Americans retiring to Central America,Panama?

Question

Have you retired to Panama? Have you lived there? Are you retired to another Central American country? Wishing to establish ongoing conversation, please, as we are looking at these options.

Answer 1

I am not retired either but I am Panamanian.  I now live in the US and will definetly retired back home.  What I can tell you is that the areas where I have heard most americans, canadians and europeans are moving to are Bocas del Toro and also Chirqui...In other words the mountains and the beach (island mostly)...  Panama has a lot of quiet and well developed areas to retired in....My choice would be Bocas del Toro...but again you need to research on land, and I believe that now they are actually building retirement communities for foreigners...

Good Luck

Answer 2

Retiring in Panama is like retiring in a low down area of Miami. Something nice if you like a city full of pollution and crime. Panama City has its nice spots but if you want to live on your retirement money and have a comfortable life you might as well give up and just move to Miami where there are nice places and senior-citizen based places with less crime. If you want you money to last and live comfortably, i suggest you look into retiring in either Nicaragua or Honduras. Nicaragua has many benefits, it is cheap and it is statistically rated the safest country in Central America (google it for fact.) It is also very cheap and land prices (yes, even beach front) are way less than half of the price in Panama. With that in mind, luxuries will run you more money, but in total, you'll have a better house and a chunk of land for way less than what you would pay for a house in Panama. I work in a tourist related business here in Managua, Nicaragua and can tell you American retirees are taking advantage of these benefits and  continue to come here. There are LARGE ex-pat communities in the city of Granada and San Juan del Sur. You will find people from all around the world attracted by the beauty of this country. People from China, the U.S. Taiwan, Canada and many European countries, mainly Germany and Italy.

Answer 3

I am no where near retirement, but I did live in Costa Rica for a month.  I can definitely tell you that there are plenty of American retirement communities there!  Even better, the houses are inexpensive, as well as the overall cost of living.  Plus, it's paradise!

If you're looking for a smooth transition, I would suggest Costa Rica over Panama, as CR is more "Americanized."  I went there for a month to learn Spanish, but everyone kept talking to me in English - except the cab drivers!  

Overall, I think retiring down there is a GREAT idea! I know being that far from the states may be hard to swallow, but plane tickets to and from are relatively inexpensive.  Plus, I'm sure everyone would LOVE to come visit!!

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Answer 4

I am an American retired in Mexico.  there is tons of info on the web about retiring in Panama or other Central American countries...I put 2 sites below, but if you just enter " retire, Costa Rica" or similar phrase in the search bar, you will find a lot of info. then if you go to the 3rd webpage and enter "Panama" or whatever country you want in the  search bar under where it says "Find a Yahoo group" you can get hooked up to talk groups pf retired people in those locations.  You can submit questions and receive answers from people there.

Answer 5

I live in Panama. Specifically near a major retiree city, Boquete. It is ok, but it is not for everyone.

First Costa Rica is the last option. My uncle use to live there when they invited all the retirees there with good incentives Like no duty on your personal belonging, etc. Once they had a sufficient amount of Gringos in CR they decided to quit with the benefits and they started taxing like crazy. On top of that it is very dangerous. One popular thing to do is to find a family and take them hostage. The take the husband and leave the wife and kids tied. They take the husband to shopping centers and everything and they try to extract as much money from him as possible. If he does not cooperate the he does not see his family.  Here is another story that happened to a personal friend. He was building a home and he had a contractor. The contractor was trying to get more money out of my friend (they try to get as much money from you as possible). My friend would not have it so he said not. They got into an argument and the contractor walked away. Well he came back and poured gas all over my friends car and lit it on fire. It blew up. The contractor said "next time it will be you!"  I could give you a million stories. It has become a trap for Expats.

Now Panama is booming. There are so many developments here. It is cheaper then Costa Rica and Mexico. It is a little more friendly, but they are stating to steal more and more from the gringos. It might be the Costa Ricans following the flow of Gringos.

Many times Expats will come down for a week or month and fall in love, but that is the biggest mistake. If you are going to live somewhere for the rest of your life you need to rent fro a year to know the regular seasons etc.

Moving out of the states is major. The cultures are very different. I have many Latin American friends and they tell me "we lie, cheat, and steel. It is our culture." now it really is, but not everyone does it. The cultures are very different and the language is important. You do need to speak Spanish if you are moving to Central America. People say that there are plenty of people who speak Spanish, but you will not be able to live unless you have a translator at your side.

It is a major decision and it is not for everyone. A lot of people move back to the states after one year.

Good luck