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Panama

Transporting the Dogs: Bringing our Pets to Panama

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Our three dogs have finally joined me to live the expat life in Panama, but there were lots of twists and turns in the process since I last wrote about it in December. Back then, we had followed airline guidelines and purchased proper travel kennels for them. We were putting two of the dogs in the larger kennel together, and one in the smaller kennel. Well, after training them so they'd be relaxed and groovy with this arrangement during the stress of the actual flight, the airlines went …

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Panama, Baseball and Expat Businesses

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Beisbol (baseball) is big in Panama. Really big. They have major leagues, playoffs, and their own version of the World Series. Panama's a small country, with a population of about 3.5 million, so they don't have a big talent pool to draw on. Making it even more surprising that they can at least a dozen major league teams. Recently I had the opportunity to attend a playoff game between Los Santos and Herrera. In Las Tablas, where I'm living now, Los Santos is the home team. It was a fun …

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9 Lessons I’ve Learned about Finding a Rental House in Las Tablas, Panama

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When last seen, Future Expat was grumpy. Tired of living in a hotel and having to go out for every meal, tired of not having a place to call her own. . . just tired. There were even a few tearful phones calls with my husband back home, running along the lines of, "I don't think I can do this." Fortunately, I'm happy -- no, ecstatic -- to report that I've found a home! And, naturally, I've learned some lessons about navigating this local rental market that I'm happy to pass along. I'll …

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In Search of the Elusive Rental Casa in Las Tablas, Panama

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When you're in a part of the world that doesn't have an organized real estate or rental market, finding a place to live is hard. You can't just waltz into an agency and say, "I'm looking for a two-bedroom house to rent in a nice neighborhood with a fenced yard for my dogs." I'm here in Las Tablas, Panama, to find a furnished house that my husband and I and our small dogs can rent short-term while we look for a more permanent place to stay. Las Tablas is a small town, and there's just not that …

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Going with the Flow in Panama

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My loose plan, before I arrived in Panama, was to spend a few days exploring Penonome to see if it might be a place we'd like to live. I flew into the country on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday I hopped a bus for Las Tablas. Why Las Tablas? Because I discovered there wasn't a hotel room to be had in Penonome. The moment I arrived in Panama I started receiving lessons in flexibility. I got myself and my remaining three bags (remember, I stashed one with the hotel in Panama City) into a cab, …

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On the Ground in Panama

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On Tuesday I flew from Orlando to Panama. The plan is that I will locate a short-term furnished rental, then my husband and the dogs will join me. It's a little complicated because in April we fly back to Florida for our son's wedding. If I find a rental quickly, we're fine. If it takes a while, my husband will probably opt to stay in the US until after the nuptials. I have to admit, I've gotten off to a bit of a rocky start here. First was a problem which I anticipated but didn't feel …

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