| Pros | Cons |
| Lower cost of living | Away from family |
| Healthcare expenses | Moving out of the states |
| Beautiful country | Disposing of assets, downsizing |
| Adventure | Language barrier |
| Healthy living (food, etc) | Paperwork process |
| Currency same as US dollar | Maintaining assets back in the states |
| Internet access | Congestion in the towns |
| Weather | Trash everywhere |
Family
The hardest part is to leave friends and family behind as we venture out to a new country. I keep telling myself that it is only a 4 hour plane ride back to the states, but with two darling little grand-daughters, it is going to be very hard to not be able to see them as much as we do now. Also, Jan and I tried to learn a little Spanish before our first trip there, but as they say “It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks”.
Healthier Living
Jan has been diagnosed with Resting Tremors. Good chance it is the beginnings of Parkinson’s. It most certainly is parkinsonian like. In January 2011, when we visited Panama for the first time, she felt better than she ever had back in the states. Can’t explain this, but we are willing to go back for an extended time and see if it happens again. In the states, she uses a cane to help with her walking. Once we got to Panama, she was walking without the cane, and actually did a skip or two at one point.
The medicine she is taking here in the states is expensive. We are hoping that the lower cost of health care and meds will help. Of course, we are also hoping that her symptoms will actually get better once living in Panama, eliminating the need for the expensive meds. We are hoping that a second trip there for a longer time will show the same improvements. In either case, getting health insurance with her symptoms might be a big problem.
We found fresh fruits and vegetable stands everywhere. There is very little to no preservatives in the food, making most everything you eat there more healthier.
Moving
Ever try moving a household that has been rooted in one place for 27 years? I would need to sell one car, one truck, one 26’ RV, one Harley Davidson, one trailer, one golf cart, and one small pop-up. None of these I could take to Panama. Nor would you want to. Parts would be a problem for instance. I hear the best thing to do is buy a vehicle once you get there.
Then there’s the house. Do I sell it, or lease it out and hope for the best? Then we need to decide what to take with us to Panama, what to leave behind in a storage locker, and what to get rid of. Not an easy task for the faint hearted.
Our Current Plans
Our latest thinking is to go back to Panama for at least 3 weeks. This will allow us to sample as much of the Panamanian life as possible. Previoulsy back in january 2012 we spent some time at the northern end of the country near Boquete. This upcoming trip we plan to see as much of the Carribean and Pacific coasts as possible. The three major areas we would be considering are:
Each of these three areas have a different theme to them, giving us a different sampling of local life in the area.
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