The Spanish Soccer team aside, the doom and gloom in Europe runs deep. But there is a story not being told…one of opportunity borne of this crisis. A story of places where you could own your own piece of the Old World…for less than half the price of a budget family sedan.
As Ronan McMahon, our real estate expert, puts it, “In time, the crisis will pass and there will be a new normal. Who knows what that will look like? But I’m pretty sure that the Greek Islands will still be among the most special places on earth.”
Right now—in Greece and beyond—prices are falling like a rock. And for anybody who ever mused about a European retreat, that’s the silver lining. It’s our focus in this issue, where we take you to Greece, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and beyond.
We’ve turned to Europe now not merely because there are bargains to be had, but because the other untold Europe story is one of an extraordinary quality of life. The story of a slower pace, of good food shared among friends, of living with beauty all around.
See below for all the articles in your August 2012 issue. If you’d prefer to read your issue in PDF format, click here.
Provence. Saying its name evokes memories of sun-drenched hills, starry nights, and the scent of sea- salted rosemary and thyme. Birds sing in olive groves, bees drone in vineyards, flowers spill from terracotta pots. In villages with crinkly-tiled roofs, lizards scurry into niches just as their lizard ancestors did in the Middle Ages.
Slow down, smile, and unwind, because this is what village life is all about. I’m leaning on a moss-covered stone wall admiring a patch of juicy strawberries and watching sparrows root in the loamy soil. Woodsmoke carries on the breeze, along with the rhythmic sound of someone splitting logs. Time has taken one giant step back.
Navigating the residency and visa rules in a foreign country can be tricky. So, we’ve broken down everything you need to know about getting your paperwork ready for a long-term stay in Spain.
You won't read about it in the mainstream media. But we are approaching what could be one of the greatest buying opportunities of a generation—in European stocks. This may sound strange at first. Even deluded. Economies in the euro zone are tanking, along with stock-market prices.
Panama has long had “open door” immigration policies that welcome foreigners. For instance, it has the best program of special benefits for foreign retirees and their families you’ll find anywhere in the world today— the pensionado, or pensioner, visa (see sidebar below).
Not far from the historic Bastille, in the trendy Marais district of Paris, is an unlikely restaurant. While most people associate the French capital with fine dining, foie gras, croissants and steak tartare, one Texas woman has made her mark with slow-smoked pulled pork and beef brisket, topped off with spicy house-brand Kick-Ass barbecue sauce.
When I was Young I had dreams of being an artist and traveling the world…then came a short spell imagining life as an astronaut…finally, I settled on saving the planet. I grew up, spent an insane amount of money on an environmental science degree, and went to live and work in the Mojave Desert counting tortoises. It was while there that I started taking photographs.
Boat dwellers are not the same as landlubbers. For a start, you may really like your condo, but you’re not likely to describe it as “a love affair.” And buying a houseboat starts with love at first sight. “You see a picture of a boat, carry it around with you…that’s my boat you say, and you do what you have to do to buy it,” says Nick Symes.
Forget Florence and pass on Rome…when it comes to food in Italy go straight to the source. The country’s thousand-year-old culinary traditions are best appreciated in the regions, and here, going north to south, are four of the peninsula’s best spots. Founded by the Romans over 2,000 years ago, the riverside town of Bassano del Grappa is a warren of narrow cobbled streets. This is the place to sip the strong, clear, grape-derived brandy called grappa. It’s a sophisticated, fragrant moonshine distilled from the left-over skins, seeds, and pulp of wine grapes.
The rocky promontory that juts out into the Mediterranean south of Naples is dotted with cliff-clutching towns and rimmed by a nerve-wracking road with jaw-dropping views of impossibly-beautiful pastel villages and sapphire seas.