Michael Cobb

At the height of a successful career in the computer industry, Michael Cobb left to pursue opportunities in the emerging real-estate markets of Central America. In 1996 he and a business partner formed Exotic Caye International, providing loans to North Americans buying across the region; as demand for capital grew, the mortgage company was converted into an international bank under the jurisdiction of Belize. He has since continued in development, creating opportunities for adventurous expatriates.

The company he founded became ECI Development, which has assembled thousands of acres of coastline across Belize, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica and built resorts, villages and retirement communities on them, and is now extending into South America.

His customers are mostly North Americans relocating or retiring abroad, which has made him a practical observer of the thing this movement theorises: what makes a person actually move to another jurisdiction, and what makes them stay. His answer tends to be mundane, being title, water, electricity and neighbours you can talk to.