Retire PanamaFrom The U.S. To Costa Rica And Now Panama--Why This Seasoned Expat Chooses Chiriqui April 5, 2010
Boquete, Panama PLUS:
All Bets On For Last Chance BONUS Day 5-- Save Up To 63% Don't miss out on what I promise you are the best prices you will ever see for these best-selling products. Take advantage of this last-chance Bonus Day 5 of our Second Anniversary Celebration Sale. For the next and final 24 hours of the Celebration, you can save big while, at the same time, taking an important next step toward the better life you're dreaming of. Here's Your Last Chance Line-up: For the next 24 hours, through Noon EDT tomorrow, Tuesday, April 6, you can...
---------- Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader, "'The main thing expats need to understand before moving to Panama," reports Panama Letter Editor Rebecca Tyre in her April issue (due out later this week), "is that you can't change the locals. You must accept their culture and enjoy it. Too many people move here with the idea that they will be able to change Panama and make it more like the place they left. They seem to forget that left wherever they came from for a reason. No place is perfect.' "That's David Fuhman's advice to anyone considering a move to Panama. David has been living here for four years. Originally from the United States, David owned a bar and restaurant in Costa Rica before making the move to Panama. A Chiriqui resident, David said it was friends who first convinced him to give Panama a shot, and he's glad he did. "'The best thing about living in Panama is that it's peaceful here. The people are wonderful, and everyone gets along with one another. Also, there's very little industrial pollution in Panama, which is another benefit.' "Though just 47 years old, David obtained a pensionado visa, which allows him to take advantage of the many discounts that come along with being a 'pensioner' in this country. The process of obtaining his visa was lengthy and required stacks of paperwork, but the time and effort was worth it, David says. "David has some friends in the expat community, but spends most of his spare time socializing with Panamanians. He speaks some Spanish, enough to function in this Spanish-speaking country. Plus, he explains, 'learning the language is not as difficult as many people fear.' "David co-owns Hostal Boquete, a beautiful, recently renovated inn on the Caldera River in downtown Boquete. During his four years in Panama, David says the main changes he's noticed are the constant building taking place and the appreciating cost of living. Though prices have increased, David says life in Panama remains much cheaper than a comparable life in the United States. "'I think Panama prices are a lot lower than in the States. Property taxes, for example, are much higher in the United States than in Panama. Food, too, costs a lot less in Panama than it does Stateside.' "David is very content with his life in Panama and has no plans to leave. Of course, though, not everything about life in Panama has been an easy adjustment. David says the worst thing about living in this country is the way people drive. "'They don't follow the law, and you can never predict what a Panamanian driver's next move could be. Moreover, in Panama City, there's just too much traffic. Too many cars, buses, and taxis.' "On living in Boquete, David says life is calm and peaceful in this mountain town. The main downside is the inconvenience is having to travel 40 minutes down the mountain to the city of David to buy certain things that you just can't find in Boquete. 'The diversity of goods and services available in Boquete has increased greatly since I moved here,' David reports, 'but there are still some items you just can't find in Boquete.' "David's favorite thing about life in Panama's most established expat haven? "'I feel very safe here,' he says. 'The police do a very good job making sure I continue to feel that way. I'm very happy here and really can't find much to complain about. That's when you know you made the right move.'" Kathleen Peddicord Editor's Note: Panama Editor Rebecca Tyre's interview with long-time expat David Fuhman is included in the April issue of the Panama Letter, due out later this week. Her full report on expat life in Boquete is featured in the March issue. If you're not yet a Panama Letter subscriber, become one here to access the latest issue now and to receive the April issue the minute it comes off the virtual press. ---------- Run Away To A Beautiful English-speaking Land On The Caribbean...And Live Tax-free! Belize is one of my favorite countries in the world, one of the places I most regularly day-dream about returning to explore further. From the white-sand beaches of Ambergris Caye in the Caribbean to the long mainland coast (offshore which lies the second-longest barrier reef in the world) and the hilly rain forest interior, Belize serves up natural beauty in abundance. This country's islands, beaches, Mayan ruins, mountains, rivers, caves, and waterfalls make for some of the best adventure travel (that is, snorkeling, diving, boating, fishing, hiking, river-rafting, mountain climbing, and spelunking) on earth. And that's only the start of the reasons why you should be taking a close look right now at this little English-speaking country. Belize is also one of the top offshore, asset-protection, tax, and banking havens in the world today. On top of this, Belize offers a user-friendly and incentive-laden foreign residency program that allows for what friends in the country refer to as "virtual residency." You can take advantage of the advantages of permanent Belize residency even if you're physically present in the country as little as two weeks per year. Plus, Belize is affordable, welcoming, safe, and home to an interesting, eclectic, engaging, and friendly population that includes a well-established expatriate community of like-minded adventurer-retirees who would love to have you join them. The advantages, appeals, and attractions of Belize are many. But is it a place you want to spend your time or your money? ---------- TODAY: "London is likely to be the overall loser. Since Paris launched its scheme in 2007, the French capital has had 8,000 bikes stolen and 18,000 damaged beyond repair. "London is also planning to copy Paris' decision to build the Eiffel Tower as a temporary advertisement for the French steel industry to mark the Great Exhibition of 1900. To mark the 2012 Olympic site in East London near Stratford, the city and Indian steel mogul Lakshmi Mittal will finance the construction of a 115-meter (about 345-foot) -high asymmetrical steel tower that looks like a broken roller coaster at a cost of US$15 million. "Visitors will be able to scramble up the walkway or take an elevator to the top, where an observation platform and restaurant will await them. Unlike the Eiffel Tower, originally only a temporary construction, this steel monument is intended to last forever." MAILBAG: "I've been a nomad since 2006, spending a lot of time in Asia, Europe, and Egypt. I'm still looking with great interest for that place to plant myself...not one place, but ocean beach in the winter and fall foliage on a lake in the summer. "Thanks for the wonderful newsletter and all the information." -- Pamela H., United States Read all about the Travel Writer's course here. Yes, the program includes information on where and how to submit articles for publication. ***  , and I couldn't put it down! I've been reading your Overseas Opportunity Letter for months and wondered if there would be a lot of repetition. Not so."I'm 60, a single woman, planning retirement, on a budget, and learning Spanish (my professora said it would probably take me two years of immersion to be fluent), so my priorities (as you write so well in your book) are different from someone who is younger (and with children). If I were younger, it would be Panama City, hands-down. I think I should take my son to check it out. "As for the budget, your great way of laying out the pros and cons of each of the 14 places covered in your book made it easy to see that I could afford to slip into most all of them as of this writing. But your book details so much more than just those 14 places, and, as you also write, it is about more than cost. One needs to feel out an area within a country to see if it is right for them. "Therefore, I'm planning on a looong trip this summer, spending a short time in Panama and then in Ecuador to see if I'll be OK at the higher altitude. (I really appreciated your comment about that in your book.) "Your book gave me the confidence to just go do it, to give it a try. Thank you." -- K.J.H., United States |
Home ♦ SUBSCRIBE ♦ Whitelist Us ♦ Privacy
Media ♦ Search ♦ Site
Map ♦ Advertise