I became a Panama expat one year ago. On March 13, 2012, I landed -- along with my mini-mountain of luggage -- at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. My first few days here were pretty stressful. I'd flown down by myself to find us a place to live. My husband and the dogs would follow once I'd accomplished that mission. I had no definite plans. I'd reserved a room at the Centrum Tower Hotel in Panama City for the first night, but everything after that was a mystery. My …
The Pains, Perils and Joys of Buying Panama Oceanfront Property
Over this past weekend, I looked at two very different pieces of Panama beachfront property. The first belongs to an expat couple we met. They're not selling it, and I can see why. It's absolutely beautiful! Directly on the beach near Chitre, it was built as a collection of small buildings all opening up to a central, covered, open-air courtyard. They have trees, grass, bougainvillea, and lots of other plants in this courtyard. Lovely ocean breezes waft through, and they can open their …
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Win a Free Month in Granada, Nicaragua
Granada, Nicaragua. It's a charming Colonial city on the shores of beautiful Lake Nicaragua. Home to the iconic yellow cathedral, it's a place expats like to call home. And you have a chance to spend a month there. Free. In fact, International Living is so eager to have you test drive Granada that they'll give you spending money as well! Last year they gave away a trip to Cuenca, Ecuador. This year, it's Granada. Who? "One lucky winner (along with a spouse or friend) will win a four-week …
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Where’s the Best Place in the World to Retire?
It's a great big world out there. If you want to retire -- or just live -- overseas, where's the best place to go? Naturally there's no one-size-fits-all answer. You can start with a list of questions to ask yourself about what quality of life means to you (and your significant other if you're moving with someone else). Then you start collecting data. Here are the top 15 cities from the newest quality of life index from Numbeo.com. Zurich, Switzerland Canberra, Australia Adelaide, …
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Overseas Residency — What’s the Best Country?
Residency is what lets you live in a country for as long as you want, and usually lets you enter and leave the country whenever you choose to. It's not the same as citizenship, although it can lead to becoming a citizen. Some countries are easier than others to become a legal resident. Others are easy to stay in without residency. So what's the best choice for an expat. Should you look for residency? As with so many other expat questions, the best answer is, "it depends." My husband and I …
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Why We Had to Run for the Border Before We Could Drive in Panama
One of the challenges of expat life is that you're constantly running up against the unintended consequences of your actions. Last November, after eight months of relying on public transportation in Panama, we broke down and bought a car. Yes, day-to-day life was perfectly fine using cabs and buses, but we weren't seeing much of the country. After all, that was one of the reasons we were here! I knew that as non-residents we couldn't get Panama drivers licenses. I also knew that we could …
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