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Home Archives for move to Panama
5 Things to Consider Before Moving to Panama

Last Updated on January 3, 2021 - by Jackie Lange

5 Things to Consider Before Moving to Panama

Listen to the reply of our first conference call in 2021.  I discussed five important things you need to take into consideration before planning a move to Panama.  And, I made an announcement about our NEW all-inclusive Private Tour option.  The last 30-minutes were reserved for Q & A time!

Of course, before you can even come to visit Panama, you need to get a passport so that needs to be at the top of your list.  The other five things you need to consider are:

move to panama1.  RESEARCH if Panama will be a good fit for you.  Our Online Panama Relocation Guide has the information to help you do research.  You’ll want to determine if Panama has a Visa that will work for you.  Does Panama have the kind of weather you like and if there is a place to live in Panama that fits your budget.

2.  BUDGET – Determine how much money you will have to live on when you move to Panama.  If you’re retired, will your pension be enough to qualify for a Visa?  Once again, our Online Panama Relocation Guide has information to help you determine your budget and which places in Panama will be a good fit for your budget.   There are upfront costs involved when you move to Panama so you need to determine if you will be able to afford to get a Visa, rental first money rent and a deposit,  will you buy a car, do you need to bring pets.  and perhaps get health insurance in Panama.

3. FAMILY – will you be able to live away from your family for extended periods of time or will you need to go back “home” often to see children, parents, or grandchildren.  or, perhaps your family will come visit you in Panama.  If you plan to go visit them, be sure to budget for additional airfare.

4.  HEALTH – if you have pre-existing conditions, you need to determine if you can get the medications you need and the health care you need in Panama.  Our Online Panama Relocation Guide has two pharmacies who will let you know if your medications are available and what the costs will be.   If your medications are not available, you’ll need to make arrangements to get them shipped to Panama so include that cost in your budget.  You will probably not be able to get health insurance in Panama if you have pre-existing conditions.  But you can use public or private health care systems but you’ll have to pay out of pocket.

5. ATTITUDE – Panama is different.  If you can easily adapt to a new culture and a new way of doing things, you’ll fit right in. But if you want everything to be like the USA, Canada or Europe but more affordable in Panama, you will be disappointed and may have a hard time adjusting.

LISTEN to the replay of the conference call for more details.   I also made a big announcement about our new “All-Inclusive Private Tours”

https://panamarelocationtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021-01-03-115.mp3

 

 

Filed Under: Panama Conference Call Tagged With: living in panama, move to Panama, Moving to Panama, retire in panama

Which Kind of Panama Tour Is Best For You

Last Updated on December 28, 2020 - by Jackie Lange

Which Kind of Panama Tour Is Best For You

Since 2010, we’ve been offering all-inclusive 6-day, 7-night Panama Relocation Tours, which travel from Panama City, the Coronado area, the Azuero, Santiago, Las Lajas/Boca Chica, David, Boquete, and Volcan.   We’ve completed 124 relocation tours.  After helping 1000s of people relocate to Panama, we’ve become the Relocation and Retire in Panama experts.  We have the experience you can trust and need when relocating to Panama.

We also know that a full 6-day tour traveling across Panama may not be a good fit for everyone, so we offer Private Tours for specific areas. Private Tours are ideal for those who already know where you’d like to live in Panama or where they don’t want to live.  Note, none of these are real estate tours.  We will show rentals during your tour but we do not sell real estate so you don’t have to worry about high-pressure sales pitches.

We have information about how to do your own DIY self-guided tour in our Online Panama Relocation Guide for the adventurous types.

There IS a perfect relocation tour for you.

Here’s information about each type of tour to help you decide which tour is better for you.

ALL-INCLUSIVE 6-DAY PANAMA RELOCATION TOUR:

If you have not traveled internationally much, you may prefer an all-inclusive tour because we take care of everything for you.  All you need to do is book your flight to Panama (our travel agent can even help with that).  Once you arrive, you’ll be picked up at the airport, and all hotel, meals, and transportation are included in your Panama Relocation Tour.  You don’t need to make any arrangements in Panama.

If you have no idea where you want to live in Panama and would like to see the variety of towns before deciding where to relocate to, a 6-day all-inclusive Panama Relocation Tour would be a good fit.  You’ll learn about prices in each area we visit and the pros and cons of each area too.  You’ll visit the beach, mountain, and urban communities during the tour.

The tour itself is like a rolling seminar with daily lessons about how to relocate to Panama.  Everything we talk about is already written down in a book, so you don’t need to take notes.  After the tour, you’ll get access to the Online Panama Relocation Guide, where we keep the relocation information updates.  And, you’ll get access to a private community forum so you can stay in touch with your tour mates.  We offer ongoing support before, during, and after your move to Panama for no additional charge.

See Details HERE About the All-Inclusive 6-day Panama Relocation Tour.

One challenge will be getting on an all-inclusive tour.  Because our tours are so popular, we’re currently sold out for 2021.  But we do plan to open more dates in 2021.  You can also get on the backup list to be notified of any openings.

See these video testimonials of people who have been on an all-inclusive Panama Relocation Tour.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

bus panamarelocatointours.com
All-Inclusive 6-Day Panama Relocation Tour

PANAMA RELOCATION PRIVATE TOUR

A Private Tour is ideal for those who know you want to live in a certain kind of community or a specific town. For example, if you know you want to live near the beach, your Private Tour will focus exclusively on beach communities.  If you know you want to live in the mountains or a specific town in the mountains, your Private Tour will focus exclusively on those areas.

Private tours are only for 1-2 people in your family and the Private Tour Guide.  With the pandemic, you may feel more comfortable doing a Private Tour.  These are custom tours to see and do exactly what you want to.  Your Private Tour Guide will do all the driving, so you don’t have to worry about getting lost.

Beach people don’t have to go to the mountains. And mountain people don’t have to go to the beach.

The Private Tour Guides have lived in the area for many years and are experts in that town. They know the best neighborhoods, best places to go shopping, where to get your hair cut, who the English speaking doctors and dentists are, and much more.

We recommend that you do a 2-3 day Private tour to do a deep dive into what it’s like to live in that area.  You’ll get to see rentals (we don’t recommend that you buy until you’ve been in Panama for at least 6 months). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Complete Panama Relocation Guide, Panama Tours Tagged With: leave the USA, living in panama, move to Panama, Panama Relocation Tours, private tours in Panama, retire in panama

Panama Economy Update November 2020

Last Updated on December 7, 2020 - by Jackie Lange

Panama Economy Update November 2020

come in we're openWhen Panama first shut down the country because of the pandemic in March, many businesses were closed and there was a very strict lockdown for several months with limited mobility for everyone.  During the lockdown, only essential businesses like hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies, banks, and gas stations were open.  Some restaurants were open for take-out or home delivery service only.

Now, most businesses are open again and the only movement restriction we have is a curfew from 11 pm to 5 am.  Tocumen International Airport opened for tourists in October.  Malls are open.  Restaurants are open for dine-in service.  Gyms, beauty salons, barbers, and even spas are open.  Beaches are open too.

Life is pretty much back to normal except you must wear a mask everywhere in public.

 

The pandemic has caused severe economic problems for many businesses and countries.   Some countries, like Panama, are doing better than others.  My friend Bob Adams (Retirementwave.com) keeps a pulse on what’s happening with Panama’s economy then writes a report once in a while.  I have permission to share his November report below.  Bob has written articles about Panama for many prestigious magazines like Barrons.

When you are researching which country to relocate to, it is important to investigate the strength of their economy too!  Read this report to see how well Panama is doing despite the pandemic.

Update from Panama
November 2020

bob adams panamaLife moves on here in Panama. We have opened nearly everything and we are having guests arrive from all over the world, if in small numbers at present. This will build over time, assuming the pandemic’s latest surge in the north will subside. Predicting a pandemic’s future course is beyond our capability, but we can still hope for the best result. For now, we see no dramatic upswing in infections. We have been warned to expect one eventually as the winter brings down “snowbirds” from the north and the holiday season opens. Both good points, but we will try to work through them successfully.

In my last Report from Panama, I stressed two factors which I believe are critical to the recovery of any nation during and after the pandemic – access to money and stability.

By “stability”, I do not mean the artificial stability provided by a dictatorship, but the genuine stability of a democracy with many opinions, but always a sense of common goals. It is the kind of society that rallies in the face of an external threat like the pandemic and confronts it as one people. Panama continues to be that kind of society.

I had friends visiting from the US recently. They were really surprised to see people walking down the street with facemasks on. On the street! Yes, that is true. I put on my mask whenever I go out because, beyond being 75 with less-than-perfect lungs and with no desire to die of a virus, I know everyone else will be wearing them too and they will expect the same from me. For now, a mask is just a piece of clothing that we all will be happy to give up, but we will be the judge of when that happens and we have judged to leave them on for now.

As for money, no one, including nations, ever feels as if they have enough! However, nations are taking on debt in the drive for recovery. Thankfully, Panama has a much lower debt level than many other nations, including the US, Canada, many European nations, other Latin American nations, and more. Combined with bonds with investment-grade status, Panama has no trouble selling bonds when it needs to raise cash.

As just one example, Panama recently went into the market to raise one and a quarter billion dollars ($1,250,000,000). The demand was great. As a result, it is paying precisely 2.252% interest due in 2032. Two and quarter-percent for that kind of money is something most Latin American nations can only dream of!

Our good neighbors in Costa Rica face a dramatically different situation. They lost control of their financial situation several years ago and their bonds are rated as “junk bonds”. Costa Rica’s government spends far more than its income. The pandemic has made this much worse and they are unable to raise money in the open market at any rate they can afford. They were already over 10% on a ten-year bond pre-pandemic.

Recently, they approached the International Monetary Fund, often referred to as the “lender of last resort” for nations in severe financial trouble. In order to get low-interest loans, they had to prepare a financial plan to demonstrate how they would return to financial stability. The current administration prepared a plan, but the legislature and much of society rejected it as too painful. They have been unable to come up with any plan. They have their own currency, the colon, along with the US dollar and now they have been reduced to raising money in colones within Costa Rica. It is nowhere near enough and it is dollars or another major currency they need, not the one they print for themselves.

Why do I bother mentioning this? I have been following the Costa Rican situation with concern for years and said nothing. There are no negative impacts for us, other than a possible arrival of our next-door neighbors looking for jobs, but we will do our best for them. They are good people.

However, in recent years, I have been somewhat surprised at the number of expats with extra resources who have put that money into private bonds from Costa Rica sold through some Panamanian banks. They have exceptionally high interest rates. I am speaking to those readers now. Be sure you know exactly what and who “guarantees” your returns on your investment. Be sure there is no clause in the agreement allowing anyone to pay you in colones rather than the dollar. Enough said. Your call. For everyone’s sake, I hope all goes well.

Okay, moving along, how is Panama doing?

Keeping Body and Soul Together

The title is from three centuries ago. It was based on the soul giving life to the body, but today it typically means simply making a living, “getting by”, surviving. Well, Panama is keeping body and soul together.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: economy, Living in Panama Tagged With: living in panama, move to Panama, Panama economy 2020, retire in panama

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Recent Blog Posts

  • Covid Test Requirements and Current Movement Restrictions in Panama
  • 5 Things to Consider Before Moving to Panama
  • Which Kind of Panama Tour Is Best For You
  • How to Watch Sports from Panama
  • REPLAY: Why NOT to Buy Real Estate in Panama…Yet
  • Panama Economy Update November 2020
  • Required to Visit Panama: Panama Digital Affidavit Form
  • REPLAY: Q and A Conference Call November 2020
  • Panama Covid Update November 2020
  • Two Best Ways to Explore Panama

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