• 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

Where To Afford A Luxury Lifestyle Even If You’re Not A Rock Star

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
Jan 09, 2013
in Retirement/Living
0
what life is really like here in the hub of the Americas
212
SHARES
3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

We report often on the best places in Panama to retire well on little, spots–on the coast, in the highlands, and in Panama City, too–where you can enjoy a comfortable lifestyle on a modest budget, pointing out that, in some parts of this country, it’s possible to retire on as little as US$1,000 a month or even less.

With that budget, you’d be enjoying a good but simple life, living more like a local than an expat.

On the other hand, at the other extreme, Panama is also a place where you can enjoy what could be described as a luxury lifestyle, the kind of life you could embrace in Manhattan or London, Miami or Dubai.

The “penthouse life” you might call it, complete with waterfront two-story penthouses in buildings with saunas, spas, massage rooms, squash courts, and 24-hour concierge doormen and supported by five-star restaurants, trendy bars, and international-brand shopping (Tiffany, Hermes, Cartier, Rolex, etc.) nearby.

We spent four days in Manhattan over Christmas, indulging in that kind of life. We ate at steak houses with white-glove service, stopped for champagne cocktails, shopped Fifth Avenue, and ate US$20 hamburgers for lunch (once). By the end of the four days, Lief and I both were eager to move on. Who could afford to live like that indefinitely? Not us.

At least not us in Manhattan. However, here in Panama, we’re realizing, not only is that standard of living available, but it comes at a price that many more of us can absorb.

Specifically, this kind of living is on offer on a little peninsula in the heart of Panama City called Punta Pacifica. On this spit of land, the highest-end of any high-rise towers in this city of high-rise towers have been built, including the infamous Trump Tower. In addition to ultra-modern, ultra-amenity buildings, this area has been developed to include real sidewalks (uncommon in this city), grassy medians (non-existent elsewhere in this city), park areas, and lots of trees and shrubs. As the final few of the towers to be erected here (it’s a small area, so only so many buildings are possible) are nearing completion, it’s also one of the least congested and quietest spots in the city. Everywhere in Panama City is under construction or renovation in some way, including in Punta Pacifica, but, again, the work in this small region is nearing an end, making it unique and accordingly appealing.

As it’s a peninsula, all of the buildings have front-line water views from at least one side. All of the buildings also have all of the amenities you could ever hope for and compete with each other on this score. As I mentioned, these buildings compare with what you can find in center-city London and downtown Dubai.

Just a few minutes away is Panama City’s high-end shopping mall, MultiPlaza, which has just expanded to add dozens of new internationally recognized retailers. There’s the paneled wine bar in Trump Tower for evening respites and all over Panama City you’ll find truly five-star restaurants, where the food, the ambiance, and the service can be compared favorably with what we recently enjoyed in New York.

All of this comes at a cost, of course. Punta Pacifica is the most expensive living option in all Panama. Per-square-meter sales prices average US$2,000 right now (except in Trump Tower, where agents are trying to get US$2,500 per meter and more…don’t pay it). Penthouses rent for US$4,000, US$6,000, and more a month. Monthly condo fees can add another US$500 to US$1,000 monthly. A couple of drinks in the Trump Tower bar will set you back US$20.

However, comparable digs in comparable buildings with water views in Manhattan or London? They’d cost you multiples of what you’ll spend in Punta Pacifica. This is one of the few legitimate examples worldwide of being able to buy what qualifies as true luxury-level living for a fraction what you’d spend for the same level of living in one of the world’s recognized brand-name cities. If luxury is what you want but you can’t afford it in the places where jet-setters and rock stars typically seek it out, this would be a very good option to consider.

Our new Panama Letter Co-editors, Denis Foynes and David Sexton, introduce subscribers to this small and unique section of Panama City in this month’s issue. Even if you’re not in the market for the luxury life, I think you’ll appreciate what it means about Panama City’s future prospects to be able to report that this lifestyle is among the many available here at a very competitive price.

Kathleen Peddicord

Comments

Tags: 'Retire To Panama City'Luxury Living OverseasPanamaPunta PacificaTrump Tower
Share85Tweet53
Previous Post

Gerard Depardieu Quits France For Russia Over Tax Dispute

Next Post

Fully Tattooed Man Is Third In Czech Presidential Polls

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.

Her newest book, "How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad," published by Penguin Random House, is the culmination of decades of personal experience living and investing around the world.

Related Posts

Skyline of Paris with Eiffel Tower.
Retirement/Living

While Away Your Days In Paris

by Kathleen Peddicord
April 21, 2021
0

In 2007, I left the publishing company where I’d been working since the age of 21. I thought I was...

Read more
Panama City, Panama.

One Of The Greatest Melting Pots

April 20, 2021
Cinta Costera, Panama City, Panama

How To Move Abroad: The #1 Tip To Start Your New Life Overseas

April 18, 2021
Grilled sardines with salad, bread and potato, Portugal.

Food, Wine, Customs, And Culture In The Algarve, Portugal

April 16, 2021
Toledo, Spain.

Why You Shouldn’t Retire Overseas

April 11, 2021
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Where Are The Cheapest Places In The World

April 9, 2021
Doi Inthanon National Park when sunset, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The Top 10 Best Places To Live In Asia For Retirees

April 8, 2021
Next Post
JUDr. Vladimír Franz

Fully Tattooed Man Is Third In Czech Presidential Polls

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

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.

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