New members of the Panama forum, introduce yourselves here - 2019

My name's Werner and I'm a 36-year-old software engineer from Cape Town, South Africa. My wife and I are heading to Panama mid April 2019, once everything's taken care of this side. We're both very eco-friendly people and are planning to start our family on a farm somewhere in Panama.

This forum has been quite helpful and we really appreciate the information everyone shares. Thank you!

Hola!
Greetings to you all.
My name is Alan currently living in Florida US of A.
I am looking forward to learning from you who are "in-the-know" about life in Panama.
My interests are living in the higher elevations hoping to find property near a lake or river system.  I would like to become a resident and want to learn what is involved in that.  I do know there are at least 3 options Panama has.  I would like to either purchase an existing small Bed and Breakfast or property that could be converted.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Gracias!
Alan

Greetings to you all!

I'm Kent Davis, born in Hawaii, raised on the East Coast and myself and my family have called Panama home since 2007.

I originally chose Panama as it felt very up and coming. It was close enough to the United States, which meant I could pop back home to the east coast or to Hawaii pretty easily and a close friend of mine praised how friendly the Panamanians were to foreigners.

I loved the idea of the climate, the bustling city, and the vibrant beaches which were all things that suited me perfectly!

Panama has been very good to me and my family and moving here is one of the best decisions I ever made. It has excelled all of my expectations. The people are amazing. The food is exquisite. The weather is outstanding.

I now have 12 years of experience of living and exploring Panama and I am proud to say that my company, Panama Equity Real Estate has been successfully helping people find their perfect property in Panama for over 10 years. I can bet I have a lot of the answers to questions on this forum.

Hope you're all having a great day!

Best,

Kent

Hi Kent.
Well let me put you to the test, OK?
I am in the very early stages of exploring an actual move to Panama.  I am also considering Costa Rica and Mexico.
I am presently living in Florida and I have a fiance living in Ukraine.  We have known each other as much as you can after 6 years and it is time for us to marry.  But here is where I could use your experience and help.  It is in our mutual interests that we be able to live after we are married in Central America.  We plan to become residents and I am aware of the various ways to become a resident in Panama.
What we need to know at this time is how we will be able to bring my fiance's father with us from Ukraine.  He is 70 years old and has had some health problems.  My fiance is his only care giver.  It is best that he be able to be with us for his care and the sanity of my fiance.  So in affect he would be our dependent.  We also have a 14 year old son.
So do you have the knowledge of what we can do?  Or be able to direct me to where I can get the answer?
Let me add that it is our desire to rent for at least a year and we wish to live in the highlands such as Boquete or David.  We also want to be near a lake or river.  Eventually looking to invest in a small Bed & Breakfast Inn with at least a 3 bed private house.  I am a very experienced building and grounds maintenance manager/technician.  I am a farmers son and love the land.
Thank you Kent.
Alan

Hi all!  Toni here. South African! Hubby and i are doing as much research as possible at the mo as we want to relocate to Panama in 2020!

Nervous as all hell....of course...but looking forward to a new adventure. Our dream is to buy a small business down there and live a more simple life.

Chat soon!

Hola amigos/as

I'm Wilfredo Rivera, born/raised in Puerto Rico and currently living the retired life in Oklahoma, and thinking of moving to Panama.  I love Puerto Rico but the island's economic and security issues make it impossible to live there so Panama is the next best thing.  The weather, language, lower cost of living, the people and their culture, cuisine, etc.., are so like Puerto Rico that I believe I'd feel right at home there.  I still have to get a few things taken care of but by the beginning of next year I'm planning a trip there to see it for myself.  I'm looking towards Chiriqui province around the Volcan area.

Gracias mil,
Wil

My name is Brent, I am 62 years of age, I am a hospital Director of Plant operations looking to retire on S.S only in Panama, single, $1500 a month S.S benefits. I live a simple non fancy or extravagant life. Is it doable, any part time work available to help the people of Panama? Thanks !

Hi Brent,

I am planning a move to Panamá, hopefully by beginning of 2020, and through my research living in Panamá for $1500/m maybe doable. You may want to do some research as well on the matter although Panamá's economy is pretty stable and food/fuel prices are steady for the most part, and one of the reasons I'd want to move there.

Check this website out! It has info on the topic as well as others that may interest you.

alittleadrift.com/cost-of-living/panama

I found numerous  houses for rent( Nice Houses!) in Boquete for $300--$400 range with "all" utilities paid, For that price I could make it on $1,200 as the hermit I am! LOL ! If those prices on Craigslist are true, Thanks!

Mind you, they are one bed, one bath bungalo's

Boquete tends to be expensive, so if you look at nearby towns you may find even more attractive options. That price is low for Boquete though, especially if you can be happy in a small place.  If you don't speak Spanish and/or want to get involved with some of the many activities in Boquete, it's nice to be there or nearby.
My husband and I live in David on less than your budget for both of us and we are happy and comfortable. Yes it can be done especially if you get affordable housing and eat locally grown food. And you may find, like us, a simpler life can be very happy.

So a single guy at 62 yrs old, live like a hermit with just minimal entertainment can make on 1,200 social security? Thanks!

See above...

Hello!

I'm a marketer who can work from just about anywhere with a reliable internet connection and my lovely bride does nails. We currently live in Utah and have 4 kids (two still at home).

We are looking to relocate to Panama, Costa Rica or Mexico in a few years; once our youngest is out of the house. He starts High School next year.

We will be visiting Panama in July for a couple weeks and want to make the most of the visit to see if it stays on our list. We've taken several places off after visiting. All of them were amazing but were missing in some key areas. My research suggests that at least one of these three locations will work for us.

What we are planning is to earn, at least some of, our income from running Bed and Breakfast, or more likely an AirBnB. We've seen a lot about Bocas Del Toro and that is where we plan to spend our time in July. Being on the ocean or having an ocean view is important to us.

I'd love to find out as much as I can about costs to build, what it is like buying real estate, and what I don't even know to ask yet. Also, what other areas would be considered similar to Bocas?

Be very very careful in Bocas. There are lots of stories about people selling property that doesn't really belong to them, or they don't have a clear title.

Yeah, that seems pretty commonplace just about any place in the warmer climates.

Hi. My name isJeanine and my husband is Reggie.  We moved here two months ago. We live in Jaramillo Boquete. We've moved here from Iraan, Texas which is way out in West Texas. We came last December and fell in love with Boquete and decided to retire here. We love the cool temperatures and the beauty of Boquete.  Coming from a place that hot and ugly, this place is heaven.

Hello to all-

My name is James "JB" Bryson, and I have been retired full time in Panama for almost 7 years now.
Before that I sued to come to the Canal for business and I knew I would eventually retire here with my wife.

****
I am interested in networking with as many people and groups as possible.

Saludos-
JB

Hello, 

  I have a background  in (antiquated) programming, mathematics (interrupted), and have studied numerous other topics including the us first amendment and natural law and presently have a IACHR petition filed against the USA. It is becoming extremely dangerous to be a smart person in the USA due to the marxist anti-family democrats and the cop loving federalists, they can arrest a person now indefinitely with no conviction or trial for your legal arguments and starve their religious targets to try to force convictions to secure federal grants and escape all liability, bringing your career to ruin and trapping you in student loan debts weeks before graduation....and in the end be ordered to pay their attorney bills for their attempt to kill you because you made a legal argument they didn't like that is consistently cited throughout history and the SCOTUS on the first amendment.  I am one of the few who, despite the torture, beat the false indictment.  And even the others who escape, as well as those who plead, tend to be routinely targeted to ensue they lose everything and secure a conviction.  I was forced to lose just about everything including my degree, and left to move far away to litigate as to avoid the fate of others. .
The only appeal to justice Americans have left to be made whole against the abusive law enforcement is to prosecute the Lockean appeal to heaven.
  My criteria in choosing panama was that they are pro-life, they support the freedom of speech, and their privacy laws could be beneficial to projects i hope to commercialize, and access to internet.  I wish the pay was better [or that there was more english spoken], but hopefully economic growth will keep growing there.
  If I choose panama to go to, I probably won't come with much but in seeking political asylum from the united states either formally through the asylum process or through a work visa.
   I am planning to leave maybe this fall after the harvest season and summer heat.  Ideally, I would like help finding a job in the panama city area to satisfy a work visa.  There are some limitations, I won't kill animals, nor deal with blood, gore, nor waste, nor sell birth control...and I don't want to be around Lake Gatun.  Ideally i would like to work for a company that is NOT headquartered in the United States, i would rather the United states collapse into the Venezuela that the democrats want it to be than pay our government to destroy more innocent people.

  I would like to buy acreage (at least 1 hectare) and self-build a home from compressed earth [and rebar] (i am not wealthy after 8 years of litigation) and [vegetable/grain] farm it until I can get my software returned to a state of commercialization.  I am not sure how compatible taking 1-2 months off to build a home is to a work visa would be.  Much of the cheap land i look at online tend to be a massive farms that far exceeds my small budget. i'm hoping to find some inexpensive arable land in smaller quantities once I get there, which i hear is best to be owned by a corporation I make.

Hello, my name is Eva. I am a Hungarian born Canadian woman in my 60's. I am interested in retiring in Panama.

Hi, Kenney here from USA . Considering Panama (among other places) as a possible retirement home in the next few years. I've got time to make up my mind, so no rush. I always do my homework, and make no decision based purely on emotion. I plan on making at least a couple of visits to see if it's what l am looking for.

Hi, I am Swedish. living in Thailand but I looking at Panama as an option to relocated. I plan to setup a company and run online business /software/marketing/ from Panama and the location I fancy most so far is Coronado but still doing more research

www.ourthirdlifepedasi.com