“I’ve always had a sense of wanderlust, but when I first visited Boquete, I just knew that I could stay there forever,” says Gabrielle. “One of my bucket list items was to circumnavigate the globe. One day, my husband Patrick and I were walking into town and I told him that I didn’t feel the need to that anymore. I’m really happy right here.”
Gabrielle first started thinking about the idea of moving overseas decades ago. As a long-time reader of Kathleen, it had time to really seep into her mindset.
Americans, she says, are used to how things work in the United States. It’s comfortable and familiar. So, it took years of Gabrielle reading Kathleen’s letters to finally take the plunge and go to one of our Live and Invest Overseas conferences and take a trip to Panama.
“We only visited Panama City, Colón, and Barro Colorado. The trip felt incomplete because we skipped the highlands of Chiriquí, which we had heard from Kathleen were wonderful.
“We came back and drove from Panama City to Chiriquí, checking out lots of other towns along the way. But when we turned in David and started going up the mountains to Boquete, I had the weirdest feeling that we were going home. And that feeling has never gone away.”
Panama was not Gabrielle and Patrick’s only choice for moving abroad. She loved the idea of Italy or Portugal, but it felt too far from California, where their families still live, and quickly ruled those out.
When it came time to move, Gabrielle and Patrick didn’t have a plan. At the time, they were not employed but were not yet receiving Social Security either. Gabrielle had a small pension from her last job which was what they used to move down here.
They rented a house sight-unseen, and it turned out to be the perfect place to live in Boquete. It was walking distance to town and had everything they needed. And what it didn’t, they could buy for an affordable price.
Gabrielle and Patrick now live in a bigger house that was built in the same plot of land from their first rental. They still have their great views, walkability, and got some things installed that are more common in American households, like a bathtub and a dishwasher.
Gabrielle and Patrick’s backyard views…
“We became instant familia with our landlady. Panameños are just incredibly welcoming and friendly. Just make an effort to learn some Spanish. Most of the time, they will start speaking in English because they’ll notice that’s what most comfortable for me, but it’s important to be respectful enough to learn the local language.”
Their rent is under $1,000 a month for their three-bedroom, two-bathroom house. Rent costs are rising with all the influx of expats, but costs are overall are still affordable compared to North America.
Regarding health care in Boquete, Gabrielle and Patrick have no complaints. In the 10 years they’ve been living in town, several clinics have opened with excellent English-speaking doctors.
“You can get anything checked out here in town… Unless it’s a highly specialized major surgery, and then you can just go down to David where the hospital is. A doctor’s visit is $20, and you don’t even need an appointment. Just show up and wait for your turn.”
While in Boquete, Gabrielle had to get knee surgery. She thought the whole experience was wonderful, and only cost her about $6,000 for everything, including the physical therapy needed after. This is something unimaginable in her former home of LA.
A challenging part of moving to Panama was the rainy season. Coming from Southern California, Gabrielle thrives with its mostly year-round sun. In Boquete, when it rains, it pours. And because for many years they relied on public transportation, when it rained, she felt a little trapped. They managed by going back to the U.S. during the worst part of the rainy season.
Gabrielle and Patrick became a huge part of the Boquete expat community (and community in general). Gabrielle loves theatre and Patrick used to make a living in the States as an actor. So, the first thing they did when arriving was join Boquete’s theatre group.
“We were immediately cast on ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ and we had a ball with that. If you are familiar with theater at all, boy, you know you meet everybody in theatre. You suddenly have a lot of new friends.”
If you move to Boquete, consider joining the Boquete Community Players Theater group…
If you’re not a theatre person, Boquete has lots of other organizations and groups you can join, like Buenos Vecinos (donation of food to indigenous and lower income communities), Amigos de Animales (helps with funds to spay and neuter stray dogs and cats, buy food, provide shelter, etc.), and many others.
Gabrielle advises that the best first step when trying to find community is to join a group, class, etc. of something you really love doing. That’s how they approached it.
Gabrielle and Patrick feel that by moving to Panama they didn’t retire… they rewired.
“That’s what people do here. You come and you rediscover and bring back to life something that you really loved when you were younger but had to give up for work.
“Also, plan on being a contributing member of the community. When moving abroad, don’t just think about what the place offers you, but what you have to offer them. You probably have skills that will be valued in your new home.”
Sincerely,
