SO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT LIKE TO LIVE ABROAD?

by Gary Stamper 

The sun illuminates "rainshine" falling on the mainland through a hole in the clouds

It's been almost a month since I've posted here since I've been posting snippets of my journey on my Facebook page. FB's perfect for snippets, but here's a blog on a bigger subject (Note: I'll also repost this on my FB page with a redirect here).

I've been inspired to write about this because of the FB response to those snippets and photos. So many of you have asked how I did this and how envious they were that I seem to have found my own personal paradise, so let me start this off by saying:

If I can do this, anyone can do this.

If you want something like what I've done, you have to want it bad enough to make it happen and not let anything get in your way, including naysayers, money, and self-doubt.

The rewards can be immense, but there's a cost, too!

When thinking about how bad you want it, one of the first considerations is how will you feel about leaving your family, loved ones. friends... and grandkids? Are you OK with not seeing them very often?

What about your partner if you have one? If they're not on board, what will that mean to you? Will you need a job or will you be retiring or are you self-employed with the ability to work from anywhere as a digital nomad? 

Yesterday, I met Lora from Colorado who has been in Panama for two months, now. She applied online from Colorado and wrangled a job related to real estate sales at one of the larger resorts on one of the other islands. Like me, she speaks little Spanish. She's married and she and her husband are working out how they maintain two residences and time apart, both traveling back and forth.

The process of just figuring out what works for you and what doesn't will be a tremendous growth opportunity for you and the people in your life whether you decide to go or stay. Whatever you decide, you will know yourself better.

What's my dream?

If you've traveled, you're at an advantage over someone who hasn't. I'm not what I would call a world traveler. I've been to Scotland twice, traveling through Heathrow and Amsterdam airports. I've also traveled half of Canada, been to Hawaii twice, Costa Rica, and made numerous trips to Mexico on both coasts and led a tour of Mayan Sacred Sites in the Yucatan. I have, however, traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean, which played a major role in my choice of Bocas Del Toro, Panama.

That choice, though, was not made lightly. I spent a year researching locations before I arrived in Panama.

I had initially chosen Cuenca, Ecuador, as my destination. Why? There were several reasons. First, I knew and very much liked and respected someone who had ex-patriated there. Cuenca also had a large ex-pat community and the cost of living was rated as one of the lowest in the world, meaning my money would go a lot further there... an important consideration.

Cuenca, Ecuador

However, the deeper I dived into Cuenka, I began to question some aspects of retiring there, the biggest being that it was located at 8,000 feet above sea level in the Andes mountains and that meant cold winters and snow... uh, a major drawback for me, low cost of living or not! |

So I began looking at the Ecuadorean Pacific coast, particularly 7-8 beach towns, but eventually came to realize those weren't the beaches I was looking for.

What I realized then was these were not the white sand and clear turquoise waters I was actually longing for, For that, I'd have to return to the Caribbean I loved so dearly.

I returned to the online website, International Living, and did a search on Caribbean  Beach Towns and immediately found what I was looking for: Bocas Del Toro, Panama!

Bocas Town Business District

Now, this is more like it! I immediately liked the laid-back colorful Jamaican vibe to the whole place! I spent another three months researching the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and finally decided this was the place for me!

Just as I started to dive into scheduling a March exploratory 2-week trip to check it out... you guessed it... COVID 19 hit and I had to cancel my plans, thinking it would be October or November before I'd be able to get there for my exploratory journey. I was partially right.

Panama reopened to tourism on October 12th and I jumped on what might be a window and arrived in Panama on November 3rd. Good thing... the US was about to explode once again in COVID cases and I figured being locked down in Panama at the beach if it were to happen again would much better than being in the US, so I came to stay, not as an explorer, but as a resident and immediately obtained a temporary Resident Visa. There would be no going back.

Boca Town Sunset

Today, I'm safely ensconced in a very nice 1-bedroom furnished apartment in Bocas Del Toro and loving being here. It's costing me $500 a month and includes wi-fi, furniture, dishes, cable, and all utilities. My unit is on the 2nd floor right of the entry with a great balcony.

You could live very comfortably in Bocas on $1,000/mo. Two people with a $2,000 budget could live very well, indeed.

 

In Napa, where I was living before I got here, a single bedroom in a shared house started at $800/mo and generally averages between $1200-1600/mo.

I highly recommend International Living for research on your perfect Retirement or Get-out-of Dodge source, or if you'd just like to improve your quality of your life on the same funds you now have. They have a tendency to gloss some things over and paint a rosy picture, but you can find negativity in lots of places if you want to know about the downsides of ex-patriating. 

Panama also has some of the best retirement options of any country, including their world-renowned Pensionada Visa with its many benefits to entice foreign retirees!

Whatever you choose, invest some time in your future. Even if you decide to stay where you are, you'll have the peace of mind that comes from being informed.

Me? I'm absolutely delighted with my choice!

Gary Stamper, Chillin'

All photos copyright 2020 Gary Stamper