Hi all,, listen I just wanted to post some things to think about before you guys jump a plane for panama.
please don't think that you can live here high on the hog for 1200.00 per month. because you can't. I understand that many of you can't afford to pay for living in the u.s. and you think by coming here you can live better for cheaper.. well you will live better and cheaper but not that cheap..
we are like everyplace else.. gas cost around the same. food prices here are going up just like they are in the u.s. our health care and meds are cheaper, our work force is cheaper but thats about all.
less taxes that's for sure is another plus.
but this is a third world country. we have many draw backs here as well as any other place.
land which depends on where, is far higher then the u.s. I sold a wonderful farm land type home in the u.s. and my land price was around 3k per acre. you would be hard pressed to beat that price here.
see the problem comes in as to where you would feel good about living.. many of you can live among the local people in a small house that you might pay 50k. can you put up with the fact the the next house is right outside your bedroom window, and their 4 dogs that bark until the rooster wakes up and takes over around 4 am.
can you put up with their whole family coming over for a cook out in their back yard with around 100 people who love the music blasting wide open till 3am with I might add the fireworks that sounds like ak 47 rounds going off.
you might can put up with the fact that no matter how nice you are to all of them and how much money, time and candy you hand over to help them your still a GRINGO and always will be.
to them you are rich, you will pay twice as much and demand half the work for it.
you will end up wanting to live among the other expats, that have about the same as you and have lived and can talk to you about things, that they have never heard of before.
This takes money. it's not cheap to live where the gringo's live or how they live.
we are use to a/c we are use to leaving the big screen tv on most of the day. we are use to going out to eat we are use to new cars, furniture ect. To live the life your living now it's going to cost you close to the same to do that.
we don't need another gringo coming down here to live on a 1200.00 ss check. it's just not going to be your cup of tea.
homes in the gringo area's will run you 250k and up. and that's cash money folks, were not talking about going to the bank and saying loan it to me,, not going to happen.
don't think you can come here and work either,, yes they do have work permits, I have heard of these but they are very hard to get and with some visa's you can't even apply for one.. yes you can start a biz, as long as YOU don't work in it.
If you have 250k cash to buy a home and around 2k to 4k per month welcome to panama you will be very happy here. if not then your going to have to bring your standard of living down a long way. what can you give up to do this? one car instead of two? one small tv, smaller home. less power used. cooking at home more then eating out, buying less and making it last longer. no more trips each year. these are some things that maybe we all should give up.
its like going to walmart your only going in to buy one item and by the time you check out you have 25.
goods here are cheaper.. cheaper priced and cheaper made.
now I love panama because in SOME AREAS NOT ALL,, the crime rate is nothing, and the weather is really wonderrful today it was around 74 all day.. ahhh.. I love it for all the different areas of land and sea that are within a hour from each other. very cheap labor is another huge plus. health care is far cheaper as well.
fresh garden grown food can be had here as well, again these prices are going up, high fuel cost is the main reason.
I just don't want any of you to listen to some person telling you o lord its wondeful here and you can live there for next to nothing. your not going to be happy with that kind of life style. next to nothing means living in and having next to nothing.
understand these facts and once you get here you might be happy.
The main things I worried about before moving here, that many of you need answers too, is how stable is the government, will you be safe here and not a target, can you walk the streets and not have to be on guard all the time, can you get by here, are there people who do speak english in case my spanish is bad or limited. how hard will it be for me to live there full time. is it easy to get a visa. can I live with the changes to my lifestyle to live there, and can I make those changes and still be happy there. Is what I am giving up worth it to live there.. to me yes to all these questions.
do your homework, talk, read, look and listen. then come down for a visit and see for yourself. it might fit you like a glove, or it might slap you in the face with one. the main thing is to take your time. thanks....
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