“I Got Bitten by Fire Ants and Said, ‘I’m Staying in the Truck.’”

Hey guys, Mikkel here,

I wanted to do something a little different for this edition of the Off-Grid Plan-B newsletter.

About a week ago, I had a member of my team sit down with Sarah and Jason Springston, a couple who became clients of mine a few years back and were among the first families to secure a plot of land inside our master-planned Veritas Coronado project. 

Sarah and Jason have visited me in Panama, had lunch with my family, and over the years I have watched them turn the idea of international diversification and a serious Plan-B into something very real. 

A couple of years ago, they travelled through Central and South America and eventually visited what would become one of the Veritas Villages communities in the highlands of Panama.

At the time, there wasn’t much beyond the welcome centre. 

Almost immediately after arriving to check out the land, Sarah got bitten by several fire ants and decided she’d had enough, and left Jason to explore the land with the Veritas team. 

Jason looked at the raw land and immediately understood what my partners and I believed it could become: a beautiful, self-sufficient community that would become a base for freedom-lovers just like him and Sarah.

Fast forward, and Jason and Sarah were the first to break ground and begin building their home on the Coronado property.  

Last month, their home became the first completed residence at Veritas Coronado. Of the nearly 90 homesites, all but two have been sold, and 17 homes are currently under construction. 

What interested me most about their story isn’t simply that they were the first to break ground and complete their home inside Veritas, Coronado. 

It was how they thought through the decision, evaluated the possibilities, and took the journey that ultimately led them to confidently choose Panama as the country for their off-grid home base. 

So today, rather than me telling you about Veritas Villages communities, let me introduce you to a family actively embracing the values and lifestyle the Veritas communities represent. 

Please note, the conversation below has been condensed, rearranged for flow and lightly edited for clarity and length.

Let’s get into the conversation with Sarah & Jason,

Sarah: Fortunately, when we visited two years ago, we had become clients of Mikkel’s, and we took a three-week trip down to Central America. We were at the beach at Playa Caracol, and then we went up into the mountains to see Veritas Village. There was nothing there except the welcome centre. They hadn’t really cleared any land yet, so we walked all around, and it was difficult terrain. I got bitten by several fire ants, and I was like, “That’s it. I’m staying in the truck.”

Jason had a very different reaction. He fell in love. Fortunately, he had the same vision Mikkel, Patrick, Spencer, and the whole Veritas team had. 

He said, “This is it, babe. They’re gonna do it right. They’re gonna make it completely off-grid. It’s gonna be luxury. It’s gonna be beautiful. Everyone’s gonna want to spend time there once it’s built, and they’re gonna build it, and the people are gonna come, and it’s gonna be paradise.”

I said, “Okay, let’s go for it.” 

I’m the kind of girl that doesn’t really want to camp. The idea of an off-grid hippie existence does not appeal to me whatsoever. But Veritas really has just nailed it. Our house is exactly what we would have built here in the U.S. Everything is very high-end, but it is completely off-grid. It is amazing. It’s beautiful. They already have the garden growing, and they’re going to be bringing in the chickens and the cows. It’s been an amazing journey the last two years.

Jason: No. Financial diversification was our first motivation. If you’re in business or you’re an investor, things like the stock market or the normal methods of investing and saving don’t look as solid as they once did. Our Plan-B started with diversifying internationally into more conventional real estate outside the U.S.  

Sarah: No. We loved Costa Rica. I loved Honduras. We looked at Nicaragua and Guatemala too. Panama just fit the few factors that we had, and it seemed like the most well-rounded fit for our goals.

Jason: There are a lot of different factors. Mikkel has breakdowns and white papers on different countries, and different people are going to care about different parts of that. If you’re an economics person, there’s an economic section. If you’re an environmental person, there are environmental considerations. For me, there were some freedoms that mattered to me, like firearms ownership, and then how countries responded during the COVID years. That was helpful because it wasn’t just  “which country is pretty?” We were looking at things that actually mattered to us.

Jason: I’ve been around the block with people and business, and you judge a tree by its fruit. We met Mikkel and worked with him and saw what he had done, the methods and the results. We met Patrick, we met Spencer, we met a lot of folks, and I was impressed with everybody. 

Another thing that mattered was that they believed in it themselves. Mikkel’s building a place right there, and these guys all have a place there, so they believe in it themselves. It is not just some system where an investor who lives in another state has bought the land and builds houses. They’re personally invested, and they’re invested in that success for themselves and everyone in the community.

Sarah: We weren’t the first people to purchase a lot, but we were the first to break ground. Our house was also the first one to be completed last month.

Side Note: Keep reading to the end of this edition of Off-Grid Plan-B. I’m going to share photos of Sarah and Jason’s newly completed home and show you the system that powers it. 

Jason: Real estate has been a big part of it. We have a large storage business property. We have a three-generation storage facility in our family that’s been very lucrative. The storage facilities are a great investment. That hasn’t been the only family business either. We’ve been ranchers and farmers with lots and lots of acreage and land. Land is the best investment. They’re not making any more of it, especially here in California.

Sarah: Land with water, too.

Sarah: Yes. One thing that really came full circle for us was when we met with Mikkel. We were having lunch with his family. His daughter was there. His mom was there. His wife was there.

Mikkel said, ‘I follow the two fundamental laws’, which is the way that we live as well: do all you say you’re going to do, and do not encroach upon anyone else’s person, property or things. It’s basically the Golden Rule. You don’t need any sort of schooling or religion or anything specific to be able to follow those two rules and to do the right thing and treat people well.

What mattered was that he was saying this in the middle of a family lunch, and everybody there knew those were his life principles. It was very easy to say yes after that. We felt comfortable doing business with him.

That’s really what guided us and got us to where we are today, with having the house at Veritas, having other properties in Panama and some other projects Mikkel has done as well.

Jason: We do have properties there that are more conventional rentals. But Veritas especially checked another Plan-B box. It is an investment abroad, and it can be a rental income, but it is also truly self-sustaining in a community of liberty-minded people. So we have a lot of opportunities there where everyone there is going to be more of a blessing to the community and not a burden.

With a true Plan-B, you are not only diversifying away from the stock market and into international real estate. You are also gaining things that matter just as much to us: water, food, and energy independence. 

Jason: If you’ve been a member of any HOA in America or Canada, you know there’s always a problem child. It’s not the place for a liberty-minded person. You get a lot of folks who just don’t want to do anything but have legal actions and all kinds of weird stuff. “It’s like, guys, we’re neighbours; we should be doing life together.”  

Sarah: We live in the northern part of San Diego where it’s more rural. There’s land, horses and livestock. The people here are pretty earthy. Maybe not as libertarian or liberty-minded as we are, but definitely conservative, faithful and family-oriented. They want to conserve traditional family values. We identify with that and love that part of our community here.

Jason: Big time. We’ve got chickens and a garden here at home. There’s a certain part of human existence where you can’t sit in front of a keyboard in an office your whole life. The recharging of our batteries, of our souls, happens down there. You can feel it. The land is good to you.

I think being good stewards of that land and being productive, and possibly even sharing with the community, will send a really good message about Veritas and the community there in the local area in Panama.

Sarah: We’ve homeschooled our kids. I’ve been my kids’ teacher, and I’ve taught at different homeschooling co-ops in our area. Mikkel has talked about opening a school there at Veritas, some kind of expat school. That would be something that would be interesting. If our kids ended up down there with us, I think they would bring a lot to the table too. Of course, they’d probably be young adults by that time. We would love to be involved and give back and contribute and make the community really robust, because we’ve done that here in our own little community in northern San Diego.

Jason: I do. My granddaddy was a handyman for the United States Army on a military base for his main career after the war. He was a great man. People looked up to him in the community. He knew just about any and everything and could fix just about any and everything, but lived a very humble existence. He took pride in everything he did. His word was his bond.

Jason: When I grew up in Georgia, the guys who built things were families that donated to your football stadium in the community. Your tradesmen and contractors and the people who ran those businesses built your community. They benefited from that job well done.

Everybody needs a plumber. Everybody needs those jobs done well by people who can be trusted to come into your home and do the work. When everybody got sent off to college, and we started moving away from some of that, things just went the TV-dinner route.

Jason: Yes. These communities are going to require people who actually know how to do things. The people who can build, fix, farm, grow and contribute matter. You need those kinds of skills. 

Jason: You need doers. 

Sarah: We convinced my mom to buy the lot right next to ours. Her house is being built right now and is about halfway done. I doubt she’ll end up there more than as a vacationer. She’s 82, so she’s pretty comfortable where she is, but she did go down with us and take a look at it. She’s going to go back with us in a couple of months to furnish her place when it’s done.

Sarah: We’re excited to see other families doing very similar things. They mentioned there have been a couple of families that have bought lots next to each other, or on the bigger parcels they’re building the main house and then a little casita for a mother-in-law or another family member.

Those are our kind of people. They love being around family, love children, love taking care of their older family members, and want to contribute and give back.

Sarah: There are so many testimonials in Mikkel’s world from his crew of people, his friends, neighbours and compatriots. They get it. It’s like we’re preaching to the choir anytime we talk to someone else from Expat Money or Veritas.

It’s really great to not have to start at A. You can just start at S or T, and they’re like, “yeah, we get the whole alphabet before that.”

Sarah: This was on the other side of COVID because it was 2024. But what we had been through with COVID here in California was absolutely bonkers. They tightened the grip of control over everyone in the state. It was really something to live through.

Fortunately, we were already homeschooling, doing our own thing, and we didn’t feel the need to comply in the same way. We didn’t lose jobs. We were already doing our own thing.

Jason: You have governments and what they do, and then you have people’s reaction to those things.

Sarah: It was more the people’s reactions that posed a bigger problem for us and a bigger shock. We were surprised by people going along with things or enforcing them.

Sarah: Yes. It motivated us to tell them to start on our house. We felt like we absolutely had to have a Plan-B, so we got it going.

Sarah: Well, there’s a lot of misinformation and brainwashing that goes on in the United States that you’re not even aware of. From a very early age, we’re indoctrinated with ideas like Mexico is definitely not safe, nowhere below the border is safe, and anywhere you travel through Central America or South America, you need to be very concerned about your safety. People think these are not stable countries.

Sarah: Yes. Panama has been stable for a long time, but people still think of Noriega. Our parents’ generation can still think Panama equals Noriega, corruption and drugs. That was a long time ago. If you don’t get out and travel and experience these places and meet people locally, you won’t know.

Sarah: Definitely travel. Find a way to spend time there and soak it up. How do you feel when you walk around? How do you feel when you interact with people doing business and doing day-to-day things? How many smiles do you see? How many buenos días do you get? It’s a very friendly place.

Jason: Everybody takes a lot of pride in their work. Something about the pride in the community here in America has been degraded so much. Take a basic job like a janitor. I’m from the South, and that used to be a great job. You could get a house, feed your family and retire on a pension. People took great pride in those jobs and did a great job. Everywhere we go there, we see more of that pride in Panama.

Jason: When a country is under the foot of oppression, and their government is having issues and burdening the people more and more, that boils up on the surface of every little thing. You can see it in people. They carry it on their shoulders in the day-to-day. It’s reflected in the walls and on the ground. Panama has a vitality and a vibrancy that I really enjoy. I can’t say enough about it.

Sarah: Visit, for sure. Take the time to visit.

If you’re not comfortable taking the leap and moving to another country, I think there are things you can do in the United States, and I’m sure in other countries as well. Hopefully these ideas are catching on, and people are starting to push back against what we’re seeing. Be inspired, at least visit, and see if you can do something similar in your own community.

Jason: Don’t just dream. Just go do it.

They got on a plane, sought out expert support, travelled through Latin America and did their own exploring, which ultimately led them to the hills above Panama’s Pacific coast. 

Jason looked at the same raw piece of land and saw what it might eventually become, and Sarah trusted in him.

Sarah didn’t need to see exactly what Jason saw on that first afternoon.

Over time, she met the people involved, spent time with them, understood the vision behind Veritas, watched the project take shape, and became just as confident in the decision as Jason had been from the beginning. 

Two years later, they are the owners of the first completed house on the entire Veritas, Coronado site.

Sarah’s 82-year-old mother has a home being built next door.

This didn’t all happen with one giant leap.

It was a series of decisions.

You don’t have to decide from your computer right now whether to build a second base outside your home country.

You don’t have to look at renderings of the various home models and decide which one would suit your needs perfectly. 

You do, however, need to start taking action (even small baby steps).

Action can be as simple as sending an email to my partners at [email protected], or as adventurous as travelling for three weeks through Central and South America.

Different strokes for different folks.

We all have to start somewhere, and nobody's journey will look like the next.

There is no right or wrong way to begin exploring what we’re doing at Veritas.

You can start today by exploring the possibilities of building a base inside one of our Veritas communities by contacting my partners at [email protected].

Worst case?

You have a lovely conversation with a personal friend of mine and end up firmly deciding that this type of community is not somewhere you could envision planting a flag. No harm, no foul. 

There are now well over 100 families who have secured land and/or are building within Veritas communities in Panama, Costa Rica & Nicaragua.

I can assure you that, at one point, most of them felt overwhelmed with establishing a base overseas inside one of the Veritas communities.

I highly doubt they feel the same today.

As I mentioned, I wanted to share some photos of Sarah & Jason’s new home and tell you a little about the off-grid energy system designed to power it independently.  Allow me to do just that:

The home Sarah and Jason have built is the Contiga model, which they selected from our existing collection of available home models. It sits on an incredible piece of land, with spectacular views from its 300m-above sea-level position.

What sits behind the walls and on top of the roof is equally impressive, and will most certainly allow them to “live like normal” without being connected to the grid. 

Their solar system includes 20 high-output solar panels, giving them an impressive 12.4 kilowatts of solar-generating capacity.

Bifacial panels can capture sunlight from both sides of the panel, including reflected light reaching the underside, rather than relying exclusively on direct sunlight hitting the front, meaning more energy can be harnessed into the battery system and used later. 

That power feeds into two custom-built 32 kWh lithium iron phosphate batteries, which will provide them with 64 kWh of total battery storage capacity. 

To put that in more digestible terms, 64 kWh is a serious amount of stored electricity for a residential system, so instead of producing solar power that must be consumed while the sun is shining, their home can bank a substantial amount of energy for nighttime use and periods when solar production is lower.

Their system is also designed to handle up to 18 kW of surge capacity, which is particularly important because many of the appliances we take for granted can demand a significant burst of electricity when they first kick on and otherwise could strain the system. 

In practical terms, Sarah and Jason won’t be living in a house where they need to wait for the dryer to finish before running the dishwasher, or worry about the AC units drawing too much power from their system.

Speaking of dryers and dishwashers, they spared no expense - their home is equipped with a full suite of top-of-the-line Samsung appliances.

Kitchen appliances, a dishwasher, and a stacked washer-and-dryer setup… the whole shebang.

The construction is finished, the solar and battery systems are installed, and the appliances are hooked up.

Next up, some final furnishings and landscaping. 

Huge congratulations to both Sarah and Jason - I couldn’t be happier for the two of you. I’m looking forward to catching up over a meal the next time you’re in Panama, seeing the finished home, and watching you pick up those keys. 

[email protected] to speak with my partners.

Speak soon,
Mikkel