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M A R C H

2 0 1 0
Issue 38

An online magazine about investing, living, working and relocating to the Caribbean.

EDITORIAL

Ramblings, thoughts and occasional sense from the Eastern Caribbean >>

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Events and news from around the region >>

SUSTAINABLE LIVING

Sharing resources and best practices >>

TOURISM TREATS

Updates on Caribbean tourism, conferences>>

DID YOU KNOW?

Interesting stuff, websites, facts and more >>

US Permanent Residency (Green Card) with Investment Visa Pilot Program

SPECIAL FEATURES

Moving On - Honduras Recovers
Pirates : The original Rock Stars? Part 2 of 2
Santo Domingo:Cultural Capital of The Americas
15 Tips for Selecting Your Perfect Retirement Spot
Kriol, Punta Rock: Informal Culture in Belize
Tales Of a Peace corps volunteer in Dominica
Caribbean Hotel of the future
Retirees in peril : Real solutions for the crisis at hand

MONEY PAGES

Investment Corner Updates on the latest Opportunities available at your reach >>
Mortgage Matters Advice on moving, finding and saving money for your Caribbean property >>
Investors and Funding Insider knowledge on funding for your developments >>
Offshore Matters : Offshore Taxation Demystified Insiders knowledge regarding the offshore taxation you should be aware of >>

PROPERTY PAGESS

Caribbean Investor And Owner Notes News and opportunities from CaribProperty Club Notes>>
Clews Views Offshore insights from a Manhattan realty guru>>
Off-Plan Pre-Development Offers Our recommended deals from the best developers >>
Pick of the Month Editor's choice of interesting business and real estate opportunities >>

C O N T E N T S

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

"Why would you build a cistern in Dominica which has one of the highest rainfalls in the world?" my husband has been asked a number of times since he built a guest house on our property last year.

As cisterns go, it is only small with a capacity of 8,000 gallons. In the BVI thats nothing to admit to...in Dominica its a source of amazed wonder and incites comments about mad dogs and Englishmen! .... Read More

H O T

O F F

T H E

P R E S S

In news out of Haiti, an effort has been launched to shrink tent cities housing of the earthquake victims….A recent study reveals that the Quake damage is twice the value of Haiti’s economy…and as the rainy season begins only plastic separates the homeless from the storms… Digicel donates US$ million worth of tents to more than 100,000 Haitians. In news out of Latin America, US Secretary of State Clinton is to visit five Latin nations including Costa Rica and Guatemala. Meanwhile in Guatemala police have arrested the former President, Alfonso Portillo on US money-laundering charges…and an OAS report rebukes Venezuela’s human rights .... Read More

S U S T A I N A B L E

L I V I N G

The travel industry apparently has a long way to go to convince green travelers that it is environmentally friendly. As police cracked down on climate protesters, church bells tolled 350 times to impress on the U.N. global warming conference a number that is gaining a following... Methane levels may see 'runaway' rise, scientists warns...Does It Really Matter Whether Your Food Was Produced Locally? Many feel that counting food miles can lead to wrong turns and did you know that Reflective Roofs and Pavements Could Help Offset Climate Emissions? .... Read More

T O U R I S M T R E A T S

Mexico tourism board undergoes key personnel losses and gains; Aruba officials show their savvy tourism side; per the CTO Caribbean Tourism will indeed rebound; the rebuilding of a underwater museum development in Mexico continues; the Dominican Republics tourism is rebounding after the Haiti quake; St Thomas famous Mountain Top is being rebuilt; Scrub Island Resort in BVI will reopen; Nuevo Vallarta Hotel has a new spa; American Eagle and American Airlines to service Haiti again and Antigua has installed a surveillance cameras at the Port area .... Read More

D I D

Y O U

K N O W

The nature experiences within the Caribbean are always huge, unique and vivid this month's Did You Know focuses on two such experiences the ongoing force of nature known as the Soufriere Hills Volcano in Montserrat and the unbelievable Mega Crystals of the Naica Mine in Mexico .... Read More

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E S

MOVING ON - HONDURAS RECOVERS
By Janine Goben

The hope and spirit of Honduras rose with the sun on the morning of January 27th, 2010. This was the day when the Presidency of the country passed from the interim Presidency, caused by the removal of a corrupt and hugely unpopular president back on June 28th, 2009, to the newly-elected Porfirio Lobo. For seven months Honduras had suffered the indignity of being ostracized by most of the world, having critical aid cut off, and visas cancelled……and through all of this Hondurans stood strong against the most powerful country in the world in their passion to uphold their constitution and freedom .... Read More

PIRATES : THE ORIGINAL ROCK STARS? PART 2 OF 2
By Noah Banks

Stirring tales of adventure, romance, and danger seem to surround the facts as well as the legends from the Golden Era of Piracy. Movies have romanticized the myth of cutthroats as a form of escapism. Captain Jack Sparrow alter ego, Johnny Depp, said he sees, "Pirates as the rock stars of their time." Notably, he based his unique interpretation of Captain Jack on the mannerisms of a notorious rock guitarist. In reality, most true pirates were feared as deadly cutthroats, and many of the more infamous pirates would be labeled anti-social psychopaths by today's standards. Although rock stars are known to be hedonistic and decadent, but none has yet been labeled as a deadly psychopath! .... Read More

SANTO DOMINGO : CULTURAL CAPITAL OF THE AMERICAS
by Guitze M Messina

The International Bureau of cultural capitals (www.ibocc.org) has chosen Santo Domingo to be the new cultural capital of the Americas for 2010. It is a great opportunity for the world to start to take notice that Santo Domingo is the birthplace of the American continent, home of the first courts, first cathedral, first streets, first church, and first palace among many others .... Read More

15 TIPS FOR SELECTING YOUR PERFECT RETIREMENT SPOT
By Anjali Wilde

For the most part, in the past, retirees have retired in the same town where they spent their final working years. This is just no longer a viable option to many but where to find advice on picking the right offshore retirement spot? Is it that much more different in another country in the south than say, in the States, UK or Canada? You bet it is! The considerations are considerable when it comes to finding the right retirement spot and then there are a different set of considerations when it comes to buying in the selected retirement spot. This articles looks at 15 tips for selecting the right retirement spot .... Read More

KRIOL, DRUMMING, PUNTA ROCK : INFORMAL CULTURE IN BELIZE
By Reverend Macarena Rose

While English is Belize's official language, Kriol is its unofficial language, often referred to as the "glue that holds Belize together." Kriol is the highly popular, informal, very colorful language of the streets spoken by a majority of the population. One place you will hear Kriol vibrate to life is in the fabulous music; after all, celebration is a way of life in Belize. You can't avoid the music and dancing because it's infused into everyday life and activities. The drums are everywhere. And now there is Punta Rock, the wildly popular and newer form of music in Belize that combines traditional instruments, drumming and rhythms with modern ones .... Read More

TALES OF A PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER IN DOMINICA
By Ella Rychlewski

This highly informative personal account by one US Peace Corp Volunteer (PCV), placed in the relatively unknown island of Dominica, provides plenty of information on the highs, lows and reality of volunteering in another country. The reality in joining the Peace Corps means living life 24/7 in a destination that you did not select. And, it means giving up being you while also losing your normal comfort zone to become an effective PCV. Part 2 of this series gives an overview of the required background and training that is part of being a PCV .... Read More

THE CARIBBEAN HOTEL OF THE FUTURE
By James Post

Hotels and resorts are known to be major electricity consumers. Unfortunately, relatively few efforts have been made to substantially improve on this. This article describes what options there are to save energy and generate green energy, while giving examples of resorts that are already making a difference and describing their plans for future improvements. In Caribbean island tourist destinations – that generally have no heavy industry- hospitality is responsible for the majority of energy usage .... Read More

RETIREES IN PERIL : REAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE CRISIS AT HAND
By Mike Cobb

The current circumstances for retirees are very serious. Stories and reports of the economic crisis continue ad nausea in the traditional news media. But the future is not fixed in stone. The bottom line is that we don't have to leave our future in the hands of the uncertain and volatile real estate and stock markets. There are concrete things that we can do to take control and assure a higher quality of life in retirement (or anytime) for less cost one very attractive solution to the current situation is to consider life south of the border .... Read More

M O N E Y

P A G E S

INVESTMENT CORNER We have pointed out in this column in the past the incredible property deals still available in Miami. Million dollar penthouses selling at less than cost, and for those able to buy wholesale, there is another 20% discount on the table to be negotiated.

MORTGAGE MATTERS Despite difficult financial times the Caribbean remains one of the top holiday destinations in the world, especially for those seeking respite from the dull winter weather of northern Europe. For those considering making their escape to the Caribbean sun a more regular occurrence by purchasing a second property, the mixture of proactive promotion of the islands as global tourism destinations combined with cheaper property prices, makes it an attractive time to buy.

INVESTORS AND FUNDING In 2007 a survey from the European Repo Council of the International Capital Market Association based on 62 financial groups (mainly banks) in Europe alone, demonstrated that the total outstanding value at close of business on December 12th 2007 of 'repo' contracts was 6,382 billion Euros. That was a snapshot of instrument business on one day amongst a group of European banks.

OFFSHORE MATTERS, SOCIALIST USA STYLE Today, few understand the real problems inherent with government planning as a way to solve economic and social issues. The past shows us how this path is fraught with dangers and creates bigger long term problems. But as our last newsletter pointed out, like lemmings, most people follow the crowd off the cliff.

P R O P E R T Y P A G E S

CARIBBEAN INVESTOR AND OWNER NOTES News and opportunities, tips and announcements from last month's Investor Notes emailed out to CaribProperty Club Members.
CLEWS VIEWS I just bought my first home in Latin America in the wonderful tiny village of El Pino, Honduras. Situated about 15 minutes outside of La Ceiba (population 120,000), El Pino is snuggled in the rolling foothills of the towering Sierra Nombre de Dios mountain range (reaching more than 8,000 feet at its peak). The town is surrounded by pineapple fields, rain forests, and, as the name implies, the occasional pine tree. The people are friendly, the tiendas are remarkably well-stocked, the dogs roam freely, and the bus leaves for La Ceiba every half hour, or so.
PICK OF THE MONTH Editor's choice of interesting business and real estate opportunities
Dominica, Home For Sale - $515,000	5 Room Bed and Breakfast - Costa Rica	Cayman Islands, Beachfront Home

OFF-PLAN PRE-DEVELOPMENT OFFERS Our recommended deals from the best of the developers
Panama, Lots from $32,000, Villa Davina	Orchid Bay, Lots from $39,000, Belize	Luxury Condos, $350.00 per squ

Exuma - The Bahamas, Luxury Home For Sale

$1.5 Million luxury home available for quick sale of $800,000 .... prominently sitting atop a ridge overlooking the beautiful waters of George Town, is a 5 bedroom villa. A Luxury Villa! - selling for only USD $800,000.

The home is being sold fully furnished, including a Lincoln Navigator and Yahama Waverunner 1200cc Jet Ski. The house is being sold 50% under market value, it also generates $50,000 in annual income... its a luxurious giveaway.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Architecturally Designed Rainforest Home in Dominica... Asking only $515,000

The Commonwealth of Dominica in the Eastern Caribbean is known for its stunning landscapes of tall mountains, clothed in cloud rainforest and waterfalls.

It's a place that attracts people in love with the magnificence of nature, but not everyone wants to live in a renewable eco-home built of bamboo and palm leaves.

For someone with a desire to live amongst nature at its peak; whilst also enjoying modern bathrooms, a large kitchen and a stylish architecturally designed 4 bedroom home.....this charming property might just be what you are looking for.

Mature gardens and flowerbeds, a 60ft waterfall, cool clear bathing pools and over 4 acres of pure untouched rainforest, the property has its own private drive and all underground utilities to protect the environment.