Anywhereist

Explore life. Create anywhere.

Panama

International House Sitting is a Thing?!

By

Guest Post by Ashley Mudra Note from Susanna: You've heard my side of the experience, now it's Ashley's turn! I’d never heard of it before. Why would anyone trust their home and pets to me, a total stranger? And how would I even find these international trusting people? While researching for my upcoming travels, I read about people house sitting abroad to mitigate the accommodation costs of traveling. After reading more, I wasn’t surprised to find that house sitting is gaining momentum …

Continue Reading about International House Sitting is a Thing?!

We Trusted a Housesitter in Las Tablas, Panama: The Rest of the Story

By

My husband and I have just returned to Las Tablas after a five-week jaunt in the US. We left our dogs back in Panama with a housesitter. I've written previously (this is the third installment) about our quest for the person we could trust with our pets and our home while we were away. What did we find when we returned home? Did we find our car missing, our dogs running loose, and our house stripped to the bare walls? Was our kitchen hip-deep in garbage? These are the kinds of …

Continue Reading about We Trusted a Housesitter in Las Tablas, Panama: The Rest of the Story

Choosing a Housesitter in Las Tablas, Panama

By

A few months back, I wrote about our search for someone to stay with our dogs while we traveled back to the US this spring. After uploading our request to the Trusted Housesitters site, I was astonished to see 30 applications slam into my inbox in the same number of hours. It seems like a lot of people wanted the chance to visit Panama and Las Tablas! 48 hours later, I had to turn off the stream. I wasn't sure how I'd pick through the applications I'd already received. It was not an …

Continue Reading about Choosing a Housesitter in Las Tablas, Panama

Options and Choices — Expats have More

By

Our goal in moving to Panama was to live within our income following the big financial meltdown in the US. We've met that goal easily – and so much more! Life is all about options and choices – that's true whether you're an expat or not. But by embracing the options available to us as US expats in Panama, we found much more than just financial benefits. I believe that widening your options by choosing to live outside your home country is a smart thing to do. Choosing to live in a new …

Continue Reading about Options and Choices — Expats have More

Las Tablas, Panama: To You, it’s only a Hot Dog. To me, it’s a Sign of Growth

By

Today my husband came back from Chitre with a huge smile on his face. He was as excited as a little kid with a new toy as he unloaded the car. The new Riba Smith store has opened in Chitre, and that’s cause for celebration at our house. (Chitre is about a half hour drive from our home in Las Tablas, Panama.) “What’s the big deal about a store?” I hear you wondering. . . Well, if you’d been living here for a while, you’d understand. Riba Smith is a grocery store in Panama. But it’s not just …

Continue Reading about Las Tablas, Panama: To You, it’s only a Hot Dog. To me, it’s a Sign of Growth

After the Lights and Music End: The Dark Side of Carnaval in Las Tablas, Panama [Video]

By

Carnaval in Las Tablas, Panama, is a huge event. It brings around 100,000 visitors to the town -- and Las Tablas' normal population is only about 10,000. Merchants make a big chunk of their annual sales before, during and after Carnaval. Families earn some extra income by bunking in together and renting out houses or apartments to Carnaval-goers. Carnaval itself is a huge business, employing makers of costumes, floats and other paraphernalia at a cost well into the six figures. …

Continue Reading about After the Lights and Music End: The Dark Side of Carnaval in Las Tablas, Panama [Video]