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Last Updated Jul 9, 2015 - by Panama Relocation Tours

A Special Day in Panama — July 4th

July 4th is not a Panamanian holiday! But it is indeed a special day. Every July 4th and 5th Carla Black and her husband Angel Rodriguez open up their beautiful private garden for anyone to come visit. They live near Volcan, on the far western side of Panama. The garden is filled with beautiful heliconia flowers, magnificant views, water features, and hiking trails. They have a plant sale during the two special days. Carla is currently the President of the Heliconia Society International.

Heliconia? You’ve seen them, even if you didn’t know what they were called. Heliconias are the ultimate exotic flowers, starring in arrangements in tropical hotels around the globe and as far away as outer space – on television, anyway; heliconias greeted intergalactic ambassadors on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Closer to home, they can’t be beat for providing fantastic foliage and bright color in tropical and subtropical gardens

Astonishingly, all of the gorgeous forms of heliconia are made by nature. Humans have not been able to successfully hand-pollinate heliconia, so there are no artificial hybrids. Hummingbirds are the only pollinators observed by scientists, though many other creatures visit the flowers. Natural hybrids are rather common, thanks to incessant visits by those hummers. And were sure do have a lot of hummingbirds in Panama!

Now that you know about the role of hummingbirds, which are found only in the New World, you’ll not be surprised to learn that the approximately 250 species of heliconias are native to the Americas (with the exception of six species in the South Pacific which are pollinated by bats).

In Panama, you see heliconias growing alongside the road and on hiking paths everywhere.

CLICK HERE to see the incredible views from Carla’s house and some of the plants she had for sale. Here are more photos of heliconias at Carla and Angel’s 5 acre garden…

Pond at Carla Blacks — Pond and Lilypads at Carla Blacks

bird of paradise — Admiring the Bird of Paradise

On the drive over to Carla’s garden, my friends and I spotted this unusual horse statue

As we were leaving the garden, another visitor was entering with an 8 month old howler monkey she had rescued.

On July 4th, there were Independence Day celebrations all over Boquete. Many restaurants had live music and BBQ specials. Some had fireworks too. By the way… fireworks are sold year round in Panama because there is always a good reason for a party.

So… even when you move to Panama… you can celebrate traditional USA holidays.

Last Updated Jun 25, 2015 - by Panama Relocation Tours

Panama Leads the World in Overall Well Being

Another reason to consider moving to Panama!

The tiny nation of Panama, consisting of four million people, topped the list of 145 countries for the second consecutive time with 53% of its residents thriving in three or more areas of well-being — measures that include a person’s sense of purpose, financial well-being and physical health. See the results of Gallup’s poll below…

About one in six adults worldwide are considered thriving — or strong and consistent — in at least three of the five elements of well-being, as measured by the Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index in 2014. Residents of the Americas region are the most likely to be thriving in three or more elements (31.3%), while those in sub-Saharan Africa are the least likely (10.2%).

The Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index is an extension of seven years of research and more than 2 million interviews in the U.S. through the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. The Global Well-Being Index is a global barometer of individuals’ perceptions of their well-being and is the largest recent study of its kind. Data collection spanned 145 countries and areas and more than 146,000 interviews in 2014. The Global Well-Being Index is organized into the five elements:

Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life
Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
Community: liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community
Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily

In analyzing the results of the index, Gallup and Healthways classify responses as “thriving” (well-being that is strong and consistent), “struggling” (well-being that is moderate or inconsistent), or “suffering” (well-being that is low and inconsistent).

At the regional level, the Americas have the highest percentages of residents thriving in three or more elements and lead other regions in purpose, social, community and physical well-being. Latin Americans in particular have higher levels of well-being than any other regional group. Residents of many Latin American countries are among the most likely in the world to report daily positive experiences such as smiling and laughing, feeling enjoyment, and feeling treated with respect each day.

Panama Again Leads the World in Well-Being

For the second consecutive year, Panama leads the world in well-being, with 53% of residents considered thriving in three or more elements. Costa Rica and Puerto Rico round out the top three as the only other countries or areas with at least 45% or more of their populations thriving. Afghans, in turn, had the lowest well-being globally, with 0% of residents considered thriving.

Panama Leads the World in Purpose and Physical Well-Being

For the second year, Panamanians have the highest levels of purpose well-being (60.5% thriving) and physical well-being (52.2% thriving). They also tie with other countries for the top spot in social and community well-being. Factors contributing to this peak level of global well-being may include Panama’s Latin American cultural predisposition that is associated with higher levels of positivity than other regions. Its relative political stability, a strong and growing economy in 2014, and investments in national development may also be contributing factors to higher levels of well-being in Panama.

Puerto Rico, Norway and Sri Lanka round out the list of top countries and areas in the individual elements of well-being:

63% of Puerto Ricans are thriving in social well-being.
68.9% of Norwegians are thriving in financial well-being.
50.1% of Sri Lankans are thriving in community well-being.

European countries are most likely to be thriving in financial well-being, with nine of the top 10 located in this region. Two in three or more residents in Norway (68.9%), Sweden (67.9%) and Switzerland (66.1%) are thriving in this element. Singapore (52.4%) is the only non-European country to have a majority of its population thriving in financial well-being.

While several of the top 10 financial well-being countries also have the highest gross domestic product per capita, including Luxembourg, Singapore, Norway and Switzerland, other countries with the highest GDP per capita globally have residents who do not feel they have enough money to do what they want to do or have worried about money in the last seven days. For example, the U.S. is 10^th globally in GDP per capita, yet it ranks 22^nd in financial well-being on the Global Well-Being Index.

Afghanistan Ranks at the Bottom in Nearly All Elements

On the other end of the spectrum, Afghanistan ranks last in the percentage thriving in three or more elements, as well as in purpose, social and financial well-being elements. As a testament to the dire state of well-being in the country, Gallup could not categorize any Afghan resident among the 1,000 residents interviewed in 2014 as thriving in three or more elements, or in purpose or social well-being. An extremely low 2.7% of Afghans are thriving in financial well-being. Afghans rank second to last in physical well-being, with only 8.3% of residents categorized as thriving in this element. Community well-being is the only element for which Afghanistan does not rank among the bottom 10 countries globally.

Implications

Gallup and Healthways’ research shows that people worldwide with higher well-being are healthier, more productive and more resilient in the face of challenges such as unemployment.

“Through scientific and peer-review research, we know that improving a population’s well-being has a significant impact on increasing performance and lowering healthcare costs. The fact that only about 17% of the adults Gallup surveyed are thriving in three or more elements of well-being underscores that many countries struggle to achieve high well-being. This represents a huge opportunity for country and community leaders, employers, insurers and any population health stakeholder. There are proven interventions that these leaders can and should leverage to improve the health and well-being of their population and, at the same time, create measurable economic value,” said Peter Choueiri, president of Healthways International.

Subjective well-being does not necessarily correlate with GDP, the presence of conflict or other absolute indicators. War-torn populations such as those in Afghanistan may have extremely low well-being, but Gallup and Healthways also found low levels of well-being in countries that are relatively stable, such as Croatia, South Korea and Singapore.

The 2014 Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index results have policy implications for country leadership, development organizations, employers, health insurers (private and governmental) and others. Leaders can use the Global Well-Being Index to establish a baseline for well-being, benchmark their populations, determine where gaps exist in essential services or opportunities, prioritize and implement interventions, and, ultimately, understand the effects of their investments.

Access the Gallup-Healthways State of Global Well-Being: 2014 Country Rankings.

Survey Methods

Results for the Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index are based on telephone and face-to-face interviews on the Gallup World Poll, with a random sample of more than 146,000 adults, aged 15 and older, living in 145 countries and areas in 2014.

For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is less than ±1 percentage point at the 95% confidence level. For results based on country-level samples, the margin of error ranges from a low of ±2.2 to a high of ±5.2.

All country-level analyses use country weights. Global and regional analysis uses projection weights that account for country size. Minimum sample sizes of 300 apply.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Each element in the Global Well-Being Index contains two items asked of all respondents:

Purpose

You like what you do every day.
You learn or do something interesting every day.

Social

Someone in your life always encourages you to be healthy.
Your friends and family give you positive energy every day.

Financial

You have enough money to do everything you want to do.
In the last seven days, you have worried about money.

Community

The city or area where you live is a perfect place for you.
In the last 12 months, you have received recognition for helping to improve the city or area where you live.

Physical

In the last seven days, you have felt active and productive every day.
Your physical health is near-perfect.

Learn more about how the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index and Gallup World Poll work.

Last Updated Jul 25, 2019 - by Panama Relocation Tours

Three Ways to Discover Panama

There are three ways you can discover Panama.

You can sit in a stuffy conference room in Panama City to hear presentations by speakers who were hand-picked to tell sugar coated stories about life in Panama. You can see a few slide shows to see what Panama looks like…of course; they will only show the best of the best parts. In addition to the hefty conference fee for 2 1/2 days, you’ll also pay for your own overpriced hotel room and all meals and beverages. You get to walk through the gauntlet of people trying to sell you stuff just to get to the conference room. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see one square block of Panama City.

This is a great introduction to what your life could be like living in Panama. But you really need to SEE many different part of Panama before you make a decision to relocate.

That is NOT the real Panama!

WHAT’S THE 2ND WAY TO DISCOVER PANAMA?

You can discover Panama up close and personal during a full 6-day all inclusive Panama Relocation Tour. You pay one flat fee for 6 days of seeing the real Panama, not slide shows. You’ll travel in a super comfortable bus throughout Panama. We keep the tour size small so everyone gets personal attention. While we are traveling from one location to another, I’ll be conducting a rolling seminar to teach you everything you need to know to relocate the EASY way. What’s included in a Panama Relocation Tour? VIP airport shuttle service when you arrive, all ground transportation, all hotels, all meals, and a Copa flight back to Panama City. Plus you’ll learn everything you need to know to successfully relocate to Panama.

You’ll get to actually see Gorgona, Coronado, Santa Clara, El Valle, Chitre, Las Tablas, Santiago, Las Lajas Beach, David, Boquete, Volcancito, Volcan, Bambito and Cerro Punta. Plus we will travel though a lot of other towns. No slide shows. No photoshop pictures. You get to really see Panama up close and personal.

It’s Not a Tour, It’s an Adventure! said Bob and Sally Lewis from my January 2015 tour.
They added … Besides all the great info you are going to get, you see so much of the country, will make some wonderful friends, that you will want to sell your house as soon as you get back home, like my wife Sally and I are going to do!! Jackie does incredible things to personalize the tour, like having a freshly baked Birthday Cake at dinner on my wife’s Birthday!! You don’t spend money on this tour, you INVEST it!!

You’ll meet expats in each area. They will discuss what their life is like in Panama. I don’t screen what guests will say except “no sales pitches please.” No sugar coating. You’ll hear the truth.. both the good, the bad and the down- right ugly. You’ll learn the pros and cons of living in each area. That’s not all…. you’ll also meet with Panamanians to hear what they think about expats living in their country and how you can make friends and “fit in” quickly.

You’ll learn about rental prices in each area of Panama. Some areas are more expensive than others. Some areas are incredible bargains. Each area has it’s pros and cons which we will discuss during the tour.

Jacqui is renting a one-bedroom house for $80 a month in Las Tablas. She is 5 minutes to the Pacific Ocean. Las Tablas has just about anything you’d need but Chitre is only 30 minutes away and it has even more shopping options. Chitre also has movie theaters and bowling alleys.

Doug is renting a 2 bedroom 2 bath with spectacular views in Boquete for $600. He has a 1/2 acre lot with coffee plants, bananas, avacados and oranges.

Colin and Sue are renting a 2-bedroom 2-bath in Cerro Punta for $400. The views are incredible (see photo below). You will get to see the many of these rental properties. No slideshows. You get to walk through the house and the yard and talk to the expat tenants. There are pros and cons to living in each area. You’ll learn exactly what they are so you can make an informed decision about where to relocate to in Panama (if you decide Panama is right for you).

You’ll get to see beaches communities, mountain communities and large metro areas too. And, in each area we visit you’ll get to see rental properties. During lunch and/or dinner, you will have the opportunity to meet expats who live in each area we visit.

You might see a rainbow or two while you’re in Panama. The colors are so vivid it looks like a box of Crayola’s.

You’ll see some amazing sunsets over the ocean or the mountains. And you’ll probably see more stars in Panama than you have ever seen before.

We’ll visit grocery stores. You get to walk the aisles to see if your favorite products are available. You can compare prices of imported vs. local products. Yes we have Butterball Turkey in Panama. You won’t hear this at the international conferences but the truth is that some grocery stores are terrible. Luckily there is almost always a great grocery store close by through. You’ll learn the secret place to buy fresh fruits, vegetables and fish for 50% less!

We’ll visit department stores so you can see the great bargains which are available in Panama. You’ll also see electronic stores and furniture stores so you can compare prices and help you decide what to bring to Panama and what to just buy here. We’ll drive by several hospitals too!

Get the real scoop on health insurance options. Or why you may want to self-insure because medical care is so affordable. Discover why you could pay 50% more if you use an insurance agent/broker instead of going direct.

Learn how to bring your pet in to Panama. There’s a process but it is well worth it to bring your furry family members. My cat moved to Panama with me. She traveled In-Cabin. She loves living in Panama as much as I do!

We’ll eat at upscale restaurants but also have lunch at some $5 a meal restaurants with excellent food. This is the real Panama which you won’t find in an expensive hotel room in Panama City. Well also visit farmer’s markets during the tour. Sometimes, we stop for fresh coconut juice when we see a vendor selling it along side the road.

You’ll learn the easiest way to buy a car in Panama and why it is better if you do not ship a car to Panama.

Experience the real Panama! You never know what you might see when you are traveling through Panama. During one tour there was a truck with an elephant in the back. It was headed to a circus. Sometimes a parade breaks out. You will certainly see trucks full of bananas or plantains. Or sacks of 100 oranges for $4

You will meet with a Panama attorney to learn about your visa options, buying real estate and setting up a business in Panama. Our attorney will make sure you get your visa quickly and at the best price in Panama and that you don’t make any mistakes when renting or buying a property in Panama.

Discover the real Panama! You’ll see beautiful flowers and lush green trees everywhere we go. But to be honest, you’ll also see some areas that have trash alongside the road. You may smell some septic tanks that need to be cleaned out. You’ll see people riding horses next to the highway and probably see some roosters too. And there will be dogs walking around like the own the town. This is the real Panama!

You’ll get to touch, feel, smell, hear, and experience the real Panama up close and personal. During the 6-day all inclusive tour, you’ll travel 1200 kilometers (745 miles) to discover which part of Panama could be your new home. Leave the driving to our professional driver who knows every square inch of Panama.

We’ll look at some real estate in each areas but, unlike the conferences, we stress that you should NOT buy anything until you’ve been living in Panama at least 6 months… 12 months is better. We don’t try to sell you anything. But we know you want to see what houses and condos look like in various price points so we visit some rental properties.

You’ll learn the 4 most important questions you need to ask before you rent any property.

Keep in mind that I have absolutely NO financial ties to any property. I don’t get or want a commission when you rent a property. I tell the landlord or property manager to pass that savings on to YOU instead. I think it is a conflict of interest to do real estate tours pushing certain areas where tour guide will get a big commission. It’s just not right!

Whew! It sounds like a lot already but I actually cover even more. You’ll learn some creative ways to make money with an online business too!

The 6-day all inclusive Panama Relocation Tour is the best way to get a “feel” for Panama, learn how to relocate, explore a variety of area, and discover if Panama is right for you. You’ll be safe with my professional bi-lingual driver and being with a group of people who are also considering relocating to Panama.

WHAT’S THE 3RD WAY TO DISCOVER PANAMA?

You could rent a car and go it alone traveling through Panama. Most people who do this end up leaving frustrated because they don’t know where to go, what to do, or how to find expats to talk to. You’ll see a lot of Panama but you won’t learn any of the important things you need to know to relocate to Panama — certainly not the easy and affordable way. Most car rental places will not accept your insurance and will require you to buy their expensive insurance. GPS does not work very well outside of Panama City.

There you have it… three ways to discover beautiful Panama.

Moving to Panama is a big decision. It is important for you to have all the information you need before you decide to relocate. It’s also important to learn the good, as well as the not so good, before you pull the trigger and decide to move. I honestly think the only way you can discover Panama is to travel around the country. You can’t sit in a conference room in Panama City to learn what life is like living in Panama. You need to see the various areas for yourself. You need to talk to people who live there. And you need to explore the housing options and prices.

We’d love to show you how you can live better for less in Panama! Join us for a Panama Relocation Tour to learn how!

Here’s what Ellen Bailey had to say about the Panama Relocation Tour

I cannot say enough positive things about the tour!! Although my husband, 11 yr old son and I had already pretty much made up our mind about relocating to Panama, I decided a tour would be a great way to help affirm our decision. Thank goodness I found Jackie’s tour. It was everything I hoped and more. We toured breathtaking locations and stayed in several different types of hotels/resorts. Each was different in its own way yet all were perfect for the area where we were. We met many expats, saw several different kinds of properties and went on many exciting outings. It was a perfect way to discover Panama. All the information Jackie gives you is priceless from meeting with the attorney to exploring what grocery shopping is like. How many tours can you do that on??

So are we still moving there? Absolutely!! I feel so confident now knowing that I have someone like Jackie in my corner who is just a phone call or email away not to mention the many friends we met on the tour. In fact we went on the tour in September and have just returned from another visit this month!! All of it was possible because of Jackie!! If you are even remotely considering a move to Panama, Jackie’s tour is a must. Even my 11 yr old who is somewhat hard to please is in love with Panama and can’t wait to make it our new home!! So just do it!!! You will not be sorry!!

Ellen, Steve and Pryce
September 2014 panamaniacs

Here’s what Joe Fairchild had to say about the January 2015 Tour

I woke up this morning with no less enthusiasm for Panama. Can’t believe I’m actually going to do this. I’ll never be able to put into words my gratitude to you and Melissa. I’m feeling so positive about things for the first time in a long, long time!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

To all of you skeptics out there like I was: Have no fear. Jackie and her tour are the real deal. This was my first trip to Panama and when I arrived I had to ask myself: “What the hell was I thinking?” The next morning was the first day of the tour, and after meeting Jackie and my fellow tour mates, then boarding our spacious bus, my whole attitude changed and I felt more and more positive each and every day.

I never thought I would see so much of the country, nor receive so much valuable information. Jackie’s narratives which are complimented with our prepared manual, were so informative that all we had to do was relax and take it all in, all the while knowing we weren’t getting any sugar coated tripe. This was Panama as is really is.

Our accommodations and meals far exceeded my expectations. I slept like a baby and ate like I hadn’t eaten in a month. Also, we had enough free time to explore and see for ourselves how friendly and welcoming the Panamanian people are.

Jackie arranged for us to meet many expats who gave us their impressions thus far of relocating to Panama. They were more than happy to answer the many questions we all had.

From Jackie’s warmth and professionalism, to Melissa’s support and individual attention, to our tour bus driver Jorge’s masterful navigating, I could not have asked for a better experience. I’m making the move to Panama – others may not. I was lucky enough
to find Jackie and her tour to help cement my decision.

January 2015 tour member,
Joe Fairchild