Pursuing A Self-Sufficient Lifestyle
My #1 Pick For Your Plan B
In a world as uncertain as our world is right now, having an escape plan can help you sleep better.
The details of such a plan differ for everyone.
Maybe a nest egg on deposit in an offshore bank account somewhere is all you need to feel comfortable and confident about your and your family’s future. Or maybe you’re interested in more elaborate apocalyptic planning.
When Y2K loomed, some folks filled bunkers with one-year supplies of food, water, batteries, even ammunition. Jan. 1, 2000, they woke up, along with the rest of us, to the same world we’d all known. Still, they’d been prepared…
Most of us aren’t that paranoid. Regardless, a backup plan is a good idea for everyone. And being prepared for a crisis is one of the objectives behind internationalizing our lives.
One strategy can be to identify a place where you could live completely self-sufficiently. A piece of land where you could grow crops, keep chickens, and maybe make your own wine (a necessity, I’d say, of any reasonable lifestyle).
Once an agenda reserved mostly for hippies and New Agers, aspiring to self-sufficiency is an idea that resonates today more than ever.
How Much Space Do You Need?
Someone I know bought a few-hundred-thousand acres in Argentina where he is establishing his own private, self-sufficient estate, completely off the grid, off the map, and off any public road.
Your escape plan needn’t be so ambitious. A few acres of fertile land could suffice for a small family.
Location is a primary consideration. You have to be able to get to your land when the crisis comes. This is why one over-zealous follower of this philosophy has set himself up in Texas. He has lived overseas but has decided that, in the current climate, he’s better off where he can have some land and the guns to protect it. He doesn’t want to have to leave “home” to get to his safe haven, and he’s expecting to have to fight off others who aren’t as prepared.
The guy in Argentina has the opposite problem. No one is likely to bother him on his ranch the size of a small country, but getting there from wherever he happens to be when the crisis strikes (should it strike) could be a long trip. Once he gets himself and his family to his hacienda compound, though, he’ll have no worries.
Where Should You Consider For Your Escape Hatch?
It depends on your perspective.
If you want to be far, far away from everything, Argentina is a great choice, along with New Zealand, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. All these countries have plenty of fertile land and relatively few people. The population density in each is 40% to 70% that of the United States.
All boast a great deal of arable land per capita, and all are in the Southern Hemisphere, removed from where any war or nuclear strike is likely to hit.
Nearer to home (assuming home is North America or Europe), top options could include a small farm in the interior of Panama, Belize, or Nicaragua, all places where you could live on next to nothing and insulate yourself from the troubles of our age.
When, years ago, Kathleen and I asked ourselves where we wanted to focus our own Plan B, two places came to mind.
First is Panama… where we’re all in on our Los Islotes community on this country’s Veraguas coast.
Los Islotes is about as far as you can get from stress and strife… while retaining access to the rest of the world when you want it. Panama is literally the hub of the Americas. From our base here, we can get anywhere else we’d like to be relatively hassle-free… and, thanks to the Panama Canal, feel confident of our supply chain long term.
We’re at once off the grid—with solar electricity and internet and land for raising and growing our own food—and fully connected.
The second place we both like for a Plan B is Belize.
Belize is one of the world’s top offshore and lifestyle destinations.
Formerly known as British Honduras, Belize’s British handlers cherry-picked the best and most appealing elements from tax laws around the world and transplanted them in the country that became Belize.
They created for themselves a custom-built, English-speaking tax haven on the Caribbean.
Belize went on to become an independent nation in 1981, but it remains one of the world’s top offshore, asset-protection, and tax havens thanks to some of the strictest banking laws on the planet.
Belize also offers a user-friendly and incentive-laden foreign residency program, one that requires you to be but 45 years of age and to remain in the country for only 30 days per year.
As well, this little nation is one place you can easily organize a fully self-sufficient life using solar power to run your house, growing your own food, keeping some animals, and, if you have the inclination, even building your own furniture out of local hardwoods.
On top of that, this country’s Mayan ruins, islands, beaches, mountains, rivers, caves, and waterfalls make for some of the best adventure travel (that is, snorkeling, diving, boating, fishing, hiking, river rafting, mountain climbing, and spelunking) on this planet.
As far as day-to-day living, Belize’s coast and islands could be described as a sort of 1950s Key West… while its interior is like a rainforest version of small-town Mayberry…
Both have become top choices for expats, and Belize’s popularity in general is increasing.
Its Caribbean beaches, fertile land, laid-back yet adventurous attitude, proximity (135-minute flight from the U.S.), and official language (English) have made this land an easy choice for retirees, adventurers, and the self-resilient.
Despite all of these options and diversity, Belize is only the size of Massachusetts, with a population of about 400,000 people…
That is to say, this is an under-the-radar, Caribbean nation that can give you (or your assets) a true escape from the troubles of today’s world.
If you aren’t familiar with Belize, you should change that.
After two decades spending time and money here, I know a lot about the place…
But, more important, I know the right people from all corners of the country.
Next week, I’ll be in Belize to host our first event of 2023.
Our Live And Invest In Belize Conference will be your chance to find out if Belize could be for you… and, if it is, how to set yourself up for success here.
Real opportunity exists in Belize right now for the investor, the retiree, the entrepreneur, and anyone looking for a holiday home in the sun.
Whatever your focus, next week’s program will allow you to take a closer look at all the important opportunities on offer in this country right now…
From the best (and 100% legal) ways to use Belize’s offshore haven benefits for maximum asset protection and tax savings… to where specifically you should be shopping for property in Belize today if you’re looking to generate a reliable yield…
From your best options for obtaining residency… to where can you rent for as little as US$300 a month.
My real estate contacts will take you on tours of the country, introducing you up close to the regions, towns, even neighborhoods where you might most enjoy living… and where your investment dollars are best spent.
It’s not too late to hop on a plane and meet me and our on-the-ground team in person.
If that’s not possible, you can still participate. We’re making the entire program available virtually. Take a look here for all the details.
Lief Simon
