Living / Retireing in Panama, Anyone ?

[Ram]

Im selling my home/bussness in S. Florida and am looking for a new place to live and Panama has come to mind, it seems like a nice cheap place (compared to S. Fl) anyone live there or planning to ?
Are there many Hurricanes there? Any info you want to share would be nice
Thanks Ram

[Wahoo Sails]

There are several good articles on this at www.escapeartist.com
B&L

L S/V Sew Good

[gosstyla]

I have some property on Isla Bastimentos, close to Bocas del Toro.

I plan to keep, live on my boat, there during Hurricane season and cruise other parts of the Caribbean the remainer of the year.

Also I am a Zonian (CZ Brat). My father was stationed in CZ during the early 60's I graduated from Balboa High School.

Email me if you would like to discuss Panama. Please include Asanagi in the subject line of the email (spam protector).

And no Hurricanes do not visit Panama.

[GordMay]

How about BELIZE?

Life is what you make it... A guide to the cost of living, and adjusting to life in Belize
Published by BelizeTourism.net: http://www.belizereport.com/index.shtml

Moving to Belize:
Part 1: http://www.belizereport.com/info/moving.html
Part 2: http://www.belizereport.com/info/moving2.html

***

Ex MTV-veejay Simone Angel Blogs on life in Belize :: Raising funds for Children's Education , Running a Belize Jungle Resort, Catching Snakes and Raising a Child, and
Moving to Belize Guide
Part 1: http://simonesbelizeblog.blogspot.co...de-part-1.html
Part 2: http://simonesbelizeblog.blogspot.co...de-part-2.html
Part 3: http://simonesbelizeblog.blogspot.co...de-part-3.html
Part 4:
http://simonesbelizeblog.blogspot.co...de-part-4.html

[2divers]

Pacific Side!
Has my vote....

First world sanitation and food - ie you can drink the water and eat the food without disentary, and there are some nice places to stay and live and the people are first rate in freindliness and kindness.

I like the west coast better than the east cost because it's dryier for the most part and not as humid. The wife and I WILL be heading back there to visit again!

2divers

[capt lar]

2divers - I am interested in Costa Rica as well. Can you recommend a place to stay on the west coast side ? I am guessing you flew into San Jose. We are planning to flyfish Belize next March, but I think of Belize as a great place to visit, but probably not a long term home.

Larry

[jimd]

On the Pacific coast, the northern area referred to as the Guanacoste is interesting. When you are traveling elsewhere in Costa Rica, and mention the Guanacoste Peninsula to local Costa Ricans - Tico's - they say that is where they want to retire. I first visited the area nearly ten years ago, and visited often for several years. You will find Germans, Italians, and Canadians there as well. There a quiet isolated areas, and there are developed areas. Good harbors are very scarce - non existant really. It has been a bit "discovered" since the mid 90's, and I can imagine it now busy at times, but where hasn't really. You can also fly into Liberia (further north and closer to the Northwest coast) instead of San Jose. The infrastructure - roads in particular - is still in development, as is sanitation in general. It is a beautiful country in many ways though, and the Costa Rican people are by and large very friendly and accomodating. Pura Vida.

[lancercr]

Hi, I live in Costa Rica and I strongly recommend it to live and sail. If you are interested I can explain better this statement.
You can see some places in the Gulf of Nicoya in my site at:
http://www.geocities.com/lancer76cr/Principal.htm

[cameron forsyth]

Presently live on the Pacific coast of Panama close to the Costa Rican border.

Related to cost of living. Florida very expensive, Costa Rica expensive and Panama a lot cheaper but things could be changing as a lot of foreigners from US, Europe, etc are moving in buying what they consider cheap properties, a mini boom has started and will continue as its projected that foreign investment will continue to rise.

Panama is out of the hurricane belt, being a good place to sit out the season. The Atlantic and Pacific coast are completely different although only about 90 miles or less apart. The Atlantic is primarily rain forest with little of the coast inhabited. The primary sailing destinations excluding Colon which is only visited to transit the canal are Bocas del Toro on the North western point a large well protected body made up of islands within two big bays which in recent years has become a destination for laid back tourists and retirees. There are two small marinas on the main island of Colon. The other area is the San Blas islands a semi autonomous governing region inhabited by the San Blas Indians. This area I have not visited as yet but it is supposed to be very interesting both geographically as well as for the culture of the San Blas but not an area you could retire to.

Although both coasts have similar annual rainfall averaging 110,” on the Atlantic it’s generally distributed evenly throughout the year on the Pacific a strong dry season starts in December running though May with the rainy season June November with heavy rains September & October.

The Pacific side is more heavily populated although it does not have many marinas, apart from the three at the entrance to the canal, there are projects under development. This is not a issue as there are many protected anchorages amongst island groups or on the coast along the length of the country. Deep sea fishing and diving are some of the principal attractions. There appears to be quite a number of foreign retirees moving into the area along the length of the Pacific coast and in the mountains which are never more than an hour from the coast. Personally I prefer the Pacific for the variety of marine life, activities and climate.

[Thomas H. Bullock Jr.]

Hi,
My wife and I lived in Panama 2 1/2 years 1998- 2001. We were missionaries with the international missional board. We worked with volunteer teams, where a team worked that is ware we lived while they were there. Because of this we lived all over Panama. I guess you live near David. We kept our boat in Bocas De Tora. We worked the most with the Kuna indians in San Blas. There are 52 islands people live on and we have churches on 23 and we worked on 17 of them. We sailed to Panama from Norfolk, Va in Febuary 1998. We later found out that is not the best time to cross from Jamicia. We had 15ft seas for 3 days. We worked some at Santa Clara at the Baptist camp We had a house in Panama City on Ancon hill near Gorgas Hospital in Cable heights.
Sailing in San Blas, it is beautiful but has many unmarked reefs and no marinas, little fuel. This is the place you have to be self dependent. When we were there we got around by bush plane and dug out. The people are very freindly. When you first get to San Blas you have to ask the chiefs primession to stay there.

I helped build a church at salt creek. Kept my boak at Mary's place across from Boacs, marina carino. Worked with the Guaime Indians up in the mountains, near Pastors island on the new road (2000). I miss Panama

[Temporarily Landlocked]

Originally Posted by Ram

Im selling my home/bussness in S. Florida and am looking for a new place to live and Panama has come to mind, it seems like a nice cheap place (compared to S. Fl) anyone live there or planning to ?
Are there many Hurricanes there? Any info you want to share would be nice
Thanks Ram

Ram, my wife and I are at least 5 years away from living aboard. We were thinking of moving to Florida (maybe Tampa) to get closer to the ocean (we are now in Utah). How much more expensive is it in FL? According to CNN's Money website, the cost of living is very similar to here in Salt Lake City, but housing is slightly higher. Is that the only difference? We have an income and sales tax here in Utah, FL only a sales tax- that sounds great to me. I guess what I am asking is, why move form a place, to us, looks like an amazing place to have access to great sailing weather and cheap travel elsewhere?

[ssullivan]

Having lived in south eastern FL, I would suggest checking it out before you move. Live there for 4-6 mos if possible to understand what it's like. There are some laid back and interesting places, and others where they have basically paved over every point of interest. I found that in SE Florida (no offense to the locals), there was relatively little to do that involved nature if you didn't own a boat. On land, there were little "nature walks" that were just sidewalks or piers built into small nature areas. It seems as though south east FL used to be nice, but then... it was over developed. Watch out for this. I think the posters in the thread have it right. They will be able to enjoy relatively unspoiled nature in retirememt.

[Ram]

Sean has some good advice, come & live in Fl for 6 months & then decide -Wile I have lived in South & Central Fl for more than 40 years , it could and is great for some people, and now is a good time to move to Fl and buy a house as prices are lower now and some sellers are VERY Motivated, as I am. (lets make a deal -haha) Costs are a little higher in South Fl then central Fl or N. Fl but in some ways its nicer in the South.

I want to move for many reasons, Fl to me has little that intrests me anymore,especialy after cruising Europe this last year- if I was moving to Fl and I loved sailing/boating/crusing -The East coast of Fl would be a great place to live -you could sail to the Bahamas,about 75 miles away- easly and quickly and into a different world and culture in a matter of hours with some of the best cruising anywhere IMO.

South Florida has crystal clear waters, often times over 100 foot vis with lots of good diving, fishing and Jobs. In Palm Beach County you can set your own mooring and keep your boat in the ICW free and unmolested as I have done for many years at no cost.

There is a lot of nature also, the Everglades are only an hour or less away.
Huricanes , we have had a few, but so has the whole area from Mexieo to the Carolinias, its just a part of life in the south. I have went through 4 eyes in 40 years, creating little dammage to me personlly, I was in my 50 year old frame house for 3 of them the year before last and was fine, the power was off, but I had a gen, things were out of sorts for a few weeks or a month but life goes back to normal quickly, and the way the new houses are built it will take a really bad storm to dammage them.

For me , my plans are to live in Fl part time and away most of the year out of America living aboard the boat, maybe in the Med area where I will be for the next few years or longer -there is such a rich culture & History there I wonder if I will ever be able to see the whole area , and I may never leave it ?
. I see there is so much more to see & live in other places and I plan on going for it wile Im still on the planet, Limiting myself to just one small place like America or Florida, I can not do anymore. I hae lived in 3 other countys for a few years , but so far nothing is like Europe/Med.area, Im sure its the best place Ived been until I find the next one haha

[alohaboat]

Originally Posted by Temporarily Landlocked

We have an income and sales tax here in Utah, FL only a sales tax- that sounds great to me.

Careful here! In the US, a State governement gets it's revenue from a combination of three principal revenue streams: personal income tax, sales tax, and property tax. If you don't pay personal income tax to the State, it is generally offset by relatively higher sales tax and property tax. Oregon has no sales tax, but very high income and property taxes. There is no free lunch either in the US or abroad.

I live in Baja California Sur, Mexico and love it there. However, the lower cost of living results in fewer governmental services and amenities. For example, there is no infrastructure for natural gas as a power source. Therefore, everything is powered by either propane or electricity. Both of these power sources are so expensive that it makes your eyes water.

[Temporarily Landlocked]

alohaboat, you raise a good point that I overlooked. The property tax in Utah is pretty low. What is it like in S. FL?

I would love to live abroad, but I figure the US is the best place to make money and allow me the freedom to travel indefinitely in about 5 years. FL looked like a great place in the mean time. Moving there for 6 months just isn't logistically possible for me. Figure 2 months to find a job (and quit my current job) and then move again in 4 months if I don't like it? I don't think that is possible for me. It seems that with the Miami airport and the cruising industry, vacations could be cheaper from FL. Is that the case? I guess traveling anywhere on the west coast would cost some bucks. Any other thoughts?