facultus, Contrary to what you said, affluent areas like much of suburbia are smaller and less populated than big cities, while the big cities are crammed with from rich to poor all impacting on each other during the daily routine. Wealthy suburbia is free from the type of crime, violence, anger, noise, air pollution, litter, commercialization and all the other things that are typical of large cities. This adds up to a better quality of life in the suburbs and a riskier and more stressfilled life in the cities.
I like Hawaii's weather - it's 85 degrees year round, no rain, no snow. I have no idea why there's even a weather report every night on the tv, it's funny - they make a big difference as to whether the trade winds or going to be 5 to 10mph vs 10 to 15 mph, or how many feet high the surf waves will be (2-4 foot small swells, or 4-6 foot larger ones). Having lived in Michigan and Chicago and Colorado, I do like the 4 seasons, but I don't miss them that much. And snow- bah! I will never miss trudging through slushy parking lots, having to warm up my car ahead of time, or scraping snow off the windshield again. A few years of that was enough. Colorado was 110% better than michigan/chicago weather-wise, because the snow and winter was dry, so not as cold, as the great lakes winters. I remember I could wear a light jacket most winters in Colorado, but Michigan/Chicago required heavy gear. Some rain out here now and then in Hawaii would be nice, though. I look forward to this upcoming daylight savings change, since they don't observe it in hawaii, means I get to sleep in an extra hour for the next 6 months, Nov-Apr. ken
Quote from ramora: Great thread... Does anyone have any experience trading from Costa Rica or Panama? Thank you, ramora -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to everyone for being so generous with good information. Truly wonderful! Ramora, I second your question - any thoughts on Costa Rica & Panama, I 'll also add to that list Cuba!? Well Im from Canada, 31, single and spent last winter (7mths) living/trading in Panama. My first stay away from home(canada)...Initially I was a little apprehensive, new country,culture, language etc. Took me about 2-3 weeks to start breaking out of my shell. Here are some details and +'s of my stay. 1. Weather - Some like it hot well you better like it hot! Rarely does the temperature drop below +30 C. If your from South Florida you'll feel right at home. Only two seasons here; wet & dry. Wet is from June - Oct (rains about 2-3 hours a day but beautiful and refreshing) and dry season Nov-May rarely rains. 2. People - Despite being bombed by the Americans some years ago people are very friendly to foreigners and always willing to lend a hand. Also speaking of people this is a single man's paradise similar to Thailand...the latina ladies here are too die for!!(Very Sexy!!) No fatties here! Check out Miss Universe for 2003 she's Panamanian on Google Image search to get an idea...WOW!!! 3. Culture - Panama is kind of the Central American melting pot...many different cultures there from Central & South America & North Americans & European travellers...my two good friends who I partied with were from Sweden. Spanish is the native tongue there however tons of locals speak English from the Americans running the Canal for so many years. Overall Panama City is very americanized. 4. Safety - Despite the reputation of Ex president Noriega Panama is very safe in my opinion. I can remember many a night stumbling out of a nightclub at 4 or 5 in the morning and catching a taxi to take me home with absolutely no problems. The nights in Panama are absolutely beautiful about +25 at 4 in the am. 5. Internet - Same as the states high speed cable and adsl. Although I went with Cable Onda (the local cable company) I recommend going with the adsl because it is more reliable. 6 Cost of Living - Overall is very cheap here's a lowdown on some of my expenses: Rent - a 1 bedroom 750sq ft apartment in El Cangrejo (middle upper area) completely furnished was $400/mth. Could have gotten $350 if i looked a little more. Utilities about $60-70mth including internet($30mth) Buy a Cell phone for about $20-30 and use cell phone cards that you can buy anywhere instead of a landline. Transportation - No brainer here, taxi's are a plenty in this city and you should pay no more than $1.75 for a ride from one end of the city to the other or less if shorter ride Dirt Cheap!!! Didn't pay to buy a car there even though they are cheap. Took a bus for longer trips eg swimming in the Pacific or Atlantic cost about 5 bucks return!! - in a modern air conditioned bus!! Fun Time - new movies in the theatre are $3-4 , all you can drink at the discotech for $15-20!! Anything goes in this town and that includes drugs...If you are in to it, you can buy a gram of Columbian cocaine for about $2-5 (im not kidding). Beer is incredibly cheap plan about .25/bottle chilled in the Rey Supermercado (panama's Safeway). Overall I would rate Panama after my 6 month stay about a 9/10 for me. The only reason it doesn't receive a 10 is that it is slightly too damn HOT!! perfect temp for me is about +27 daytime. So if your someone who is susceptible to heat stroke don't go. Beautiful people, Amazing Infrastructure for Central America (100+ banks here most in any city on earth except for Switzerland) Business friendly environment & no income taxes here - entrepreneurs paradise if you ask me. If you are homesick there is always a Mcdonalds, Wendys, TGIF, Bennigans, movie theatres in english (with subtitles en espanol). Learn some espanol it will help although not necessary to get by. I could go on and on, if you want more info PM me. I had a tear in the corner of my eye when I was at the airport to fly back home. The only problem is that once you arrive you don't want to leave. Awesome country!!! Ciao!
Eilat in Israel beats Spain... beautiful beaches, weather and bitches... and great food too... Sunny Israel is the place to trade from...