278: What's It Like To Live In A Free Private City? - Alex Ugorji

The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup

Alex Ugorji is an entrepreneur and educator interested in prosperity zones, breakaway civilizations, and disruptive technologies. He started the Crypto Frontier, an intentional crypto community in Saipan, and co-founded a blockchain software company RaiPay. He is also the co-founder of Nakamoto Financial, a consulting and financial technology company. After realizing that his dreams of disruption could not be realized in the United States, he moved to Ciudad Morazán in Honduras to become one of the first-ever residents of this free private city, where he currently works as a consultant, community manager, and fellow Free Cities Ambassador.

TODAY'S CONVERSATION WITH ALEX UGORJI

• Listen in to Alex’s backstory of how his interest in cryptocurrencies and the ‘frontier of money” led him to first to Saipan and now to Ciudad Morazán in Honduras.
• Discover what it was like to live in the remote U.S. Pacific territory of Saipan and why Alex believes it to be the “freest place in America” and “America’s hidden gem.”
• Find out how the U.S. government’s increasing interest in cryptocurrency saw the Crypto Frontier projects ultimately getting shelved in Saipan.
• Learn about the unique law passed in Honduras that has allowed for three distinct “free private cities” to develop, including Ciudad Morazán, where Alex lives.
• Hear why Alex chose to live in Ciudad Morazán, which is more catered towards locals, over Prospera, which more caters more to foreigners and expats.
• Discover how Alex helped build a crypto ecosystem for payments which allows anyone who lives in Ciudad Morazán, aka “Bootstrap City,” to live entirely on crypto.
• You’ll be floored when you hear how simple and easy it was to open a gym in Ciudad Morazán with so many needless rules and regulations stripped away.
• Learn about the friendly competition between the two very differently structured ZEDEs of Prospera and Ciudad Morazán.
• Get the latest updates on the issues the ZEDEs have had with the Marxist Honduran government and how it will affect these projects down the road.
• Find out what it’s really like to live inside a private city on a day-to-day basis from someone who literally has boots on the ground.

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CONCLUSION

It was a blast talking to Alex after having dinner with him at the Liberty In Our Lifetime conference in Prague last year. Ciudad Morazán and the prospects of future cities like it present a huge potential opportunity for expats to begin a new life under a totally different model of private governance. This is a huge reason why I am a Free Cities ambassador along with Alex. I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. I’ll see you all next Wednesday!

Mentioned in this episode:

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After 17 months of bureaucracy, my partners and I successfully got our permits for Veritas Panama! This is the fully off-grid community we are building in the highlands of Panama. We have already started building the roads, subdividing the lots, installing the septic and water, and even installing solar panels, so everything is independent of the power grid! The site we chose is unbelievable; we are up at a flat plateau about a thousand feet up a mountain with incredible unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean. To go to the beach, it is just 15 minutes down to the water. We have mature fruit trees on site, including these gorgeous 200-year-old mango trees and many other things, such as avocado trees, papayas, and delicious tropical fruits. You can find out more information and contact us at VeritasPanama.com But please be aware that there are only 100 home sites, and without even talking about this to the general public, a lot of the lots are already sold… So if you dream of living in a completely off-grid community, enjoying the beautiful weather, close to the beach, being food, water, and energy independent, and want to have like-minded and cool neighbours, people who respect personal, medical, and economic freedoms, then I want you to contact us at VeritasPanama.com today

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I have great news. After many meetings and explanations, the Panamanian government has agreed to keep the Investors Visa at a $300k Real Estate investment instead of nearly doubling the amount required, as they said they would. This is a massive win for our community who wants to move to or invest in Panama, but I am not sure how long this will last… If you have been thinking about Panama, then I want to make an invitation to you today. Come join me for a special four-day tour to see if the country I call home is right for you and your family. We have just released the next set of trip dates. You can find out more at ExpatMoney.com/fly. Come visit me and the Expat Money team, get a feel for the country and see if Panama makes sense for investment or as a new home.

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