My husband and I were thinking of retiring to Panama, and after exhaustive research, we found Jackie Lange’s Panama Relocation Tours. We were very excited to visit the country and learn about living life as ex-pats in Panama. Jackie promised the unvarnished truth, not a sales pitch, and her tour delivered and then some!
There were about 30 of us on Tour #339, led by our fabulous tour leaders, Allison and John. We felt so lucky to have their guidance on our journey. They shared their knowledge and their personal journeys, making this an invaluable experience. We learned about the visa process, medical care, best practices for moving and finding a rental, how to move pets, and so much more! We met with a lawyer who explained the legal process, and many ex-pats throughout the country who were kind enough to share their stories. We toured an amazing hospital and visited all sorts of stores. The hotels were all comfortable with friendly, responsive staff, and we were fed three fabulous meals a day (yes, I gained three pounds!!!), from hotels to local restaurants. The bus was comfortable, and our driver, Jorge, made us all feel safe.
It truly was a whirlwind seven-day, all-inclusive tour, and surpassed all our expectations. They showed us the good, the bad, and everything in between. So now our plan is to move to Panama sometime next year.
Our original retirement plan, started way back in 2022-2023, was to retire to Portugal. I fell in love with Portugal, found the town I wanted to move to (Braga), and we started planning. Then the Portuguese government started messing with their immigration laws. They changed the Golden Visa from buying a home for $250,000 and getting citizenship to now you have to invest $500,000 in Portugal, not a home, but into a business, or whatever. So basically, pay the government half a million dollars for citizenship. Hard pass on that one. Then they offered a five-year temporary visa that would lead to citizenship, but they just upended that to ten years – even if you’ve been living there for four years and 11 months, you get to wait another five years now. And worst of all, they did away with their ex-pat tax plan, which was a flat tax of 10% in concert with your US taxes, not in addition. They did away with that completely, so now the tax rate for ex-pats is around 27%. The Portuguese people are lovely, but not thrilled with their country being overrun by Americans and Brits. Rents have skyrocketed, especially in the cities, and locals are having a really hard time. I still love Portugal, and would have loved to retire there, but it just isn’t working for us anymore.
Panama has a lot going for it. It’s beautiful, and the people are incredibly kind and friendly. They welcome Americans with a pension, offering a “pensionada visa” if you can show you have Social Security or a pension of at least $1000/month or $1250/per couple. You don’t even have to live there to get the visa. Once you have the permanent visa, the government mandates discounts for seniors – things like 20% off medical, drugs, restaurants, utilities, 25% off airfare anywhere in the world (and the Panama City airport is the main departure hub for most of Central and South America). Discounts on hotels and other things, too, and the government is serious about it – it is strictly enforced.
It is a Spanish-speaking country, so we will all be learning Spanish, but it was our experience that if you make any kind of attempt, they welcome it and will help. Most of the younger people speak English; they start learning in kindergarten, and in the larger ex-pat communities, a lot of the people living there speak English. We had no trouble. For things like banking and government agencies, you can hire “fixers”, local Panamanians who know the system and will help you through it at a very reasonable cost.
I like that it is only a three-hour flight from Miami, and five hours from NY. It is in the same time zone as the East Coast, which is helpful. Their monetary system is based on the US dollar, so no conversion necessary. They do have one dollar coins called Balboas, but still no conversion necessary. They use the same electrical systems as the US, so no converters necessary, which means my KitchenAid Mixer, Cuisinart, and sous vide machine are coming with me!
We are planning to start our journey by applying for our visas in March, and hopefully moving over the summer. We really liked a town called Alto Boquete. It is up in the mountains – quite a change from flat Florida! Because Panama is on the equator, the temperature stays the same year round. They have two seasons, wet and dry, and after living in Florida for so many years, we are used to rain. But the temperature in Alto Boquete is around 75 during the day, and drops down to the 60s at night. Cold for me, but my family loves that! The beaches are an hour or so away, and are beautiful and inexpensive. We saw gorgeous condos for rent on the ocean with all sorts of amenities for $1000-1500 per month. Places that would cost ten times that where we live now. But the temps there stay around 90 and that is too hot for my family, but will be nice for long weekends! We are very excited about all this and will let you know how things are going as we progress.
Book News
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This rare discovery led to a new Dr. Seuss book just in time for America 250
Food News
7 Ways to Turn a Bunch of Tomatoes Into the Best Meal of Your Life
The recipe I’ve been making all summer: Zucchini Butter Spaghetti!
I love Deb Perelman and Smitten Kitchen, and this is a winner! I usually make it with a short pasta, like rotini or farfalle, and it’s great to riff on; I’ve added halved cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, roasted shrimp – it’s all delicious and super easy!
I’ve also been making all kinds of salads without lettuce (I’ve no interest in cyclospora, thank you very much!) Here are a few that my family loves…
Zucchini Salad With Pecorino, Basil and Almonds
Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salad With Corn Chips
My favorite tomato salad —
2 lbs tomatoes – use a variety like sun gold, cherry or grape tomatoes, heirlooms, beefsteak, whatever looks good at the market! Halve the small ones, cut up the big ones into bite size pieces. Sprinkle with salt and toss. It can sit while you make dinner, or just add a bit of good olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. Tear up some fresh basil and toss once more. It’s ready to serve! We topped ravioli with this, and it was so good! You can also add fresh mozzarella bocconcini, ciliegine, or pearls. Enjoy!
Good News
Aw, nuts! Uncatchable squirrel causes chaos at Comerica Park
Jimothy The Raccoon Receives Honor From Washington Governor
Just a word about this site: as I enter retirement, I somehow have less time to devote to this blog. I am working on cleaning out forty years of accululated stuff in my house before we move to Panama, and my time is going in different directions. I’ll post when I can, but I’m rethinking the format of what I’ve been doing here and will be recalibrating at some point, sooner rather than later. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles and recipes, a lovely perk for subscribers!
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