The clouds roll in early in the morning but never really cover the sky before burning off by mid day.  What a time of the year we have here now that is  Summer  in Boquete.   Life here is special and I start this morning by visiting some friends to pick up hydroponic lettuce, free range eggs and green house grown bell peppers the size of softballs in preparation for a loaded Caesar Salad that I am making for guests who are coming over for lunch.  I also stop over at a friends coffee plantation, Manana Madera Coffee Estate for some high altitude grown coffee blend that is out of this world!!  His two year old geisha which is one of the most famous types of coffee in the world looks like it is on steroids.  I had to have a fresh brew and enjoy the view out to the Pacific Ocean.

I must digress a little as I just read David Norden’s latest notice about the upcoming meeting in La Cafayate in Argentina with Doug Casey and gang.   It made me think again  about our little community here in the mountains where many like minded individuals live and about the similarities to what David Galland had to say.

Freedom

By David Galland

Like many of the subscribers to our publications  (Casey Research)– individuals who look past the popular media in an attempt to understand what’s really going on in the world – I periodically get frustrated, irritated even, at what I see going on in the US and other developed countries.

It brings to mind the bumper sticker slogan, “If you aren’t mad, you aren’t paying attention.”

But anger and frustration are decidedly negative emotions. And life is far too short to spend angrily contemplating lost freedoms or resources squandered in the name of the “greater good.”

That said, sticking your head in the sand and hoping for the best when you can so clearly see what’s coming would be foolish in the extreme.

(I have to insert this comic that my CPA sent me)

And so it was that years ago, recognizing an unstoppable degradation in the aging democracies – with politicians sacrificing principles, individual rights and even fundamental economics for votes – Casey Research began ardently advocating investments in precious metals and related equities.

There are, after all, few things more useful than financial freedom when it comes to seeking out personal freedom. We are very pleased, therefore, that our recommendations have helped so many readers achieve financial freedom.

So far, so good – but there is another step required that accomplishes two very important objectives: securing the wealth you have managed to accumulate, and greatly enhancing your personal freedom.

Freedoms – Secured

Time and again we have warned readers of the need to internationalize, both their money and their lives. This is due to the irrefutable truth that, done right, diversifying across political jurisdictions is the single most effective way to protect your wealth.

1)      It gives you currency diversification. In all of the hyperinflations, simply having money on the other side of a border was sufficient to save your wealth from the ravages of domestic inflation.

2)      It raises a barrier against wealth confiscation. The US and other bankrupt democracies are growing desperate. While there is currently a lull in the rhetoric as the administration tries to recast itself as pro-business ahead of the next election, when the history of the next few years is written, it will be of higher taxation – more aggressively pursued. And the use of opportunistic lawsuits to extort assets from those believed to have “deep pockets” will only worsen.

3)      It eliminates waking up one day to find your wealth trapped. The sole purpose for growing regulatory interference in the ability of Americans to open foreign bank and brokerage accounts, or to freely move money across borders, is to trap your money and make it available to the government. Before this is over, overt foreign exchange controls are a certainty.

4)      It provides peace of mind. Intelligently diversifying your assets internationally – and by intelligently, I mean staying well within the bounds of all applicable laws – can provide a tremendous peace of mind. Because come what may, your wealth is not subject to a quick grab or even a slow-moving debasement.

But diversifying your wealth across borders is only half of the equation. The other half is where things get much more interesting. And, I might add, fun.

Life Fully Explored

Most people have what Doug Casey half-jokingly calls a “medieval serf” mentality.  Which is to say that they are born, live and die within the same geographic area. This point was underscored recently by a report that just 30% of Americans hold a valid passport!

While living a life of strict limits may work for most, there’s a far smaller group for whom the horizon spreads far beyond the local strip mall and encompasses the world as it is – a planet made up of an incredibly rich and varied landscape of customs, cuisines and cultures.

Life lived to its fullest

For those with the means – and life outside of the “developed” world is invariably much cheaper, so your means go a lot further – you are able to pick the plumpest plums.

It’s Your Life

Each of us picks the path we think leads to the most fulfilling life.

My path was to return to my punta de concepcion, here in Panama where I was born and as I tell my friends, Boquete was where I was conceived in 1953.  I believe it was the Panamonte where I often take my wife for lunch or dinner.

I find magic here in the mountains and each day I go out to show investors around here I think, what a place to put some money into some hard assets.  This place will be like Napa Valley in a few years (but with coffee) or Aspen with eternal spring like weather.  The prices that we see today, while much more than they were 7 or 8  years ago are very cheap compared to where they will be in another few years.  Panama is in the forefront of the news and Boquete continues to be the most popular places for foreigners.  With the new airport about to open and the new highway to Boquete over halfway complete, the tipping point has arrived.

NOW, Read this so you can wake up to what I have been saying all along!!  Some friends of mine from Panama City are major investors in the project and they will take it to the next level.

Increased Investment in Mountain Homes in Panama

Real estate developers are backing residential building along the central mountain range.

With an investment of nearly $14 million, the company Canion Properties Corporation is to build two new stages of its project Hacienda Los Molinos in Boquete.

“But this is not the only mountain residential project being developed in the country, in fact, in Boquete foreign investor Sam Taliaferro developed the Valle Escondido Resort, Golf & Spa project, a resort style residential community in the highlands of Panama, whose main attractions are its location, climate, and topography, but this project is targeting international buyers,” noted an article in Capital.com.pa

In addition to the new community at Los Molinos, there is a new International School that will be built nearby by a friend of mine here in Boquete who currently operates grades 1 through 5 and will expand the school to eventually go through high school as well.  It will be one of the first LEED schools in the Americas.

Well, I could go on but I think that you get the message.  Find your path and take it soon.