I’ve been in South America now for almost two weeks and having a great time. This is part vacation and part exploration for retiring overseas that I’ve talked about here, here and here.
My wife and I are spending a month down here exploring two countries primarily. It is interesting to see how life happens outside your home country. One of the habits people have here in our current country is avid consumption of a drink called Mate. It’s a tea but the leaves from the plant are stuffed into a cup and consumed using a “bombilla” or metallic straw with a tapered holed filled end (image below). I’ve tried it and it honestly tastes like green tea with a bit stronger grassier flavor.
There are many pros and cons to living in a foreign country and I have been taking copious notes and adding them to the database of items I’m collecting to help guide a decision.
Incidentally, I’ve run into various people, including Americans, that are doing the same thing we are which is exploring the countries to determine if they are a good fit to retire in. It seems many people back home are coming to similar conclusions that we have about the viability of living in the United States through retirement.
One of the things I am also keen to observe are money making opportunities. I’m surprised to see many American brands down here but I’m also surprised to see which financial institutions are making inroads into markets here. I’ve gotten a few business and stock ideas percolating in the background.
When I’m not out doing something, I am applying for various jobs, collecting unemployment and checking on my stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments. I’ve managed to execute a few trades on IWM using my covered call strategy while I’ve been down here making about $1500.
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Are you having a good productive summer? Let me know in the comments below.