Hi, I'm new to this site and just getting used to using it. My name is Steve and I'm Canadian. I'll be at retirement age in about ten years so decided to start researching where we could retire in a tropical climate. After visiting a number of different websites it seems that Panama is pretty popular at the moment. Never been there but am starting to seriously consider making it our next vacation destination. I would love to hear from other people who have moved there and learn from them all the positives and negatives about living there. My wife and two kids moved to the Phillipines back in '94 and stayed for two years but returned for a number of reasons. Any info anybody could share with me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.

Hi Steve and welcome to the forum.

Although I don't know much about Panama, there are certainly people on this forum who do.

Good luck

Michelle

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www.mar-del-plata-argentina.net

A wonderful place to live

I've made a few posts in the Other Countries section, and I'll do a major update soon.

The expats and retirees I've met here in Panama City all like it a lot, but they all bought before the big housing boom started two years ago. Property prices have escalated dramatically, and rents have nearly tripled ($550 per month to $1400 per month).

The government is also trying to change the retirement visa to reduce the number of guarnteed renewals, but that may changed. They shortened the tourist visa to 30 days and there were so many complaints that they went back on it almost immediately.