Year-Round Spring In This “Small-Town-Friendly” Haven
I’m writing from the InterContinental Medellín this week as I work on the final preparations for our Live and Invest In Colombia Conference, kicking off here on Wednesday.
As well as the experts who’ll join us for this event—from real estate attorneys to health-care specialists to Spanish-language instructors—I’m looking forward to catching up with some of our expats in town…
One of my favorite stories is that of Darren and Wendy Howater.
For almost 20 years, the Howaters lived in the town of Oregon, Illinois (population: 4,000)… in their dream home… on a private acre of wooded land… supported by their small community.
They could have stayed in Illinois all their lives… but for one unwelcome visitor that made a return every winter…
Snow…
Followed by even more snow…
For weeks on end.
One winter, following weeks of shoveling snow, they decided on a plan: no more winters. A few years later, after trying a couple other places on for size, they eventually set up home here in Medellín. (They’ll share their full—and highly entertaining—journey with attendees this Thursday morning.)
Darren and Wendy admit that, like most Americans, their pre-visit impression of Medellín—and Colombia in general—was “crazy dangerous.” In fact, the country wasn’t at all on their radar until they came to our Retire Overseas Conference in Orlando a few years ago. That’s when they decided Medellín was worth checking out.
Leaving behind their hometown, one of the couple’s biggest fears was losing the support of their close-knit community where everyone knew everyone else… and help was always at hand.
Luckily, despite its 3.5 million population, Medellín didn’t disappoint. The locals here, as Darren puts it, are “small-town-friendly.” And, as the couple planned their relocation, they had countless offers of help.
The year-round spring temperatures and their welcoming neighbors won the Howaters over. Wendy left her full-time career as an attorney behind and has taken up travel writing. Darren trades on the stock market. They’re officially “retired” but continue to bring in an income… on their own schedule.
Medellín is always in bloom
Photo credit: Hugo Pardo Kuklinski
The best part of the day, they both say, is coming together every evening on their balcony to watch the sunset—or a distant storm—over a glass of wine.
When they spoke at last year’s event, Darren and Wendy were only six months into full-time living in Medellín. So we’re looking forward to hearing about the adventures they’ve been having this past year.
Medellín by night
Of course, we’ve so much more to get through over three action-packed days this week. With Lief Simon and Lee Harrison as emcees, our expert presenters will walk attendees through everything they need to know to:
- Make the big move to Colombia (from residency and visa options… to bringing in pets… to finding a home to rent or buy)…
- Settle in with ease (getting connected, paying bills, opening a bank account, learning Spanish, finding quality medical and dental care, and more)…
- Take advantage of the country’s diverse investment opportunities (from buy-to-let units to organic farming options)…
If you’re not with us in Medellín, and would like to hear everything we’ll be discussing behind the closed doors of the InterContinental’s Citara Room this week, the good news is you can catch up from home with our Colombia Home Conference Kit.
Better still, while we package it all together, you can save more than 50% with our Special Pre-Release Discount Offer (including all 33 audio recordings and slideshows, plus two bonus reports)—available only until Wednesday, April 27.
We won’t run another Colombia-based event until next year. If you can’t wait that long, this is the next best thing to get you started…
Valentine Fouché
Editor, Live and Invest Overseas Confidential
Tel. 1-888-627-8834 (toll-free in the United States)
Email: events@liveandinvestoverseas.com
