EXPATiations - (courtesy of N.W.)

(I've done occasional editing touch-ups where appropriate. SY.)

ex pa' ti ate
–verb (used without object), -at ed, -at ing.
1. to enlarge in discourse or writing; be copious in description or discussion: to expatiate upon a theme.
2. Archaic. to move or wander about intellectually, imaginatively, etc., without restraint.

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Somebody, please translate this article into plain English.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=86493§ionid=351020606

The Swiss govt and largest Swiss bank are caving in on Switzerland's bank secrecy (I thought they already had!?!) and one political party doesn't like it. Is that about it? No chance Switzerland will ever become a financial haven again, as long as the Permanent Regime reigns in D.C.? Of course, it was only useful to the rich anyway, right?

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FINALLY.... an expat report (per se, of sorts) on Arica, Chile, and it's very, very positive!

http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/89/Chile.html

EXCERPTS

The daytime temperatures, year-round, are mid 70’s to 80’s Fahrenheit, and night time lows from mid-60’s to low 70’s Fahrenheit. No heaters and no air conditioners required.

If you love fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, and chicken then you will be in heaven here. We have estimated our food bill to be about $1.50 per day - no, that was not a typo - one dollar and fifty cents each day for very good meals.

The meat, fish, seafood, and produce is of excellent quality and superior in many ways to what we get in the States because nothing is fooled around with. It is all organic, nothing is genetically modified, or injected with hormones or antibiotics. Of course, you can still get your favorite junk food. Just be prepared to pay more for it than you will for fresh.

Internet access is widely available and most of it is broadband. I have yet to encounter any dial up service. The price of this ranges anywhere from $15.00 per month to $40.00 per month, depending on whether you are using DSL, cable, or have a combination telephone service/DSL.

You will never meet people who are more warm, friendly, and genuinely caring than you will here in Chile. We were here less than a week and had made enough friends to have a small dinner party. What a great time we had, too! Good food, good wine, and great story-telling, all lent to one of the most pleasant evenings passed in a very long time. It was nice to do this, as we really had no friends in New York. We had no time to nurture friendships as we were so busy working. Here, we can live more leisurely, meet people, socialize and finally enjoy life’s true meaning.

http://una-vida-nueva.blogspot.com/

RBC SEZ: You can move to any country without passport etc etc. if you bring a lot of money in. I mention this just in case it should ever apply to any of us -- someday.

URUGUAY

John Cobin reminded me after the last mailer that his page on Uruguay is really quite major:

http://escapeamericanow.blogspot.com/2009/01/some-realism-over-infatuation-with.html

He's got some good cautions, but many only make Uruguay sound the more attractive.... not to say as much so as Chile, of course! 8-)

Bad, very bad: searching for classical music in Uruguay, absolutely nothing turns up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo4l76JxBDM

SOUTH AMERICA

........the heart of the continent remains largely vacant, a rugged expanse of mountains, desert, grassland, and forest that constitutes one of the world's last great wilderness treasures.

.......Although the Amazon is not the planet's longest watercourse, it carries more liquid than the next ten biggest rivers combined. -- National Geographic Family Reference Atlas of the World (I just bought it at wonderful McDowell's Emporium in Anderson.)

BELIZE

Susan H., not a Uruguana, has missionary friends in Belize and sends their site.

http://belize-now.com /index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=6

Highlights: Mennonites old world skills in farming, furniture building, livestock and poultry, have given much to the Belizean people, and today there are over ten thousand supplying nearly all of the milk, eggs, chicken, and a good percentage of the building materials and produce. In return the government allows them to nearly govern themselves, building and maintaining their own roads, and paying taxes to themselves and Belizean government. Their relationship with the Belizean government and people has been mutually beneficial.

........... As we go west on the Western HWY you come to San Ignacio. This area of Belize real estate seems to be the most expensive and it seems like the best area in Belize to live. With a much higher density of gas stations, markets, and places to eat and a whole lot less crime then Belize City.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLdLXz8YZQU

....................Punta Gorda is the capital of this district and is the most southern town in Belize. I would like to say something good about this town, but it's hot there and full of mosquitoes, it gets a lot of rain and it's at the end of the road.

..................Land is not much different than it is here. If it's beside a river, it costs three times more, if it has a bunch of fruit trees and cleared land it cost twice as much. A 2,500 square foot home and five acres might cost you 100,000 US. Raw, virgin property away from the road with decent trees is worth about $1,500 an acre. You may re-coop half of your money if you log it. There aren't that many roads in Belize which is a real problem because there is a lot of beautiful property; it's just hard to get to.

Belizeans themselves can get property from the government, all they have to do is survey a piece off, take it in and get it approved, and either clear or plant something on half of it in 5 years. And after some time they deed it to you.

......................As far as land taxes, they are broken up into several different configurations, whether it's farmland or residential or woods. But it is much less than the United States. Barely worth talking about. Income tax is about 10%. Everything is much more simple, setting up businesses, taxes, and basically just red tape is much easier.

My opinion, which is not based on personal experience of course, but from the several people in business that we talked to, it's easier to do well financially in Belize than it is in the United States. More natural resources and far less entrepreneurs per capita.

If you are an American who wants to go down there and get a job the government makes it very difficult for you, but if you want to start a business that makes things for Belizeans or hires Belizeans then they will make things very easy on you and give you tax breaks and allow you to bring in cars, tools, and equipment duty-free at their own discretion, which by the way what I've heard can be quite fickle. Belizeans work for about $15-$20 a day.

So to round things off, Belize has nearly as many rules as the U.S. but not many are enforced. If you are violent or a menace the police might hit you in the head with their flashlight a few times and then you just get killed accidentally.

They have speed limits like we do here, but everyone hates them there like they hate them here so they are never enforced. If you legally swindle somebody out of something and you're a jerk about it instead of letting you go like the U.S. they are liable to change the law long enough to put you in jail.

Homeschooling might be illegal but then again nobody really cares. So if you want to teach your kids school, you just do it, people do. Most of the schools we saw were Christian schools. There is a deluge of ministries down there, many of which have schools, and the overall openness and morality of the people reminded me of what the US must have been like 50 years ago.

People are corrupt like people are corrupt everywhere, the difference is that Belize is a small country and there's not an overwhelming conspiracy to push the liberal agenda.

http://www.belize-vacation.info/belize-climate.php

= In all regions, albeit less so in the mountainous areas, humidity is high. Conditions are moist and tropical. Belize City is warm all year round, with average temperatures at a pleasant 72 degrees in the dry season and up to 88 degrees in the rainy season. If you go up to Mountain Pine Redge, average low temperature drops to a cool 63 degrees F in December.