many of them intact. Even this did not send the artists home though some moved to other communities in China.

For more, see www.nytimes.com/design. The article is titled “For Expatriates in China, Creative Lives of Plenty.” For general information on expat life in China, see Moon Living Abroad in China, Including Hong Kong and Macau (Paperback) by Barbara Strother and Stuart Strother.

Forbes Top 10 Retirement Havens

Forbes, the business magazine has compiled a list of the top 10 destinations for Americans retiring abroad. They are:

Austria
Thailand
Italy
Panama
Ireland
Australia
France
Malaysia
Spain
Canada.

Factors considered were costs, safety, medical care, ease of obtaining a visa, political stability, public transportation and availability of flights home.

The article disparages other sources which promise a champagne retirement on a beer budget, but it does acknowledge that Panama and Thailand are places where Americans can retire cheaply. (Note: We have an article on Panama at www.liveabroad.com/articles/panama.html). Maybe we should also have one on Thailand, which offers the “O” visa to retirees with a minimum of $24,000 in a bank account and $1,935 per month in income.

In contrast, Australia, which is also on the Forbes list offers an “investment retirement visa” requires that a minimum annual income of $56,000 or $43,000 in rural areas as well as $650,000 minimum to invest locally or $430,000 in a rural area.

Notice that Mexico, which has more U.S. retirees than any other country, isn’t even on the list. Safety is noted as a factor. The article says that teenagers out on the city in Monterrey are apt to be followed by their body-guards. Brazil is dismissed because of its high murder rate. However, both Brazil and Mexico are very large and diverse countries countries with areas where expats live comfortably and safely.

Costa Rica, second only to Mexico in drawing retirees from the U.S., is dismissed because of its red tape, among other things. Its proximity to Honduras is also cited as a drawback. However, Costa Rica was a popular expat destination when Nicaragua was far more turbulent than Honduras is now.

Forbes admits that there are many things to consider in choosing a retirement haven. Affordability is tied to health care costs, Most foreign countries require that retirees have their own health insurance so that they don’t become a burden to the local taxpayers.

The article advocates looking carefully at local taxes. France is tax friendly to retirees though not to entrepreneurs. So is Ireland, where a couple over 65 is entirely exempt from Irish tax on any income under $59,000. The article mentions a couple happily retired in Paris where they withdraw their earnings from their U.S. Merrill Lynch account.

Although Forbes is geared to high-income readers, we’re glad that the idea of moving abroad strikes their editors as a subject worthy of the magazine’s attention. This article doesn’t go far enough, but it does caution readers to consider both their priorities and their budget. That’s a good start.

More Scholarships for Study Abroad

A total of $600,000 in study abroad scholarships, more than twice last year’s total, is now offered by The American Institute for Foreign Study. Nearly one third of that amount is earmarked for diversity scholarships such as the AIFS-HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) Scholarship or the AIFS-NAFEO (National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education) Scholarship.

AIFS is dedicated to ensuring that students from various backgrounds can take advantage of international education opportunities. Traditionally underrepresented students can apply for diversity scholarships such as the AIFS-HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) Scholarship or the AIFS-NAFEO (National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education)Scholarship.

In 2008, the number of students studying abroad reached a record high after a decade of unprecedented growth, nearly 150% over 10 years, according to the Institute of International Education. A Forum on Education Abroad study earlier this year reports that 58% of private U.S. colleges and universities show a drop in participation in their study abroad programs. The downturn of the economy was cited as the reason.

AIFS has reduced its fees for certain programs, including nearly $1,000 off selected European locations. In addition, AIFS continues to offer guaranteed rates, immune to currency fluctuations. AIFS programs include housing, meals, transcripts and insurance as well as cultural activities and excursions.

AIFS sends more than 5,000 students abroad each year. Since its founding in 1964, AIFS has had 2 million student participants from more than 500 colleges and universities.

More information is available from http://aifsabroad.com/ or 800/727-2437. 

Living Abroad Enhances Creativity

A new study confirms what many have long suspected: living abroad changes the way one looks at the world. The results of this study by organizational behavior specialists Adam Galinsky and William Maddux appeared recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Maddux, a professor at INSEAD, a business school in Fontainebleau, France, notes that this experience should involve integration into a foreign culture, not just exposure to one. The experience of traveling in foreign countries is not nearly as effective. Those who adapt to a new culture derive the maximum benefit.

Studies related to creative problem solving have been conducted since 1945. In one, the Duncker candle problem, Psychologist Karl Duncker gave his subjects a candle and a box of tacks, and then asked them to find a way to attach the candle to the corkboard, so that when it is lit, wax will not drip on the floor. Typically fewer than 30% participants find the solution: attaching the candle to the cardboard box and tacking the cardboard box to the corkboard.

Galinsky, of the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, and Maddux presented 155 American business students and 55 foreign students in the U.S. with the candle problem. They found 60% of students who were either currently living abroad or had spent some time living abroad solved the problem, while only 42% of those who had not lived abroad did so.

Another experiment, a one-on-one negotiation, required participants to find a mutually acceptable deal on the sale of a gas station. Participants were 72 Americans and 36 foreigners, who were divided into teams of two. The teams who introduced a negotiating variables other than price were considered creative. When both negotiators had lived abroad, 70% struck a deal in which the seller was offered a management job at the gas station in return for a lower asking price. When neither of the negotiators had lived abroad, none reached a solution. 

What is it about living abroad that changes people? For one thing, the experience of a new culture provides access to a greater number of novel ideas and concepts, which stimulate for the creative process. Second, living abroad allows individuals to approach problems from different perspectives. Living in foreign cultures makes individuals aware that certain behaviors (kissing on the cheek, talking loudly) have different meanings in different cultures. Third, experiences in foreign cultures can increase one’s readiness to accept and utilize ideas from unfamiliar sources.

It could also be that individuals who decide to live abroad are more creative to begin with. Or that individuals who come to the U.S.from other countries to study are more creative as well as being exceptional in other ways.

A worthwhile, but more difficult study would be to evaluate the real world performances of individuals who have lived abroad. Meanwhile, it might be useful to look at the number of foreign born entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley.

Meanwhile, research into how the brain works is becoming more sophisticated all the time. How We Decide was mentioned in Editor’s Notes earlier this year. Another book that’s been recommended is Proust Was a Neuroscientist.
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Things Looking Up in Brazil

Brazil is becoming an increasingly more attractive as a place to live and to invest. In September the real pegged a 14-month high against the dollar. Moody’s elevated Brazil’s credit rating to investment grade on. Shortly after, Brazil’s Ibovespa index hit 62,000 points, a target set by many investment banks for year’s end. Moody’s is the last of three credit rating agencies to do this; Standard & Poor’s and Fitch granted Brazil investment-grade status last year.

Investors who have bought property in Brazil have seen steady appreciation, especially in the Northeast. A strengthening exchange rate is significant. The US dollar was worth R$2.33 at the beginning of 2009, but is now only worth R$1.80. (The greenback was worth R$2.65 at the start of 2005 and R$3.54 at the start of 2003.) The euro was worth R$3.71 and R$3.59 at the beginning of 2003 and 2005 respectively, but is now only worth R$2.66.

Earlier this year Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched the My House, My Life housing program, with the stated goal of building one million affordable homes. The program has helped create favorable conditions for real estate investors.

Finance for homebuyers has been altered radically since 2007, offering buyers 240-month mortgages instead of ones lasting only 60 months.

Inflation in Brazil stands currently at around 4.3%.

Medicare in Mexico

Perhaps the chief obstacle for U.S. citizens’ retiring in a foreign country is the fact that Medicare, which provides for almost free healthcare, stops at the U.S. border. A number of groups are lobbying for Medicare in Mexico, where approximately 1 million U.S. citizens already live.

Congress will have to be convinced that healthcare for retirees in Mexico is both feasible and cost effective. Expat groups who are bringing this issue to the attention of the U.S. government include the Puerto Vallarta based chapter of Democrats Abroad and the bipartisan group of American Citizens Abroad (ACA). 

The Americans for Medicare in Mexico, A.C. (AMMAC)is working hard to promote this benefit to eligible retirees and is urging members of Congress to initiate a demonstration project. They argue that not only have these eligible Medicare recipients paid into the fund over a lifetime, but the cost to the U.S. taxpayers will be significantly less than if these retirees sought healthcare in the U.S.  Anyone following the current healthcare debate is aware that Medicare costs constitute a major issue.

Proponents of the law change include David C. Warner of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas. author of Getting What You Paid For:  Extending Benefits to Eligible Beneficiaries in Mexico (U.S.-Mexican Policy Reports). The newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, has shown an interest as well and recently accompanied President Obama to a North American Summit in Guadalajara where one of the topics covered was Medicare in Mexico.

Separately, some private insurers have begun encouraging U.S. policyholders to seek less costly services in certain foreign countries.