Blessed with natural resources and an economic wreck.
Highest inflation in the world I believe:
A plunging local currency has led to a surge of inflation in the country. Official statistics show that the country’s inflation surged to over 463% in April, up from 155% in October last year. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the country’s inflation will continue to worsen in the coming months.
Inept/corrupt government and sanctions:
The UK seizes their gold:
If it can happen to Venezuela it can happen to any country!
The Venezuelan bolivar became worthless a decade or more ago.
According to XE, 1 US dollar is equivalent to 2.65 million Venezuelan bolivars.
That is a bolivar with 8 or 11 zeros already removed from the original 1998 bolivar. I lost count! Before I left in 2019 my monthly local expenses were around $50 USD. Street vendors and importers were happy to buy dollars since they were not available through legal channels. Great Big Black Market!
Blessed with natural resources and an economic wreck.
Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo, Father of OPEC, called oil “The Excrement of the Devil.”
I think Denny said that there were a few “last straws” to living there: even if prices (in dollars) were/are cheap, if there is not much that can be bought with those dollars, then there is not much benefit for cheap expenses; also, there seems to have been a continual threat of confiscation of property and that’s never good. The living conditions overall sound nasty even though Venezuela looks like it can be quite beautiful in places.
It is not the economics of Venezuela and most of its neighbors that is crippling, the underlying culture is having enormous difficulties making the shift from a weirdly modernized feudalism to actual modernity. Tellingly, Russia seems to be in the same bind now that it has finished its Marxist insanity, and is shifting to paranoid mafiosi structures.
Mexico was cursed and blessed by its proximity to USA, and its future remains in the balance. I could imagine husband and I giving up and moving again.
Two things I’ll suggest (although as we all know, Denny is very capable of explaining things on his own): (1) he had pointed out that he had EU citizenship and he was very comfortable being back in Europe at this point in his life; (2) Portugal is also an emigre’s mecca these days, from costs, to climate, to friendliness of its citizens, to healthcare. I think Denny was wise by heading to Portugal!
I agree that is why I asked. When you are leaving one place, and have the whole world to pick from, it is interesting that you cross a sea instead of picking a closer country. Denny’s choice would be much different than a person looking for opportunities for work.
The Americans have that misnomer. Most refuges want to be in the next country over where the culture is similar and the refugee can return home as soon as possible even if that means a few years. People really do not rush the US nearly as much as we assume.
Denny’s family were more recent to VZ. The people who have been in VZ for centuries go to Peru and Columbia in larger numbers. Those folks can not easily go to the EU.
If you are looking for opportunities not to work, Spain is an attractive option. You can get a residence permit if you can show proof of medical insurance, proof of (modest) income, and promise not to work.
No matter how cheap, living in an outhouse is not so nice. Brazil and Argentina are no better than Venezuela. While planning on retirement the only LatAm country I considered was Costa Rica. Once I got my German passport in 2005 all of the EU became available and I had great memories about the Portuguese people, the nicest people I met in all of Europe I had visited.
It’s been four years since I moved to Portugal and I’m very happy with my choice.
Absolutely right. Once there is no reliable electricity everything goes to pot.
Venezuela had been a fabulous place. We arrived as immigrants and like many other did very well. Lovely people, great climate, great place to go sailing but politics can wreck everything. While it was a left of center democracy mixed economy it worked well for most people. We had immigrants from all over LatAm fleeing their countries. When Chavez took over the end was nigh. I managed to survive the Chavista regime for two decades but it became totally unlivable.
Back to Spain would be very likely, as husband is no longer singing professionally in the ways that previously blocked us from having Residency (you cannot compete with Spaniards for jobs). So, most likely right back to the small town of Soller on the island of Mallorca, but conceivably Extremadura on Spain’s border with Portugal (hi Denny!).
We adore Mexico, but instead of getting saner the political culture here is ever more stupid and/or corrupt. They do not have the Marxist diseases much anymore, but the rich and the narco-traficantes are destroying everything around them, including civil society.
An incredible American character Gerry Dawes a friend out of NY. He has known Thomas Keller, Bobby Flay and Martha Stewart among many others for decades. He imports and sells Spanish Rose in NYC to the restaurants.