Expat Intelligence
Expat Intelligence is one of FIM’s web sites which is close to my heart, and one which I expect will grow very nicely over the next few years.
Evolutionary changes in transportation and revolutionary changes in communications are making our planet smaller every day. As our interactions with other cultures and governments increases, more individuals choose to leave the land of their births and experiment with new lives in distant lands.
Retiring to Mexico is becoming common for middle-class Americans who want to live the good life on limited retirement incomes. More adventurous Americans are finding new lives in exotic locales like Panama, Costa Rica, The Philippines, and Thailand.
In addition to lower costs of living, many countries provide much better tax systems than the United States. Tax laws vary, but it is possible to legally lower your income tax burden to $0 by becoming an expat.
Many working Americans are finding that their jobs will allow them to work at home. Home can be in Belize almost as easily as it can be in Boise. Belize offers beaches, sun, and some of the worlds best scuba diving. In addition, as an American living in Belize, the U.S. government will let you deduct the first $80k of your income.
These factors, along with many others, are rapidly increasing the number of Americans who choose to live abroad. And that will be good for Expat Intelligence. 🙂