Welcome to Merrily Farm at Little Horse Creek.

Merri and I love the natural beauty and how nature teaches us all about combining earnings with lifestyle.

Here we share some autumnal shots of the farm that we hope you enjoy.

Welcome to the farm.

This old barn starts the farm and has been converted to a lovely cabin.

Here are some shots coming…

from the lower creek to the…

equipment shed.

Then we round the bend…

to the cottage and…

up the road past the big rock to…

the house meadow where…

you see the horse barn tucked up in the woods as you…

turn and…

pass the pond.

Our house is ahead and here I am looking over the…

front yard.    In the higher meadows the…

long range views see further.

Such great beauty… this time of year, but we know…

what’s next and…

this is the view that is coming so we’ll head south shortly to Florida or Ecuador and the sun.

See our summer cabins, seminar hall and more farm shots here.

Gary

My hobby, a profitable one, has been to fix up and sell many fixer uppers in Smalltown USA and all over the world.

This, for some, is a great way to earn and live in a very tax protected way.

See this interesting Mt. Dora fixer upper opportunity below.

Merri and I are currently redoing a big, old house near Mt. Dora,  Florida or the one above might interest us… but we stick to one of these projects at a time… so I’ll share details of this bigger fixer upper in a minute.

First here is the house we are redoing now.

This is the latest of many. I have fixed up and sold several old places in England.  Here is one, a manor house named Forwood near Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire.

Construction there began in the 1500s and ran into the Victorian area.

Then Merri and I redid a 100 year old house in Naples, Florida…. one of the first ten built there.

We have fixed up several old Blue Ridge farm houses also. Here is one that…

emerged from this.

Plus we renovated a 180 year old colonial hotel in…

Cotacachi, Ecuador.

Plus this wreck of an office building… inside and…

out became…

three rental apartments. Here is the top floor studio unit.

Here is what it looks like outside now.

These apartments by the way are for sale. See condos for sale.

Merri and I love new ventures and bringing old things back into service… old houses. ancient knowledge about better living… even old hotels to live better in.   This is fun to us… enormously satisfying, great for the environment and the process has treated us very well financially.

On top of this, the US government in its infinite wisdom makes this process, if the fixer uppers are your residence, tax protected.

I have told each of my children… if they love the idea… the most tax efficient way to live is to buy an old house… live in it and fix it. then sell it after two years.  Capital gains (up to $250,000) on your residence is tax free.  Where else can you earn $125,000 a year and not owe a penny of income or capital gains tax?

Some of our children have done well with this advice.

Fixer uppers offer five features I love in business… fun… satisfaction… environmental soundness… profits and tax protection.

So here is a brochure I have scanned of an excellent fixer upper for sale in Mt. Dora Florida… a nice part of Smalltown USA.

You can get details of this property from the broker we used to buy our Florida real estate…. Shirley Peacock at shpeacock@comcast.net

If you love fixing up… there are incredible values on the real estate market now. It is difficult to sell new homes in good shape… much less places with problems.  You get extra low prices and yet can increase value dramatically with your energy and a can of paint!  Few outlays bring as much return on investment as a small… a few bucks a gallon… investment in Sherwin Williams, Behr or Valspar.

A variation in the theme is to do as we have done in Ecuador. Buy an old hotel or B&B… live in it… fix it up and rent.  You have some tax to pay then… but  not that much.  See a great new house for sale in Crucita Ecuador here.

Gary

We’ll have an Ashe county real estate broker at our June course so those interested can learn about Small Town USA real estate in the Blue Ridge.

How We Can Serve You

2013-2014 Super Thinking + Spanish – Writing to Sell – Investing & Business Course Schedule

Schedule 2013-2014  Super Thinking + Spanish  – Writing to Sell – Investing & Business Courses

Here are photos I took of Mt. Dora…

during…

its annual arts festival. 

Here is our Super Thinking + Spanish schedule for 2013 

June 21-22-23  Super Thinking + Spanish  St. Charles, MO  (Teacher Mark Frakes) Get details here 

July 5-6-7 Super Thinking + Spanish  Sarasota, FL  (Teacher Mark Frakes) Get details here 

July 12-13-14 Super Thinking + Spanish Kelowna, BC, Canada  (Teachers Shawn & Suzanne Bandick)           Get details here

August 16-17-18  Super Thinking + Spanish  St. Charles, MO  (Teacher Mark Frakes) Get details here 

September 27-28-29  Super Thinking + Spanish  St. Charles, MO  (Teacher Mark Frakes) Get details here 

October 4-5-6  Super Thinking International Investing & Business Seminar West Jefferson, NC    (Gary & Merri Scott)    

November 15-16-17  Super Thinking Writers Camp Mt. Dora, Florida (Gary & Merri)  Get details here

November 21-22-23 Super Thinking + Spanish Puerto Aventuras, Mexico (Teacher Suzanne & Shawn Bandick) Get details here

 For information more contact Cheri Hall at cheri@garyascott.com

Attend all seminars and courses and more FREE or at a discount as an International club member.  See details here.

2014

January 10-11-12,2014   Super Thinking + Spanish  Mt. Dora, Florida  (Gary & Merri Scott)

February 14-15-16  Super Thinking International Investing & Business Seminar  Mt. Dora, Florida (Gary & Merri Scott)

Enroll here $799.   Couple $999 

 

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Our latest International Investment & Business Seminar here in Ashe County,  North Carolina  looked at International Investment gains that were up 14% in the first six months of this year.

When these seminars begin… there is always a hint of excitement.   Thomas Fisher has flown in from Denmark. Our webmaster, David Cross, has arrived from Oregon and delegates have come from all over the world.

We’ll look at some of the international investments we view (including Ecuador opportunity) but let’s also allow some of the delegates to tell you how they felt about this seminar.

One delegate wrote:

Hi Gary, Merri and David,  Thanks for a great weekend.  As a new club member, I’m looking forward to the next time that we can spend some time together and to reading “Ecuador Living”.  Sincerely,

When our North Carolina international investing and business seminars begin, I rise at dawn on the farm and then…

we drive into West Jefferson where we conduct the seminar.

We are casual at our international investment seminars but serious.

Many delegates make international investing and business… even lifestyle decisions based on the economic updates we share, so I and our other speakers, Thomas Fischer of Jyske Global Asset Management, our webmaster David Cross and Merri have spent enormous time getting prepared.

This year our July North Carolina course was conducted at at the Ashe County Arts Center in West Jefferson.

The Arts Center is housed in a historic WPA building featuring a gallery so we share our information amidst local art and crafts, statuary and exhibits from over four-dozen artists.  Here is some of the art we saw.

The seminar began with a historical review that led us to three places to invest now.

#1: Multi Currency Sandwich in value markets, emerging markets and wellness.

#2: The environment.

#3: Real Estate in the US and Ecuador.

Plus we saw why many of us would need our own business.

The first historical fundamental we covered was a way to predict where markets might go next.  We saw for example that the Dow has moved in approximate 15-17 year up and down cycles for over 100 years.

We viewed how the Dow appears to be in the 10th year of a 15 to 17 year down cycle that began in 1999.  We compared the last two years of this cycle, with the equivalent period in the 1968 to 1982 bear cycle.

We saw an amazing 93% correlation between then and now.

The chart below from Moore Research compares the Dow from 1976 through 1978 to the Dow of the last 18 months. The Blue line is what happened in the equivalent period in the 1970s to now.

Here is what another delegate wrote about this seminar:

Hello Merri & Gary,  Now that I am back home and settled into the normal routine, it’s time to drop you a line to say how much my brother Rick and I enjoyed attending the conference last weekend.   Experiencing the beauty of Ashe County and the pleasant disposition of the people who live there contributed to the picture of the place that you paint via the letters and photos sent out to your readers.  Not only was the information presented there of great value, but Rick and I found that all of the other participants we met are great people indeed, just as you’ve mentioned.  Your ability to attract like-minded souls is a service in itself, and one that provides lessons we can all strive to emulate going forward.

Thank you again for providing the opportunity of meeting you both in person; I will begin to make use of the information to enhance my own life and look forward to seeing you both again some day.  Best wishes.

Then we looked at the multi currency sandwich and how you can currently borrow US dollars at 3% to invest the loan in higher yielding shares and bonds.  Pound loans are 4%.

We also saw how the British pound was a potentially undervalued currency versus the US dollar.

We looked at how Jyske Global Asset management’s Low Risk Portfolio with a 100% loan rose 11.4% since 2009 or at 23% per annum pace.

Then we reviewed an 18% six month profit with 4.75% ISS Capital 2010 bond (or growth at 36% per annum pace).

We reviewed a  7.25% Bombardier 2016 bond. that offered a longer duration and higher spread of 3.5%.

This led us to a multi currency sandwich with $100,000 invested and $50,000 US$ loan at 3% and $50,000 loan in British pounds at 4%.

The $200,000 was invested $100,000 in US the 7.5% dollar bond above.  $50,000 was invested in a Pound denominated bond issued by Hungary due 2016 and yielding 10%.  $50,000 was invested in British shares because Britain is one of the best valued major markets at this time.

Here is what another delegate shared about the seminar:

Merri, My wife  and I would like to thank you and Gary for a wonderful course. We thoroughly enjoyed all the information presented by Gary, Thomas and David. And we thank you for your hospitality with having us to your lovely “piece of paradise” in Lansing. The lunch was delicious and your presentation of import/export items was quite interesting.  We look forward to visiting Ecuador in September of 2010. And we look forward to visiting and staying at your hotel in Cotacatchi.

We then reveiwed the best and worst value equity markets around the world and saw that the best valued major markets are now Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and the UK.

Here is what another delegate had to say about this seminar.

Hi Gary & Merri,  I thoroughly enjoyed the time you so graciously allowed me to attend at your seminar and am not surprised, in the least, that you are getting rave reviews.  You and Merri make such a wonderful team offering these seminars with professionalism and charm, and here in Ashe County, with a unique local flavor.  We all thoroughly enjoyed meeting and getting acquainted with many of your delegates.  As it was last year as well, many of the people you attract with your seminars are well traveled, interesting and very personable.  Thank you for your friendship and generosity,

In another session we looked at the importance of investing in the environment. We saw three ways to gain from sustainability changes ahead.

#1: Adaptation.  Investing in solutions to health problems is an example. Poor food produced in our central food system creates blood sugar problems, so Novo Norsk a Danish company that is the largest producer of insulin makes sense.

#2: Mitigation.  Cleaning up the mess humanity offers profit especially with water. Hyflux, a Singapore company, and Kurita Water, a Japanese firm, both have potential in this field.

#3: Structural Change.   Vestas Wind Turbines is a Danish company and is the largest maker of wind turbines to produce energy.

Here is what anther delegates sent to Merri and me about this seminar:

As a retiree who saw her retirement sustain considerable loss due to the economy, I found the information you presented during the three days to be extremely helpful and showed a plausible way for me to have some recovery.  Besides all of the relevant information, your emphasis on honesty and the importance of not to be deceptive was reassuring.  The bottom line is, that what gave real value to the information we were receiving and what made us feel comfortable was, that we felt you, Thomas and David were all people of good character.  Something that is very important to us.  Thank you, Gary and Merri, for providing a wonderful Seminar. Sincere regards.

On Saturday evening we drove to Lansing and looked at how small businesses can grow as we visited the New River Winery for a wine tasting. The winery is housed in another old WPA building which originally was the Lansing school.

Here is Haskell McGuire one of New River founders showing us the winery.

New River’s flagship wines are Bohemia Red and Bohemia White. These were followed by the introduction of signature wines, Back Porch Blueberry.  New River now has several new wines in production including:  Pinot Blanc, Viogner, Hellbender Red, Lansing School White, Big Laurel Blush, and Seyval.

The winery started small and is growing by leaps and bounds. Vineyards and wineries are one of the fastest growing business sectors in North Carolina.

Here is an unedited quite from another delegate:

Dear Gary and Merri:  We so enjoyed attending the IBEZ Seminar this past weekend in Jefferson, NC.  We loved the high country area, the nice people we met and particularly enjoyed the visit and tour of the New River Winery.  We were lucky to sit at a table with four utterly charming southern women, one of whom was Haskell’s wife.  We had a long drive home on Sunday and were sad that we had to leave and not be able to join you and our group for lunch at your farm and sad that we missed Merri’s cooking.  We hope someday in the future we may have the opportunity to visit your property as we heard it is quite beautiful.

Then we began the international business sessions of the course and David began teaching how to use the internet in business.

We started by looking at a Time Magazine quote which said:

Throw away your briefcase: you’re not going to office. You can kiss benefits goodbye. Your new boss won’t look much like your old one. There’s no longer a ladder, and you may never get to retire, but there’s a world of opportunity if you figure out a new path.

On Sunday we continued the course at our farm. Everyone was invited up to the house for lunch.

We did a review of Ecuador export products.

Like this leather coat and these baby alpaca sweaters.

Another delegate wrote:

Hi Gary, Just a quick note to tell you again how much I enjoyed the seminar and seeing your lovely farm.  I spoke to you briefly about deciding that I wanted the web course instead of mult-currency.  Thank you for sending me that instead of the multi-currency.  It may be two weeks, but I am starting to work on that site.  I know from life experience that it is always better to focus on what you want to create instead of what you don’t want. So thank you for the buzz of creativity that you, David, and others from the  group inspired.  I am also interested in featuring the dulcamaras product on my site, along with testimonials.  You mentioned a contact for that product.  I would appreciate that information also. Smiles.

Here is some Ecuador art that evolved from drum making.

Delegates came up with many marketing and…

Business ideas.

plus we had fun.

Next time this course will be in October.  This view…

will look like…

this!

As the guests leave… in the dusk… there is always a moment of sadness.  New friends made.  Interesting ideas shared and now we are moving apart.

Yet we’ll be back together again next seminar.

This delegate expressed it well when she wrote:

Thank you again for a truly life changing and life enhancing weekend. And we also wish your loved ones a speedy recovery and good health. Best regards.

We hope you will join us for our International Investing and Business Course in North Carolina this October or in Ecuador in November like this delegate who wrote:

Hi Gary,  It was wonderful to meet you and Merri at the IBEZ Conference this past weekend!  You both are so warm and caring and have a genuine desire to help the people of Ecuador and others to build a successful business.

The classes were very insightful and jam packed with information and suggestions on how to start your very own web based business. You and David, your webmaster, presented the information in an easy to understand format that even computer dummies like me could understand.

The multi currency investing portion of the class presented by you and Thomas Fischer from Jyske Global Asset Management were very interesting and educational.  It opened our eyes to new avenues of investing that we didn’t have a clue about before.

We also very much enjoyed the Import and Export portion of the class.  The items from Ecuador that you and Merri shared with us were very beautiful.  I especially loved the bird art and would be very interested in importing some of these to sell.  I am also interested in jewelry, leather goods, and the shawls like Fran was wearing in class (they were enhanced with the leather collar and leather applique).  I think that custom made leather goods that are stamped, as you and Merri suggested, have good income potentials. We would like to thank you and Merri for opening up your beautiful home to the class on Sunday afternoon and feeding us such a delicious lunch.  This was the perfect ending to three days of fun and sharing of ideals and suggestions on how to make money from investing in property and multi currency to building a successful web site business and Importing/Exporting from Ecuador for profit.  Thank you and Merri so much for everything.  We look forward to attending additional conferences.  Take care and hope to see you again soon.

Gary

Join Merri me and Thomas Fischer of JGAM and our webmaster David Cross in North Carolina this October and enroll in our emailed course on how to have a web business free. Save $299.

Learn more about global investing, how to have an international business and early retirement in Ecuador at the course.

Oct. 9-11 IBEZ North Carolina

Or join us in Ecuador and learn more about living and retiring in Ecuador.

Sept. 17-21 Ecuador Spanish Course
Sept. 23-24 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Sept. 25-28 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Oct. 21-24 Ecuador Import Export Tour

Nov. 6-8 IBEZ Ecuador
Nov. 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Nov. 11-14 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Attend any two Ecuador courses or tours in a calendar month…$949 for one.  $1,349 for two.

Attend any three Ecuador courses or tours in a calendar month…$1,199 for one.  $1,799 for two.

Another delegate wrote:

Hi Gary, Just looked at your website for the first time and couldn’t hardly stop reading all the fantastic topics and the wealth of information you provide.  One of the best website’s I’ve experienced.  Don’t know why I haven’t looked at it sooner but am very happy I finally got to it.  I read as many articles as I could in one sitting with limited time this morning and am anxious to get back to read more.  Your life experiences and expertise is fascinating.  It’s amazing how close your philosophy about life, work, investing, family, etc. parallels my own.  I suppose international living, broad experiences with other cultures, diverse business experiences, etc., culminate in a certain way we view the world.  Anyway, thanks for sharing so much excellent philosophy and expertise.

Retire in Ecuador… our wherever…out of town because isolated places may be out of the box bargains.

Merri and I have purchased many isolated places.  Here is a shot from our North Carolina farm.

A reader, wanting to know whether to retire in Ecuador or not sent this note last week:

Dear Gary,

I have noticed that you have mentioned (a few times) that you and Merri are not residents of Ecuador —– and you do not want to become residents. Would you be kind enough to explain what brought you to this decisions? Thank you,

My reply was “Mainly grandkids”.

Yet there is much more.

Merri and I live both in Ecuador and North Carolina because we love the people, the way of life, the land and the value.

We did not choose Ecuador because it is outside the US, nor Ashe county because it is in America.

We chose them because they are both in our opinion great places to be… and they are isolated.

Change alters the value of places.

When I grew up living in the suburbs of Portland Oregon, I could walk miles to school when I was eight.  We let our doors unlocked.

When I was a young man, huge cities were great places to be.  I lived in Hong Kong, San Francisco and London as well as portland… at times walking late at night in many parts of the city alone.  Cities were fun!

Now cities are much more dangerous and crowded and inconvenient.

Traffic from my mom’s suburban Oregon house (the same one for 50 years) to downtown Portland is horrid and she has to double lock all her windows.

Great places bring opportunity and joy in our lifestyles… but great places change and now there are double benefits in Isolation

I have steadily increased my investments in three seemingly isolated places; high in the Ecuador Andes, in a remote Pacific fishing village and in Ashe County North Carolina.

I chose each for the same reasons.  They are isolated but have good internet and reasonable access to a good airport

There are several reasons why change has put a premium on isolation.

Merri and I have purchased many isolated places.  Here is a shot from our Ecuador Hacienda.

One reason is food.  Ecuador is a small agricultural country and as such, huge national distribution systems are not required to feed the population.  The food is fresher.  Preservatives are not as required.

The residents in the Blue Ridge of Ashe county know how to feed themselves as well.  Our farm is dotted with old homesteads where the dwellers lived mostly off the land… not that long ago… so people here know how to create their own food supply if need be.

The second reason is that the cost of living is still low compared to cities in Ecuador or the US.

The third reason is health.  There are no big factories… the air is fresh… water is quite pure… and you are not surrounded by crowds… increased risk of crime and such.

Plus (fourth) lifestyle benefits are great. No traffic jams… not much traffic noise… far less stress.

Fifth, property prices are low compared to alternatives… yet for the reasons stated above… they offer potential of appreciation as more and more people want to get out of the cities and burbs.

At the beginning of this millennium I recommended investing in Ashe County, North Carolina and did so myself.

In the 10 years since, even with the real estate crash, the price of land in the area has risen five to 10 times. Yet these prices remain low compared to other similar areas.

The small towns in the area are safe, the people friendly.   Life is still good.  People still wave when you drive by.

I can now eat a hearty breakfast in Jefferson, North Carolina (our nearest town of any sort) for under five dollars.   Also when we go out to breakfast we can leave the house unlocked and cars, trucks and jeeps parked with the keys in them.

9/11 changed people’s values. Family, friends and quieter, more peaceful life is more important than before.

Having these fine qualities is harder to achieve in downtown Manhattan or Central Chicago or in the heart of L.A.

Life in America is changing due to the difficult economic and social times. There is a return to simplicity and the value of these small towns and their honest core values will grow.

If the economy suddenly recovers and the world’s economy rises, small towns will still not lose their appeal. The world’s population continues to grow.   People always want what they perceive they have lost… freedom from crowds, traffic jams, pollution and the hassle of city life.   I believe these qualities will grow in value.

Today, the portable computer, internet and cell phone have changed all the rules of real estate. The old maxim is still true that the three most important aspects that affect a properties value are location, location, location, but technology alters which locations will have greater value!

Merri and I have purchased many isolated places.  Here is a shot of the land around the village where we have our Ecuador hotel.

Take for example, my own career in writing about international investing.

When I began, I had to live in London. This was where all the knowledge and information was held. To give timely advice I had to be there. Then as phone rates dropped and the fax came along, I was able to leave the congested city and move to Naples, Florida, then a sleepy fishing village and still have access to the data I would need. Finally as Naples became crowded, because of the Internet, we were able to move to isolated farms both here and in Ecuador and still have access to any international investment information.

I can call up market details, specific shares, global news, regardless of how remote I am.

Merri and I have purchased many isolated places.  Here is a shot of the empty beah near our Ecuador beach condos.

Here is the key point.

The primary factor of real estate’s value used to be physical accessibility to many people. This factor is shifting to accessibility of information.

Remote places are gaining a new value if they have access to information.

Ashe county which adjoins Virginia and Tennessee was established and named after Samuel Ashe in 1799. It is often known as the Lost Province because until recently hardly anyone knew of the place.

The county seat is Jefferson and the county has a land area of 426.16 miles but only a population of 22,209 people. This population is wide spread as well. The only towns are Jefferson (1,300 population), West Jefferson (1,002) and Lansing (183).

This is a totally rural area with three commercial crops, Christmas trees, timber and tobacco.

There are several small factories in the county but tourist activities such as canoeing on the new river, scenic drives though Southern Appalachian Wilderness, leaf looking and camping.

Ashe county is isolated but sits almost equidistant from the north and south of the east coast of the United States.  We almost the same distance from Florida and  Maine.

Here are the signs I see that suggest to me that this area will boom:

1. The prices here are a fraction of the counties north and south.

2. The first cappuccino machines have arrived in Jefferson. When we arrived there was nothing like this and it was a dry county.  Now there are smart cafes… wine bars and art gallerys.

3. Prices as mentioned have already risen.

4. The major road from I-77 has being widened to four and even six lanes.

5. Wal Mart built a super store.

6. The first golf course community has been a success in Jefferson.

7. Lowes has open a large DIY store.

There are some other great benefits here. The nearest airports for commercial flights is Tri-Cities Tennessee.   This s one of the easiest airports I have ever checked into…a 15 check in allowee. Parking right at the front door and often the policemen will hel yu haul in your bags.  Yet this regional airport is just over a half hour to Atlanta or Cincinnati.

There is a great college town Boone just 45 minutes away, a chic, resort area, Blowing Rock the same distance and real cities, like Charlotte two hours drive.

Yet as isolated as we are we have great DSL broadband so I am as connected as if I lived in Manhattan.

This makes me more effective than some businesses in the center of major cities, as I avoid the delays from traffic jams, crowds, smog, missed parking places and crowds.

You can take advantage of great isolated places to be by creating an internet business and looking for places like Ashe county north Carolina that are short on people but long on data resources.

Retire in Ecuador because Ecuador real estate is inexpensive.

Merri and I have purchased a lot of Ecuador real estate in remote places as well.

See why at Ecuador Real Estate is Inexpensive

Wherever you plan to retire in Ecuador at home or elsewhere, think about leaving the maddening crowd.  Isolated places may be the bargains of the future.

Gary

Our 2009 course and tour schedule.

Sept. 17-21 Ecuador Spanish Course
Sept. 23-24 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Sept. 25-28 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Oct. 9-11 IBEZ North Carolina

Oct. 21-24 Ecuador Import Export Tour

Nov. 6-8 IBEZ Ecuador
Nov. 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Nov. 11-14 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Attend any two Ecuador courses or tours in a calendar month…$949 for one.  $1,349 for two.

Attend any three Ecuador courses or tours in a calendar month…$1,199 for one.

This series, on Ecuador & organic wine and cheese, shows how big problems create big opportunities.

There is wine and cheese opportunity in Ashe County, North Carolina too…

This is the third message in this series on Ecuador and business opportunity in wine and cheese.  See the first message at Ecuador organic cheese and wine. The second article in the series is at Ecuador organic wine and cheese.

The series began with this point:

We are enjoying a quantum shift and the way we work, live, invest and do business will never be as before.

Governments globally are trying to slow this needed economic transition and their stimulation efforts will most likely cause the loss of purchasing power in most currencies… global inflation.

The best ways to gain opportunity in this scenario is to own real estate, commodities, stocks and your own business.

The greatest asset we can have in the economic era ahead is an ability to serve… to produce a product or service that adapts to the new ways.

Do what you love!

Many of us cannot stop working… by circumstance or choice so why not do something we enjoy… live a life we like that pays its way.

Here are excerpts from a USA today article “Mortgage crisis robbing seniors of golden years” by Stephanie Armour  (link to the full article is at the end of this message).

The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has slashed home values and triggered an unprecedented surge in foreclosures across the nation. It’s also taking an especially harsh toll on an often overlooked demographic: seniors who are retired or nearly so.

This population is being hit on all fronts. More than 600,000 seniors are delinquent or in foreclosure, according to AARP. A separate report by AARP found that 25.5 million seniors ages 50 and older have a mortgage. Unlike younger people, many are on fixed incomes and lack the money or job opportunities to catch up on payments when they fall behind.

Even those who own their homes free and clear are finding they can’t rely on equity as a retirement nest egg because home values have dropped severely, especially in retirement-rich areas such as Florida, Nevada and California.

Some seniors who had planned to sell their homes and move into retirement communities have had to postpone their plans because they can’t afford to take a loss on the sale of their current homes. Some older homeowners had been so confident that rising home values would provide retirement wealth that they neglected to save.

Now they face their final years with a dearth of financial resources to draw on. Thirty-six percent of workers ages 55 and older say the total value of their household’s savings and investments — excluding the value of their primary home and any defined benefit plans — is less than $25,000, according to the Employee

Many others share his plight. Americans 50 and older represent nearly 30% of all delinquencies and foreclosures, according to an AARP analysis released in September.

The analysis found that more than 684,000 seniors 50 and older were delinquent on their mortgages or in foreclosure. Among those, nearly 50,000 were in foreclosure or had lost their homes.

The impact of subprime lending also has fallen disproportionately on those 50 and older.

Older Americans with subprime first mortgages — those given to borrowers with less-than-perfect credit — are nearly 17 times more likely to be in foreclosure than Americans of the same age with prime loans, according to AARP. For those under 50, the comparable multiple is about 13.

This whole group is going to be hugely dependent on Social Security, and people don’t fully appreciate the magnitude of the problem.

Many younger readers I talk with feel that this is not just a boomer problem.  The generations behind the boomers face educating their children, rising insurance and even less likelihood that Social Security will be meaningful.

Yet many readers write and say they would like a lifestyle like Merri’s and mine… cool natural life in the Blue Ridge during the summer… wonderful spring time Andean weather during the winter.

If you love wine… cheese coffee and organic, here is an idea.

Parts one and two of this series looked at ideas for organic wine and cheese in Ecuador. (The Cotacachi area has great organic coffee too.)

So does Ashe country North Carolina… and there is a special opportunity now.

Somehow through fate wherever Merri and I move… no matter how far into the wild, espresso cafes follow.  When we moved to Naples, Florida… there were none.  Then they came and we left to West Jefferson and Ashe County.  There was certainly no espresso shops there… when we arrived.

Not long after Bohemia Cafe and Art Gallery opened in town… great coffee… excellent cappuccino.   Soon after Back Street Cafe opened with an Espresso machine as well.

However I never expected a cafe with all the accouterments of Continental coffee to reach Lansing, North Carolina. After all Lansing only has a population of 192 people.

Yet it did.   Anne’s Place.

At Lansing’s four corners.  It’s…

a really great continental cafe in the middle of the woods!

Merri and I rushed in the minute it opened.. actually we were the first customers.  We were so surprised over the beauty, care and thoughtfulness of the cafe.  It rivaled anything we ever had in all our years in London!

The cafe had been opened by Anne and Haskell McQuire.   Anne and Haskel are Ashe country natives who lived all over the world during Haskel’s career in the telecommunications field.

They retired back at home in Ashe and started an organic winery and this cafe.

Now for health reasons,  Anne’s Place is for sale.

Lansing is about seven miles  from West Jefferson and 20 minutes from our farm. This is a really small mountain town and this coffee shop offers an opportunity to live in a low stress environment, with fresh air, clean water and friendly neighbors.

Anne and Haskell did a really great renovation inside and out. They replaced the roof, plumbing, electrical system, put in a new hardwood floor and restored the old tin ceiling.  They added a bathroom and painted everything top to bottom.

This is a great looking and very smart place…beautifully done.

and we saw that soon after it opened the place was hoppin’, plus…

There is a place to live upstairs.

This is a nice opportunity for someone who wants to live in nature and have a small shop… but there is more.

Lansing is awakening. Other new shops are coming in and the town just received a $130,000 grant to stimulate the local economy, plus…

The wine.

Anne and Haskel started both the coffee shop and a organic vineyard, New River Winery.

New River Winery is the first commercial winery in Ashe County, in Lansing near the headwaters of the New River, one of the oldest rivers in North America.

The winery was founded in 2005 as a cooperative venture of wine lovers with a common tie to Ashe County and the Blue Ridge High Country. Its production facility is in the historic old Lansing School.

They have a tasting outlet at Bohemia Gallery in West Jefferson.

Currently the winery procures grapes from two local sources, one of which is a certified organic farm.

Yet are we forgetting the cheese?  Not a bit.

Imagine this, Merri and I live in two really remote places.   Both have great organic wine, coffee and… yes cheese.

The winery’s second retail outlet, is Ashe Cheese Factory also in West Jefferson.

Ashe County Cheese is North Carolina’s oldest cheese plant, and has been producing quality cheese since 1930.

When I talked to Anne and Haskel about the coffee shop sale, I had one question… “Could Anne’s Place be a distributor for new River Winery as well?”

“Yes, of course” was the reply.

There you have it.. . ideas on business with organic coffee, cheese and wine…in Ecuador and North Carolina… deep in the woods… fresh air… pure water… agriculture and a low stress pace.

Perhaps one of these ideas will create a helpful spark in you for a lifetsyle and business you love in Ecuador, North Carolina or both!

For more information on Anne’s Place for sale contact Haskell McGuire at mcguireh@skybest.com

Gary

Join us for our upcoming courses in North Carolina and Ecuador that show ways to earn income in this new economic era. We’ll visit Anne’s Place if it has not sold by then.

Learn how to earn with exports at our July 4-8  and Oct. 21-24  on our Ecuador Export Tour

Learn how to invest and do business globally at our International Business and investing courses.  Join me with Thomas Fischer and Peter Laub of Jyske Global Asset Management and my webmaster David Cross.

In North Carolina July 24-26 and Oct. 9-11  IBEZ North Carolina

We’ll have a New River wine tasting at Bohemia Gallery as we did last year. here are delegates at that tasting.

Our North Carolina courses in 2009 will be conducted in the new…

West Jefferson Hampton Inn.

Just opening this June 2009 with very nice rooms and…

really great…

views. I took these from the hotel’s parking lot.

Plus the Hampton Inn is just down the road from the Ashe County Cheese Factory, Bohemia Gallery and 20 minutes from the New River Winery and Anne’s Place.

In Ecuador Nov. 6-8 IBEZ Ecuador

See  good value real estate in Ecuador.

Delegates visit the Cotacachi Ecuador Organic cheese factory.

July 8-9 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

July 10-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Sept. 23-24 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Sept. 25-28 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Nov. 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Nov. 11-14 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

You can read the entire article Mortgage crisis robbing seniors of golden years here.

Ecuador organic wine & cheese started me thinking about a way some readers can have an interesting and fun business.

Ecuador organic wine.

Ecuador organic cheese.

We are enjoying a quantum shift and the way we work, live, invest and do business will never be as before.  The cover of the May 25, 2009 TIME describes it well when it says:

Throw away the briefcase: you’re not going to the office. You can kiss your benefits goodbye too. And your new boss won’t look much like your old one. There’s no longer a ladder, and you may never get to retire, but there’s a world of opportunity if you figure out a new path.

Ecuador organic wine and cheese being served at a wine and cheese reception hosted by Jyske Bank at our recent Ecuador Investment and Business Course.

Governments globally are trying to slow this needed economic transition and their stimulation efforts will most likely cause the loss of purchasing power in most currencies… global inflation.

The best ways to gain opportunity in this scenario is to own real estate, commodities, stocks and your own business.

Even real estate, commodities and shares are at risk.  In the end the greatest asset is your ability to serve… to produce a product or service that adapts to the new ways.

This is why I am always looking for business ideas to share which brings me to organic… wine and cheese.

One great coincidence is that though Merri and I live in two very remote mountain places, (Lansing North Carolina and Cotacachi, Ecuador) both are near a manufacturer of organic wine and cheese.

Our Ibarra real estate tour delegates have looked at a hacienda for sale that contains an organic Swiss cheese factory. The factory includes its own real cave full of Swiss cheese.

Here is the entrance to the hacienda.

Here I am at the entrance to the cave.

Here I enjoy a look round the cave! The factory produces 20 of these cheeses a day. Each sells for $30.

In Lansing we are near the New River Winery lodged in the Lansing Old Schoolhouse.

Here is the Ecuador wine and cheese business thought. Have a wine and cheese business in Ecuador and Ashe County.

Many readers are like Merri and me.  They want to live in quiet places.  They want to work at something they love.  They like coffee, wine and cheese.  Why not offer tours to these interesting remote (AND inexpensive) places?

A set of peculiar circumstances creates this dual wine and cheese opportunity now.

I explain why tomorrow and next day in Ecuador Wine and Cheese part II and Ecuador wine and cheese part III.

Until then good business to you!

Gary

Join us for our upcoming courses in North Carolina and Ecuador that show ways to earn income in this new economic era.

Learn how to earn with exports at our July 4-8  and Oct. 21-24  on our Ecuador Export Tour

Learn how to invest and do business globally at our International Business and investing courses.  Join me with Thomas Fischer and Peter Laub of Jyske Global Asset Management and my webmaster David Cross.

In North Carolina July 24-26 and Oct. 9-11  IBEZ North Carolina

In Ecuador Nov. 6-8 IBEZ Ecuador

See  good value real estate in Ecuador.

July 8-9 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

July 10-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Sept. 23-24 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Sept. 25-28 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Nov. 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Nov. 11-14 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Our pet projects are our pets.

Merri and I love animals. They have been part of our lives since we were kids. Merri never rode a bike growing up. She was on a horse every day instead.

I had it even better as far as animals go. As a zoo keeper’s son, I enjoyed animals all the time…even raising lions and tigers at home. Here is an old newspaper clipping from the Oregonian about my sister and me with the second baby lion, Duchess, we raised. I was only seven or eight then and over the years we raised more than a dozen of them.

This is one reason we have a farm…for our dog Ma and five horses.

And our geese and chickens.

We added a dozen mallards last month. they came in the mail.

and cats. This is Boots.

This is his friend, Alice.

So we know the importance of nutrition in pets. I began learning this when feeding baby lions and tigers. The right food at the right time is essential!

We have struggled getting a good diet for our hound dog, Ma (really a fairy princess in disguise).

She was an abandoned pup who stumbled in her dying gasps to our footsteps, back hip crushed, atrophied leg…ribs exposed. She began with a bad start..before she stumbled onto the pot of gold…us.

Yet the back leg never quite healed correctly and we see, if we let down on her nutrition at all, she drops downhill fast. Now at eleven years of age she is still going strong but we are doubly cautious about making sure she gets the best of care.

This has made it hard here in Ashe County…a great place but there are not many veterinarians around who specialize in natural nutrition. Our daughter in Portland is a vet but that is 2,500 miles away and when we have questions she can’t look at Ma.

So we were delighted to discover that one of our readers Dr. Dan is a Vet in  Unicoi County, Tennessee not more than an hour and a half from our farm.

Dan no longer practices veterinary medicine but formulates natural products…exactly what we have been looking for.

A few of the pet items he offers include:

Pet Bug Check…Promotes and maintains healthy skin and coat…from the Inside…OUT!

Pet Health Check…A super anti-oxidant herbal formula. This supplement reduces oxidative stress caused by free radicals and has an anti-oxidant ORAC total Fl 219 per gram.

Pet Aller Check…To help maintain normal, healthy skin, gut, and immune system.

Pet Omega Check…Promotes and maintains healthy skin and coat – Great source of Omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids!

SHOO-FLEA…Natural Flea Control for Pets.

Bug Check Spray… A Bug Kill and Repellent Spray w/ Pyrethrins and Aloe Vera.

We are starting with Dr. Dan’s Pet Joint Check that supports healthy joint function, bone and connective tissue.

Ma’s crushed hip has always left her relying a little extra on her other three joints. Years of running for miles on the farm adds that extra joint stress on the three healthy joints.

The active ingredients in this supplement include Glucosamine HCL,
Glucosamine Sulfate and Chrondroitin Sulfate plus there is Ascorbic Acid, Astragalus Herb Powder, Beta Carotene, Boswellia Extract, Citrus Bioflavinoids, Copper Proteinate, Deglycyrrhized Licorice Powder, DL-Methionine, Dried Liver Extract (Porcine Source), Garlic Powder, Ginko Biloba, Ground Dried Grape & Seed Pomace, Grape Seed Extract, L-Lysine, Maltodextrin, Manganese Proteinate, Montmorillonite, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, Pine Bark Extract, Poultry Meal, Siberian Ginseng, Vitamin E Supplement, Whey, Yeast Culture, Zinc Proteinate.

We have not tried these supplements yet but will start shortly and we’ll let you know how Ma responds.

Meanwhile you can learn more about DR Dan and his formulas.

Until next message, may your projects and animals be blessed pets.

Gary

Meet our pets. Join us for the autumn leaf change and our course International Business and Investing Made EZ. We’ll all spend some time at the farm.

Natural health tips here come from recent messages have been looking at health benefits in summer berries.

These natural health tips come from some great reader comments and further thought.

One reader wrote this health tip about reducing and preventing diarrhoea:

“Hello Gary, I really enjoyed the article about Blackberries. I love them so much. I have a lot of them on my place too. But, the best thing about them, they saved my little brother’s life. He had some sort of flu. Could not keep anything down or it went straight through him. The doctors could not help him. But, my Seminole Great Grandmother told my mother to give him blackberry juice. We started this, an almost instantly, he started getting better. And it wasn’t long before he was strong again. I have to laugh at my purple fingers during blackberry season, but there is nothing better. It is one of my nature connections. Even my dog picks berries with me. But the thorns give her a hard time. Because they get her on the nose. Thanks for the Blackberry article, and all that you do.”

This makes sense. Dr. John Douillard says in his “Three Season Diet” book:

“Native to Europe, blackberries are harvested in late spring and early summer, from April through July, but are out of season in the winter and are too cool for most winter climates. They are sweet, sour and astringent and help cool the body down and to treat diarrhoea, a classic summer condition in which the stool is liquefied by excess heat.”

Another reader wrote:

“Blackberries freeze well too so you can have them all year. Our labrador loves them as well. I’m currently reading James Howard Kunstler’s ‘Geography of Nowhere’. His ideas go well with yours about living within your means, seasonality, human sized / oriented projects. You can pick up used copies in the US very cheaply. He too sees the future by examining what has come before.”

Merri and I pick and freeze enough blackberries so we can have pies and juice year round.

Here is what a reader wrote a health tip about Blackberry acid.

“Hello again. My grandmother used to serve blackberry juice when I was a little child. She called it ‘blackberry acid’. It’s the only time I have ever seen it served in this country.”

Acid fruits such as berries (other than OJ) create alkalinity in the body. Keeping the body pH balanced may be one of the biggest health tips there is in this fast paced acid world.

Here is another reader comment:

“I once had the opportunity to read an unpublished civil war journal kept by the lady of a plantation in eastern NC, while all her men were away in the war. The entry one day was ‘Put up fifty gallons of blackberry wine’. That’s a lot of production from wild blackberries! The berries are indeed really good here this year, as is almost all the other fruit wild or domestic. Enjoy.”

One health tip is that Blackberry wine may be good for you.

The life extension website (lef.org) says in its article Very Berry – and Grape too!:

“My grandmother was a folk healer. She knew a lot about herbs. But her favorite medicinal potions were home-made wines, which she prepared herself. She favored black currant, elderberry and blackberry wine. Tart cherries and small, dark navy-blue grapes were also acceptable, but black currants and elderberry were credited with greater preventive and healing power. ‘For a strong heart and long life,’ my grandmother explained.

“Modern science has confirmed that dark-colored berries and red, purple and dark-blue grapes are a treasure house of health-giving and possibly even life-extending phenolic compounds, including proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins and quercetin. And while the days of home-made wine may be over, we now have excellent extracts that provide standardized doses of the active polyphenols in berries and grapes. Bilberry extract and grape seed extract are the best known; cranberry extract and elderberry extract are also available for special therapeutic uses.”

This brings us to one reason you may want to visit us here in the Blue Ridge.

Nestled near us, the New River Winery is the first commercial winery in Ashe County. The winery is in Lansing, N.C., and is near the headwaters of the New River, the second oldest river in the world about 20 minutes from our farm. It was America’s first Heritage River. New River Winery has attempted to capture and reflect the essence and unique characteristics of the nature in this region in its wines and corporate philosophy.

New River Winery was founded in 2005 as a cooperative venture of wine lovers with a common tie to Ashe County and the Blue Ridge High Country. The mission of the winery is to produce and sell high quality wines and have a great time doing it.

The winery is housed in the Old School in Lansing not far from our farm. Here is this wonderful old building.

Their wines include Bohemia Red and Bohemia White, Back Porch Blueberry, Pinot Blanc, Viogner, Hellbender Red, Lansing School White, Big Laurel Blush, Seyval and even a little blackberry wine.

The President, is our friend, Haskell McGuire, who was born and raised here but served as the Vice President of Engineering and Operations for Bellsouth International.

Currently, the winery procures grapes from two local sources, one of which is a certified organic farm. At this time they also purchase the blueberries necessary to produce their signature Back Porch Blueberry wine from a local grower in Ashe County.

The winery has a tasting and retail outlet at Bohemia Gallery as well as a second retail outlet, Ashe Cheese, both located in downtown West Jefferson, North Carolina.

Bohemia is one of our favorite coffee shops when we are in West Jefferson…well worth a stop

You can order New River wine online from http://isgameon.net

Here is one final health tip from a reader comment.

“Your article on blackberries/blueberries is good. However, you would have to consume a HUGE amt of berries to get the daily req. of ORAC of 10,000-15,000 and would be really expensive.”

I questioned this and asked our health care giver, Dr Joe Spano, who replied:

“Dear Gary, To begin with, the FDA recommended daily ORAC intake is 3000-5000. the remarks assume that the only anti-oxidants that you will take in would be blackberry/blueberry.

“The ORAC has become a marketing tool, but it has its foibles. It is not the
final word on anti-oxidant value. It is a useful guideline only. See ORAC definition
in Wikipedia.

“I think that there would be additional anti-oxidant power by adding a berry
with high ORAC value. It would not be superior to a fresh fruit but an extract of
the berry would still have value and it is a nice marketing gimmick. Why not dip your fresh fruit in liquid dark chocolate?

“There already exists chocolates with berry etc. added. Bottom line is that the product is probably good (wonder how it tastes?). Fresh is always better to my mind. You lose some anti-oxidant strength with processing. You do keep the color chemical component (anthrocyanidins)

“Fresh blueberries have high ORAC value-OXYGEN RADICAL ABSORBANCE CAPACITY.

“Regards, JOE”

Normally being black and blue means you have been hurt. Yet in summer days “turning black and blue” can be a berry good natural health tip.

Gary

Join us amidst the wild blackberries, blueberries, apples, pears, peaches and plums at the farm.

While much of the U.S. burns up this summer we enjoy cool nights (mid 50s) sleeping under blankets without screens (translation-there are no mosquitoes here). Rarely does it reach 80 during the day and if it does a quick dip in the creek cools us right down. We have farmhouses, cottages, cabins and cottages you can stay in and enjoy. Rockers on the front porch (best for watching fireflies at night and eating sunny breakfasts), quiet pools to chill watermelon, waterfalls in which to soak, horses to chase, chickens and ducks to feed and we would enjoy meeting you.

Everyone who comes wants to come back and right now we can treat you to some fresh blackberry pie!

We have a space left for you to join us this August 15-17, to stay at our farm and learn about intuitive investing at Susan Rotman’s business intuition course.

Or join us October 3-5 for the Blue Ridge leaf change. International Investing and Business Made EZ North Carolina

Or enjoy one of our courses or tours in Ecuador
Ecuador Coastal-Quito Real Estate Tour

Ecuador Super Thinking + Spanish Course
Ecuador Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Ecuador Import Export Course

International Investing and Business Made
EZ Ecuador

See discounts for attending more than
one course.

Ecuador living offers many benefits, one being that it stimulates the sluggish Ecuadorian economy. However, all of human existence is one of polarity.  Black must have white, positive needs negative and money always brings a rising price.

Take Eduardo and Consuelo, who work at our Ecuador Hotel El Meson de las Flores. The hotel was in receivership and empty when our foundation Land of the Sun bought it to help stimulate the economy in this part of the Ecuador countryside.  By bringing people we have helped save their jobs.

A reader raised a good question about this though when he wrote:

“Gary, I’ve received your email newsletter for about six months now.  I have been interested in real estate in Ecuador for about a year.  I’ve been to Ecuador twice in the past year, and am going again July 1.  On the one hand I understand your enthusiasm for Ecuador, but on the other I wonder how pushing Ecuador real estate will impact the local population?  Obviously if you are a property holder, it’s a good thing; but if you’re not, but hope to be, outside money could push many locals out of the market.  Is this creating any kind of animosity toward outsiders?  I’d appreciate your insight on this.  I am an economist with a focus on international finance, so I enjoy all aspects of your writings.  Regards.”

This has been a never ending story since the beginning of time..everywhere, neighborhood to neighborhood, city to city, county to county and country to country.

So far the majority of Ecuadorians love us….as much or more as our neighbors here in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains.

Most Ecuadorians cannot afford property because the locals were pushed out of the market by the Spanish about 500 years ago…just as American natives in the US were pushed out by the English, Germans, Irish, Scots, Italians, Chinese and others who arrived here.

Our arrival in Ecuador creates jobs, hope and a chance that many more Ecuadorians will be able to own their own land.

However the problem goes beyond just a few investors arriving from the US, Canada, Span, Italy and many from Colombia and Peru.   This is a time of transition for Ecuador with the final phase of the colonial hierarchal system near its end.  Whether the locals in Ecuador like it or not…just as people in many other countries do not like it, we all live in a global economy.   Many Americans did not like selling so much property to the Japanese in the 1980s.  They will gripe now as Europeans buy big chunks of Florida.  The Floridians will gripe. Yet they will sell, take the money and move to North Carolina…where the North Carolinians will gripe about the inflow of Floridians.

Prices will equalize anywhere there is a distortion, locally…nationally or globally.

Water gushes down. Air rushes into vacuums.  Money flows towards good value.

We see this in the United States with gas prices rising to $4 a gallon.  This is not as bad as in Europe where gas runs $7 or $8 a gallon….but it is still a shock to those of us who can remember…(yes it’s true) gas at 19.9 cents a gallon.

Gas is a global commodity. Americans have to pay the going rate.

Ecuador property is a global commodity…in an ever growing global economy.

I am a full blooded American…born and raised in the USA…as you can get.

Today, I am wearing all American clothes beginning with my American Converse tennis shoes (made in China), my American Wrangler jeans (made in Mexico), my American Fruit of the Loom underwear (made in El Salvador) and my American Van Heusen shirt (made in Bangladesh).  So even if I stayed in America, unless I plan on running around shoeless and naked, I will encroach on people in other countries…pushing up property prices for factories…that create jobs…help feed families…and create pollution. Positive…negative…positive…this never ends.

My first book “Passport to International Profit” was published in the early 1970s and included a chapter on “border blindness.”  This chapter looked at how political borders are illusions that support hidden agendas for the few who encourage them.  Borders  are transcended by almost all human emotions. Get a pretty Italian and handsome Irishman together and they will fall in love. Put a Mexican with a cheaper tomato next to a hungry Canadian and the Canadian will get out his loonies and buy the tomato. Put an Englishman and Frenchman in a sinking ship and they will both bail water.

The market place of humanity tramples borders. The deepest nature of our existence supports free trade and free movement of all to anywhere in the world.

Since that book was written…modern communications and transportation have made all of this even more true.   For example at Cotacachi communications see how broadband has changed the way we can live in Cotacachi.

We are, at the deepest level of our being, all citizens of the world.  It is logical and correct that we trade with those who serve us best…whether they bring products to us (like the tomatoes, shirts, shoes, pants and even underwear) or we go to the product (real estate abroad).

I have found that if one treats people with fairness and respect, these courtesies will be returned.  This was as true when we moved from Florida to Ashe County, North Carolina…where Floridians are called “Floridiots” by many locals…because they pay too much for the land and drive prices beyond the local abilities.

I know we are loved by our friends and staff in Ecuador.   Cotacachi Ecuador Hospitality shows how they treated Merri on Mother’s Day.

We are loved up here in North Carolina as well…not because we are Americans or Floridians or because we are red, white or black, Christians, Muslims or Jews, but because of how we act with our friends, neighbors and business associates.

When you treat people right…you become known as a friend not a nationality.

We are loved because we try to treat people with care, respect and fairness.  We bring in money and bring them work.

Few economies, local or national can isolate themselves from the global economy and enjoy a high material standard of living.

Ask the people of Mynmar if you do not believe this.

What a grand experiment (though I do not see it happening) would be for
mankind to eliminate all borders, customs, immigrations and nationalities for a decade.  My bet is we would never go back.

In Ecuador I do not see a resentment problem…but let’s allow the people of Ecuador have ther say. A leaflet has been posted on buildings and telephone poles all around San Clemente, the small village where Merri and I have bought our beach condos.  This was not put up by us..nor by the developer of the condo where we are buying.  This was written by locals in San Clemente.

I asked John Papski, our man on Ecuador’s beach, to translate it.   Here is what the Ecuadorians are saying about our arrival in their small fishing village with a five star spa hotel and a 61 unit luxury condo development  that will change the village’s life forever.

TRANSLATION

“Ecuador has a population of 13 million (2008 )and 3 million that live abroad (23% ).  Parents have immigrated leaving their children; people left for lack of work, pessimistic views of the future without opportunities, corruption, globalization and neo-liberalist practices have contributed to a disappearance of opportunity for individual, family and social development.

“San Clemente has an approximate population of 4500. There is a need for 600 new jobs per year for the youth but nature and the sea does not allow sufficient funds for welfare, health and studies.

“However, tourism is one of the few chances left for Ecuador and its youth.

“The marvelous beaches of San Clemente attract people that travel many hours, save and borrow money so they and their families can spend on food, lodging, water, beer, sun lotions, repellents, handcrafts and return home broke but content knowing that health, welfare, lust for life, relaxed has prepared them to continue the hard fight in the city.They have integrated with nature with the immense help of the sea and its marvelous sounds and movements, with the wonder of the beach and hills that surround, wonder of tranquil people, amiable and service orientated to all visitors with humanity, smiles,assistance and hospitality.

“Our visitors dream during their happy stay of a swift return to our beach or perhaps remain here forever. The beach tourists do not come to Rocafuerte or Charapoto (nearby towns ). They come to San Clemente.

“Bahia apartment owners come to us because they know our beach is a great treasure with fantastic potential of nature, not enclosed in sad cement but green, blue, orange living nature. Look after nature as we care for ourselves and defend the future of our youth.”

There you have it, a local view of what they think of us.

So far I believe we are more than welcome.  I hope that Merri and I and all we bring along have the wisdom to be with the wonderful people of Ecuador in a way so they are not just happy that we come…but that they also want us to stay.

I invite you to join us in the wonderful adventure and as human beings who are citizens of the world!

Gary

See dates for our other Ecuador courses and tours:

Coastal Real Estate Tour

Pool, tennis court and beach at Palmazul where we stay on our coastal tours.

Beach at Palmazul.

Super Thinking + Spanish Course

Courtyard at Ecuador hotel El Meson de las Flores where we conduct our Spanish Courses, Imbabura Real Estate Tours, Shamanic Mingos and Import Export  tours.

Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Ecuador Shaman Mingo Tour

Ecuador Import Export Course

See discounts for attending more than one course.