By Peter Macfarlane for The Q Wealth Report

"We didn't leave our country… our country left us"
 

Retiring or living abroad is becoming more mainstream all the time. The exodus from Canada, the US and the UK has grown from a trickle to a river. All over the world families are more mobile and are seeking better lives together. And people are retiring earlier and younger these days. I see two factors at play in all this - one positive and one negative.

The first is simply the internet. You can literally run a business from a laptop, or telecommute to your desk job back home, no matter where you are in the world. The second factor is the deteriorating quality of life at home, for baby boomers faced with falling property prices, mounting debts and soaring health insurance costs, and totalitarian governments intent on watching and controlling all we do. A happy expat I know recently commented, with his apologies to Ronald Regan (or was it Bob Dylan?) who famously said "I didn't leave the party, the party left me"… We didn't leave our country - our country left us.

If you are looking for a way to get out of the rut, to make a change for the better, read on!  The following article is about how you can profit from this trend and participate in it. About how you can upgrade your lifestyle, reduce your living expenses, be healthier and achieve greater personal and financial freedom. Often people are trying to start a new life or career overseas following a life-changing event such as a divorce or second marriage. If this sounds like you, you'll probably find the following suggestions and links helpful.

Sounds ambitious? Well I am ambitious! But fortunately for you I'm not just some dreamy-eyed travel writer. I have done it myself. I run an international e-commerce business and for most of the year I telecommute to my virtual office over broadband from my home overlooking a tropical beach. When the humidity gets too much in the summer time, I head for my apartment in a tax-free ski resort for a month or two and continue running my business from there, in my spare time. If you would like to read more about my story and wealth building opportunities offshore, check out my International Wealth Creation Made EZ article.

Of course in this article I can only expect to scratch the surface, but below I will give you some links for further research and explain the various information resources that we have placed at your disposal here on this site. I'll also tell you how you can sign up for our email newsletter Q Bytes and if you would like a 12-part course free of charge about how to free yourself from bureaucrats and conmen, and with no purchase necessary nor any obligation. We pride ourselves on our unique editorial perspective covering international lifestyle, wealth building, freedom and privacy. I hope you find our ideas useful. If you would like to e-mail me with your feedback, my address is below and I would much appreciate this.

OK, let's put it another way, make things really simple. Things are getting better in the developing world, while things are getting worse at home. By making a few simple changes in your life, you and your family can benefit from this. Typical retirement destinations in Latin America like Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Ecuador where real estate still offers excellent value for your dollar or pound. Pristine environments and now more sustainable development of eco-friendly resorts, fewer processed foods, and most importantly of all a more caring, family-oriented lifestyle. Infrastructure like internet, healthcare, education and air transport is also developing in leaps and bounds. A good health insurance policy costs a fraction of the US or Canadian price, for example.

This has not all been financed on easy credit, and the result is that it's not all blowing up in our faces like we see in the US, the UK and Canada.

European retirement haven options like Spain, France, Italy and Croatia are looking good too. Although Europe is generally thought of as expensive these days, you may be surprised at the low cost of living in certain areas of unspoiled countryside outside big cities in western Europe. Recently, for example, we held an informal get-together weekend for our VIP members in the mountains of the Principality of Andorra which ranks highest in the world for longevity (life expectancy) - and it's also a bonus that they don't have any income or corporation taxes there! The cost of living is less than in the UK, Denmark or Sweden for example.

Our members who visited this tax-free principality in the mountains were all very impressed at the lifestyle, business opportunities and banking in Andorra. Basically, you can live and work in Andorra and run your business tax-free provided you don't actually open a local business dealing with local residents. Indeed several from our group are already thinking of establishing at least a part-time base there! Events like these are just one of the reasons we do recommend you sign up for The Q Wealth Report if you haven't already. You can also keep on our mailing list for future events by signing up for our free Q Bytes email newsletter (see sidebar)

As I said, people are retiring earlier - often with young families in tow. Maybe retirement is not the right word, because what these boomers are actually looking for is a new beginning. Many people are attracted by what I call the 'safe haven' aspect - what's going on in British or North American cities looks ugly at the moment, and sadly my prediction is that it will get worse, while our home governments keep printing more money to fight wars on the other side of the world. I'm not a pessimist, but I'm a realist.

Perhaps the most difficult part for most people is making the first move. Although you know in your heart that a better lifestyle awaits you, many people are simply scared of giving up their routines, or of a quitting a 'good' job which just about allows you to make ends meet. And a big concern these days is retirement funds - will your 401k still be there by the time you reach retirement age??? What about your state pension? Your FDIC-insured bank account? These are all serious questions.

I would suggest you get started by reading all you can on the internet. Although I am joint editor of a newsletter, I know that my 'competition' produce good information too. You need to read all you can, get different perspectives, and as I always say - 'consider the source.' Very often people are trying to sell you something (typically real estate or offshore investments) so they are biased. Here at The Q Wealth Report we sell information but absolutely no real estate, so we are an unbiased source of facts and research reports on international living and overseas retirement.

I do, by the way, believe that real estate is a good investment still, if you buy right. Banks, currencies and countries can come and go - but people will always need a place to live. But puhlease…. buy liveable places, not off-plan speculations that may well never be built in the current climate!

One thing is for sure: if you don't know where you are going, you won't get there! Start by making your own checklist of all the things you are looking for in a destination. Security, for example, is high on most people's lists. Healthcare is another. Do you want to live on a virgin Pacific beach in Mexico or in a young, fast-moving, exciting city? What is more important to you - being close to nature, or being close to opera? There are great restaurants everywhere, but do you prefer $5 on the beach style great restaurants where you are eating the catch of the hour, or $100 a head gourmet style on the Cote d'Azur or in Monaco with wine to match? Do you need to be close to a good bilingual or international school? Or would your sibling be better off thrown in at the deep end into the local education system in order to pick up the local language quickly? Is the cost of living a big factor in your decision, or less of a factor?

Once you have made your checklist, a good place to start is the NationMaster website, a massive central data source and a handy way to graphically compare nations. NationMaster is a vast compilation of data from other useful sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and OECD. It allows you to generate maps and graphs on all kinds of statistics with ease. You will find everything from fertility and crime rates to The Economist Big Mac index where you can check the price of getting fat in cities around the world.

NationMaster is a great starting point for analyzing pros and cons. But ultimately, there is no perfect place. Everything involves a certain degree of trade off. I tell people that choosing a new home country is much the same as choosing a new spouse - you might start out with some basic demographic requirements, but at the end of the day you have to fall in love with your heart. That is something you can only do by drawing up a shortlist and then making a series of exploratory visits, for as much time as you can spare, to each of the countries on your personal retirement shortlist. If you can go for a few months, rent an apartment and live like the locals, that is by far your best option.

Health is of course of the utmost importance. We are delighted to have on our team Q Wealth Expert and celebrity chef Jacques Haeringer, who regularly contributes our To Your Health column which is accessible to members online and in the print version. Jacques himself retired young from a life slaving away in a hot kitchen at one of Washington DC's most romantic restaurants. Now he spends more time traveling, lecturing and writing.

These days you will typically find Jacques studying the effects of nutrition and diet on our health. He knows and writes about diets and supplements that can help alleviate typical ailments like osteoporosis, diabetes, asthma, allergies or even Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. As for exercise, Jacques is a big fan of Yoga as a way of contributing to both corporal and mental wellbeing and equilibrium.

Chef Jacques, a seasoned radio and TV presenter, is also the charming and entertaining host of our Recipes for Success seminars which take place in offshore hotspots like Panama, Cancun and Lugano. I hope you will have the chance to meet him one day. Reading about international lifestyles is great up to a point, but there comes a time when you have to get on a plane, and go check it out in person. That's why we organize these events two or three times a year in popular retirement destinations like Mexico and Panama. You can be sure that these events are very informative and entertaining, and it's worth repeating that we do not sell real estate and so our events are not sales pitches for real estate! I always say you can learn more in a relaxed stress-free environment, so that is just the kind of ambiance we seek to create at our events.

Medical insurance is also a major factor in the decision to live a more international lifestyle. Fortunately, health coverage generally costs less offshore, but is just as good. I personally have coverage from Lloyds of London which is arranged through a syndicate in Bermuda and administered from the US. It's just like dealing with a US company, until you look at the much lower premiums! You can read more about it in the article on International Health Insurance options here. You will for example learn the pros and cons of state and private healthcare providers, and the various domestic and international health insurance options.

What about investments? Although you can be sure that millions of families around the world live happily on much less money than you have right now, it will obviously help if you have some savings or capital to keep you going. You need this to produce income. These are not times for speculative investments, and only the brave are staying in the stock market right now. I would say you could afford to play with 10% to 20% of your savings in investments that promise potentially high returns. Otherwise stick with very conservative investments like gold, which is an excellent way to conserve purchasing power. We have an article here on How to Invest in Gold Offshore and another article I recommend explains two secrets that you need to know before opening an Offshore Bank or Brokerage Account. There are certain investments you should avoid absolutely - retirees with savings in the bank are unfortunately a frequent target for investment scams.

Many readers these days frequently ask me about sustainable investments, and I know many of our clients are already participating in these. Here's an example. More and more people I know are looking at eco-friendly resorts, with low water consumption and power from solar or wind energy. In popular retirement destinations like Mexico, Brazil, Spain and the Bahamas you can actually become a wind farmer! The deal is that you invest in the wind generation capacity, and the state will guarantee your income and profits over a period of about twenty years. We are preparing an article now for an upcoming issue of The Q Wealth Report that explains more fully how to participate in this. This is just an example of the type of topic we frequently cover in the newsletter and events.

Another interesting investment with a social aspect is Microfinance - I call it fighting poverty with profits. With this win-win investment, you can help contribute to the economy of the country you are living in. Many people in developing countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Panama are hard working and intelligent individuals with excellent business ideas - but because traditional banks in these countries almost never give unsecured business start-up loans, they cannot bring their ideas to fruition. The microfinance business is changing this. Due to way it is run (essentially social networking, relying on peer pressure to ensure repayment) the bad debt ratios are very low. You can consider investing a portion of your company in microfinance institutions that pay excellent interest rates. There's an article on this in issue 51 of The Q Wealth Report, available for download in the Members Area. If you haven't joined yet, please consider it - details here. Actually we offer so much more than just a newsletter! Our Q Wealth Experts Panel is at your service, our office is here to answer your questions, and at Q Wealth Events you can learn more about living a healthy and wealthy lifestyle.

What do you do when you get there? If you are retiring, you might want to look at voluntary work such as helping local charities or orphanages. This is a way of giving something back to the society that is going to welcome you as a new member. If on the other hand you are planning to work, you should check out our article about International Wealth Creation, and maybe sign up for our free 12-part course by email called Secrets of the Super Rich. I hope you will find these articles helpful when deciding how to develop your existing or second career overseas. In each issue we try to keep up a healthy balance of including practical how-to information and at the same time more personal growth and wealth psychology inspiration. Because, as my colleague, friend and wealth mentor Richard Cawte who frequently writes for us says, "inspirations make life matter."

Overall I hope this information has been useful to you, and serves as an introduction to the valuable member benefits that could be yours by joining us. If you would like to contact me personally, please email info@petermacfarlane.net or just call the office. I would also suggest that if you use an RSS news reader, you could add our blog to your news feed, so we can keep you up to date with developments and our news and views.

Further recommended reading: Peter Macfarlane is the Q Wealth Report's non-resident banking expert, who also writes about topics such as personal liberty and offshore wealth creation opportunities. If you would like to read more, sign up for the free Q Bytes email newsletter and receive a FREE SAMPLE COPY OF THE Q WEALTH REPORT (That's the version that people normally pay a subscription fee for). That way you can try before you buy. Please note the free copy wil be a back issue of our choice, not the current issue. Another good option for more resources with informaion on real estate maximization opportunities and listings from around the globe is Offshore World.