Thread: any middle economic class expats here?

OK, the topic speaks for itself. One might conclude, judging by the frequent talk of tax havens, business start ups and the like, that most here are from the upper economic classes of the U.S., Canada and, to a lesser degree, Europe. A political mind set very often goes hand in hand with economic class.

I would like to know if (hope to believe, actually) the ex pat population in Panama is more economically and socially diverse than what seems to be indicative here. It would sadden me to discover that every expat from the U.S./Candada is white, over 60, male and wealthy. Not that there is anything wrong with being any of the above, but one would like to connect with people from his own country whose experiences are more similar to his own from time to time.

Most of the experiences and concerns of the wealthy are not the same as mine, and I would not expect to be able to find much common ground with respect to issues such as law, culture, and economic opportunity.

Hope this makes sense.

Hey explorer, I think you will find most of the expats here fall into the "middle class". You don't need to be rich to live in Panama, especially if you are in the interior.

Thanks for your reply, and for not taking offense.

Funny, I never thought that. The rich are already rich... no need to move to central america to live a better lifestyle.

My impression was the vast majority of people who read this forum are either (a) middle class and looking to get off the hamster-wheel early or (b) retirees looking for a place that their small pensions will afford them a more comfortable lifestyle.

Originally Posted by CerebralPrimate

Funny, I never thought that. The rich are already rich... no need to move to central america to live a better lifestyle.

My impression was the vast majority of people who read this forum are either (a) middle class and looking to get off the hamster-wheel early or (b) retirees looking for a place that their small pensions will afford them a more comfortable lifestyle.

That is pretty accurate.

Hi!
We are one of the middle class expats here in Panama. We live in the interior on just 1 social security income and NO pension. We were able to come down here and pay for our house and car. We came to Panama permanently in 2005, when it was much easier to do things!! We built our dream home for around $125K and with the tax exemption are living very comfortably on $1500/month. Our basic bills (electric, gas, water, high speed internet, DirecTV, and cell phones) average about $250/month. Everything else is car insurance ($165/year), gas for the car, groceries, dining out, etc. We don't have health insurance and pay as we go. I had major cancer surgery (they gutted me like a pig) last year and used the social security hospital where everything came to $1200 (10 day hospital stay, 4 U.S. trained cancer surgeons, blood tests, MRIs, Cat scans, xrays, colonscopy, etc.). The actual hospital stay was $310 and $100 for testing of 3 pints of blood for my surgery from donors--I have O- which is rare. I will go in for my 4 month checkup next week and will see a minimum of 2 of my surgeons for $1.00.

Mary & Matt
www.whypanama.com

Originally Posted by whypanama

Hi!
We are one of the middle class expats here in Panama. We live in the interior on just 1 social security income and NO pension. We were able to come down here and pay for our house and car. We came to Panama permanently in 2005, when it was much easier to do things!! We built our dream home for around $125K and with the tax exemption are living very comfortably on $1500/month. Our basic bills (electric, gas, water, high speed internet, DirecTV, and cell phones) average about $250/month. Everything else is car insurance ($165/year), gas for the car, groceries, dining out, etc. We don't have health insurance and pay as we go. I had major cancer surgery (they gutted me like a pig) last year and used the social security hospital where everything came to $1200 (10 day hospital stay, 4 U.S. trained cancer surgeons, blood tests, MRIs, Cat scans, xrays, colonscopy, etc.). The actual hospital stay was $310 and $100 for testing of 3 pints of blood for my surgery from donors--I have O- which is rare. I will go in for my 4 month checkup next week and will see a minimum of 2 of my surgeons for $1.00.

Mary & Matt
www.whypanama.com

This was a wonderful hands on summary for living in Panama. What a great insight. Very encouraging. Thank you very much.

Things seem to be much harder today. I am not old enough to collect social security, and from what I've read here, one has to sacrifice a virgin poodle to the zircon moon god in order to open a simple bank account. Even if the cash were available, investor status seems linked to being able to purchase a cd of some sort; I don't have a virgin poodle handy...

Originally Posted by explorer

I don't have a virgin poodle handy...

Wanna buy one?

First of all, this sight does in fact, have more posts from those that have a couple of bucks than from those that are living a modest lifestyle. I wish this site was more attuned to the immigrant with a modest income but it is not. Most of the technical questions are very important but not interesting to those that live like I do. For example, I am not interested in buying property nor do I have money to invest. So, the questions on banking and real estate do not interest me that much. I invite those that live on an income of 1500 dollars to begin to post. You would probably be surprised at how many low income retirees live here and how many would be interested in moving here. Please share with us information on what it is like to live in Panama. I,for one, would be very happy to hear more about the Los Tablos area so others can find out about it and visit and possibly move to this marvelous area. It is, after all, Panama's best kept secret.

I think that is correct. If you have lots of money, there are other places in the world where you might prefer to live. If you have no money, Panama can be a tough place for a foreigner to find work and save up. If you have a middle amount of guaranteed income or cash, Panama makes sense.

There was a time when the more wealthy were very interested in investing in real-estate and in hiding money in Panama. I think that much of that is gone.

I think that is correct. If you have lots of money, there are other places in the world where you might prefer to live. If you have no money, Panama can be a tough place for a foreigner to find work and save up. If you have a middle amount of guaranteed income or cash, Panama makes sense.

There was a time when the more wealthy were very interested in investing in real-estate and in hiding money in Panama. I think that much of that is gone.

Please consider that you may have more in common with people who have money than you think. Some people come from humble begginings and are self made. They never forgot where they came from and have a respect for people throughout the economic spectrum. They may have money but live below their means (one reason they have money) and don't put on aires. They enjoy common things like hunting and fishing. It is not uncommon to have people of means of younger age in their thirties or forties. You may see more of these people in Panama as America becomes more like Venezuela.

Originally Posted by explorer

OK, the topic speaks for itself. One might conclude, judging by the frequent talk of tax havens, business start ups and the like, that most here are from the upper economic classes of the U.S., Canada and, to a lesser degree, Europe. A political mind set very often goes hand in hand with economic class.

I would like to know if (hope to believe, actually) the ex pat population in Panama is more economically and socially diverse than what seems to be indicative here. It would sadden me to discover that every expat from the U.S./Candada is white, over 60, male and wealthy. Not that there is anything wrong with being any of the above, but one would like to connect with people from his own country whose experiences are more similar to his own from time to time.

Most of the experiences and concerns of the wealthy are not the same as mine, and I would not expect to be able to find much common ground with respect to issues such as law, culture, and economic opportunity.

Hope this makes sense.