100 Dreams Of Travel Destinations

– Posted in: Travel
Financial Independence and early retirement would enable us to visit some of our 100 dream places., but probably not via an airplane this small

I have a coaching exercise called 100 Dreams, which helps clients flex their wish muscles and also reminds them that there isn’t one be-it-and-end-all dream. The popularity of the exercise has resonated with the likes of Chris Guillebeau and Laura Vanderkam, and I’m thrilled they have introduced it into their communities. I do the 100 Dreams exercise for myself, and increasingly my dreams revolve around travel. I could fill the entire exercise with just my dream travel destinations. Of course, there are whole countries on the list, which would need to be broken up into several trips. There are also [...]

15 Properties In 15 Years: How We Got Started

– Posted in: Real Estate
Our first real estate purchase, paving the way to eventual financial independence

After our second child arrived in 2001, our New York City apartment felt smaller and smaller. We always had a strong interest in buying real estate, but never pulled the trigger. A big regret was not buying a top floor duplex apartment in a small building in the Kips Bay section of Manhattan in the mid 90’s. In our defense, we were less than 2 years out of college and it would have been a financial stretch to do so. But before long, that several-hundred-thousand-dollar apartment would be worth more than a million. What an investment that would have been!

Costa Rica Roads Made of Molasses

– Posted in: Costa Rica
Typical Costa Rica dirt road - molasses will be applied to it each year when it is graded

One of the things I've had to get used to as a visitor to Costa Rica are all of the dirt roads.  The first time we visited Costa Rica was in the month of March, well after the end of the rainy season and after all of the dirt roads had been fixed and re-graded for the high/dry season and were not hard to drive or navigate. In subsequent visits over the course of the year, I've noticed the roads start to get bumps and ruts, and when the heavy rains come in the summer and fall, the dirt roads [...]

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