I am a single 58 year old man planning to move to Central America in January, 2009. I am a retired teacher currently subsituting in the San Diego area. I am considering three countries, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, but am leaning towards Panama. My problem is this, I have done extensive research on all three countries, expecially the cost of living. I have a pension of $1400 a month, plus some money saved, just in case. While traveling to Costa Rica and Panama, I visited several schools and dropped off my resume.
My research on the cost of living has varied a lot. Some say you can live conservativly on $750.00 a month. Others say you need at least $2000 to get by. That is a big difference. I understand the big difference since everyone is different. I live in San Diego. I am used to living on very little to get by, so that is nothing new to me. I am both desperate and frustrated over this issue. Can you give me a general idea on what the basic cost to live in these countries? I will be using a lot of my pension to make this move. I would hate to put that money out only to end up in the same situation I am in now. Sorry for the long message, but I will DEFINITELY be moving next January and I am very desperate for help.