Post: #1

Ok, so if you’re like me, you may be hesitant to throw too much money into a chance at making a few bucks online. You made also be worried about depleting your savings...I’m sure you’ve got that nice round number that you swear you’ll keep tucked away (or not).

Are there other options to make money and fund your life abroad? Sure, online poker, male prostitution...shit, I can play poker but I’m not confident enough, or patient enough, to do it for a living; and unfortunately my mom’s part Irish—I curse her, for if she weren’t, I could change my name to Pogo Maplewood (pornstar name; first pet, first street name) and go hunt’n for cougars.

I’m sure there are many alternatives, but allow me to explain the path that I’ve taken; move to a 3rd world shit-hole (3wsh). You’d be amazed at the opportunities in conflict, post-conflict, and developing countries—opportunities to make (not earn) windfall profits, to travel to sweet places outside of the 3wSH for extended periods of time, and to buy businesses for nearly nothing.

Many forget that there are under-developed markets outside the US and other 1st world nations. There's a few reasons for fetching big profits in these places and a few perks. Let me explain.

Profits Exist because Suppliers Don’t
- Many will not live/work in these places because they're worried for their safety. Don’t be afraid by the State Dept website, or CDC, WHO, etc. I’ve had personal relationships with many Regional Security Officers who send the warden messages; they’re over cautious because of the liability. – Read it, be informed, but don’t allow it to discourage you. With commonsense and taking necessary precautions you should be fine. That being said, stay away from Somalia for the near future.

Profits exist because People and Quality doesn’t
-Since there are few who venture to these places, the quality of stuff (and capacity of the people) is usually cheap, bad, or non-existent. Markets and industries are left under-served. Many necessities are imported and marked-up exuberantly. Lack of products, services, technology, and quality. I’ve made money bringing in simple technology security products like RFID guard management, UV-light asset marking, and GPS/GSM tracking units.—All of it sourced online with no prior product knowledge.

Two further examples: Where I current work from, there are four main western style grocers, a pint of Ben & Jerry’s is $17.95 in one store.—My Listerine in one store is $4.95, in the other it’s $8.95; and there’s only one importer/wholesaler of consumer goods in the area, go figure, the stores charge what they want.

I have a friend who came over here as an English teacher; he learned the simple local language in about 2 months which isn’t hard because it’s a limited, non-conjugated vocabulary. He’s landed a great paying job now. People get jobs when they come to these places because the biggest determinate of success from an employer’s point of view, is if you can thrive in what other’s consider a difficult place to live and work.

Profits exist because of corruption
- Look for countries that have IMF, World Bank, UNDP agencies doing development.--Not saying these agencies are corrupt but they tend to be in places where young governments exists. Where young govts exist, money is flooding in from foreign governments for support. Be skeptical of tendering on any government contracts for provision of goods or services-- their procurement sections usually suck and you will have trouble getting paid. Aim for contracts that are funded by foreign governments and AID organizations.

You may be looking at the GDP of a 3wSH and be thinking ‘yeah right, these guys can’t even afford to pay themselves for a happy ending’ but you’d be dead-wrong. You see it all over the place, Lexus SUV’s with dead fish hanging off the back-glass windshield wiper and a dude with a Rolex date-time on the same arm as the that smoking a $1 pack of clove cigarettes. The income disparity is obnoxious, completely disgusting, and you should be there to fight the good fight and sell that corrupt mofo his overpriced stuff so he can go back to being broke again.

Profits can be had by purchasing a business for nothing
Most of these 3wSH’s with foreign government and AID assistance have a good expat community. Consequently, businesses have a low resale value and can be purchased for around 6 months profits or less...this is because many expats come and go; this yells ‘Fire Sale.’ My boss (lucky SOB that he is) picked up a company that was doing $200,000k in revenue, $30k profit, and spent $150,000 + $150,000 in debt obligation.—no shit. After three years I’m remitting $100k profit a month his way.

Though here’s a more probable example:
In our area we have an expat community of about 10,000; it’s highly concentrated in a small area. There is a simple bar/ restaurant that’s basically a hole-in-the-wall. The guy that runs it serves up crap loads of pizza to expats with a simple front-load pizza oven. He does a few other Thai dishes and some beers and spirits. He’s pulling in $35k a month at nearly 50% profit margin. That’s $17,500 profit a month; it recently sold for $80,000 plus $7,000 in stock...I guess it wasn’t that recent, the new owner bought it six months ago and has his initial investment back. I was going to buy it, but since I’m looking to leave soon I didn’t want to be tied down here any longer...and that’s why these businesses are underpriced. We’ll that and the risk of a coup de-e’tat.

And Finally, the girls
Ok, I’m not going to bullshit you. Most of these places have some haggard-looking chicks, and unless you’re willing to pay a dowry for the good looking ones you should adopt what I call a 0-1 scale...or fuck that and get your ass on a plane. I’m not going to lie, even I--who if you asked my friends would say I have way too high standards for my looks—have succumbed to the drunken local scallywag. Though this can all be avoided since you get to fly out and vacation all the time. I take a week to ten days every 1-2 months on average.—No bs. Since these places are considered as difficult postings, your employer will give you generous leave for R&R. It’s not unusual to land 2 weeks on/off or a schedule of that sort. In the meantime, while you’re enduring (perhaps in agony) your time in a 3wSH you can usually relieve those balls of their blueish hue by getting a happy-ending massage from your reputable thai (or other culture) masseuse.

Anyhow, this is my first post on the forum, (or any forum for that matter) I hope it’s worthwhile and informative. I’ll be heading back to the US Nov ’11 with a healthy bit of money in my bank and I’m looking for what’s next...while I plan to spend six months in Latin America with the aim at advancing my Spanish, learning salsa, kitesurfing, and tackling Latinas. – Thinking hard about Cartagena, Colombia. Any thoughts or direction from you all is appreciated. Cheers--

Post: #2

Enjoyable first post, welcome to the board! I love the idea of making money in these 3rd world shitholes as you put it but the idea of giving up a great job here to end up somewhere horrid making pizzas isn't exactly the dream, are there avenues that you're aware of where you can invest or buy a biz, is there any sense in investing in some of these bizes and having locals run it for you and profit share? Finding these businesses, is it about getting down there and seeing what's available or can you screen options before you head down there?

Post: #3

(05-27-2011 11:51 AM)mikeymike Wrote:  Enjoyable first post, welcome to the board! I love the idea of making money in these 3rd world shitholes as you put it but the idea of giving up a great job here to end up somewhere horrid making pizzas isn't exactly the dream, are there avenues that you're aware of where you can invest or buy a biz, is there any sense in investing in some of these bizes and having locals run it for you and profit share? Finding these businesses, is it about getting down there and seeing what's available or can you screen options before you head down there?

Hey Mikeymike,

For someone who has a posh job not worth leaving, it may be possible to purchase a business and have someone else run it for you--though you aught to understand the particular risks of doing so in a place outside the US, UK, AUS, EU.

I run the business for my boss that pays me way more than I could fetch back home--both in money and vacation. However, I know him on a personal level. I'd discourage setting a local up to run a business for you because many of these countries have very weak contract authority and people operate with impunity as law enforcement isn't what most would imagine. A local may end up just stealing your business or screwing you over-- not to mention they would have constant pressures from their family members to rob you blind while you were away.

The better option is to employ a close friend and bring him in to run it for you. Or have an agreement with someone (or some firm) that would fall under the jurisdiction of a 1st world country.-- meaning employ someone with a good passport.

It would be hard to screen businesses without a visit; with high expat turnover, most businesses sell without advertisement but simply by word of mouth or local ads. Basically, if you're not there you won't find a deal...though you'd find enough scams online. Rational people know that the general 1st world public wouldn't consider buying a business in a developing country with a degree of instability, so they don't bother posting online.-- If they do, then they're either desperate or full of it.

One other major perk I forgot to mention-- most of these places are huge tax havens. In the US, were afforded over $90k tax-free foreign income and some foreign 3wSH'd have a very low %.-- and you can easily mis-report your taxes and not pay anything or just move cash to avoid taxes--these places are cash economies and their tax revenue offices are incapable of collecting because of their infancy. The countries rely on foreign AID and profits from natural resources.

And to be honest the life isn't too bad. One of my friends does 2 months on and one month off; sure he hates his 2 months on but he really loves the month in the Philippines. I've skied in Nagano, Japan, heli-skied in New Zealand, traveled Australia, bought a villa in Bali, been all around Indonesia (24 Indo entry visas), Philippines loads, Singapore x6, Malaysia x2, Thailand x2, Vietnam, all in the last 3.5 years and I'm heading to Cambodia from June 18th-28th. While I'm here, in this 3wSH, I attend the Hash House Harriers and hang with expats. I've got a massive company structure below me and another expat, so we tend to swap in/out--good arrangement.

Post: #4

Interesting take on third world business opportunities. I'll be honest this idea has always intrigued me, but I don't think I have the proper know-how or balls to actually dive in. There are always so many unknown variables that throw a wrench into plans like these that I don't think I'd want to put myself through it.

Post: #5

Really interesting. Based on what you wrote, what about the following (scummy) idea:

Find countries with WB/IMF/USAID funding. Start up shoe string local aid organization. Just bare essentials that will show westerners that there's something there (probably need a nice logo, human interest stories, and an office). Bid for relief work, pay locals super low wages, and collect the profits due to you. The barrier for locals to do this is that they don't get how these orgs work, nor would they be trusted by the orgs. However, you as a westerner know how all this shit works and how to properly talk to people.

Post: #6

(05-27-2011 01:25 PM)Menace Wrote:  Really interesting. Based on what you wrote, what about the following (scummy) idea:

Find countries with WB/IMF/USAID funding. Start up shoe string local aid organization. Just bare essentials that will show westerners that there's something there (probably need a nice logo, human interest stories, and an office). Bid for relief work, pay locals super low wages, and collect the profits due to you. The barrier for locals to do this is that they don't get how these orgs work, nor would they be trusted by the orgs. However, you as a westerner know how all this shit works and how to properly talk to people.

Hi, very interesting post. I've always wanted to live abroad. Where are you located now and how did you wind up there?

Post: #7

Very nice article and a great debut. This topic I have been thinking about for some time now, the way the job market is going in UK/US/EU/CA is scary. I have a joe job and it is killing me, luckily I am working towards something better.

Angola is one of those 3Wsh right now where alot of money can be made.
I certainly would not mind making crappy pizza's for $17,500 per month profit. There are loads of countries that you can make money if you have the balls, but I find when I talk to people about this - they are quit to dismiss it as impossible.

The IMF is a scam organization that lends money to "impoverished" countries in return for ownership of there natural resources.

Post: #8

The important thing is DO YOUR HOMEWORK. If you want to go to Cartagena, well, you need to live there, get a feel for the place, see what it is missing, figure out the bureaucratic maze and red tape, learn the language, see how people respond to your ideas, etc.

Profits Exist because Suppliers Don’t

Why don't suppliers exist? As far as Colombia is concerned, it has historically been extremely difficult and cost-prohibitive to move things from one place to another. FARC, paramilitaries, drug lords, and other violent types made moving anything around a risky proposition, and harsh geography and lack of infrastructure can take care of the rest. Seen the rains here lately? Roads and bridges are collapsing, and Barranquilla's port is full of boats stuck on sandbanks at the moment.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news...00000.html
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news...ombia.html

Profits exist because People and Quality doesn’t

Who are you going to hire then? I know more than one guy from abroad who has started a business here only to be frustrated by Colombia's vastly different work culture, many holidays, and lack of experience.

Profits exist because of corruption

Profits are also eaten into because of corruption. Bribes are all over the place here. You gonna play along? Or accept the consequences if you don't? What can you get away with? This is VERY important.

We've all had the dream of doing what you're talking about in this thread. And I think you have the right idea going where you want to be and hanging out for a while before doing anything else. But having your own business is a risk, and an even bigger risk when there is food and service involved. I suppose what would be really useful is anyone's direct experience with wringing decent cash out of a third world expatriate experience. Plenty of people have money coming in from overseas that goes a long way where they live and travel, but has anyone here actually successfully started a business abroad from scratch?

Post: #9

(05-27-2011 01:25 PM)Menace Wrote:  Really interesting. Based on what you wrote, what about the following (scummy) idea:

Find countries with WB/IMF/USAID funding. Start up shoe string local aid organization. Just bare essentials that will show westerners that there's something there (probably need a nice logo, human interest stories, and an office). Bid for relief work, pay locals super low wages, and collect the profits due to you. The barrier for locals to do this is that they don't get how these orgs work, nor would they be trusted by the orgs. However, you as a westerner know how all this shit works and how to properly talk to people.

--This could work if you were a pioneer, the first in an area; if other organizations are present they'll cop you out. They're all competing for 'donor dollars' instead of profits. We call these Bingos. Business International Non-Govt organizations.

Post: #10

Repped. Absolutely fantastic first post, my kind of man - shows up as a young hustler in an emerging market and makes riches out of nothing.

Let me know if you are in SE Asia this summer.

Post: #11

(05-27-2011 04:31 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  Very nice article and a great debut. This topic I have been thinking about for some time now, the way the job market is going in UK/US/EU/CA is scary. I have a joe job and it is killing me, luckily I am working towards something better.

Angola is one of those 3Wsh right now where alot of money can be made.
I certainly would not mind making crappy pizza's for $17,500 per month profit. There are loads of countries that you can make money if you have the balls, but I find when I talk to people about this - they are quit to dismiss it as impossible.

The IMF is a scam organization that lends money to "impoverished" countries in return for ownership of there natural resources.

http://af.reuters.com/article/investingN...E420090107

I dont think opening a restaurant or fast food joint is the way to go. Angola is not the sort of place you want to be living in. I think the best thing to do is to supply and trade. And the best things to supply are either staples or luxury goods.

Post: #12

(05-28-2011 01:15 AM)Hooligan Harry Wrote:  

(05-27-2011 04:31 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  Very nice article and a great debut. This topic I have been thinking about for some time now, the way the job market is going in UK/US/EU/CA is scary. I have a joe job and it is killing me, luckily I am working towards something better.

Angola is one of those 3Wsh right now where alot of money can be made.
I certainly would not mind making crappy pizza's for $17,500 per month profit. There are loads of countries that you can make money if you have the balls, but I find when I talk to people about this - they are quit to dismiss it as impossible.

The IMF is a scam organization that lends money to "impoverished" countries in return for ownership of there natural resources.

http://af.reuters.com/article/investingN...E420090107

I dont think opening a restaurant or fast food joint is the way to go. Angola is not the sort of place you want to be living in. I think the best thing to do is to supply and trade. And the best things to supply are either staples or luxury goods.

Yes I have heard Angola is expensive. There are alot of foreigners working there at the moment, especially chinese. But I understand there is money to be made there.

Post: #13

(05-27-2011 04:58 PM)Ajiaco Wrote:  The important thing is DO YOUR HOMEWORK. If you want to go to Cartagena, well, you need to live there, get a feel for the place, see what it is missing, figure out the bureaucratic maze and red tape, learn the language, see how people respond to your ideas, etc.

Profits Exist because Suppliers Don’t

Why don't suppliers exist? As far as Colombia is concerned, it has historically been extremely difficult and cost-prohibitive to move things from one place to another. FARC, paramilitaries, drug lords, and other violent types made moving anything around a risky proposition, and harsh geography and lack of infrastructure can take care of the rest. Seen the rains here lately? Roads and bridges are collapsing, and Barranquilla's port is full of boats stuck on sandbanks at the moment.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news...00000.html
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news...ombia.html

Profits exist because People and Quality doesn’t

Who are you going to hire then? I know more than one guy from abroad who has started a business here only to be frustrated by Colombia's vastly different work culture, many holidays, and lack of experience.

Profits exist because of corruption

Profits are also eaten into because of corruption. Bribes are all over the place here. You gonna play along? Or accept the consequences if you don't? What can you get away with? This is VERY important.

We've all had the dream of doing what you're talking about in this thread. And I think you have the right idea going where you want to be and hanging out for a while before doing anything else. But having your own business is a risk, and an even bigger risk when there is food and service involved. I suppose what would be really useful is anyone's direct experience with wringing decent cash out of a third world expatriate experience. Plenty of people have money coming in from overseas that goes a long way where they live and travel, but has anyone here actually successfully started a business abroad from scratch?

Gotcha; thanks for the insight and direction

Post: #14

(05-28-2011 12:38 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  Repped. Absolutely fantastic first post, my kind of man - shows up as a young hustler in an emerging market and makes riches out of nothing.

Let me know if you are in SE Asia this summer.

Where are you? I'm in SE Asia; will be for a while.. I'm planning a trip to Cambodia from April 18th - 28th. Will be flying through S'pore.

Cheers--

Post: #15

(05-28-2011 01:15 AM)Hooligan Harry Wrote:  

(05-27-2011 04:31 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  Very nice article and a great debut. This topic I have been thinking about for some time now, the way the job market is going in UK/US/EU/CA is scary. I have a joe job and it is killing me, luckily I am working towards something better.

Angola is one of those 3Wsh right now where alot of money can be made.
I certainly would not mind making crappy pizza's for $17,500 per month profit. There are loads of countries that you can make money if you have the balls, but I find when I talk to people about this - they are quit to dismiss it as impossible.

The IMF is a scam organization that lends money to "impoverished" countries in return for ownership of there natural resources.

http://af.reuters.com/article/investingN...E420090107

I dont think opening a restaurant or fast food joint is the way to go. Angola is not the sort of place you want to be living in. I think the best thing to do is to supply and trade. And the best things to supply are either staples or luxury goods.

alright i'm gonna start digging around this more, my interest is definitely picqued. I'm a film industry guy, and my training is rather industry specific so when you guys are talking supplying staples and luxury goods to the 3wsh you're speaking essentially a foreign language to me, where are you getting supplies from and supplying too? I'll freely admit I got some learning to do but any examples for me to start wrapping my head around this stuff?

Post: #16

(05-29-2011 01:52 AM)mikeymike Wrote:  

(05-28-2011 01:15 AM)Hooligan Harry Wrote:  

(05-27-2011 04:31 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  Very nice article and a great debut. This topic I have been thinking about for some time now, the way the job market is going in UK/US/EU/CA is scary. I have a joe job and it is killing me, luckily I am working towards something better.

Angola is one of those 3Wsh right now where alot of money can be made.
I certainly would not mind making crappy pizza's for $17,500 per month profit. There are loads of countries that you can make money if you have the balls, but I find when I talk to people about this - they are quit to dismiss it as impossible.

The IMF is a scam organization that lends money to "impoverished" countries in return for ownership of there natural resources.

http://af.reuters.com/article/investingN...E420090107

I dont think opening a restaurant or fast food joint is the way to go. Angola is not the sort of place you want to be living in. I think the best thing to do is to supply and trade. And the best things to supply are either staples or luxury goods.

alright i'm gonna start digging around this more, my interest is definitely picqued. I'm a film industry guy, and my training is rather industry specific so when you guys are talking supplying staples and luxury goods to the 3wsh you're speaking essentially a foreign language to me, where are you getting supplies from and supplying too? I'll freely admit I got some learning to do but any examples for me to start wrapping my head around this stuff

I'll share a couple examples of successful businesses from my 3wsh and then offer a few ideas. ---sorry in advance for the verbal diarrhea.

Construction
- My good friend Jim (not real name) arrived here from New Zealand in mid-2008, working as a project manager for a construction company that had won the tender to construct the NZ embassy compound. Jim was 20 years old and had worked for this construction company back in NZ for 3-years previously. The NZ embassy was a relatively simple job of pre-cast concrete-- he poured the foundations, brought the pre-cast panels in off the port (customs and transport was a bitch by the way...same as in Colombia apparently; and same as any 3wsh--they all have pot-hole ridden, destructed, and poorly built/maintained infrastructure--just becomes an excuse for delays and getting away with providing less than stellar service/product for suppliers) and fitted out the place. After the job was completed, he had to spend 6 months here for maintenance while the building settled. In his 6 months he was not really busy so he was at the bar a lot. At the bar he met lots of tradesmen, diplomats, etc, etc, etc. He found out that his skills were really needed because being the young-motivated type who could work hard was rare--most of the tradesmen were lazy, overcharging, or not motivated for one reason or another. He ended up doing a few small jobs of work here and there and word spread that he was good. The jobs kept growing in frequency and size-- we'll is was more like a launch. He ended up starting his own construction company (this took some time b/c bureaucratic bs and redtape) and fiscal year 2010 he did $500k and profited $100k after a good amount of reinvestment into the biz. His big client is the Australian Fedpols who are receiving funding through the Aussie govt to re-build and renovate police barracks and academies. Two years ago we took a trip to the Philippines and I covered most the beers; this year he'll pull in at least $300k profit...and he's growing. He doesn’t touch a tool anymore but instead employs two Filipino project managers, a small crew of Filipino workers, and a larger crew of local day-labourers.

Final lines: Most of these 3wsh have terrible infrastructure and consequently construction will be in great need for some time—if it’s war torn, then this means you can have repeat work; get out when the shit gets heavy, and swoop in for re-construction. You can start small, get a good name for yourself in the area and then figure it out.


Niche products, not staples
Jim took a few grand from his construction biz and started a children’s bookstore/toystore for the expats with kids and affluent locals—his girlfriend and a local girl run it. The store broke even after three months and he’s making a few grand a month regularly. Unexpectedly, he’s taken some large orders from NGO’s and AID-funded organizations that ordered books to hand to children and fill the shelves of schools throughout the nation.

Final lines: Jim doesn’t know shit about books, he doesn’t read them, and he started a bookstore—and for that matter he had no clue about retail. Staple products are reserved by locally connected businessmen, relatives of the government, and Chinese—Chinese usually take up low, low quality staple –generics and sell to the locals.

Ideas:
Products that enhance the lives of the expats—just come to a 3wsh and listen for the whining.. “God, I wish I could have one of these....too bad they’re not available in this shit hole.” People will pay a premium for stuff that they usually have to fly somewhere else to get.
This goes for services too-- dentists, medical care, chiropractic, etc.

Heavy or large items can fetch even larger profit—if it’s too heavy or big to transport practically while flying on your return flight, then expats will be forced to pay the premium or go without.

--AND finally, for those that want to make money from expats without living in a 3wsh themselves...market to them specifically online. Most of these places have email networks, so jobs, news articles, safety advisories can all be broadcasted within the country. Join these email networks (set up a gmail filter to skip your inbox or else you’ll be inundated with emails) and from there you can understand what people need and want. Use the email networks as a channel to market (don’t go overboard or you’ll be kicked off); then put a local ad in the paper and target the region on facebook marketplace, craigslist, etc.

–Try stating a price of a product, plus shipping, in an advert. My friend Jim and I were on the beach the other day sucking back a few beers and watching the high tide roll up the beach toward our table, when we both thought, damn it’s be nice to kayak here. So, we go online and find kayaks off Alibaba.com and notice that from China they’re about $140 each and shipping to this 3wsh is $900 ocean freight for Jim’s order of 20. We think he can sell them here for around $350 and rent them for $10 per hour. – Not enough to start a business on but repeat it enough times with enough products and you could be doing alright.

Someone could just as easily posted an ad of a kayak in the paper for $350-$400 and said to allow two weeks for shipping. I would have gone online; seen that they were reputable and looked for a review or asked a fellow expat if they’d ever received anything from the supplier. –With a favourable review, you’d have my money.

Speaking of which; If someone has (or can refer) superior coding skills, able to type out some good back-end architecture, bots, algorithm search/rank, build or integrate CMS--then I'd be interested in trying to move forward on a few ideas of mine. I don't have skills in coding or website development but I do know markets.

Post: #17

Though here’s a more probable example:
In our area we have an expat community of about 10,000; it’s highly concentrated in a small area. There is a simple bar/ restaurant that’s basically a hole-in-the-wall. The guy that runs it serves up crap loads of pizza to expats with a simple front-load pizza oven. He does a few other Thai dishes and some beers and spirits. He’s pulling in $35k a month at nearly 50% profit margin. That’s $17,500 profit a month; it recently sold for $80,000 plus $7,000 in stock...I guess it wasn’t that recent, the new owner bought it six months ago and has his initial investment back. I was going to buy it, but since I’m looking to leave soon I didn’t want to be tied down here any longer...and that’s why these businesses are underpriced. We’ll that and the risk of a coup de-e’tat.


I've been to 3rd world shitholes where making profit like this, even in the capital, only serving pizzas and some thai dishes to expats, would be impossible. So the place your talking about might be 3rd world but definately not a shithole in this case

Post: #18

Gameabroad -

Great first post, +1 from me.

Out of curiosity, what do you consider "3rd World Shit-Holes"?

Some examples?

Post: #19

(05-29-2011 02:57 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  Gameabroad -

Great first post, +1 from me.

Out of curiosity, what do you consider "3rd World Shit-Holes"?

Some examples?

Cheers-- I should have mentioned this earlier. There are many 3rd world shit-holes (income disparity, lack of infrastructure, cheap local labor, expats) but the sort of opportunities I'm speaking of are attributed to expat populations from UN Peacekeeping Missions, or less conflicting Integrated missions for development.-- conflict and post conflict nations.

Look for a large international presence of aid, and development, and peacekeeping, and you've found a captive market of high earners.

Look for a country that has just had it's infrastructure and supply lines destroyed by civil war, a fight for independence, or overthrown their government in a nasty coup.

Speaking from my experience; I came to a half-island nation that had it's infrastructure destroyed, was rebuilding, and hosted a UN Mission. There was still a small guerrilla force who shot the President in a failed coup d e'tat attempt about six weeks after I arrived. After the failed coup, martial law ensued for three months until the guerrillas were apprehended.-- these events brought more money because the international community didn't want to see the place become a failed state.

Check this map

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/20...d_rankings

Then look for a country that has a UN Mission, or other large international presence, and is rebuilding infrastructure.

Understandably, a 3wsh is not everyones cup of tea--if it were then the money wouldn't be present. But it is an alternative to what MJ DiMarco coins the slowlane; though not quite a fastlane, perhaps it's a merge from the slowlane to the express way. After 3.5 years out of school, I've accumulated 5 additional packs of page inserts into my now 1" thick passport (had time), I've been able to afford top-flight adventures throughout Asia and the Pacific, I've saved six figures (had control), and now I've got freedom, (for a little while) and plan to pursue whatever makes me happy and makes me money. The stories and experiences I've accumulated are also a benefit.

Post: #20

Game aboard,
Welcome in here man! those are some fabulous posts amigo! Exactly the kind of things I have been thinking of doing. I'll be in BKK in early July. If you're there at the same time, let's brainstorm..

Post: #21

Definitely interested and would like more info. I have a friend who is going to Haiti(definitely a 3wsh) this coming year, so I have a connect there. My question is finding opportunities in these places to make money as that would be my main goal. Frankly I could give a shit about what the broadcasts are about safety and what not. Obviously I don't want to get killed or kidnapped, but I'm sure with common sense I'll do fine.

So how would one go about this and find an opportunity? What experience is required? I've been thinking of doing something like this for a while and with a pending layoff coming in january, it's time to leave the corporate existence.

Post: #22

(05-30-2011 02:31 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Game aboard,
Welcome in here man! those are some fabulous posts amigo! Exactly the kind of things I have been thinking of doing. I'll be in BKK in early July. If you're there at the same time, let's brainstorm..

BKK is great; I'll be in my 3wsh though. Cambodia for ten days in June then come back to 3wsh. I'll travel in Asia/Pacific from September and then head back to the USA for the holidays in November.

Cheers--

Post: #23

(05-31-2011 09:27 PM)Neo Wrote:  Definitely interested and would like more info. I have a friend who is going to Haiti(definitely a 3wsh) this coming year, so I have a connect there. My question is finding opportunities in these places to make money as that would be my main goal. Frankly I could give a shit about what the broadcasts are about safety and what not. Obviously I don't want to get killed or kidnapped, but I'm sure with common sense I'll do fine.

So how would one go about this and find an opportunity? What experience is required? I've been thinking of doing something like this for a while and with a pending layoff coming in january, it's time to leave the corporate existence.

Neo, go to Haiti and then from there have a hard look at Cuba. I imagine when Cuba opens up for Americans there'll be a flood to the place. Canadians and many Brits are already jumping on investment opportunities (golf courses)as the new economic reforms abound from Raul Castro's lead. The press say he's following the Chinese method of privatization from pure communism. --It's just a thought, and a place that I'm beginning to look at with growing enthusiasm.

Cheers--

Post: #24

Partially off topic but anyone read about those 2 guys in their 20s who landed the $300m pentagon arms contract? (and probably would have gotten away with it if one wasn't such a greedy idiot) http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/new...s-20110316

The detractors here should read the fucking post, the profits are there because there is government $ being spent, not because the area is awful. I have my hand in some government connected markets and the amount of money that's made would be completely impossible without Uncle Sam's golden stream.

Post: #25

(05-27-2011 11:25 AM)Gameabroad Wrote:  Thinking hard about Cartagena, Colombia. Any thoughts or direction from you all is appreciated. Cheers--

Cartagena is a great city. It has it all, huge swathes of expensive touristy areas, middle class, and poor areas.

As far as restaurants go, there isn't a lack of anything in particular, there are lots of pricey restaurants for tourists, and in fact lots of quality restaurants there that serve international food. It's definitely not a 3rd world shit hole, the biggest problem there is that normal Colombians simply can't afford the rent in decent areas.

Maybe G Manifesto could chime in as far as what the money-having segment of the population feels is lacking from Cartagena, but to me it seems that it's a pretty well developed town that doesn't have any glaring opportunities.

However, the girls there are gorgeous, and you get your choice of international tourists, Colombian tourists, and best of all the local girls. To me the normal cartagena girl seemed to be 50% black, 25% indigenous, 25% white, thin with a nice tight booty that popped and honey colored eyes. You will enjoy it for sure.