I am in China. Again. It’s my fourth time in Guangzhou. Friends wonder why I keep coming back to this southern city. But they’ve never been to the Canton Fair Complex... Football-stadium-sized buildings fill city blocks. Each has half-a-dozen floors. And inside, you’ll find furniture, electronics, clothes, food…nearly everything…at factory-direct prices.
Sitting down to write at the brightly-colored Mexican tile table on my patio, I let my eyes rest on the back garden… giant ferns…red geraniums in glazed green urns…and a stone fountain where goldfish swim and lilies bloom. The front garden is just as luxurious, with sweet-smelling jasmine climbing the wall and a central fountain providing night music.
It’s amazing how moving abroad can open your eyes to opportunities. My wife, Shelly, and I moved to Panama in August 2014 and settled in the small beach town of Pedasí. I had some ideas for income but they were long-term. So we were dipping into our savings. Shelly, however, found a gap in the market. It came through her voluntary work at a spay/neuter clinic.
The global rise in demand for craft beer from microbreweries has given birth to thousands of small businesses—brewing, serving, and distributing. In a backlash against mass production, the world wants its beer made in small quantities with great care. It has become a business where manufacturer and consumer are chasing discerning production…and the small operator has a great chance of succeeding.
Every morning Barbara Wastart rises to another glorious tranquil day, surrounded by fruit trees, coconut palms, and exotic tropical birds. As she looks out from her hilltop home, she takes in the spectacular view of the turquoise Caribbean bay below. A fleet of kayaks, and a pontoon boat, are tied to her private dock. A quick paddle through the mangrove forest and she can tie up to a private buoy near the barrier reef, and snorkel in the crystal clear waters abundant with fish, rays, and coral.
Making something once and selling it over and over again has to be one of the sweetest incomes imaginable. Authors and musicians have been doing it for years…one book, one song, lots of royalties. Now this field of passive income is easier to tap into than ever before. The internet has created a demand for digital products—e-books, videos, podcasts—and technology has put the means of producing them at your fingertips.
The idea of moving to Europe can conjure up images of running a business in pasta heaven Italy with its postcard-perfect hill towns...in France’s castle-dotted countryside...or perhaps in the bustling urban centers of Amsterdam, Berlin, or Barcelona.
After a long and grueling career in the restaurant industry in New York and New Jersey, Anthony Chalas was ready for a change. He wanted his own place, where he could fulfill his vision of a seaside restaurant serving Greek food. And he found it on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, in the sleepy fishing village and expat haven of Puerto Morelos.
When our children found their various paths in the world, my wife, Jane Ann, and I watched them launch into their own trajectories in the world with pride…but also with some jealousy for their new adventures. I spent my career in healthcare and financial services, while my wife managed dental practices: staff, patients, and finances. We were well planted in our traditional professions, our community, and our home in Seattle. And we had now become empty nesters.
When the cold New York winters got too much for Nino Marzano and Maria Postell, they started thinking about turning their favorite vacation spot into their new home. And, in 2011, they made the transition—letting go of the stress and the cold to live full-time in one of the Dominican Republic’s premier vacation and expat hotspots: Punta Cana-Bávaro. With its white-sand beaches, reef-protected crystal waters, coconut palms, and resort infrastructure, it was the perfect antidote to New York.