- Noel Swanson -

Bocas del Toro, Panama

Well,  here I am back from the tropics (Aug 2004)!

And very interesting it was too - but let me back up and tell
you why we went to Panama in the first place - and it wasn't
just about having a holiday. (Read on and I also have a gift
for you lower down.)

You see, like you, my goal is to work less and enjoy life more.

So, there are two ways to achieve this: either earn more money
through passive income, or spend less of the money I earn.

Ideally both.

Now here are some ways of achieving that:

1) Buy some property in a place where land values are rising
phenomenally, and where that growth is just at the start, not
the end, of the curve
2) Make sure that there are no property taxes
3) Make sure that any income earned can be completely protected
from any taxes or other charges from any country

and, at the same time, how about living in an idyllic, peaceful
land, watching the dolphins, waterskiing, surfing... get the
picture?

Which is why we went to Panama.

For a while I have been researching where to find the best
property deals. In particular I also wanted to buy a holiday
and (when the kids leave school) a retirement home in the caribbean.

Trouble is, the Caribbean has been done to death. (although I
did see an ideal beachfront home in St. lucia for just $5million
- see what I mean?)

And then I discoverd Bocas del Toro in Panama.

Now, I have to be honest here. This place is still at a very
early stage of development - much earlier than St. Lucia was
when I first visited in 1980, and much earlier than Belize when
we lived there in 1987.

That means that there are almost no facilities, no modern shops,
only one decent restaurant, no fancy hotels, and NO CROWDS. In
all, it is still very basic and third-worldish.

BUT it is being discovered. Every year more people are going
there and are buying land. Just do a search on Bocas del Toro
and you will find some very interesting articles about it.

Not only that, but Panama is probably the very best country in
which to be investing and living. It is dead cheap, has
excellent protection for investors, and almost no taxes.

So we went to look for ourselves. And now we are in the process
of buying some land... but that is a whole new story, so I'll
tell you about that next week.

Oh, want to see some pictures? They're over here.

Enjoy them!

-oOo-

Dr. Noel Swanson is a Consultant Psychiatrist and author of  several books, so he knows what makes people tick! Visit  ( www.7stepstofreedom.com ) to download your own free copy of his latest book, "7 Steps to Freedom"

Text-only  version available here

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