Allow me to introduce myself: they call me cubanpete

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22

If you pay a lawyer who pays off the officiers you don’t even have to appear.

I think the chair-moving system is probably to avoid the fraud you described.

At the land frontier, especially with Nicaragua, the situation is as you describe or worse. If you don’t pay the civil gentuza that hangs around the officers at the border they come up with tons of regulations to not let you enter. Airports are better to enter the country…

Corruption is everywhere. The more sophisticated the laws against it the more expensive it gets. Or who can pay the lobbyists which probably is just another word for bribe payers…

Anyhow, I did not want to participate in corruption and had time. But it did not work. Actually it worked enough for me to get a temporary permit which is supposed to last the 3 months until a decision is made. The first permit is valid two years, which would have given me the right to stay 27 months. But as the decision took 30 monts I could stay with the temporary permission the full 30 months. They did shoot their own leg. :rofl:

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23

May I ask how you filled your free time in the beginning after you stopped working - and how you’re filling it now? I understand that your investment strategy only keeps you busy for a few hours per month…

How did you and your wife manage the situation - with her still working? Was she also working at the time, or did she take a break, or continue as before?

I’m also planning to (at least semi-) retire in two years, and by then, I’ll be the same age you were when you stopped working (51). My wife currently works part-time and will likely continue, though she could probably do it remotely. We’re not planning to relocate but would like to travel intermittently - ideally during the cold winter months :cold_face: - while keeping our roots and residency in :switzerland:. I anticipate this setup couldn’t last ‘forever’, though (health, kids/parents, boredom) and am trying to evaluating all the possibilities from as many angles as possible…

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24

Actually I spend a bit more time with my investments because the few hours per month was only about the dividend portfolio.

I travel quiet a lot, have a house in Switzerland with a big garden, an apartment at the beach in Spain (where I am at the moment) and some hobbies. Covid did put me a bit out of shape and I sold my two motorbikes after riding motorbikes for decades. Now I own two bicycles.

I like the good life a bit too much. So I have to check not to eat and drink too much and that is probably the most difficult part.

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25

Which bikes did you have?

26

A Honda CBR600 and a Buell 1125R.

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27

Love the Buell as a concept. My full CH license eligibility is coming up (new rider) in autumn and thinking about what to get. Teetering between something really stupid like a Rocket 3 or Diavel v4, or even stupider like a VMax or more sensible: RnineT or Moto Guzzi Audace. Brain says RnineT, heart says Audace.

Saw an Audace in Greece a few weeks ago and it has such amazing presence, there’s nothing like it on the road, but it’s damn heavy and so am I. Then again the beemer is bound to work like clockwork, sounds like clockwork, the boxer engine is super smooth and powerful, and the bike is an all-rounder, just a tad too sensible.

28

Those are completely different bikes, probably think about supersport vs custom first. I had both, bought a Harley VRSCD night rod once because my wife did not want to mount the sports bikes any longer. But then she said it still goes to fast for her, so I went solo and changed it for the Buell. :smile:

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29

None of the ones I am looking at is any kind of sporty, even the moronically expensive Diavel v4 is too big and heavy to be called any kind of sport in my opinion. Sure, the bike itself has the ability, but most riders don’t :wink: I’m more of a laid back rider, taking in the scenery, chilling at 2000rpm.

That said, I think the Nightrod is a great bike, a 21st century Harley, pity the Harley crew is so conservative. I was actually also seriously looking at the Nightrod but unless you NEED the HD logo there’s nothing it does that a lighter, more powerful bike doesn’t do better. Indian Scout soft tail is another I was looking at until I sat on one, found it wayyy too low.

Took a Fazer around a block once and that was enough for me to know sporty isn’t my thing, but that’s the beauty of motorcycles, there’re distinctly different experiences.

30

The good old 600 Fazer in Spain with 4 carburetors was the way I got first to the bar at the other side of the rat peak every Sunday morning. :+1:

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