The banks are fine here in Mexico. I don’t see any problems, and certainly not comparing to what happened in 2008 or 2009 in the States. The banks in Mexico are strong.
You need to know that, in general, the banks in Mexico are not Mexican. The only Mexican bank here in Mexico is Banorte. The others are foreign, and the shareholders are foreign. BBVA Bancomer is from Spain, HSBC is from England, Scotia Bank is Canadian, Banamex is US. Having banks in Mexico that are...
The banks are fine here in Mexico. I don’t see any problems, and certainly not comparing to what happened in 2008 or 2009 in the States. The banks in Mexico are strong.
You need to know that, in general, the banks in Mexico are not Mexican. The only Mexican bank here in Mexico is Banorte. The others are foreign, and the shareholders are foreign. BBVA Bancomer is from Spain, HSBC is from England, Scotia Bank is Canadian, Banamex is US. Having banks in Mexico that are foreign-owned means that in theory they are strong because they have the backing of their home countries.
If I live in Panama, do I still have to pay US income tax on money coming from the US?
Diane Siriani - ExpatriateTaxReturns.com
If you are not a US citizen and receive money from the US, you may have to pay tax as a non-resident alien depending upon the nature and amount of the earnings.
If you are a US citizen, you must report your worldwide income on your Individual Tax Return...depending on the nature and amount of income you may or may not have to pay tax.
If you are not a US citizen and receive money from the US, you may have to pay tax as a non-resident alien depending upon the nature and amount of the earnings.
If you are a US citizen, you must report your worldwide income on your Individual Tax Return...depending on the nature and amount of income you may or may not have to pay tax.
Can I receive my Social Security checks or benefits abroad, as an expat, outside the US and if so, how?
David Drummond - Georgetown Trust
Most Belize banks will allow you to have your social security check deposited directly to your account with them.
But if you have a local bank account, that US dollar is going to get converted into the Belize dollar with a 2% conversion fee, and then that money will be sitting in your local Belize bank account, denominated in Belizean dollars. Instead of doing this, if you don’t need the money to pay for items in Belize dollars, you could just as easily...
Most Belize banks will allow you to have your social security check deposited directly to your account with them.
But if you have a local bank account, that US dollar is going to get converted into the Belize dollar with a 2% conversion fee, and then that money will be sitting in your local Belize bank account, denominated in Belizean dollars. Instead of doing this, if you don’t need the money to pay for items in Belize dollars, you could just as easily have your social security check go into your foreign bank account, an offshore bank account in Belize, or international bank account in Belize. Those institutions will also accept those transfers or you can simply have your social security check deposited into your US bank account first, and then have it transferred.
One thing that you have to realize when you go offshore is that banking in Belize is different. Banks don’t have a ton of risk on your money, so they make money by charging fees. Fees tend to be a little bit higher when you get offshore. People in the US are used to having a free checking account or free savings account. When you go offshore, you are going to pay a monthly fee, typically somewhere around $12 to $15. Whether it is in Belize or somewhere in the Caribbean or out in the world somewhere else, you have a fee.
(For a discussion of what bank to use when you move to Belize, please see my answer under “When I move to Belize, should I open a bank account or should I open a bank account in Belize?”)
What are the traditions of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua?
Eugenio Cortez - Hacienda & Ecolodge Morgan´s Rock
A tradition in of many towns and cities in Nicaragua is Hipica, which is the celebration of the particular city. There are horses, carriages, people from the different farms and a small parade. Hipica is when we celebrate the saint of that town or that city. For example, in Managua, Hipica is August 1 and their Saint is Santo Domingo. San Juan del Sur has a different saint that it celebrates for Hipica.
In the first week of June in San Juan del Sur, there...
A tradition in of many towns and cities in Nicaragua is Hipica, which is the celebration of the particular city. There are horses, carriages, people from the different farms and a small parade. Hipica is when we celebrate the saint of that town or that city. For example, in Managua, Hipica is August 1 and their Saint is Santo Domingo. San Juan del Sur has a different saint that it celebrates for Hipica.
In the first week of June in San Juan del Sur, there is the Dorado Fishing Tournament. It’s pretty big, not as big as other events, but it’s big because a lot of people, specifically fishermen, go there and the town comes alive. There are bars and parties. The tournament is for two days and it’s fun.
The Purisima, which is a Nicaraguan tradition of the celebration of the Virgin Mary, is on December 7th. (Pictured above.)
The amount you will spend on food here in Portugal would depend on for how many people you are buying. The cost for a couple with one son would average about $100 to $300 a week.
Sometimes I don’t have lunch at home but we’ll have dinner and sometimes I have a big lunch and I don’t eat dinner, for the cost for us really varies. Going to the supermarket, I spend an average of about €60 (US$ 65 or £43) a week. Then I’ll go to the fruit and...
The amount you will spend on food here in Portugal would depend on for how many people you are buying. The cost for a couple with one son would average about $100 to $300 a week.
Sometimes I don’t have lunch at home but we’ll have dinner and sometimes I have a big lunch and I don’t eat dinner, for the cost for us really varies. Going to the supermarket, I spend an average of about €60 (US$ 65 or £43) a week. Then I’ll go to the fruit and vegetable market, the butcher, the fish market and spend another €50 (US $54 or £36). The cost of food in Portugal is about a quarter less than in England.
To cite some examples, a whole chicken is about €5 (US $5.42 or £3.60). A sliced loaf of white bread costs €70 cents (US $76 or £50). I buy whole wheat bread that is uncut from the bakery that costs me about €1.50 (US $1.62 or £1.08).
The cost of food in the markets in Portugal really varies. I cannot report the exact costs because I am not a supermarket person. I go to the supermarket once a month to buy cleaning product and canned foods. That’s about it. I don’t buy any food from the supermarket. There is a street market close to where I live here in Portugal and every Saturday and Sunday, I go there to buy my vegetables. I buy eggs from free-range chickens from a lady who sells them. I buy all the meat from the butchers and I buy fish from the fish market. The reason why I don’t buy fresh produce from the supermarket is because they don’t taste the same. Most of them come from Spain so they have travelled for days and have been refrigerated. When I put it on the table, it lacks flavor.
It’s like in England. In England, the food is appalling because there is no flavor. When I eat potatoes here in Portugal, they do taste like potatoes. When I go to England, the potatoes don’t taste like anything. Same thing with tomatoes. The tomatoes in Portugal taste and smell like tomatoes but in England don’t taste nor smell like tomatoes. The reason why I like buying from the street market instead of the supermarket is because the food that they sell in the street market comes directly from the producers or farms. That is commonly done in Portugal. The way that I buy is not unusual at all in Portugal. A lot of people buy from the street markets here in Portugal because people like the flavor of food. People who appreciate good flavor in foods go to the street markets. Those people who like processed food or pizzas go to the supermarkets.
How are the rules of etiquette or customs different in Belize?
Christian Burn
The rules of etiquette and customs in Belize are not really too different from the rules of etiquette and etiquette in North America because it is a British colony. So, the formality of introducing people, shaking hands, looking people in the eye, that's all the same in Belize as in North America or Europe.
In Belize it is a British culture. At least as a Canadian, it is all so familiar to me. Families sit down together at the table to eat dinner, people celebrate baby...
The rules of etiquette and customs in Belize are not really too different from the rules of etiquette and etiquette in North America because it is a British colony. So, the formality of introducing people, shaking hands, looking people in the eye, that's all the same in Belize as in North America or Europe.
In Belize it is a British culture. At least as a Canadian, it is all so familiar to me. Families sit down together at the table to eat dinner, people celebrate baby showers, weddings with parties, big events, birthdays, and quincinero, which is a like a Sweet 16 in North America, but it is done when a girl turns 15 years old here in Belize.
There are some Spanish cultural influences because quincinero is a big thing in Mexico, too. It’s not such a big deal in England as the 21st birthday. In England, when a kid turns 21, they get the key to their parents’ home so they can come and go as they please and the 21st birthday is a really big deal.
Although Belize is a British colony, they do not have British high teas here. I am sure they did once upon a time, but not any more. Those customs have not continued, unfortunately. Sitting down having a cup of tea with someone is certainly a part of the culture here. People do not want to talk business right away; they want to sit down, they want to say hello, and they want to see if you are doing well. There has to be a rapport between people before business can be conducted. I do not know if that is British culture or if it is just the civil way of doing things, but that exists in Belize.
For the most part, there's a certain decorum here in Belize when people are going through an exchange of some kind and that etiquette, those little benchmarks exist here, too, because Belize was a British Colony.
In the period of less than half a day, our senses and emotions had experienced quite a workout. In the morning, we were on a ferry in the Sea of Cortez, headed towards Mazatlan. In Mazatlan, we were treated to an entirely new concept: jungle in an urban setting. From there, we had found the toll road, breezed through green and wooded highland farmland, and then gradually descended into a profusion of jungle, not only on the sides of the road, but overhead, as we glided...
The streets of Antigua are all stones. Some say cobblestones, but these are not well cobbled. The city is a World Heritage Site, so it must maintain the old style and flavor of most things here, so they don’t repair the stones with cement to really hold them together. They use a mixture of gravel and a substance called “cal.” It is lime, the main ingredient in cement for concrete, but it’s...
I was recently asked about the healthcare available in the Coronado area of Panamá. In order to answer that question and at the same time, give you a more holistic view of healthcare in general in Panamá (so you don't have to worry), we can look to portions of the history of Panamá.
Panamá has traditionally been known by other nations as a passageway to move from the Atlantic to the Pacific and vice-versa. Since the construction...
The banks are fine here in Mexico. I don’t see any problems, and certainly not comparing to what happened in 2008 or 2009 in the States. The banks in Mexico are strong.
A tradition in of many towns and cities in Nicaragua is Hipica, which is the celebration of the particular city. There are horses, carriages, people from the different farms and a small parade. Hipica is when we celebrate the saint of that town or that city. For example, in Managua, Hipica is August 1 and their Saint is Santo Domingo. San Juan del Sur has a different saint that it celebrates for Hipica. 
In the period of less than half a day, our senses and emotions had experienced quite a workout. In the morning, we were on a ferry in the Sea of Cortez, headed towards Mazatlan. In Mazatlan, we were treated to an entirely new concept: jungle in an urban setting. From there, we had found the toll road, breezed through green and wooded highland farmland, and then gradually descended into a profusion of jungle, not only on the sides of the road, but overhead, as we glided...
available in the Coronado area of Panamá. In order to answer that question and at the same time, give you a more holistic view of healthcare in general in Panamá (so you don't have to worry), we can look to portions of the history of Panamá.