Here come the Chinese... again

Saipan doesn't have a lot of flights... my brother works TSA there.

Not a lot going on, except there was this casino that the Chinese built to launder money (IMO). Makes for interesting reading.

https://www.business-humanrights.or...nese-casino-has-conquered-a-piece-of-america/

 

It was an on going construction project the time I was there. It's an interesting and cool island with a lot of history. Before I moved there it was a really big garment factory industry island but the word got out and US minimum wage and labor rights drove every manufacturer off the island. Like most islands if you mind your own business you are good but was running a restaurant there using local farmers. There were some incidences where farmers were murdered, then my main produce guy disappeared. So I found myself driving around from shop to shop, farm to farm just to buy enough produce to last each day. It's more relaxed and clean than the Caribbean but you don't want to get on the bad side of the Chinese mafia

 

Do you still live there? My brother retired on Guam, but since he got the TSA job in Saipan he rents over there currently.

 

Crazy about the farmers getting murdered... what was the reason? You think they got into it with the Chinese?

 

The amount of money laundering with the Chinese is just incomprehensible. Pre covid, Macau did something like 4X the volume of Las Vegas gambling. All for money laundering.

 

The Chinese gooberment is making it harder and harder for people who want to move their money out and very tough for it to happen undetected. The US and Australia are becoming no go zones.

 

No, been gone for awhile, but it's a really cool island to retire. Probably end up back there. 8000 miles away with hint of the US without the US crazyness

 

Guessing that when the US real estate market implodes, they'll be driving around in their busses again, snapping up foreclosures.

 

Watch the SFO market. it goes in the shitter and their money is rushing out. Lol

Mexico and vietnam are going to be the boom markets for raw land, luxury houses and “investment.” Bet on it.

 

I'm agreeing about Vietnam, for sure. I was on the island of Phu Quoc and took a scooter ride to the north part of the island. There's a new gigantic fake city called Grandworld, I'm sure built by the Chinese. The place is huge... thousands of employees and maybe 5 tourists. I walked around for a couple hours. It was surreal.

 

I have two friends whom sold real estate in Irvine Cali and adj area. Mainly due to Chinese buyers, Approx 70 % of buyers were Chinese over the last 10 years, followed by Canadians and Mexico residents.
That's mind boggling, Both retired just this year having earned more in only 5 years, than in their past 15 years combined. largest increase in real estate sales & income in our lifetime....
The US housing may implode yet once again, but just like 2008 or so, Those that hold, will come out far above the rest.
That is if the economy so calls fails as in the 2008 crisis, that had soft landings for those with the most @ risk. ...it really wasn't bad for those whom had not leveraged themselves...every one I know, that was able to hold onto their homes is exponentially better off and always were..they were always well above what they paid.
But on 2nd thought?
There's just no reason on God's Earth Cali house prices should have tripled to quadrupled in Calif during the recent economy and Covid crisis..You may be right....if the economy here crashes naturally without trillions poured into supporting it..There just may well be a massive across the board loss of wealth.

 

You have to really factor in how many people that don't own their shit.

Houses, cars, boats, cabins.

That interest rate affects anyone that doesn't own

People with their debts paid it's a great time to have cash and bonds etc. Everyone else living to make their next payment is going to have an interesting decade ahead of them.

 

It’s never a good time to have cash when it devalues at or near double digit percentages.