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Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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The Ring of FireDo you look at the Ring of Fire when you buy? Living in quiet areas of the world we actually can't believe that the earth is a shaky place. Thousands of small and not so small daily tremors witness that our planet is still geologically active. Earthquakes measured 9 on the Richter scale as the one that shook west of Indonesia in December 2004 happen but not so frequently. There were no more than a handful of them worldwide during the last 100 years. Before looking for properties in far away countries about which we do know little if anything it's useful first to Google for a map showing the Ring of Fire, a line connecting the active geological areas in the world. Major earthquakes occur quite apart in time but they almost never happen far away from this Ring, or to be more precise of these Rings because it seems they are many although with no equal significance. When we don't have plans to live as expatriates more than couple of years on one particular place, perhaps it isn't so important to know the geological situation in the country we go to except if there is an active volcano just next to our new property. On the other hand, if we plan to live for 20 or more years, it should be a must knowing what to expect from our host country. Let's look at those dangerous regions that at the same time are highly populated or represent particular interest for expatriates.
Far EastIn the Far East the most exposed country is Japan. Earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, landslides, everything you can imagine to make your life miserable. And despite this Japan is a home of almost 130 million people. It isn't by any extent a goal for other expatriates except for those who are sent for business purposes. With the population aging and the prices and rents still remaining high many Japanese will relocate abroad. Indonesia and especially its islands Java and Sumatra are also heavily exposed to all sorts of natural disasters. They are also heavily populated. Some of the smaller islands are also tourist paradises. This problematic region goes as north as Burma and as east as New Zealand. This risky region includes small islands that usually seem as ideal places for retreat.
AmericasThe western coast is a danger place to live beginning from Alaska and ending in Chile. The internal regions of both continents and their eastern coasts are calm. The western coasts of Southern and Central America show more geological activity than the U.S. and Canada. Caribbean archipelago is particularly dangerous place. It's also for good reasons considered as an expatriate paradise.
AfricaThere is at last good news coming from Africa. It has no major geological problems, only some minor areas in the center and the east that represent limited danger. There may be many other problems beginning with the protracted civil conflicts, the inverse racism toward the foreigners, and economic problems of all sorts, but when you see your new house collapsing you can be perhaps at 99 pct sure that an earthquake isn't a cause.
Eurasia In the politics there is perhaps a reason to distinguish Europe from Asia, but in geological terms they look more like one whole. The problems begin somewhere in Italy, continue their path through the Balkans, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Western China and make a connection to the main Ring of Fire somewhere in Burma. This means that although in terms of environment France, Spain, Italy and Greece may look quite the same in terms of natural hazards the first two are much less risky than the last two.
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