Thread: Do you guys miss home, thinking of Panama move

so what would it cost me to live a middle to upper class live there currently I spend about 7000 per month is there a cost of living adjustment thats 10% or %50% +or - for the same life ie 3100 sq ft house and 2011 camry hybred, getting divorced and will probably have about 10k a month but bad credit because of divorce and i am 62
do not need a 3100 sqft but may be 1800- 2200 need a ballpark of whats what- gas here is $4 a gallon, is there us speaking cable tv, do i pay taxes there or usa??? thanks all in the know for any advices.. bob

Originally Posted by Bob From Portland Or

so what would it cost me to live a middle to upper class live there currently I spend about 7000 per month is there a cost of living adjustment thats 10% or %50% +or - for the same life ie 3100 sq ft house and 2011 camry hybred, getting divorced and will probably have about 10k a month but bad credit because of divorce and i am 62
do not need a 3100 sqft but may be 1800- 2200 need a ballpark of whats what- gas here is $4 a gallon, is there us speaking cable tv, do i pay taxes there or usa??? thanks all in the know for any advices.. bob

Your getting silly with the Post button Bob. I am guessing you drink to much OR you stopped drinking and need to restart. (the shakes get me to sometimes). Just kidding Bob, so your interested in finding out if $10K a month will cut it? Well, you will be happy to find out that with $10k a month you can party like a rock star. Do yourself a favor and make sure you don't get one of the Colombiana "rebound relationships" pregnant. Also make sure you wrap the rascal, this country is a "Petri dish" (if you know what I mean). Other than that have fun, don't get yourself stuck in the same ruts as back home, travel, enjoy, and don't be in a rush to do a lot of investing.

Originally Posted by Bob From Portland Or

so what would it cost me to live a middle to upper class live there currently I spend about 7000 per month is there a cost of living adjustment thats 10% or %50% +or - for the same life ie 3100 sq ft house and 2011 camry hybred, getting divorced and will probably have about 10k a month but bad credit because of divorce and i am 62
do not need a 3100 sqft but may be 1800- 2200 need a ballpark of whats what- gas here is $4 a gallon, is there us speaking cable tv, do i pay taxes there or usa??? thanks all in the know for any advices.. bob

With $7,000 to $10,000 a month (net) budget, you won't need to worry about the price of gasoline!

Asking what a 2000 sq ft residence costs is impossible to answer. Here's the range: $10,000 to $5,000,000 Seriously. Look at some sites, read all you can and narrow down what area you want--beach (Pacific or Caribbean), city, mountain, interior and keep drilling down in each category. Locals use www.encuentra24.com but www.panamarealtor.com and www.cpanama.com are good simply from the standpoint that you can search for properties by area and get a better idea on prices.

But you've got a lot more homework to do before you think about buying, IMO. No hurry. Prices aren't going anywhere fast. Most people would do well to rent for at least six months and use the time to sort yourself out and figure out whether Panama works for you. Don't move to Panama because International Living says you can live on $2,000 a month, or whatever it is. Maybe you can, but maybe that's not how you want to live. Personally, I'm not going to live on that little a month--I guarantee that. Read the threads on this forum, follow Panama in the news and visit, visit and visit!

Another thing to consider is you may not like it? Sounds like you can go just about anywhere, south of the US border, and have a blast. Many people buy here just to figure out they would rather live in Colombia or someplace else.

Panama is a third world country. That means that it is different here and it is not for everyone. Panama is a tropical climate. That means it is hot and humid. And it rains a lot here. You can visit of course. Then, if you want to test drive the place then you can find a short term rental and stay for a few months. Don't invest much into this idea until you do this. Also, try and come during the hottest part of the year. If you can stand that then you are ahead of the game. If you decide you don't like the place, just get back on the plane and go home. Or, if you do like the place you will have had a chance to figure out where you actually want to live and you can then make better decisions. Many people just don't like the heat here. It can seem oppressive to the uninitiated.

Originally Posted by MRWOOHOO

Do yourself a favor and make sure you don't get one of the Colombiana "rebound relationships" pregnant. Also make sure you wrap the rascal, this country is a "Petri dish" (if you know what I mean).

Things IL won't tell you! You heard it here first folks!

Will probably have between 5-7K if my ex gets her way, is that still a good upper class lifestyle.. how does monthly money earned on my American investments, work, how about stock and options trading is that available without a broker, do they have discount brokers like etrade or schwab, what it the money exchange rate, how is the economy- broken like the states-hi inflation, Thanks Bob

Hi Bob, This is a great forum. You can find out tons of information by reading old posts. Your first step will be to learn how to use this site. Learn how to search the old threads etc. Do some extensive readings of the many old threads. No-one here can answer many of your questions because we don't know you personally, what your needs are, etc. We know you got some dough and you are getting a divorce. That's pretty much it. Oh, and we know that you like to invest and want to live in a roomy house. Thats all available in Panama Bob. You are going to have to put some work into extensive reading. Then ask more specific questions.

It sounds like some of you guys life are just plain boring. You could never get tired of PANAMA with all these beautiful WOMEN walking around? I mean seriously??? I may have come close to wrecking my rental 10 or more times daily, slam on the breaks next to a bus stop in rush hour traffic. There is no way a man could stay faithful here.... NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A man with half decent looks and making 40K per year could easily be dating a Carnival Queen, Samba Dancer, or Model in Panama. EASYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY... If you are out on a Thursday-Saturday night and you are not talking to one of the top 10 women in any club in Panama, you have serious problems

Do NOT miss "home". Just miss a few friends and family sometimes. That's why I go back once or twice a year.

Hi!

Welcome to the forum! As was said above (BalaBeacher, No-Non-Sense Matt, Pollkeeper) do your research and you definitely need to make a few visits here for more then a week at a time. Spend time and explore the country to get a feel for where you want to be. There are a lot of pros and cons for all of the areas (Panama City, El Valle, Boquette, David, Bocas del Torro, Azzuero Penninsula, Pacific beach communities, and everywhere inbetween). You need to narrow it down.

Like Mr. Woohoo has said be careful! I have known too many American/Canadian men come down here flash their money and then end up in the same situation that they were getting out of at home!!

Mary
www.whypanama.com

Originally Posted by J.LLOYD

It sounds like some of you guys life are just plain boring. You could never get tired of PANAMA with all these beautiful WOMEN walking around? I mean seriously??? I may have come close to wrecking my rental 10 or more times daily, slam on the breaks next to a bus stop in rush hour traffic. There is no way a man could stay faithful here.... NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A man with half decent looks and making 40K per year could easily be dating a Carnival Queen, Samba Dancer, or Model in Panama. EASYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY... If you are out on a Thursday-Saturday night and you are not talking to one of the top 10 women in any club in Panama, you have serious problems

Wait a minute here, are you trying to suggest the women in Panama will be attracted to you because of your money?

Please, tell me that you're kidding!

Originally Posted by Bob From Portland Or

Will probably have between 5-7K if my ex gets her way, is that still a good upper class lifestyle.. how does monthly money earned on my American investments, work, how about stock and options trading is that available without a broker, do they have discount brokers like etrade or schwab, what it the money exchange rate, how is the economy- broken like the states-hi inflation, Thanks Bob

bob , start doing research on panama ,
the exchange rate is one to one bob .

Originally Posted by TennVol

Wait a minute here, are you trying to suggest the women in Panama will be attracted to you because of your money?

Please, tell me that you're kidding!

What i am saying is... If you look half decent in the face and you have a decent job. You can have just about anyone you want. You can hand pick... Like your in a candy store.....

Gotta love this country.

Originally Posted by J.LLOYD

What i am saying is... If you look half decent in the face and you have a decent job. You can have just about anyone you want. You can hand pick... Like your in a candy store.....

I was kidding with you....I lived in Panama for six years and imagine some things haven't changed much since I left!

The only thing that has changed... Is the quality of women keep getting better and better. More Dominicans are moving to Panama. So when you add in the few Dominicans, Venezuelans, Colombians, and Brazilians. OOOOOOOOOOOOOO my GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD