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Retire To Boquete, Panama

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
Jun 07, 2010
in Retirement/Living
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Lush green garden in Boquete, Panama
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If You Don’t Like Change, Try Sun City Instead

“It has been nearly four years since I moved from Tucson, Arizona, to Boquete, Panama,” writes new Panama Letter Editor Lee Zeltzer.

“Looking back over my experiences, the operative word is ‘change’…in Spanish, cambio.

“Panama has changed in the time I’ve been living here, but more relevant to me is the change I’ve experienced.

“I came to Boquete with my wife to start a new life when our last of four children moved on to university. Within 18 months, my wife had left. For many reasons, she has not returned. Big change.

“Before she left, we’d purchased a small piece of property with a marginally livable house above Boquete. Compared with our suburban life in Tuscon, where we lived in a much larger home, this, too, was a massive change.

“The move from dry heat to wet…more change.

“The move from suburban to rural…change.

“The shift from 33 years of marriage to living alone…change.

“The only course in which I earned a ‘D’ in college was Spanish. Now I am learning to speak Spanish to survive. Change.

“Without the need for discovering religion, I have been reborn. What a nice change.

“During my university days, I was considered a student activist, very political and aware. During my years raising a family, I was totally focused on earning and surviving. Now, at this phase of my life, I have learned to accept what I cannot change. On a micro level, I have had some influence, but it’s nothing that will have a long-term impact. Years ago I shook off the illusion that any of us in the polity, the masses, shaven or not, can alter the grand scheme of things on this planet.

“Stripped of the need to change the world and largely free of the rewarding shackles of raising four children, I’ve discovered in Panama my opportunity for personal change. It is not that I, or you, could not experience this kind of change ‘back home.’ It’s just easier when everything around you, every element of your life, is different. You learn quickly that you must change or leave.

“And this is my point. Unless you are willing to undergo a grand transformation, this part of the world is not the place for you. It is different here in Panama. If you are set in your ways, a driven type A personality, and cannot adjust to the idea of nothing working as you anticipate, visit for a holiday and then go back home.

“I can live comfortably here on my Social Security income. Back in Tucson, that check might have covered my utility bills. But there are trade-offs. In retiring to Panama or another place with a low cost of living, you can live a lifestyle that you could not afford in the States, for example. But you’re going to need to make adjustments.

“If you are considering retirement in Latin America, the first and best piece of advice I would give you would be to learn Spanish. You will never really integrate into the culture without the language. Without that change, you are limiting your experience to a small English-speaking community. Make the change, though, and you will discover that the wonderful people here will welcome you.

“Sell your car, sell your stuff, come here to start a new life, and be ready to live longer and happier. Learn a new culture, learn a new language, learn to cook with seasonal ingredients, learn to dance the Salsa, try the good local rum, eat sancocho…

“Dr. Andrew Weil has written about how, as we age, we need to keep our brains growing to avoid dementia. Not a problem moving to a new place like Panama. You can try something new every day.

“My life in Panama has been one big change after another. My children and friends back in the States say I look and act younger today than I did four years ago when I left.

“It hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve enjoyed the changes Panama has brought me, and I plan to keep changing and growing.

“Perhaps it could be a good change for you, also. But only you can make that call.

“If you know you cannot change, do yourself a favor. Try Green Valley or Sun City instead. Don’t come to Panama. You will hate it here.”

Kathleen Peddicord

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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.

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