The Wealth That Comes From Living Overseas

Unlocking New Options… for Your Wealth and Lifestyle

As I traversed the length of the Atlantic on my way to International Living’s Ultimate Go Overseas Bootcamp in Denver, which takes place this weekend, I had plenty of time to think about what brought me to this point in life.

It’s been a long and winding road… as exemplified by the fact that the flight from Cape Town, South Africa, to my transfer point in Atlanta, Georgia, is an uninterrupted 15 hours. 

Of course, the immediate reason for my journey and my role at IL’s conference is the fact that I’ve spent the bulk of my adult life traveling the world. In addition to becoming a dual citizen of the U.S. and South Africa, I’ve also visited nearly 90 countries. So, I have a solid claim to some knowledge of international living… which is why I was invited to take up the role of IL’s Chief of Global Diversification.

But then there’s the bigger picture: I’ve always gravitated toward work that doesn’t involve selling things to people… but rather helping them to think through issues so they can make optimal decisions for themselves.  

In my current role, those decisions involve how to diversify one’s wealth geographically to maximize both “return” and safety.

My motto is that anything that gives you options is a form of wealth.

This includes the right to live and or invest in a foreign country—or multiple countries. Even if you don’t have a lot of financial assets, you can increase your financial wealth by diversifying globally. 

On that score, my fellow Americans have a lot of decisions to make these days. Consider the topics of my Denver presentations: 

• Second Passports: Why You Need One, and How to Get It: Anyone who attends our Denver gathering has an interest in a life abroad. But many people are starting to think beyond a part-time foreign home. The number of Americans of all classes exploring second citizenship has skyrocketed by triple digits in recent years. (And I have some special, urgent advice for those who have found a home abroad and are living there on a visa.) 

• Managing Your Finances Overseas: This is about much more than just deciding which credit card to use when traveling, or how to open a bank account to service your rental property. International finance for ordinary people is becoming more complicated… and fortunately, whole new categories of options are emerging to make things easier. 

• Foreign Real Estate and Estate Planning: Many things in today’s world are universal, but property and inheritance systems aren’t one of them. The moment you acquire any property in a foreign country, whether movable or immovable, you’ve created an estate planning issue with which U.S. experience rarely helps. Take it from someone who’s busy coordinating wills in two countries… this is something no one can afford to ignore. 

• Navigating Your Visa and Passport Options: The old saw says, “the world’s your oyster,” but more accurately, the world is a vast plate of oysters from which you must choose. For some people, choosing a country to live or invest in is easy. But for an increasing number of people—especially those motivated primarily by a desire for a Plan B outside the U.S.—figuring out the best place to get long-term residency or a second citizenship is one of the most important challenges they face. 

In addition to my presentations to the main assembly, I’ll also be conducting a special seminar on passport and visa options. And of course, I’ll be roaming the venue… looking forward to chatting with anyone and everyone who’d like to pick my brain. 

My goal in Denver isn’t to hand out pre-packaged answers. It’s to help attendees figure out the right questions to ask… and point them in the direction of the best solutions for them.