Posted on 12/02/2013 7:35:24 AM PST by posterchild
LOS ANGELES — After 20 years in the US military, James Cummiskey was divorced and looking for a change. Relenting to his buddy's request, he flew to Medellín, Colombia, for a visit. He looked, he saw, and, by dinner time, he decided to stay. Permanently.
"After four to five hours, I was immediately captured by everything I saw," says the ex-marine, who has lived in 35 countries. He spent the next four months selling two homes, three vehicles, two motorcycles, and one airplane. He put the money aside and decided to retire early.
Now he lives in a posh section of the mountain city of 3.8 million, surrounded by lush vistas. He married a Colombian woman, started a coffee export business, and seems to get goose bumps every time he thinks about his new life. "I tell you honestly I have had more fun here in the past four years than in the previous 50," he says.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
But then again, I'm the kind of guy that vacations in out-of-the way places and asks the locals where they go for fun, to eat, etc etc etc. If I want to visit a place, I *visit*. Otherwise, I figure I could stay home and read a guidebook.
--and it would look like a one costing $3million in the U.S.
Problem is you get what you pay for. It's amazing the things considered acceptable down south that Americans would see as outrageous. One solution is to hire the cheap labor and supervise American style, but once again you run into the same problem. Don't get me wrong, Latinos are very hard workers, but only Americans are 'smart workers'. Time and time again I'd divide it through and find out that say plastering cost the same per square foot whether it's done by a $1/hr Latino or a $20/hr American.
Now times have changed and Panamanian or Costa Rican labor has become a cut above Guatemala or Nicaragua. Still nowhere near U.S. grade, but better than before.
If you are referring to the Constitution, that seems to be a missing item in the U.S. as well.
Me too. The only place I have seen with wide open land is eastern Siberia just north of Mongolia, but alas it is in Russia.
Medellín, Colombia: reinventing the world’s most dangerous city
Two decades after drug baron Pablo Escobar was killed, can the city he presided over ever move on?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/medellin-colombia-worlds-most-dangerous-city
ping
A friend of mine and his wife would go there every winter from Jan. thru Feb. and I would look ofter their house while they were away.
They loved it there,and were thinking of retiring there.
The last couple of years they stopped going, because they feared being kidnapped in Mexico while en route to San Miguel de Allende. -Tom
He’s counting the countries the jet landed for refueling ...
He was an antisubmarine pilot, so he spent most of his time on the ship or flying over the ocean. He did put his feet on the ground in-country, but I don’t think one would think of that as “living in Vietnam” any more than I “lived in England” during a visit.
When my brother was stationed in England, he had temporary posts in Turkey, Romania, and elsewhere for a month or more. Is that “living in Turkey” or “living in Romania”? I suppose it’s simply a philosophical question.
"If you are referring to the Constitution, that seems to be a missing item in the U.S. as well."
One other thing missing is guns. I have lots of guns. I doubt these foreign countries would look kindly on me bringing my ARs, M1A, etc, and thousands of rounds of ammo.
I have also had my eyes on Chile. Excellent climate (depending on the latitude), no real natural enemies, stable economically, stable and relatively non-corrupt politically.
Yup. San Miguel de Allende has its charms. I for one would avoid any spot with any other Americans roosting there. Got my spot picked out, and it’s no place anybody would choose to be.
I am thinking of doing this. Been looking at a suburb of Hamilton, Texas. Or Montana. That’s about as foreign as I want to get.
Dilbert San Diego wrote:
“I’ve heard some of the attraction of going to some of these countries, for men, is the females.
Not PC to talk about, and don’t know about this man in particular, but some men are aggravated by some American women’s outlook on life. And, actually prefer a woman who has been raised in a different culture, with a different manner of interacting with the man in her life.
Totally not PC to say anything about. But, I’ve heard that’s part of what drives American men to retire overseas or try to meet women from other countries.”
You are so correct in so many ways, you could not begin to count them.
It was either I break rank, and terminate my enlistment contract early, and become an ex-pat, and give up what was all I’ve known, or stay enlisted, come back to the U.S.A., and at least have a job. That was in the mid-70’s. The Pussification of America had not really become engrained, yet, but I could see it, and hated it, then. Once home, I found myself in charge of an entire warehose gang of nothing but women. YE GADS! Was I right!
Top notch medical care is an issue
course we are killing ours
I lived overseas prolly as much as anyone here
it was great when I was young
and I have a fine southern woman for many years now
I agree with many here...it’s the females for the single male expat
couples go for the cost of living or adventure
after Southern women Colombian women are my favorite..no question of that...very similar culturally to southern girls...except they dance and speak faster
actually there is usually less nanny state interference in life and if you network and have some cash you can have more freedom than here business wise
but if you go by the book you will get frustrated
crime..an issue...stay armed my friend
I’ve lived in Texas, but I think I would find Montana nearly as foreign as Siberia.
That aspect has been well-discussed here at various times.
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