I was skimming the Huffington Post last night and came across this interesting little bit that was reposted from SmarterTravel.com. Smarter Travel has created a nifty and current list for the cheapest places to go for 2014. It will be interesting to see if the list remains relatively similar a year from now.
Here's what the Smarter Traveler says are the best places to visit on the cheap this year:
The Philippines
The combination of cosmo affordability and beautiful nature (kind of sounds like Panama) make the Philippines one top place that gives you a lot for your money. Lonely Planet even called it one of it's top value destinations for 2014. According to C.I.O. Wealth Management research Manila boasts some of the cheapest shopping and best dining in the world.
Greece
Greece hopes to be the cheap place that for planes, trains, and automobiles and cruise ships too! The goal to bring visitors back to the ancient ruins and famed beaches they are known for. Greece is now uber cheap and quite empty so there's lots of room to play.
Dominican Republic
While the Caribbean isn't typically known for being cheap the Dominican Republic is a bastion of great value in the green sea of high Caribbean prices.
Mexico City
Two things continue to make Mexico a cheap place to visit, especially for Americans, first are the flights. You can there from pretty much any major city in the US and for low fare. And once you're there you can enjoy high end benefits like first class accommodation for far less than you would pay anywhere else.
Round out the top five is
Lisbon, Portugal
According to C.I.O. Wealth Management research Lisbon's middle price range hotels are the cheapest of 72 cities surveyed, the average rate is just $80/nite -- that's 50% lower than the global average.
Tune in tomorrow as we finish off the list...
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Friday, November 6, 2015
Cost of Living around the World
I just came across this very cool map and website called Expatistan.
Go check it out! It has an interactive map where you can hover over places to live represented by dots. It then shows you the cost of living for that place. You can drill even deeper on this site and even get sample shopping lists which give you a really good idea of what it costs for day to day items - things you need to live.
Go check it out! It has an interactive map where you can hover over places to live represented by dots. It then shows you the cost of living for that place. You can drill even deeper on this site and even get sample shopping lists which give you a really good idea of what it costs for day to day items - things you need to live.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Dr Michael Buna - Health 4 Life Chiropractic Victoria Excellent5 Star ...
http://health4lifechiropractic.ca 250-384-2412 Dr Michael Buna - Health 4 Life Chiropractic Dr. Michael Buna Victoria reviews
Excellent Rating
I have been visiting Dr Michael Buna for approximately 30 years. He has kept my body in very good shape over the years. Because of my sports involvement he was always available to take the pain away. He is not a five star Doctor, I rate him a ten plus.
Dr Michael Buna - Health 4 Life Chiropractic Call 250-384-2412
Dr. Michael Buna
Friday, October 30, 2015
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Dr Michael Buna - Victoria Chiropractor
Dr. Michael Buna
Dr. Buna is a Chiropractor in Victoria. A few months ago I had the fortunate opportunity to meet Michael. What a wonderful person and a true professional.
But don't take my word for read what these patients say about Dr Buna,
Bob Waters says, Dr. Michael Buna has been my first choice for chiropractic treatments for over 15 years. I rely upon his knowledge and skillful techniques to correct my back and neck vertebrae when misaligned, and to provide relief where other chiropractors have failed.
I am really thankful to know Dr. Buna. He has been most reliable and caring in all my treatments , with great results! Says Susan Yeats
And Stephen Hodges-Whittaker comments, Dr Buna has helped tremendously with back & neck problems and obviously cares about my continued good health
Those are just a few of comments from the hundreds of patients who have visited Dr. Buna for their health challenges over the years.
If you live in Victoria British Columbia and are experiencing any kind of back, neck or joint pain related to a sports or other injury I encourage you to check out Health4Life Chiropractic and DR. Michael Buna.
Check him out online at -
http://health4lifechiropractic.ca/
or on Google at
https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/113011111989312237820/+Health4LifeVictoria/about
Friday, February 7, 2014
Sherman- Denison Tx one of the nation’s Ten Cheapest Places to Live last year.
Nate Strauch writing for the Herald Democrat reports that Sherman Denison ranks cheapest in the US.
"Consumer prices in the Sherman-Denison area moved lower in 2013 compared to the national average, catapulting the area into the 10 least expensive places to live in the country."
Strauch reviewed pricing data from part of the year end review conducted by the Council for Community and Economic Research. The Council analyses data quarterly on the cost of living for 308 areas in the U.S. conisdered "Urban" living. Sherman and Denison had the rank of 7th Cheapest place to live in the U.S. in 2013 while it placed 14 overall back in in 2012.
Cost of living in Sherman-Denison dropped to 13.6 % below the U.S. national average in 2013, which amounted to a reduction from 11.2 percent in the previous year, 2012. Economic Development Corp. President Scott Connell from Denison said the lower numbers fit well with an industry wide focus on higher quality workforce. Translation - higher productivity is bringing the costs of goods down in the area.
“One of the things we’re seeing right now — and probably will see for several years — is the focus on employees; both the ability to find the specific talents that they’re looking at, and the ability to attract those people to their facilities,” said Connell. “So a really effective cost of living in our market is going to help us build and grow our workforce. It makes it a lot easier to get people to our market.”
Tony Kaai, president of the Denison Development Alliance agreed, adding that lower consumer prices are not usually the first thing a relocating company looks for, but they do make up a very important part of the process for luring new job creating businesses to Denison.
“We definitely use this data because it's such a positive thing,” said Kaai. “If you and some other community or even two communities are tied with business (in terms of costs), then the secondary level - quality of life, can be the deal-maker. So we’re fortunate to have that here. It is value-added.”
At 120.4 % above the mean, Manhattan has the dubious honour of being America’s most expensive city to live in. As mentioned in our previous post Harlingen defends its title as the Cheapest city to live in the U.S. Harlington is 18.4 percent under the average. Each communities score is listed as a percentage of the the national average.
Other areas on the top ten least expensive (cheapest) list, can be found on our post from a few days ago - Here
The places in the U.S. you may want to avoid if you're looking to save money begin with #2, New York (Brooklyn), Honolulu, San Francisco, New York (Queens), San Jose, Calif., Hilo, Hawaii, Stamford, Conn., Orange County, Calif., and Washington, D.C., 140.1.
See more at: http://heralddemocrat.com
"Consumer prices in the Sherman-Denison area moved lower in 2013 compared to the national average, catapulting the area into the 10 least expensive places to live in the country."
Strauch reviewed pricing data from part of the year end review conducted by the Council for Community and Economic Research. The Council analyses data quarterly on the cost of living for 308 areas in the U.S. conisdered "Urban" living. Sherman and Denison had the rank of 7th Cheapest place to live in the U.S. in 2013 while it placed 14 overall back in in 2012.
Cost of living in Sherman-Denison dropped to 13.6 % below the U.S. national average in 2013, which amounted to a reduction from 11.2 percent in the previous year, 2012. Economic Development Corp. President Scott Connell from Denison said the lower numbers fit well with an industry wide focus on higher quality workforce. Translation - higher productivity is bringing the costs of goods down in the area.
“One of the things we’re seeing right now — and probably will see for several years — is the focus on employees; both the ability to find the specific talents that they’re looking at, and the ability to attract those people to their facilities,” said Connell. “So a really effective cost of living in our market is going to help us build and grow our workforce. It makes it a lot easier to get people to our market.”
Tony Kaai, president of the Denison Development Alliance agreed, adding that lower consumer prices are not usually the first thing a relocating company looks for, but they do make up a very important part of the process for luring new job creating businesses to Denison.
“We definitely use this data because it's such a positive thing,” said Kaai. “If you and some other community or even two communities are tied with business (in terms of costs), then the secondary level - quality of life, can be the deal-maker. So we’re fortunate to have that here. It is value-added.”
At 120.4 % above the mean, Manhattan has the dubious honour of being America’s most expensive city to live in. As mentioned in our previous post Harlingen defends its title as the Cheapest city to live in the U.S. Harlington is 18.4 percent under the average. Each communities score is listed as a percentage of the the national average.
Other areas on the top ten least expensive (cheapest) list, can be found on our post from a few days ago - Here
The places in the U.S. you may want to avoid if you're looking to save money begin with #2, New York (Brooklyn), Honolulu, San Francisco, New York (Queens), San Jose, Calif., Hilo, Hawaii, Stamford, Conn., Orange County, Calif., and Washington, D.C., 140.1.
See more at: http://heralddemocrat.com
Monday, February 3, 2014
Moving to Spain - Reboot for 2014!
If Moving to Spain is your idea of Quality of Life welcome! Spain came up 17th on the International Living list of the Best Places to Live back in 2010- only 17th? But who doesn't love Spain or at least the idea of living in Spain? Today Spain is even more attractive particularly for expats. Real Estate is at an all time low as is the cost of living and yet the Spanish people remain some of the most friendliest and hospitable in the world. For 2014 I.L. upgraded Spain to 5th spot for the best place to retire.
We recently visited Spain and it's now top of our list for places we're seriously thinking of moving. Check out the great checklist below courtesy of SpainExpat for.....
SpainExpat suggested Things to do before moving to Spain:
We recently visited Spain and it's now top of our list for places we're seriously thinking of moving. Check out the great checklist below courtesy of SpainExpat for.....
How to move to Spain
If you're seriously considering a Move to Spain then there are quite a few things to take care of before you go like: learning at least a bit of Spanish; obtaining a visa; gaining residency; health insurance; opening a new bank account; and finding Property in Spain. I discovered a convenient checklist of 'Things to do before Moving to Spain' on SpainExpat.com and summarized it below:
- Print this check-list for your move to Spain.
- Take at least a 'Basic Spanish' language course - anyone who has moved to Spain will tell you this!
- If you aren't retiring to Spain then you will need a job. Unless of course you're in a position to retire. With Spain's ultra low cost of living and Real Estate bargains you may find early retirement in Spain a real possibility. It's a good idea to have employment locked down before you move to Spain.
- Maybe you're considering opening your own business in Spain. Be sure to find an English speaking lawyer in Spain and get as much done by email and phone before you move.
- Apply for your Spanish Visa. This needs to be done in your home country before you go. Look up the nearest Spanish Consulate and get the ball rolling - it may take some time.
- Do you plan on making this a permanent move to Spain? If so you may need to change your residency. This can also have some tax advantages particularly if you are Canadian.
- Check into health care. What are the costs health costs and how will you pay? Make sure you have this set up before you change your current residency or cancel any insurance coverage you now have in place.
- If you are not sure whether this will be permanent plan on sharing residency between home and Spain. Keep some ties and in particular keep a bank account and credit card in your home. Find a bank that offers special accounts and perks for travellers and international residents. Many have low fee plans for example when it comes to taking money out in a foreign country.
- Make certain your drivers license or passport are up to date. If they are getting old then renew them now before you go.
- Remember living in Spain means most things will come with Spanish instructions. Computers and cell phones will have different, Spanish language keys etc. You may want to consider buying items like this at home before you move to Spain. Trust me, learning how to use a Spanish keyboard and settings can be very frustrating and time consuming. On another note make certain any electronics you buy at home will work in Spain.
- If you are buying Property in Spain and need to move household items be sure to make your flights and arrival dates convenient for being there when your furniture arrives.
- Will you be moving a car too (not recommended) or buying one once you settle in? If so you want to be familiar with the Spain Car Hire Agencies in particularly ones that offer long term car rental rates. Also check into public transit. In Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia this is a great way to get around.
- Is Fido moving to Spain too? You may be surprised what it takes to move a pet out of your country and into a new one. Allow time to get all the required paperwork done.
- Go to your local post-office and arrange for your mail to be redirected to your new home for at least 6 months.You may even want to consider keeping a permanent post box at home and have your mail forwarded indefinitely.
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