Newbie here - Hello everyone!!

Hey ImaScot,

Welcome to the Panama forum. There are a lot of people with a lot of great information in here. My advice to you is listen to the good and bad, take notes, but ultimately you need to visit Panama and make your own decision. Panama blogs are full of people who either absolutely love Panama and will tell you nothing bad about it, or people who hate it and have nothing nice to say. I live here and I love it, but it's not perfect. There are a lot of things you'll have to get used to. So glance over some of the past posts and then do your homework.

Yes, as you mentioned, a lot of the info on the web is outdated or marketing ploys. From the conference ticket toting "retire overseas" experts to the real estate companies trying to sell you a house, there's a lot of info to weed through. This blog is a great source of info. Plus, many of the bloggers here have their own blogs too. Mine is www.thestayathomegringo.blogspot.com. I just talk about goofy stuff you encounter here. I don't mention much about real estate, immigration (unless I'm sharing my own experiences), or taxes. I leave all that tough stuff to the professionals. So check out previous posts here and check out some of the bloggers' personal blogs as well. Let me know if I can help with anything.

Chris

Thanks Chris-all the blogs are so well written and very informative.   I'll have more time today to read some of the posts-this is a very active forum and I'm excited to meet new friends here and get some more responses.

ImaScot - I would love to chat.  I'm the middle of the road person Michael was talking about.  The expat who doesn't sugar coat Panama but will tell you the truth about what to expect.  Panama is a beautiful country.  The people can be warm and friendly.  And then there are the downsides to living here.

And my husband is from Seattle, WA.  I am from NY and we lived in Nevada before we came here as well.  Love how small the world is.

Best,

Florence

My husband, his mom and I moved here to retire and so far it is working out wonderfully for us! I also have a blog http://thepanamaadventure.wordpress.com/ I agree with everyone though who says you really have to come here and experience it, and see how you feel. We are in David, so if you come to this area let us know and we'll get together

Kris

ImaScot wrote:

I'm from Scotland, my husband from Portland, Oregon and we live in Nevada.  It's a huge decision to retire overseas but we feel it will be a good one for us.  We've more or less decided on Panama (trust me, after a lot of researching) and are planning to travel in March or April of this year.  We've been busy bees trying to get as much information as possible from the internet but we're finding it's either outdated or a marketing spiel.

We'd love to chat with expats who have taken that leap of faith and moved to Panama...maybe even meet up while we're there.  Anyone up for it?

Slainte,

ImaScot

Hi Kris...thanks for the reply and also for the invitation to get together when we come to Panama.  I subscribe already to your blog, in fact, I've commented on that beautiful mango tree pic you took!  I'm trying to find out anything about the hospital plans they have for expats there (International health insurance is hugely expensive) for healthcare coverage...maybe you know something about that or know or someone who could advise?   My email address is:  imascot4ever@hotmail.com.  many, many thanks to you Kris, the kindness of expats already there is awesome-everyone tries to help as much as possible, and we appreciate it all!

kristc99 wrote:

My husband, his mom and I moved here to retire and so far it is working out wonderfully for us! I also have a blog http://thepanamaadventure.wordpress.com/ I agree with everyone though who says you really have to come here and experience it, and see how you feel. We are in David, so if you come to this area let us know and we'll get together

Kris

ImaScot wrote:

I'm from Scotland, my husband from Portland, Oregon and we live in Nevada.  It's a huge decision to retire overseas but we feel it will be a good one for us.  We've more or less decided on Panama (trust me, after a lot of researching) and are planning to travel in March or April of this year.  We've been busy bees trying to get as much information as possible from the internet but we're finding it's either outdated or a marketing spiel.

We'd love to chat with expats who have taken that leap of faith and moved to Panama...maybe even meet up while we're there.  Anyone up for it?

Slainte,

ImaScot

Ahh, I see, sorry. I can't always tell who is commenting on my blog if the name is different, or sometimes there is only an IP address.

I'm afraid I'm not much help on health insurance. It's been so out of my reach in the US that I'm not used to having any health care.  Here, it's so much more affordable I could actually get help if heaven forbid I needed it without going bankrupt. Some people pay as they go, feeling that will be cheaper than any insurance. There is a discount plan here but I don't know any details, and I've heard mixed reviews if its worth it or not. My husband has the option to go back to the US and use his VA benefits, and his mom has medicare.

Check this yahoo group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Gringos_in_David_Panama/
and this site - boquete.ning.com/forum
They discuss all sorts of things in these forums and I know health care/insurance is a common question. If you can't find something in past messages post your question and people who know a lot more than me can help you out.

Goodness knows enough people have helped us so I'm very happy to pay it forward. Besides, people who travel and consider living in another country are usually very interesting people to know

Kris

ImaScot wrote:

Hi Kris...thanks for the reply and also for the invitation to get together when we come to Panama.  I subscribe already to your blog, in fact, I've commented on that beautiful mango tree pic you took!  I'm trying to find out anything about the hospital plans they have for expats there (International health insurance is hugely expensive) for healthcare coverage...maybe you know something about that or know or someone who could advise?   My email address is:  imascot4ever@hotmail.com.  many, many thanks to you Kris, the kindness of expats already there is awesome-everyone tries to help as much as possible, and we appreciate it all!