OLA: 'Funding Your Life Overseas'

with a genuine cowboy from Rockin R' Ranch, our special night at the conference

intriguing sculpture at lobby of Phoenix Hilton Mesa

It’s good to be in Phoenix this time of the year! Last week my good friend Jingjing could not make it to a conference in Phoenix as a guest of Cynthia Araneta, her friend and manager of Surf and Turf RV Park in Del Mar, California. We had met Cynthia and spent a Happy New Year with her, visiting Filipino friends on January 1, 2013. Well, Cynthia called me up immediately and offered me Jingjing’s spot!  I am now eternally grateful for the wonderful opportunity not only to spend three lovely days again with her but also to immerse myself in a world I never knew existed.

cynthia @ our room in Phoenix Hilton Mesa

opening session

The conference was entitled ‘Funding Your Life Overseas’, held November9 to 12 at the Phoenix Hilton Mesa, just 15 minutes from Viewpoint. It is the first such conference organized by International Living, a company based in Ireland whose motto is Live, Retire, and Invest Overseas. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that IL has built an empire selling paradise. And I found out how! Cynthia is a World Club member, able to attend any of its conferences, seminars, meetings anywhere around the world free for her lifetime. She estimates that her investment has paid for itself so far and she is only 61!

exhibits/cocktails

snack time @ the conference

In lectures, workshops, and panel discussions, the conference listed the following opportunities to fund anyone’s life overseas, living like a king or queen, earning in dollars and spending in local currency.

1.    Very portable careers where you only need a laptop and the internet: copywriting, travel writing, photography, freelance consulting, blogging, ecommerce/drop shipping

the plenary

     
       2.  Careers in real estate: owning vacation rentals, property and rental management, house and pet sitting, operating motels and bed n breakfasts

      3. Other opportunities: operating a franchise, teaching English, import/export, leading niche tours, and operating or renting out a farm 

The conference also dealt with topics like the top countries to live in, how to get started, overcoming obstacles, tax considerations, and the psyche of being jobless and succeeding.

Cynthia and me at the bar

Cynthia and me @ breakfast buffet

With my nerdish outlook on life, I am always armed with my laptop and smartphone and constantly connected with the internet.   I chose to attend the following workshops, natural opportunities for me: copywriting, travel writing, photography, and arranging niche tours. All of these are highly portable tasks and are related to traveling, our main preoccupation nowadays. Now that we are have completed North America and in 2014 are embarking on our journeys abroad, this conference opened my eyes to funding that may greatly increase our travels and the enjoyment.

Cynthia and me at the lounge

riding a bus to the Rockin' R Ranch

The conference was also a great venue for meeting like-minded people. Although I did not win a free trip to Costa Rica and another one to Nicaragua, I met a nurse who is planning to live in Ecuador, a retired nurse who has not yet decided where, a retired lady who has rentals in Phoenix, a gentleman who is starting his 3-year round-the-world journey next year, and another one who is looking to buy a home in Costa Rica. And, of course, I had more time with Cynthia who has such a bubbly personality.  A pediatrician by profession, she also gave me a bit of power programming (hypnotherapy) to help me get rid of my chronic hives.  If this works it will be great, no more hives or hive-controlling drugs.

On Monday evening we were also treated to a Wild Wild West Show at Rockin’ R Ranch. I had a pretty big slice of beef plus a whole leg quarter of chicken (both barbecued) with sides of baked potato, beans, applesauce, biscuit, and pastry. Sunday and Tuesday evenings were hosted cocktails. Breakfasts were buffets. And endless snacks were always available at the Exhibit Hall. Cynthia, being a World Club member, and I, as her VIP Guest, had the privilege of staying at the VIP Lounge where there was more eats and networking. But, as soon as I got back to the RV, I was horrified! The uncooperative scale registered an additional (and highly unwanted) 3 pounds! 

great shot of the gunfight after dinner

the singing part of the Cowboy Dinner Theater

The only thing I wished was that the Philippines had been included as one of the top countries to live in. Most of the countries recommended are in Central America. Only Malaysia was discussed from Asia where English is painted as a major drawback. Precisely what they would not encounter in the Philippines! But it was also heartwarming that anyone who found out that Cynthia and I are from the Philippines asks if we had family in the devastated areas and inquires about the ongoing relief efforts for the victims of Yolanda/Haiyan.

practice shooting @ the Ranch

A BIG Thank You Jingjing and Cynthia for this wonderful opportunity to rise from my armchair and engage the world again! That was one very helpful conference!