Panama was once at the forefront of the retire overseas movement. Since the mid-1990s, this country has been working hard to attract the attention of U.S. retirees.
Back in the 1990s, Panama was competing with Costa Rica and Mexico. Today, dozens of countries endeavor to woo American retirees to their shores with well publicized and benefit rich retiree residency programs.
[See: 10 Places to Retire Overseas in 2017.]
Panama City is no longer a cheap place to live. If you own your own place, you could get by on $1,000 per month. If you don’t own your own apartment, you’ll spend $1,500 per month or more to rent one in a neighborhood where an expat retiree would feel comfortable.
Over the past two decades, Panama City has offered additional services at a higher cost. The cost of living here continues to rise as services, standards and amenities expand to meet the demand of the global executive community in residence. Adidas and Estée Lauder have just signed agreements to join the dozens of other international businesses with operations in Panama City. The housing stock, grocery shops, clothing stores, restaurants, cafés, shopping malls, furniture stores, car dealerships and jewelers are all evolving to service the employees of these large companies, especially the top-tier employees, who earn international rather than local salaries.
[See: 5 Top Options for Affordable Retirement in Europe.]
Panama City is a boom town with all the trappings. This is a busy, dirty, noisy city with construction and traffic that can turn a 10-minute run to the dry cleaners into 90 minutes of agony. Panama City is a place to come to do business or make money. This is not a place to embrace a relaxing retirement retreat.
However, other parts of Panama still have a lot to offer retirees overseas. Many people dream of retirement at the beach, and Panama has the Pacific coast, Caribbean coast and sand-fringed islands. There are beaches for tourists, surfers, shell collectors, boaters and recluses. You could retire in a coastal fishing village or a five-star gated community. Whatever kind of beach experience you’re interested in, you can find it in Panama.
Panama also offers diverse highland options where the weather can be less sticky than down at sea level. You have developed choices, such as Boquete, or nearly off the grid places like Santa Fe. El Valle can be a great mountain lifestyle option because it’s within easy driving distance of Panama City for shopping and medical care.
The cost of retirement living outside Panama City is much lower than the cost of any kind of living in Panama City. You retirement costs are also controllable, depending how local you take your lifestyle. You could live in Santa Fe on $1,200 per month including rent if you’re up for living like the locals. You would actually have little choice but to adopt a local lifestyle in Santa Fe. Services and amenities for the expat market are uncommon in this pretty highland town.
Panama offers a great retiree residency program, but it competes with other countries that can be cheaper. Panama was among the first countries to try to attract American retirees and their disposable income by offering easy and perk-filled residency. However, other countries across Latin America have launched pensionado programs of their own to compete.
[See: The Top Travel Destinations for Retirees.]
Panama uses the U.S. dollar. For a retiree on a fixed U.S. dollar income, this can be a big perk. American retirees don’t have to worry about currency movements and exchange expenses.
Panama is home to some of the world’s biggest communities of expat retirees in Boquete and Coronado. For some retirees, this is a selling point. Other retirees see the lack of interaction with locals as a drawback.
Medical facilities in Panama City are global standard. If quick access to good health care is a priority, consider Panama locations within easy reach of the capital.
If you’re considering relocating overseas as a retiree, aim to keep the move tax-neutral. You don’t want to pay more in tax retired in your chosen foreign country than you would in the United States.
Kathleen Peddicord is the founder of the Live and Invest Overseas publishing group.
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Is Panama Still a Top Retire Overseas Choice? originally appeared on usnews.com
