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Vitalia Wiki
FAQ for Vitalia 2024 Residents

FAQ for Vitalia 2024 Residents

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Some answers to frequently asked questions.

What are the key facts?

  • Location: Vitalia 2024 will be hosted in Próspera, a Special Economic Zone on the island of Roatan, Honduras.
  • Duration: The pop-up city experience will take place from Jan 6th to March 1st 2024, and encourages a minimum stay of 1 month, with a focus on participants willing to spend at least 2 months.
  • Cost: Room pricing ranges from $1,000 to $3,000 per month, including accommodation and shared amenities like a gym and shared cars.
  • Who's Coming: The resident profile consists of scientists, entrepreneurs, artists, and thinkers specializing in fields like longevity biotechnology, healthcare, and decentralized governance.
  • Work Compatibility: Vitalia is not a conference; participants are encouraged to bring their work with them.
  • Amenities: The package includes medium-range private suites, free-use facilities like a gym and pool, on-site healthcare, and logistical services like car pooling.
  • Additional Services: Childcare services and a variety of wellness activities organized by residents are available.
  • Local Community: Roatan has a diverse and friendly local community with many accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
  • Acceleration of Longevity Innovation: Vitalia, long-term, aims to eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks to speed up clinical trials and lower costs in the longevity field.

How do I apply to Vitalia 2024?

Click here: https://lu.ma/vitalia

What is the cost?

The price is $1,000 - $3,000 per room per month (depending on room options). It includes your accommodation & shared amenities (gym, shared cars).

Lower-priced options are available for some less luxurious rooms and for shared rooms. TBA.

Learn more at

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How do I pay my deposit?

See:

💰
How to Pay Vitalia

What do I need to do to confirm my residency before Vitalia 2024 begins?

✅
How to confirm your residency at Vitalia

How long is Vitalia 2024, and is there a minimum stay length?

The popup city will take place from January 6th to March 1st 2024.

We encourage you to fully immerse, and we prioritize those spending 2 months in this pop-up city experience. For now we only house people with min 1 month stay.

Everyone else can book their own, nearby, but it's obviously best to be in the center of the action with everyone.

And we'll surely have portions open up that people can book weekly/nightly, eventually, but that system isn't ready yet, it's lower priority.

How’s the WiFi? Will I be able to effectively work while at Vitalia?

Yes! That is the norm. This is NOT a conference!

Bring your work with you. This is what the organizers will be doing as well.

WiFi in multiple apartments we’ve checked with so far are 35 mbps (very fast).

What is included in the package?

  • Accommodation in a medium-range private suite (unless otherwise stated)
  • Facilities for free use (e.g. gym, private offices, pool, private beach)
  • Health services (doctor on-site, emergency treatment) & insurance
  • Reasonable logistical services (golf carts, car pooling, shuttle)
    • Calendly system for car pooling (trust required)
  • Infrastructure & technology stack for co-living & co-working
  • (Camp Leaders can add extra services)

What else is available?

  • The residents will be organizing lots of wellness and healthy coliving activities.
  • Lots of fun activities on Roatan (snorkeling / scuba, animal sanctuary, bars & nightlife, diverse cuisine & restaurants, more beaches, hiking)
  • Child and daycare services (Guidepost Montessori, …)
    • Higher Ground Education (largest Montessori School provider); Temp. enrollment for kids age 2.5-6 for schooling 8:30a-5p (Mo - Fri); Cost: $600 per month
    • LoveRoatan has certified babysitters & nannies; Flexible, $15-22/hr
  • GARM Clinic
    • Stem Cell & regenerative clinic, focused on medical tourism
    • Founder Dr. Glenn Terry is ex-Head Physician of U.S. Olympic Committee
    • Has IRB authority
    • Did the Minicircle trials, building CRO capacity
    • Separate: PRM Hub by Greg Nakagawa
  • Upgrade to have your own private villa (3 bedrooms)
  • A large supermarket 10m driving distance (using shared cars)
  • Two restaurants within walking distance

Who will be a resident of this popup city?

The popup city and the long-term network society will harbor renegade life scientists, biotechnology engineers and other entrepreneurially driven people who care about life—including people who specialize in crypto, AI, and other frontier fields.

In other words, you do not need to be a longevity scientist or entrepreneur to come.

Scientists, entrepreneurs, artists & thinkers in:

  • Longevity biotechnology
  • DeSci
  • Healthcare
  • Crypto (Ethereum, DeFi)
  • Decentralised governance
  • Hardware (e.g. construction, electrical)
  • Legal engineering
  • Philosophy
  • Media
  • Other talents necessary for building a city, run a community (burners, etc)

Resident Profile is:

  • Ethics - have you experienced them doing the right thing when nobody's looking?
  • Real builders, not talkers - have you seen them work/produce first-hand?
  • Helpful - they do things for others, without being asked?
  • Positive vibe - do you like to be around them?
  • Resourceful - do they have many talents?

What caveat should I be prepared for?

One annoyance on Roatan beaches and areas close by are: sandflies

  • These don’t hurt and aren’t dangerous, but itch a lot
  • Mitigated by using spray & avoiding beach areas
  • Often end being a problem after 1 week on Roatan
  • They will become fewer the more numerous we are
    • We are working on novel solutions

What should I know about the local Honduran community:

  • Roatan harbors many different and diverse communities, it doesn’t have a single culture - it’s kaleidoscopic
  • The people on the island have a higher standard of living than on the mainland and mainly life from fishing and tourism, poverty is much lower than elsewhere
  • You can expect the vast majority of people on the island to be friendly and even curious about what we do, for example:
  • The level of spoken English is 60-80%
  • There are 50-60 businesses on the island accepting Bitcoin & other crypto
  • Islanders are very used to foreigners because of the many cruise ships and growing tourism industry; we’ll certainly be much better behaved on the whole than the average cruise ship tourist (we know each other)
  • Local islanders often appreciate the jobs and economic development, and they especially like education (which is bad on the island); if you can teach their children new stuff, they’ll be very happy about that
  • Many more educated islanders and mainlanders understand what we’re doing and are very excited that this is happening in their own country
  • That said, Hondurans receive a lot of misinformation about Prospera; I have personally not had a single situation where someone was hostile towards me because of my association (and I’m quite vocal about it), but it’s rarely necessary to make it a topic of conversation in the first place; local people typically like the jobs and economic growth it brings, but can be scared of media stories
  • We’re well connected within the ecosystem, and there’ll be plenty of locals from the island and the mainland involved as residents in Vitalia (not as servants); in doubt, you can ask them. Be curious, learn from them, travel around, ask questions.

Why did you choose Próspera as the location of Vitalia 2024?

We have talked about many different alternatives, including Rhode Island, Montenegro, Mauritius, Costa Rica or Panama.

While these may still be relevant, it is clear to us that Próspera is a key piece to the puzzle. It is a Special Economic Zone on an island called Roatan, part of the country of Honduras, in a strategic location with direct flights from major US destinations and a forward-thinking community of entrepreneurs.

When it comes to a rational, and choice-based legal system, Prospera is pushing the boundaries further than any jurisdiction ever has. It allows for medical freedom, coupled with common law legal liability and insurance-based regulation to price in safety while allowing free choice.

There is already a community of medical innovators around Minicircle, the GARM Clinic, the BIFAT Wellness Center and the coming build-up of a Regenerative Medicine Hub.

That is why we chose Próspera as the place to incubate Vitalia.

This choice does not represent a final decision for Vitalia to be in Próspera - after all this will be a community-based process to decide.

Prospera is a young jurisdiction with emerging infrastructure development and faces political trade-offs. In the past, this group has already hinted at the possibility of being multi-jurisdictional.

We narrowed the next-best options down to Uruguay and Montenegro. These two jurisdictions still have potential, and we plan to visit these places for an extended amount of time as well.

During the 2-months pop-up city, we’ll run workshops and explore options to diversify jurisdictions for the buildup of an interconnected medical innovation ecosystem that includes pharmaceutical production & export, research & development, clinical trials, healthcare & medical tourism.

What is Próspera like?

Próspera is on the island of Roatan with land that features high-end accommodation options, private beaches, and a tropical paradise setting (Intro Video here).

The Roatan island is safe. It is very different from the mainland, it's rather well developed for tourism. Mainland Honduras is where safety is an issue, not Roatan.

Will Vitalia 2024 be family friendly?

Yes! There is a Montessori School there and we'll be able to organise day care options.

Are there financing options?

We will do our best to accommodate your financial situation, but there are other funding options we recommend you apply to, including:

Is there a travel guide for Prospera (the jurisdiction on the island of Roatán)?

Yes! https://infinitavc.com/resources-guide

Re: flights, Roatan has an International Airport with 2-3h direct flights from the US.

Other travel tips:

  • Pre-Arrival Customs Check: Use this app link for Roatan customs pre-check: Roatan Customs Pre-Check. It streamlines your arrival process.
  • HN Immigration Customs App: We've encountered some difficulties with the online app for HN immigration customs. It's simpler to use the form provided at Roatan airport upon arrival.
  • Immigration Wait Times: Typically, customs lines are quite efficient, averaging less than 10 minutes. However, be aware that Fridays can be busier; on one occasion, the wait extended to two hours.
  • Tips for Food and Beverage Services: When paying with a credit card, consider giving tips in cash. Tips on card payments often result in lesser amounts for the servers. Hence, carrying small denominations like $1s and $5s is advisable for gratuities. Relatedly, USD is widely accepted in the area. While exchanging to Lempira isn't necessary, be prepared to receive change in local currency.
  • Rainy Season Advisory: January is part of the rainy season in Roatan. Please bring an umbrella. We’re hoping for clear skies during the conference!
  • Communication: WhatsApp is the preferred communication method here. It’s more reliable than US carrier texting, allows large file transfers, and is widely used for direct messaging.
  • Drinking Water: Stick to bottled water for drinking.
  • Airport Departure: It’s advisable to arrive at the airport at least 2 hours early for flights leaving Roatan, especially on Sundays.
  • Staying Longer than 90 Days: If you’re staying for longer than 90 days, you will need to renew

Do I need a vaccine to travel to Honduras?

Re: COVID-19, all COVID-19-related requirements to enter Honduras have been lifted.

That said, you may want to get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines like those suggested here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/honduras

Do I need a visa to travel to Honduras?

It will depend on your nationality. It means you will have to verify with the iVisa checker tool to ensure which travel documents you will need for your trip to Honduras.

How does Vitalia 2024 accelerate longevity innovation?

This first Vitalia gathering sets the stage for revolutionizing longevity innovation. We aim to create a motivated community of leaders who will partner to eliminate bureaucratic roadblocks, speeding up clinical trials from 15 years to 4 months and cutting costs from billions to millions.

While we don’t expect new drugs to be developed during the two months, this Vitalia MVP isn't just a one-time event; it's a blueprint for a scalable, self-governing community focused on fast-tracking longevity solutions.

The insights gained will be iteratively applied, creating a sustainable model for rapid innovation in the field.

What’s in it for the organizers of Vitalia?

We are a group of entrepreneurs who care deeply about accelerating innovation in longevity.

We are personally invested in the longevity space, but are not taking a profit from organizing Vitalia.