Running Toward Something Amazing, Not Just Running Away From Something Awful
Well, I'm in love with Chile. Now that I am here I understand very clearly the reason for the excitement about this narrow strip of South America…and why it was chosen as the home of Galt's Gulch.
I arrived at the airport last weekend in Santiago and had to go through customs. Every one of the Chilean officials was laid back and pleasant, but having to deal with the state in any form at these ridiculous political borders always fills me with equal parts sadness and fury. After international travel I always need a couple of hours to let these emotions drain away enough to enjoy anything.
It was just as well because I didn't get to see much of Santiago on the first day. Instead GGC associate Ken Carpenter spent a little over an hour driving me to meet up with managing partner Ken Johnson at the GGC beach house in Reñaca just north of the coastal twin cities of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar. The coastal towns seemed to me as Mediterranean as they did Latin American. The people all looked like Europeans from the Iberian Peninsula. Most everyone could still have passed for a Spaniard or Italian…and quite a few looked enough like the typical Northwestern European mutts in the US that it gave me a start to hear rapid Spanish tumbling out of their mouths instead of Midwestern Enlgish.
After the beachhouse we all drove to Galt's Gulch, Chile. Midway between the coast and Santiago we got off the private highway in a tiny town called Curacaví. Once we had traveled down the village's main strip for a mile or so, we turned off onto a newly paved road that snaked up a hill and then wound back toward the mountains. Ten minutes later we were in Galt's Gulch.
The property was even more awesome than I'd imagined, more than I could have imagined. The hills and mountains…the grandeur and the green. The sheer size of the place staggered me…and I was thrilled to see with my own eyes that there is plenty of water…and that's just on the surface, and not counting the underground aquifier! In fact, the property is so well set up for a very bright future that I want to scream from the mountaintops for every liberty-seeking person to come down and buy up now while the getting is so good!
The trip to Santiago the next day just multiplied that sentiment even more. Santiago is a first class city. It reminded me more of Paris than of New York or Chicago, but cleaner. The traffic was as crazy as you'd expect in a metropolis of millions, but the people themselves all had what I would later learn was a distinctly Chilean tranquility about them. Their cultural calm was infectious.
Granted, Santiago can get a little smoggy. But, oh, those mountains..! I could insert a picture of the view from the GGC's Santiago apartment, but it wouldn't do the view justice. There is nothing like being there in person and seeing the Andes loom behind Santiago's highrises like drowsy titans. It's almost like being in an extraterrestial colony city and watching nearby, large alien moons lazing rolling along the horizon.
So you have the best of everything here. Access to the conveniences and the hustle and bustle of a great city…the nearness of gorgeous coastal towns along pristine, pretty beaches…and there is the Gulch itself, amazing as it is now and so full of promise… My excitement about living here has gone geometric this week. I feel I can just live my life here without the worry that weighs me down when I'm in the US. And I've already met visiting prospective buyers whom I would love to have as friends and neighbors.
I urge you to come down to see if it for yourself. I'm kicking myself for having taken so long. It's so much better than the US in just about every conceivable way. The only relative downside is that you'd have to acquire a decent bit of Spanish, but last I checked becoming proficient in a new language was a good thing.
Chile offers a higher quality life for less money, without the growing police state or the impending fiat currency-fueled economic disaster. Galt's Gulch itself offers both enormous upside opportunity and real community. Finally I've truly found a place that makes me not even think about the shabby empire I've been so fretful about leaving. For the first time I'm not fleeing something awful; I'm simply upgrading the quality of my life.
Regards,
Gary Gibson
Editor, The Dollar Vigilante
Before we get to the review let’s have a look at what you missed in the August edition of TDV Homegrown.
Gary started us off with an intriguing and uplifting look at more Airbnb-type entrepreneurial enterprises, and how the state wants to shut them down under the weight of lobbyists and the already wealthy. Jeff Berwick followed with a look at the passing of the tax buck from industry to industry in mismanaged California.
Next, James Guzman talked to Katie Testa from the Free Detroit initiative, about some community-based and organic actions popping up in the bankrupt Motown. Amanda Hooper followed with some great advice for the legions of insomniacs out there. Dear Slavey touched on Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs and answered a question about where to find good jobs without expensive degrees.
Finally, Jeff rounded up the weird and frightening actions of the state from around the globe.
If you’re interested in receiving articles like these, consider our weekly subscriber-only publications, like our Issue, Dispatches, and TDV Homegrown, please subscribe here.
Here’s what we wrote about this week…
MONDAY, August 26
Jeff Berwick finds hope in the ruin of Detroit.
“But, while some of these photos show how things can change dramatically for the better in a number of decades, they also show the opposite. The positive for the US is that it is possible that within a few decades (or sooner if government stays out of the way) it can rebuild from The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI). We don’t suggest all but the most non-risk averse stay for the transitional period, whether it be 1-2 years, 10-20 years, or 100-200 years.”
TUESDAY, August 27
We're From the Government and We're Here to "Help" You
Jeff Berwick on the state’s meddling in the self-governing Internet.
“If there are entities in the US, such as a power station that is connected to the Internet, the owners of that power station should work to ensure its internet-connected systems are secure. If it's Amazon.com, they should ensure all their systems are as secure as possible. The same goes for millions of other Internet-connected businesses.
Where is there this need for a government to protect them? Does the equivalent of Napolitano in the state of Florida spend their day trying to make sure that everyone in Florida is safe from a cyber-attack? Does each mayor's office of each city make it a priority to make sure that, say, the City of Detroit is safe from a cyber-attack?
Wednesday, August 28
What About the Roads?: The Folly of Socialism
TDV Italy-correspondent, Alexander Jousse, on the flawed argument for socialism.
“Whenever people talk about anarchy, the two straw men arguments that people present are, “What about the roads?” and “What about the poor?”. Generally, the left use a number of logical fallacies when talking about free markets; they love to use arguments that appeal to emotions such as: appeal to pity, appeal to spite, and wishful thinking. On one hand they assume that they are correct, because they view themselves as the most virtuous people and on the other they think that free market proponents as evil and selfish, but without presenting any proof for these assumptions. Hence we end up with the popular tactic called the false dilemma ; which essentially boils down to some argument “What about the …” , and using that appeal to excuse the violence. In these state religions there is no real contemplation, rather any argument or appeal is used to excuse or initiate violence against those who do not agree.”
Thursday, August 29
Jeff Berwick on the mass exodus from California, a state hell bent on taxing its citizens until they leave.
"The main problem is taxes. California’s government has so destroyed the state that its only option to keep afloat is a continued rise in taxes.
In response, people with money have been fleeing the state for other states. Tiger Woods left to Florida years ago and Phil Mickelson stated he was going to leave California for Florida as well for a better tax environment. He then got a phone call and the next day he apologized for saying it!
But countless others have not-so publicly just fled the state, many going to Florida.”
FRIDAY, August 30
Feedback Friday – August 30, 2013
In this week’s Feedback Friday: Citizenship, citizenship, and citizenship.
SATURDAY, August 31
The Weekend Vigilante — August 31, 2013
In his weekly address to TDVers, Jeff Berwick checks in from Libertopia in San Diego and talks about Syria.
TDV VIDEO
Our feature video this week has Jeff Berwick and Ken Carpenter on the Patriot's Lament radio show.
And be sure to have a look at our wide array of informative videos featuring interviews, opinions, and analysis on TDV’s media page.
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Thanks as always for reading or subscribing!
Managing Editor
