“I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.”  ~William Shakespeare. In the last few weeks, there have been violent protests in different countries. The protests have been mainly political. The first was the failed elections in Ivory Coast, followed by violence in Haiti, Tunisia, Egypt and it is spreading through to some of the Arab nations.  Apart from these manmade disasters, there are natural ones like the floods in Australia, Brazil and disease out breaks in parts of Africa. Being in such situations the safety and well being of volunteers are under threat. Due to the unrest many countries that are having these problems block the internet, instigate media black outs and impose curfews. In these cases, the volunteers who are abroad should know what emergency procedures on how to evacuate from the country. In the haste and confusion the volunteers should do the following:

Italy is a historical country of snow-capped mountains, rolling hills and a history buffs dream. Schedule a stop at any one of the world-class museums or trip the light fantastic with Italy's nightlife but if history is your forte a tours Italy would not be complete without viewing the archeological sites of Pompeii, Paestum or the rock drawings in Valcamonica.

Everyone knows you get what you pay for.   The problem is not knowing  you paid for what you got.  

Please go to the Cabo San Lucas group or follow this link to read a brief but good article putting the flu scare in perspective. Please get this to as many people as possible. Thanks!

So, you've reached a point in your life where you think that you've learned a little about business, finance, contract negotiating, real estate, etc. and have at least a layman's knowledge of law pertaining to each. Being that savvy, you might also be aware of the incredible retirement locations and values south of the border; furthermore, you might even be considering Mexico as your retirement destination. If so, you might as well forget everything you've learned and leave your law degree at home!

Well, it appears as though the effects of the mortgage crisis in the US which began in March, 2008 followed by the collapse of the stock market in October, 2008 are finally being felt in Puerto Vallarta. Thanks to the strong Canadian Dollar, tourist expenditures in Vallarta for goods and services, including retirement real estate, held up fairly well for most of 2008. However, during the September/October timeframe, the Canadian Dollar plunged by more than 20%, thus reducing the Canadian purchasing power accordingly. Consequently, both the Americans and Canadians are now hesitant to aggressively invest in anything, especially foreign retirement properties.

As we all approach retirement, we often dream of someday owning a piece of Paradise, somewhere in Florida, Arizona, Hawaii, or even Puerto Vallarta; someplace with a climate conducive to kicking back and enjoying life to its fullest, year round.

Puerto Vallarta, the sleepy little Mexican fishing village that's no longer sleepy or little is located at the same latitude as Maui, Hawaii. Being at that latitude, Vallarta experiences the same perfect daily temperatures as Maui from November through May averaging about 73°F. However Vallarta is much more hospitable for vacationing or retirement during those months because it experiences an average monthly rainfall of less than 0.4 inches, whereas Maui receives anywhere from 1.7 to 2.6 inches of rain per month depending upon your location on the island. Additionally, Vallarta is located a short two to four hours from most US cities while Maui is six to ten hours from most mainland US cities.

During the past 15 years, International Living magazine has calculated its Annual Global Retirement Index; a resource intended to assist retirees and future retirees in evaluating and comparing the world's most popular retirement destinations. It is based on a number of criteria, giving various weights to each, depending on its importance to retirees. Listed below are those criteria considered with their individual weighting:

Today, the term is more generally applied worldwide to about a dozen warm coastal regions popular with tourists. Mexico is blessed with two such regions; the Riviera Maya and the Mexican Riviera.