• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
FREE REPORT
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
*No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else.
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
Live and Invest Overseas
  • HOME
  • COUNTRIES
    • Top Destinations
      • Portugal
      • Panama
      • Belize
      • France
      • Colombia
      • Dominican Republic
      • Thailand
      • Mexico
      • Spain
      • Argentina
    • Browse All Countries
    • Best For
      • Retire Overseas Index
      • Health Care
      • Cost of Living
      • Investing in Real Estate
      • Editor’s Picks For Retirement
      • Establishing Residency
      • Starting an Online Business
      • Single Women
      • Playing Golf
  • BUDGETS
    • Super Cheap ($)
      • Cuenca, Ecuador
      • Chiang Mai, Thailand
      • The Philippines
      • Las Tablas, Panama
      • Granada, Nicaragua
    • Cheap ($$)
      • Algarve, Portugal
      • Medellin, Colombia
      • Boquete, Panama
      • Carcassone, France
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina
    • Affordable ($$$)
      • Abruzzo, Italy
      • Barcelona, Spain
      • Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
      • Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
      • Costa de Oro, Uruguay
    • Luxury On A Budget ($$$$)
      • Ambergris Caye, Belize
      • Paris, France
      • Panama City Beach Area
  • Real Estate
  • ARCHIVES
    • Living & Retiring Overseas
    • Raising A Family Abroad
    • Foreign Residency & Citizenship
    • Offshore Diversification
    • Our Latest On Coronavirus ⚠️
  • Making Money
    • International Real Estate
    • Banking
    • Employment
    • Investing
  • CONFERENCES
  • BOOKSTORE
No Result
View All Result
Live and Invest Overseas
No Result
View All Result

Reinventing My Life And Relocating To Panama

Live And Invest Overseas by Live And Invest Overseas
Jun 14, 2016
in Lifestyle, Panama
0
A person find a way to reinvent his life in Panama
212
SHARES
3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

My New Life In Panama—A Work In Progress

So… how did a nice Irish-Catholic boy from Washington, D.C., end up in Panama City, Panama?

Just lucky, I guess.

Why do I describe my new life in Panama as “a work in progress”?

Soon after moving here, I developed a theory that, when you pack up and move someplace new, the farther you go, in terms of distance, familiarity, comfort, and culture, the greater the opportunity you create to reinvent yourself.

How far you take the reinvention is up to you.

Some of my expat friends here in Panama cling stubbornly to all their old baggage, while others have performed complete makeovers.

I began trying to reinvent myself years before my wife and I moved here, but it was a lot more difficult when I was back in the comfort zone of my previous life.

Before moving to Panama, I spent 35 years in the restaurant industry. I started as a busboy, I waited table, I tended bar… I even spent some time in kitchens, before moving on to management. Along the way I met and married a lovely lady named Amy. We’ve been together for more than 30 years.

Amy is an interior designer and has always kept typical business hours. I, on the other hand, usually pulled the dinner shift, meaning we often didn’t see each other for days at a time. Something had to change.

A winter commuter in the nation’s capital

A winter commuter in the nation’s capital

Amy’s family is from Panama, and, 10 years after we got married, her grandparents retired and moved back to the family home in Sona, a small cattle town in the interior of this country. That Christmas, we took our vacation in Panama with Amy’s mom. I fell in love with Panama immediately.

Traffic in Sona

Traffic in Sona

After two days in Panama City, we traveled out to Sona. It was Christmas Eve. The next day, while the older generation prepared our holiday dinner, a group of Amy’s cousins kidnapped us for a day at the beach.

Sona is just over an hour from Santa Catalina, a stunning stretch of Pacific beach that also offers world-class surfing. We all piled into the back of a pick-up truck, and off we went.

Somewhere on that drive I began to realize that there is something very different about Panama. I had a sense of an energy here, fresh and vital, that I had never felt before. The green, rolling countryside… the bold blue sky… it was all so real and present. I don’t remember ever feeling so in tune with my surroundings.

I told Amy on the drive back that this is where we would retire.

Really, I was just finally agreeing with her. She was way ahead of me in appreciating what Panama has to offer and had suggested that Panama should be our retirement goal years earlier.

Vacations in Panama became a yearly tradition, and it wasn’t long before we started considering ways to establish ourselves here sooner… before retirement. We batted around various schemes and plots, between the two of us and with a group of like-minded friends over cocktails on the weekends, but it’s not easy to break out of your life to build a new one. We never stopped dreaming, though.

I continued looking for ways to escape from the nightly restaurant rat race, eventually selling fine wines for a local distributor. It was a commission-only position, and I had to take a part-time job (at night, waiting table) just to stay ahead of the mortgage.

By this time, Amy had landed a position with a major hotel-ownership group overseeing as many as 50 projects a year. The work was challenging, and the salary was generous, but she was married to the job, expected to answer emails at 10 p.m. or later.

We were burned out. Sound familiar?

Between the physical drain and a deteriorating work environment, Amy finally called it quits. She left her job and started looking for new opportunities.

She had offers from firms in Arizona, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. She even had interest from an organization that would have had us moving to China for a year. But there was nothing suitable in the D.C. area.

One evening as we were weighing the pros and cons of different options, it occurred to me that this was our shot. I suggested to Amy that she ask around with her extended family about opportunities in Panama. Her eyes lit up.

Decision made.

We got all the usual reactions from our family and friends… have you lost your mind… why so far… etc. What I didn’t expect was the number of people who called it a “sudden decision,” as if we hadn’t been talking about Panama for 20 years.

Coincidentally (or not), Amy had suggested a new career path for me a while before our decision to make a pre-retirement move to Panama, and, as a result, I was two months in to a six-month training course in therapeutic massage. A portable career.

This was August 2012. Amy made a couple of trips to Panama organizing things for us, and, by October, she was settled in permanently, leaving me in D.C. to deal with the domestic side of the move… packing, shipping, and the rest. I also had to rent out our condo and sell our car, while finishing my massage therapy program.

We managed to muddle through, but I wish I had known back then about Live and Invest Overseas. We definitely could have used the help.

Just before Christmas 2012, Amy flew back to join me for a wedding, and, on Dec. 23, we boarded a plane together bound for our new home in Panama.

We spent the first two months relaxing, letting the stress of our former lives just drift out with the tide. We spent a lot of time exploring beaches we’d missed on previous trips, including Bocas del Toro in the Caribbean.

Isla Carenero in Bocas del Toro

Isla Carenero in Bocas del Toro

Tanned, rested, and ready, we began the work of reinventing our lives.

Amy took a position with Proctor & Gamble overseeing product design. After a month it was clear to both of us that she no longer belonged in the corporate world. She switched gears and started her own business as an independent representative for interiors manufacturers (furniture, lighting, rugs) targeting the upscale hotel market. I worked with her while also building a small massage practice, teaching English part time, and pursuing my dream of writing.

We joined InterNations, a global expat networking organization, and started making friends at an “alarming rate,” according to one member of our new social circle. We knew almost no one in the city prior to the move, and we saw making connections as crucial to making Panama our new home. Amy and I are very social people.

We bought a car and dedicated ourselves to spending every spare minute either basking on the beach or exploring new corners of this magical country.

After many bumps along the way, we have settled into a rhythm, and life is even better than we hoped it would be. Amy’s business is getting real traction now, and last year I joined the editorial staff at Live and Invest Overseas. Like my father and grandfather, I’m now a professional writer.

It’s been a great adventure so far with no end in sight. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Matt Doherty

Comments

Tags: employment panamaexpats panamajobs panamaLive And Invest In Panama Conferenceliving panamamatt dohertyworking panama
Share85Tweet53
Previous Post

What To Do In Panama City, Panama, With So Many Options?

Next Post

Make Your Retire Overseas Dream Come True, We’ll Help!

Live And Invest Overseas

Live And Invest Overseas

Live and Invest Overseas is the world's savviest source for top opportunities to live better, retire in style, invest for profit, do business, and own real estate overseas. Established in 2008, the Live and Invest Overseas' editors and correspondents have more experience researching and reporting on top opportunities for living well, investing for profit, doing business, and owning real estate around the world than anyone else you'll find.

Related Posts

White sand beach and beautiful palm tree in La Miel, Panama.
Panama

Is Retiring In Panama Still A Good Choice? If So, Where?

by Kathleen Peddicord
January 20, 2021
0

Last week, Lief Simon and our entire Panama-based Live and Invest Overseas team showed the hundreds in attendance at our Live...

Read more
Panama City Skyline from Cinta Costera Park, Panama City, Panama.

How Panama Became A Great Economic Success Story

January 19, 2021
Refreshing Cocktail at beach in Belize.

10 Reasons To Reinvent Your Life In Beautiful Belize And 9 Challenges

January 17, 2021
Perfect tropical paradise beach with palm trees and hammock 350x250

Most Frequently Asked (And Not So Crazy) Questions About Retiring Overseas

January 10, 2021
The colorful urban skyline of Panama City, Panama.

The Current Events In Panama–How The Little Isthmus Shines

January 8, 2021
Keel-billed Toucan, shot in Panama.

The 10 Best Places To Discover Wildlife In Panama

January 7, 2021
Avenida Balboa at Dusk in Panama City, Panama.

The Panama Golden Visa: Residency And A Second Home For The Price Of One

January 6, 2021
Next Post
A lady on a beach under the sun knows that "retire overseas" is shorthand for the opportunity on the table.

Make Your Retire Overseas Dream Come True, We'll Help!

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas Today.

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

Get Your Free Panama Report Today!

​​Simply enter your email address below and we'll send you our FREE REPORT - 101 Things You'll Wish Someone Had Told You About Panama.
 

how to retire overseas

LIOS Resources


  • New To LIOS
  • Ask An Expert
  • Media Center
  • Contact Us
  • FAQs

Quick Links


  • Best Places To Live
  • Best Places To Retire
  • Finding A Job Overseas
  • Real Estate

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and get your FREE report: The 10 Best Places To Retire Overseas In 2021

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Unsubscribe

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Countries
  • Budgets
  • Archives
  • News
  • Events
  • Bookstore
  • Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Members Area
  • Contact Us

© 2008-2021 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.

WANT TO RETIRE OVERSEAS?

Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we’ll immediately send you a free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE in style overseas. Each day you’ll learn about the best opportunities for international living, retiring overseas, offshore diversification and asset protection, and investing in real estate around the world.

Get Your Free Panama Report Today!
 

​​Learn more about ​​​PANAMA and other countries in our free, daily Overseas Opportunity Letter​​, as well as our ​In Focus: ​Panama ​newsletter​​​​​​. Simply enter your email address below and we’ll send you our FREE REPORT – ​​​101 Things You'll Wish Someone Had Told You About Panama.
 

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.