The worse-case scenario has happened in the US with Trump-elect so I'm seriously considering Panama as an expat until at least he's gone from office. I'm retired, single, an ex-Marine (Semper Fi on our birthday!), and fed-up with VA. I've read a lot of the previous letters and find most of them very helpful. One question I have is how hard is it to get the Pension Visa? It looks like a very effective tool to get retirees to Panama, but does it work well and is accepted easily in country? Also, is it possible to keep Social Security while living in Panama? I'm assuming I'll need to keep my stateside bank for auto-deposits from SS and just pull cash from a local ATM or use a credit card. I am also assuming that Medicare will not be accepted there so how expensive is medical insurance for a retiree? Is the electricity down there just like the US for use with computers, TV, charging batteries, etc. I plan on a month long visit after the first of the year - are there particularly great places most expats like? and I realize the expensive beach areas as opposed to cooler cheaper mountain areas are very different, but I don't want heavy crowds or complete isolation either. I see from most of the forum letters that renting is preferable to buying which suits me fine, but is there anything in particular I need to be aware of as a caution or helpful suggestion? I love outdoor activities, hiking, photography, chess, and writing. I'm a very good cook and comfortable on my own. I look forward to learning Spanish - frankly think everyone should be bi-lingual - do expats have language classes or will I just have to wing it on my own? That's enough for now and my sincere thanks to anyone kind enough to respond. Muchas Gracias.
