Curs valutar 27.11.2009

Cursul Zilei
Cursul valutar valabil astazi (27 nov. 2009) a fost stabilit de catre BNR la data de 26 nov 2009.
Vezi lista completa a valutelor!

Valuta	RON	Variatie
EURO (€)	4.2733	0.0136
USD ($)	2.8342	0.0013

Curs valutar 26.11.2009

Cursul Zilei Cursul valutar valabil astazi (26 nov. 2009) a fost stabilit de catre BNR la data de 25 nov 2009. Vezi lista completa a valutelor!

Valuta RON Variatie EURO (€) 4.2597 0.0051 USD ($) 2.8355 0.0170

Evolutia EURO/RON in ultimele 30 de zile *

Curs valutar 25.11.2009

Cursul Zilei Cursul valutar valabil astazi (25 nov. 2009) a fost stabilit de catre BNR la data de 24 nov 2009. Vezi lista completa a valutelor!

Valuta RON Variatie EURO (€) 4.2648 0.0161 USD ($) 2.8525 0.0055

Evolutia EURO/RON in ultimele 30 de zile *

International Living

Read This if You Ever Plan to Visit Argentina, Brazil, or Uruguay

International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009

Dear International Living Reader,

The first time I ate in a churrascaria, I didn’t understand anything. Not the waiter, nor the menu. Even the traditional guess-and-point technique long used by world travelers trying to get a meal didn’t work. I just ended up with a huge and growing pile of beef that I didn’t want. I felt like an idiot—how hard can it be to get a meal in a restaurant?

If only I’d talked to Paul Lewis first. His guide to Latin American grill restaurants, below, would have saved me a lot of hassle. If you’re planning to visit Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, or Paraguay, you should print this out and bring it with you.

Len Galvin
Managing Editor, IL Postcards

P.S. I know you have big Thanksgiving plans tomorrow. And I don’t want to intrude on your family celebrations. But if you can, check your e-mail—we’re launching a big Thanksgiving sale with huge discounts on all our Country Reports. If you wait until after the holiday to check your e-mail (when the sale will be over), you’ll miss out on the savings.

 

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A Quick Guide to Parrillas
by Paul Lewis

 

A cheap restaurant with no menu. Few waiters and only one dish to choose from—though you can have as many helpings as you like.

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In Buenos Aires such an eatery is called a parrilla, or grill, but with the added magic words Tenedor Libre (literally “Free Fork”), sometimes abbreviated to just “TL”. This means you can come back for seconds, thirds, or fourths if you wish—all for the same price, which is usually between $10 and $20 a head.

Across the border in Portuguese-speaking Brazil, similar restaurants are known as churrascarias, with the word “rodizio” added to signify there’s no limit to how much you can eat.

What these restaurants are offering, of course, is what these two countries (and Uruguay and Paraguay as well) have most in abundance—asados, or grilled beef, though you will probably find some roast veal and pork as well.

The rich, flat pampas grasslands of central South America are ideal for cattle and have made beef the most plentiful food of choice.

When Charles Darwin, the discoverer of evolution, rode across the pampas in the 1830s, he was amazed by the volume of meat consumed by local cattle hands and speculated that it might account for their reputation for being able to go without food or drink for several days in an emergency.

Not much has changed since then. Argentina is still awash in meat and Argentineans regularly eat grilled steak twice a day.

The technique of ordering in these beef eateries is a little complex if you do not want to be literally overwhelmed by the quantity of meat you are given to eat.

If the parrilla you choose has table service, then you may want to stop your waiter from bringing you all the courses that a local diner would expect. Such a meal would start with roast acuras, or offal, to be followed by a serving of chorizo sausages, and morcillas—black pudding. Then come servings of ribs, flank, entrecote, sirloin, and filet steak, with fried potatoes and vegetables added.

Fortunately, most parrillas or churrascarias are self-service so that having chosen a table, the diner simply goes to the grill and points to the piece of meat desired. Even so, it is sometimes difficult to prevent the cooks from overloading your plate with slices of asado.

In really top-class restaurants, the grilled meats are rolled over to your table on movable charcoal grills and you make your selection from your seat. It is a slow process because the huge iron grills have to be moved to each table in turn. And, of course, you just wave if you want seconds, thirds, or fourths.

Generally, Argentineans and Brazilians like their beef cocido or well-done. But you can ask for a piece that is medium (punto) or even rare (jugoso). Little use is made of mustard, salt, or pepper and you may not even find these on the table. Instead, the locals season their meat with a sauce made of olive oil, pepper, and garlic known as chimichuri.

In Argentina the drink of preference would be local red wine from the country’s wine-growing regions around Mendoza in the foothills of the Andes. In Brazil a good deal of beer is drunk.

 

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International Living

Laura Moved to Mexico – She’s Having a Blast

International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009

Dear International Living Reader,

Laura Michels, an IL reader who moved to Mexico two months ago, just sent me the note below. She’s studying Spanish and having a great time. Laura lives in a little city near the Pacific coast—you probably haven’t heard of it, but it’s the Mexican city with the best quality of life, according to Mexicans. I think she made a great choice.

Len Galvin
Managing Editor, IL Postcards

P.S. If you’re interested in Mexico, our latest report is required reading: Mexico—10 Questions Every North American Should Ask.

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“I’m Amazed at How Far my American Dollars Go in Colima, Mexico”
By Laura Michels

I recently moved to the small city of Colima in Mexico to study Spanish and live internationally. I’m amazed at how far my American dollars go here.

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I pay for everything in cash. An amount that would have lasted mere days in the United States, covers my expenses for week in Mexico.

Take grocery shopping, for example. I live directly across from a small family-owned grocery store. I can stock up on groceries for $20 a week. Oranges are less than 20 cents apiece, an entire package of tostadas is mine for the equivalent of $1, and fresh avocados cost me only pocket change. A bag of food for my cat costs less than $1.40. Also, the owner of the grocery store makes delicious refried beans which I can take home for pennies.

If I don’t feel like cooking, I can eat out for super cheap if I go to an authentic Mexican restaurant. My friends and I have a favorite taco place where we are frequent customers. We feast on huge plates of mouth watering meat and tortillas for less than $3 each. I can also get lunch at the restaurant right next my house for about $1.50. This homemade meal includes meat, beans, rice, and freshly prepared tortillas.

I didn’t even tell you yet what I pay in rent. I stay in a new house with tile floors, and brand new kitchen appliances. I also have my own bedroom, and my own bathroom. I pay $175 a month for this, and the cost includes all utilities along with wireless Internet. Some of my friends pay even less than this. The money I’m saving leaves me a lot of extra spending money for things like… authentic Mexican food. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it, and at these prices I will continue to be very well fed for some time to come. I think fresh guacamole is in my very near future.

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Curs valutar 24.11.2009

Cursul Zilei
Cursul valutar valabil astazi (24 nov. 2009) a fost stabilit de catre BNR la data de 23 nov 2009.
Vezi lista completa a valutelor!

Valuta	RON	Variatie
EURO (€)	4.2809	0.0008
USD ($)	2.8580	0.0200

Curs valutar 23.11.2009

Cursul Zilei
Cursul valutar valabil astazi (23 nov. 2009) a fost stabilit de catre BNR la data de 20 nov 2009.
Vezi lista completa a valutelor!

Valuta	RON	Variatie
EURO (€)	4.2817	0.0039
USD ($)	2.8780	0.0031

Curs valutar 20.11.2009

Cursul Zilei Cursul valutar valabil astazi (20 nov. 2009) a fost stabilit de catre BNR la data de 19 nov 2009. Vezi lista completa a valutelor!

Valuta RON Variatie EURO (€) 4.2778 0.0033 USD ($) 2.8749 0.0099

Evolutia EURO/RON in ultimele 30 de zile *

Curs valutar 19.11.2009

Cursul Zilei
Cursul valutar valabil astazi (19 nov. 2009) a fost stabilit de catre BNR la data de 18 nov 2009.
Vezi lista completa a valutelor!

Valuta	RON	Variatie
EURO (€)	4.2811	0.0117
USD ($)	2.8650	0.0161

International Living

Mexico is Hated Right Now – That’s Why We Love It

International Living Postcards—your daily escape
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Dear International Living Reader,

Mexico has suffered this year from a serious case of bad press. That’s good news for you if you can see past the headlines.

More than 100 IL readers just went to Mexico to check out this country first-hand. They discovered that the prices—which were always good value—are now even better. As long as most of North America believes that the bad news they hear about Mexico is the only news from Mexico…prices on everything, from real estate to health care to hotels will offer amazing value to anyone who wants it.

Dan Prescher tells you exactly how to get it, below.

Len Galvin
Managing Editor, IL Postcards

P.S. If you’ve ever entertained the thought of living the good life in Mexico, here’s the quickest and easiest way to make it happen.

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Believe Me—The Best Time for Mexico is Now
By Dan Prescher

I just spent three days in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, meeting with 150 very sharp folks from around the world, and the consensus is in… the best time for Mexico is now.

Believe me, this wasn’t the easiest Mexico seminar I’ve ever attended. Every time we took a break from our presentations at the beautiful Fiesta Americana hotel, we could see the sun shining down on the incredibly blue water of the Bay of Banderas and the white-sand beach just a few meters away. Resisting the urge to skip a session or presentation and jump in the ocean was a challenge.

But it was worth it. Today I’m lying on that same beach in the shade of a palm tree with nothing to do but wait for my flight back home and think about everything we saw and heard at one of the most productive seminars I’ve ever attended on all the opportunities Mexico offers right now.

Those who are still around the hotel with me seem to agree. One attendee tells me that she was so excited before she came to Puerto Vallarta that she could hardly stand it… and now she’s even more excited, if that’s possible.

Another attendee tells me that he’d been thrown a lifeline at the conference. He says that before coming to the conference, he really couldn’t see a way out of the dilemma of rising taxes and health care costs that waited for him back in the States. Now, he says, he can see light at the end of the tunnel, and it seems to be shining right here in Puerto Vallarta.

The post-conference real estate tours are out and about right now, so I don’t know how many of our attendees will find the bargains they’re looking for and choose to settle right here by the bay. I know the bargains are out there – Mexico is definitely a buyer’s market right now. And I know that many of our attendees made plans even before the seminar was over to explore some of the other promising areas of Mexico we heard about, like Huatulco, Ajijic, San Miguel de Allende, Merida, and so many more.

And their timing is perfect. Thanks to a global economic slow down and seemingly endless negative press coverage in the U.S., Mexico is the best bargain it’s been in a decade.

In a way, I’m glad the U.S. media concentrates only on the bad news from Mexico… if their coverage was fair and balanced, we’d be swamped by people coming down for the incredible weather, low health care costs and taxes, and yes… the safety and security that the vast majority of the country enjoys.

Which would also mean that the real estate deals wouldn’t be nearly as good as they are right now.

If the attendees at our Live & Invest in Mexico conference didn’t know that before hand, they certainly know it now thanks to the insights we got from the many experts and expats we heard from here in Puerto Vallarta. There is nothing like first-hand, on-the-ground information and experience to give you a real sense of what’s available right here in Mexico at this very moment… and we got it in spades at this conference.

Just a few more hours before my flight, so I’m going to soak up as much Puerto Vallarta as I can while I’m here. But I know I’ll be back… since I live and work in Mexico, I’ll be this way again, and I’m anxious to find out how many of our attendees will be fellow expats by then, living the good life south of the border with me.

Because the best time for Mexico is now, and the best way to find out is from the people who are living the life themselves… like the many people we just heard from here at the Live & Invest in Mexico conference. You can hear for yourself exactly what they said, here.

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