Post: #1

az

Post: #2

How much income per month do you have from your shares and how much available capital outside of shares? It will help us a lot in terms of pointing you in the right direction.

Post: #3

Own/Be the bartended @ an Aussie Expat/Aussie themed Bar someplace in the states that's warm and sunny. (and extra points if you have both Foster's and pot pies)

- Bar - brings in hot chicks galore
- bartender/owner - Alpha status
- warm touristy area - water sports etc.

Post: #4

(02-06-2012 04:56 PM)durangotang Wrote:  How much income per month do you have from your shares and how much available capital outside of shares? It will help us a lot in terms of pointing you in the right direction.

I can sell some or all of my shares any time, so basically I have 800K to do what ever I want with. I currently have most of this invested earning about $3,000 per month in interest & dividends, plus capital growth if the markets rise.

Steve

Post: #5

On 3000 a month you could live a good life in many 3rd world countries, specially if you are thinking south east Asia or South America.

You may just want to live on that money for a while if you are not looking for a luxury life and you also dont want to stress your life with investing.

Post: #6

Approximate cost breakdown in Chiang Mai, Thailand:

Rent for monthly serviced apartment: 200-400 dollars
Food: daily 2-5 dollars, depending on whether you cook or eat out (60-150 dollars a month)
Motorbike: 2-5 dollars a day, depending on which kind (60-150 dollars a month)
Gym: 15-30 dollars a month, depending on which one
Muay Thai: 300 dollars a month, give or take - obviously this is optional
One night of partying: 30 dollars (200 dollars a month, give or take, assuming you go out on weekends)

You can have a comfortable life in Thailand for about 1K a month if you wanted to. Great spot to launch a web based business.

I can't speak for LatAm.

Post: #7

(02-07-2012 02:17 AM)pitt Wrote:  On 3000 a month you could live a good life in many 3rd world countries, specially if you are thinking south east Asia or South America.

You may just want to live on that money for a while if you are not looking for a luxury life and you also dont want to stress your life with investing.

yeah...was thinking SE Asia, SA or Eastern Europe...has anyone else here done the 'early retirement thing'?

Im pretty laid back and not really looking for a 'luxury life'

Was hoping to get some pointers from guys who have already done that or some links to other good forums/resources on what are the best locations to consider.

Post: #8

For a blog/resource to read, try the TropicalMBA blog.

It may be good for someone like you being a former IT guy, possibly with a network in place. You can create IT support centres in places like the Philippines.

Post: #9

(02-07-2012 03:50 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  Approximate cost breakdown in Chiang Mai, Thailand:

Rent for monthly serviced apartment: 200-400 dollars
Food: daily 2-5 dollars, depending on whether you cook or eat out (60-150 dollars a month)
Motorbike: 2-5 dollars a day, depending on which kind (60-150 dollars a month)
Gym: 15-30 dollars a month, depending on which one
Muay Thai: 300 dollars a month, give or take - obviously this is optional
One night of partying: 30 dollars (200 dollars a month, give or take, assuming you go out on weekends)

You can have a comfortable life in Thailand for about 1K a month if you wanted to. Great spot to launch a web based business.

I can't speak for LatAm.

Thanks ymg, I have spent some time in Chiang Mai on my SE Asian trips.

Launching a web based business sounds like a lot of hard work and it must be a competitive field...

Since I already have a resonable amount of capital I was considering buying a business...although would anyone recommend buying a 'location independant business'? It sounds risky. Where are they advertised for sale?

I probably would prefer to invest in shares of companies that are growing fast...some obvious examples have been Amazon and Priceline.

Post: #10

Steve, I like the spirit. If I had $800,000 I would not rush to buy a business at first. The first thing I would do is allocate a modest amount to travel around a bit and figure out where I'd like to be. Say $50,000 for 12-24 months travel including worldwide airfare, the duration entirely depends on how shoe-string you want to travel. The objective is to spend enough time in a country to have the newness wear off and for you to start to get annoyed with the day to day shit - only at that point evaluate if it's somewhere you'd like to live.

I personally don't think a westerner can fully integrate into Asian society, so that would eliminate Asia for me - unless of course you don't care.

Africa is too risky and unstable for me.

That leaves Europe, North America and South America. Western Europe is priced out, bankrupt, and has high taxes. The same applies for North America. Eastern Europe is underdeveloped, highly corrupt, and has bad weather.

That leaves central and south America. Central America is pretty corrupt. In central America I would consider first Costa Rica, second Panama, third Belize. These countries would be worth a visit and are the most stable and developed.

South America is nice because of the economic value that Argentina provides, Brazil has world class beaches, and Uruguay has stability and easy permanent residency (and citizenship). The last three countries I mentioned (and Paraguay) are all Mercosur countries and offer effortless travel between them. Uruguay, Argentina, and southern Brazil are also 80% European by ethnicity and you can find girls ranging from blondes to the dark skinned brunettes to satisfy your desires. These countries also have very few earthquakes and tornadoes (not on a fault line), no tropical storms, and great weather. They are also south of the equator, which separates you from 90% of the worlds population, 95% of the pollution (including radiation), and wars. That's where I would target.

Forum members here also seem to like Colombia, which is unfortunately on or above the equator and does have a history of narco-related violence. Ecuador is mostly below the equator and is probably also worth checking out for the price - although like Chile (which is considered the most stable country in South America) it is on a major fault line and doesn't have quite as good looking women as Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

Brazil is getting expensive though, Argentina is much less expensive, and Uruguay offers easy access.

As for your assets, I would diversify the remaining $750,000 into equities and commodities - probably in an even split. Around 10% of equities I would invest in high growth, high dividend yielding emerging market stocks , 10% into mining stocks (with extreme caution), and the rest of the 80% into blue chip stocks. Around 50% of commodities I would purchase would be gold or silver related, particularly physical backed ETF's or even better pay several very reputable banks to store bullion for you. The other 50% of commodities investment would be in petroleum, probably a stock like Stat Oil (STO) that pays a nice 4.5% dividend and is stable.

While you are traveling around like a nomad, you can learn some online skills and start a location independent business. If it fails, no big deal as you didn't pay anything for it and you got to learn the ropes. If it succeeds, great.

By the way, I know you said you are in Australia, are you a U.S. citizen or an Australian?

Post: #11

az

Post: #12

I'd say travel and spend some time living in / around your AREAS of INTEREST.

I'd think from what I hear from Brazil people, SP / BA are decently english friendly.

Even if you are not good with languages, I am guessing you will pick up the basics of whichever place you go.

It might be perfect for you to RENT and do the 2 cities thing (search for the thread) and live summers/ winters in 2 locations. Experiment around for ONE YEAR and then you'll truely know where you want to go.

Post: #13

Bump, Steve9 what did you decide to do?