How's the ecotourism in and around Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico?
Percy Pinklebutt - Percy Pinklebutt Enteprises
There is a whole bunch of waterfalls in the mountains behind Chapala and Ajijic so you could go and walk up to those. On weekends some families go up there and have picnics by the waterfalls, which can be fun. Lake Chapala is which is about 50 miles by 10 miles.
Across the water is Michoacán, the famous monarch butterflies are there. You could also go to the lava fields near the volcano of Colima, which is in the next state over but you can see if...
There is a whole bunch of waterfalls in the mountains behind Chapala and Ajijic so you could go and walk up to those. On weekends some families go up there and have picnics by the waterfalls, which can be fun. Lake Chapala is which is about 50 miles by 10 miles.
Across the water is Michoacán, the famous monarch butterflies are there. You could also go to the lava fields near the volcano of Colima, which is in the next state over but you can see if from Chapala on a clear day.
Mexico is a bit of a “grab all”. If you go to San Miguel de Allende, which is a several-hour drive away, it’s a desert, and a high plateau. There are botanical gardens there that you can visit and get all your desert plants. You could also drive for about 5 hours and go to the beaches in Puerto Vallarta.
Do I need to renounce or relinquish my US citizenship or get a dual citizenship to move or live abroad?
John Ohe - Hola Expat Tax Services
You absolutely do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship when you move and live abroad.
I've been living abroad for about a little over five years. Now, I live in Guatemala and have been here for over four years. I am only a US citizen. I'm not even a permanent resident of Guatemala. I've got three children and the last of one was born in Guatemala. Getting residency for my youngest child was very easy based on the...
You absolutely do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship when you move and live abroad.
I've been living abroad for about a little over five years. Now, I live in Guatemala and have been here for over four years. I am only a US citizen. I'm not even a permanent resident of Guatemala. I've got three children and the last of one was born in Guatemala. Getting residency for my youngest child was very easy based on the local rules. However, it's not a step that I really needed to take because we frequently travel, whether we're going back to the US or going to other countries on a vacation.
Guatemala happens to have a very generous tourist visa situation where they give 90 days for Americans. If you want, you can get an extension on 90 days up to 180 days in Guatemala without having to leave, which a bunch of countries have. Panama has an automatic 180-day visa for US citizens. Nicaragua and Costa Rica allow 90 days for US citizens. It's easy to leave the country, stay out of the country for a few days, and come back in.
Residency status is certainly not needed. Relinquishing your US citizenship is absolutely not needed. I have some clients who are considering residency and relinquishing their US citizenship for tax reasons, but it could be quite problematic to relinquish your citizenship. There is a lot of paperwork involved. If you have a lot of assets, there is an exit tax associated with giving up your US citizenship that can be quite painful.
Giving up your US citizenship is really not needed for most people and 99.9% of US citizens don't need to do it to live abroad. Depending on the tourist visa situation, you may even need to establish permanent residency status in the local country you're moving to.
(People of Mayan descent in a horse race in Todos Santos Cuchumatán, Guatemala, pictured.)
As a foreigner or expat, can I buy or own land or other real estate property in Portugal?
Luis Rodrigues - Gouveia Pereira, Costa Freitas & Associates, Law Firm, RL
Yes, as a foreigner, you can buy or own land or other real estate in Portugal. There are no restrictions for owning any land or other real estate asset in Portugal based on nationality. Moreover, care to note that Portugal allows individuals and/or companies (regardless of the nationality) to own the freehold of land or other real estate assets for perpetuity.
(The long sandy beach at Nazaré on the Atlantic coast, Portugal, pictured.)
Yes, as a foreigner, you can buy or own land or other real estate in Portugal. There are no restrictions for owning any land or other real estate asset in Portugal based on nationality. Moreover, care to note that Portugal allows individuals and/or companies (regardless of the nationality) to own the freehold of land or other real estate assets for perpetuity.
(The long sandy beach at Nazaré on the Atlantic coast, Portugal, pictured.)
What's the dress code in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua? What clothes do they wear in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua?
Daniel Snider - Snider's Realty Nicaragua
Local Nicaraguans are quite formal dressers. They wear long sleeved shirts, blue jeans, and boots. You will easily tell the foreigners apart from the locals since the foreigners dress in more relaxed clothing such as shorts, flip flops and so on. The foreigners (expats) would dress this way even in going out to restaurants but of course there are some upscale restaurants where you would want to dress up a little to fit in.
Formal clothing in San Juan Del Sur could mean wearing...
Local Nicaraguans are quite formal dressers. They wear long sleeved shirts, blue jeans, and boots. You will easily tell the foreigners apart from the locals since the foreigners dress in more relaxed clothing such as shorts, flip flops and so on. The foreigners (expats) would dress this way even in going out to restaurants but of course there are some upscale restaurants where you would want to dress up a little to fit in.
Formal clothing in San Juan Del Sur could mean wearing Sperry Topsiders, nice linen pants and a floral buttoned shirt or a nice tee shirt. If you are going to a wedding or any even like that, you can wear this ensemble and that is formal enough for a beach wedding.
It is pretty warm in San Juan Del Sur to be wearing a sports coat. I would say a long sleeved linen shirt would be the heaviest clothing you would want to wear because it’s so hot.
Women wear nice long dresses but in more of a beach motif. At weddings, women wear nice long dresses but they always take into account that they are at the beach so even their dresses look very relaxed.
As a real estate agent, when I go out to check lots and properties, I wear a polo shirt with our logo on it, khaki pants, and boots. There are no rules about clothing here. You wouldn’t find a place that wouldn’t let you in if you didn’t wear a specific type of clothing.
If you were to go to a traditional Nicaraguan’s home and let’s say you were invited for dinner, you may wear a long sleeved shirt. Try not to wear flip-flops but instead wear close-toed shoes. Your clothing doesn’t have to be fancy or extravagant, just decent or suitable for the occasion. Nicaraguans like to look good and we like our guests to look good, too.
What's the food like in the markets in Placencia, Belize?
Larry France - Chabil Mar
There are two markets in Placencia in particular that opened up within the last 5 years that have a very nice inventory of goods. Anything from toiletries, to all your different fruits and drinks; they have it. Sometimes, you won't find the brands that you're looking for, so even though they have nice inventory, it’s not like a giant supermarket-type arrangement. It’s more like a large market but not a supermarket. They won't have a bakery department, but they'll just...
There are two markets in Placencia in particular that opened up within the last 5 years that have a very nice inventory of goods. Anything from toiletries, to all your different fruits and drinks; they have it. Sometimes, you won't find the brands that you're looking for, so even though they have nice inventory, it’s not like a giant supermarket-type arrangement. It’s more like a large market but not a supermarket. They won't have a bakery department, but they'll just have aisles and aisles with everything you could need, but just not the variety of what we're used to here in the US and oftentimes not a particular brand that you might be expecting to see.
Milk products come in two forms. We have the refrigerated kind, but my preference is to buy the milk that's not refrigerated. Meats are not as available here as they are in the US. Chicken a bit more available. They eat a lot of chicken there; it's pretty much a staple and part of their diet. But it's hard to find decent red meat there.
Fish is usually purchased at the fish cooperative or from the fisherman you meet when they come in with their catch for the day and we just buy fresh from them. They don't usually have fish in the traditional markets. While Placencia Village is traditionally a fishing village, not as many people can make a living out of just fishing any more, but some do. Even the ones who don't make a living out of it will go out fishing and sometimes bring back their fish to a co-op, which is where they can sell their fish to what is sort of a government entity. And then that government entity re-sells it to people who walk in. Most of the restaurants already have their connections with fisherman. The fishermen would come in and call out to the restaurants, "This is what I have for you tonight."
Vegetables and fruits are mostly sold on roadside stands. The most surprising thing to a lot of Americans when they go down to Placencia is the eggs are not refrigerated. They're stacked up on the shelf and you buy the eggs by the quantity of eggs you want. They're not packaged or sitting there in bulk; you just buy as many as you want. Those are the general differences. In general, they have everything that you can possibly need. It's the whole downsizing mentality, too, you just get used to living with fewer options.
Anything that comes out of the sea would be fresh for you to purchase. Lobsters are a huge staple down there except in the winter. Our lobster season closes in February and re-opens in June, by order of the government. Lobsters are very prevalent down there. Meats are not that easy to get and the fruits and vegetables tend to be on the truck for a long drive. It is difficult to find vegetables that do not have a rotten spot on it. The challenge to get good quality fruits and vegetables was more than I was expecting since they do grow so many fruits in the country. But they ship most of it out, so in the village it's more of a challenge to find the good stuff.
(Pictured: man gathering bananas for sale in Belize.)
For me, living in Boquete is very easy. It's an easy life if you want it to be. There are not a great deal of cultural activities or great restaurants so if that is your bag, you may be unhappy.
Visit first for a while.
For me, living in Boquete is very easy. It's an easy life if you want it to be. There are not a great deal of cultural activities or great restaurants so if that is your bag, you may be unhappy.
In the summer of 2015 a lady friend who had fallen in love with Ajijic in the Lake Chapala area years ago and wanted to get back there contacted me. Her vision was to run a bed and breakfast in the village, but she needed some assistance purchasing the property, so she contacted me to see if I’d be interested in an investment. After she had expounded upon the virtues of Ajijic through numerous phone calls I was intrigued to the point of flying down and meeting her...
This has been our second Christmas living in Panama… and whilst I cannot deny that spending Christmas day on the beach and by a gorgeous pool in glorious sunshine is a huge plus point, for us and many people we know there is that severe lack of ‘chrismassy feeling’
That is not because Christmas is not celebrated here… Christmas decorations have been up everywhere, stores have dedicated floors of Christmas paraphernalia and the shops are crammed...
It was two years ago, December 9, 2012 when we landed in Panama City. As excited as I was, the fact that I had bronchitis dampened that feeling a lot. Day two found us looking for yet another round of antibiotics. I bought them over the counter. They worked great, too. I had such severe allergies in the USA, especially in Texas, that I usually had some kind of upper respiratory infection at least twice a year. Odd, but it seemed the doctors had no idea how to treat it. I was given the...
There is a whole bunch of waterfalls in the mountains behind Chapala and Ajijic so you could go and walk up to those. On weekends some families go up there and have picnics by the waterfalls, which can be fun. Lake Chapala is which is about 50 miles by 10 miles. 
You absolutely do not need to renounce or relinquish your US citizenship or get dual citizenship when you move and live abroad. 
Yes, as a foreigner, you can buy or own land or other real estate in Portugal. There are no restrictions for owning any land or other real estate asset in Portugal based on nationality. Moreover, care to note that Portugal allows individuals and/or companies (regardless of the nationality) to own the freehold of land or other real estate assets for perpetuity. 
There are two markets in Placencia in particular that opened up within the last 5 years that have a very nice inventory of goods. Anything from toiletries, to all your different fruits and drinks; they have it. Sometimes, you won't find the brands that you're looking for, so even though they have nice inventory, it’s not like a giant supermarket-type arrangement. It’s more like a large market but not a supermarket. They won't have a bakery department, but they'll just...
In the summer of 2015 a lady friend who had fallen in love with Ajijic in the Lake Chapala area years ago and wanted to get back there contacted me. Her vision was to run a bed and breakfast in the village, but she needed some assistance purchasing the property, so she contacted me to see if I’d be interested in an investment. After she had expounded upon the virtues of Ajijic through numerous phone calls I was intrigued to the point of flying down and meeting her...
This has been our second Christmas living in Panama… and whilst I cannot deny that spending Christmas day on the beach and by a gorgeous pool in glorious sunshine is a huge plus point, for us and many people we know there is that severe lack of ‘chrismassy feeling’ 
It was two years ago, December 9, 2012 when we landed in Panama City. As excited as I was, the fact that I had bronchitis dampened that feeling a lot. Day two found us looking for yet another round of antibiotics. I bought them over the counter. They worked great, too. I had such severe allergies in the USA, especially in Texas, that I usually had some kind of upper respiratory infection at least twice a year. Odd, but it seemed the doctors had no idea how to treat it. I was given the...