Because I own real estate in Europe, friends and family have asked over the past few years about my position on the euro. They send me articles predicting the euro’s crash or the latest report on the dire state of affairs in euro land. Some try to get me worked up with their Chicken Little […]
Ecuador--For Retirement, Yes...For Investment, Not So Much Touring around Ecuador these past 10 days, I've been enjoying the infrastructure improvements since my last visit eight years ago. The roads, especially, are in vastly better condition than when I was last here in 2005. You now travel a new six-lane highway at least part of the [...]
The Plight Of The American Middle Class At dinner one night this week with a friend here in Panama City, the subject of the American middle class came up--specifically, the decline of the American middle class. This isn't a new topic, but my friend, Bruno, who is European, born and raised in Italy, but who [...]
Top Choice For Living The Self-Sufficient Life Self-sufficiency. It's what built the American West. Farmers and ranchers pushing toward the Pacific in search of their fortunes, pioneers building new lives on land where they laid claim and where they knew they could take care of themselves and their families themselves, beholden' to no one. That [...]
The most important tool in the U.S. expat’s tax toolbox is the foreign-earned income exclusion (referred to in tax-planning circles as the FEIE or ‘the exclusion’). If you qualify, it allows you to exclude up to US$97,600 in 2013 foreign-earned income from U.S. federal income tax.
My investment focus is real estate and other hard assets. When I’ve invested in stocks, I’ve mostly lost money. The problem for me with stocks is that you have to pay attention on a daily basis to each and every company in which you own shares. Hard assets make more sense to me for many […]
Give Your Kids The Gift Of Another "Voice" One benefit of going offshore for my kids that I didn't think about until I watched it happening is to do with language skills. Many Americans still think the entire world should learn English...and much of the world does. In Latin America, families who can afford it [...]
How Much Should You Care If A Country Is "Economically Free"? About a month ago, a reader wrote in to say that he would only move to a country with more economic freedom than the United States and therefore wouldn't be considering any of the countries I write about that aren't ranked higher than the [...]
Assuming the seven countries still to vote grant approval, Croatia is finally set for entry into the EU. The admission of a new country to the union must be ok’d unanimously by all member countries, creating lots of opportunity for political dealing. Slovenia, for example, wants Croatia to drop a lawsuit demanding that Slovenia make […]
Diversifying Offshore Is About Keeping It Simple Moving some of your money offshore doesn't have to be as complicated as many think. It is still possible, for example, to open a bank account in many jurisdictions without leaving the comfort of your own home. And, as long as you're not trying to evade taxes or [...]
Offshore Living Letter is a publication of Live and Invest Overseas. Our goal is to provide timely, actionable information on all things offshore, including: how to go offshore, diversifying your portfolio, wealth creation, protecting your assets, and much more.