Nov. 22, 2009
Casco Viejo, Panama
PLUS: The Super-Stress-Free Approach To Finding A Rental In Kuala Lumpur...The World's Best Quality Of Life... Medellin, A Lot Like Europe Only Way Cheaper...
AND: Don't Worry How Your Children Will Adjust To A New Life Overseas...Worry How You'll Survive The Adjustment Period...
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Who Says There's No Such Thing As A Free Lunch?
Join Us For Our Feb. 24-26, 2010, Live & Invest in Panama Conference And Be Our Guest Over Lunch For The Special "Panama Expat Panel Discussion"
On the final day of our February Live & Invest in Panama Conference, we're planning a "
Panama Expat Panel Discussion" over a catered lunch. For this special event, we'll gather eight of the savviest Panama expats we know, a diverse group including foreign residents of Panama of different ages, different backgrounds, different interests, and different home countries. Lief Simon and I will include ourselves among them.
Nobody knows Panama like this group knows Panama. These are eight of the most experienced and knowledgeable Panama-philes you'll find anywhere. These folks know firsthand what it takes to live, do business, invest, and build a new life as a foreigner in this country.
Over lunch on the closing day of our February seminar, I'll lead this group in a Panel Discussion focused on real-life Panama experiences, then we'll open the floor to questions. This formal Q&A, I believe, will be one of the highlights of the event.
Attendance at this Luncheon will be free for Panama Circle Members and VIP Conference Attendees. We intended to invite all other attendees to join us for a small fee. However, because the response to our VIP invitation has been so great and so enthusiastic, we've reconsidered. We want to make this "Panama Expat Panel Discussion" available to as many conference attendees as possible.
So here's what we're prepared to do: We'll include participation at this special Luncheon for the next 20 conference attendees beyond our VIP group.
In other words, this Luncheon is on us for the first 50 registrants (the 30 VIPs and 20 others).
The phone is ringing continuously in our office these days, with readers calling to confirm details and to make plans, so I urge you to get in touch now. Again, you can reach Events Director Sofia Hogan by e-mail at
SHogan@LiveandInvestOverseas.com or by phone toll-free from the States at 1-888-627-8834.
When you get in touch now, we'll get your name on the list for this special "Panama Expat Panel Discussion" Luncheon. For the 50 attendees on this list, it will be our pleasure to be your hosts for what I predict will be one of the liveliest and most worthwhile experiences of the conference.
You can register now online here. When you do, Sofia will respond immediately to confirm whether or not you're among the first 30 VIP sign-ups and, as well, that your name is on the "Panama Expat Panel Discussion" Luncheon guest list.
On behalf of our entire Panama Team, we're standing by to hear from you and to welcome you to sunny Panama. Excitement and anticipation here in the office are building. We can't wait for February!
Full details here.
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Dear
Overseas Opportunity Letter Reader,
We dined al fresco beneath a new moon, enjoying a steady breeze off the sea. Young children pushed their scooters around the plaza and along the
malecon. Older ones walked among the palm trees hand-in-hand. A group of German tourists followed their guide from building to building. The sun had set an hour earlier, so they needed their flashes to snap photos of the facades of the theater, the churches, and the
former dungeon-turned-five-star-restaurant where Lief and I were enjoying baby lobster tails accompanied by the local rum. Here at Las Bovedas, the 17th-century pirate garrison, rum seems a more appropriate choice than wine.
We'd walked the dozen blocks from our house to the Plaza Francia and the restaurant, which sit at Casco Viejo's opposite tip. In the dark. Two lone gringos.
What are we, crazy? To walk without a bodyguard through Panama City's old town at night? We get that question all the time.
Tourists and others have been mugged and worse in Casco Viejo over the years. But the powers that be in this country today seem intent on preventing further incidents. Tourist police and a new special police force attached to the presidency (Panama's own "white house" is here in Casco) move among the 38 square blocks of this enclave on bicycles, motor scooters, and golf carts. These young friendly guys speak English and earn their keep. We of the gringo persuasion can't wander far without encountering one. "Can I help? Are you looking for something in particular? Maybe you should turn around now and head the other way," they offer day and night.
Friday, Lief had lunch with a couple of asset managers from the States, guys who've made good money and who are now looking for a place to protect it. They have families, young children. They're considering a move to Panama.
"Is it safe here?" they asked Lief again and again.
"El Cangrejo is an interesting downtown neighborhood," Lief offered.
"Is it safe?" the guys wanted to know.
"Albrook is the biggest shopping mall."
"Is it safe?"
"The new Cinta Costera is a great place to take kids on the weekend."
"Is it safe?"
I can't promise you that, here in Panama or anywhere else in the world you might name, nothing bad will happen to you.
But here's something I've observed, here in Panama and everywhere else I've spent time. If you stay away from trouble, it generally stays away from you. As in-country Editor Rebecca Tyre put it the other day, "It's really hard to be the victim of a random crime here in Panama."
It happens, I'm sure. But most of the crime here in this country is drug-related. Unless your Panama objectives include a plan to get in on the drug trade, I'd say you have little to worry about.
Kathleen Peddicord
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P.S. What else this week?
- "Medellin may feel like Europe, but it differs drastically from that part of the world when you look at the cost of living and, especially, the cost of real estate. My friend lives near the Parque Lleras. This is probably the best address in downtown Medellin, an attractive plaza of cafes and restaurants where people go to see and be seen. My friend had bought a studio apartment here for US$25,000 a few months before my visit, which, following a basic remodeling, he reckoned was worth at least double. Not one to waste time, after the first purchase, my friend began buying up other apartments on the same block..."
- "Kathleen, I really find your newsletters entertaining and interesting, but I have a request. The concept of early retirement to a nice, sunny, tax-free place is great, but please remember those of us with families and children who may want to do this..." In short, dear reader, don't worry how your children will adjust to a new life overseas. Worry how you'll survive the adjustment period...
PLUS: "When we decided to move to
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia," writes Asia Correspondent Wendy Justice, "we wanted the experience to be as stress-free as possible, and we didn't want to have to stay in a cramped hotel room for weeks while we searched for just the right place to live longer-term.
So here's what we did..."
.
