I am often asked the question about what it's like to move to Panama, and I usually hesitate to respond. As we all know, each experience is different.
I'll take the easy route and describe three experiences from three Americans who arrived in Chiriquí within six weeks of each other. I'll call my two friends David and Melissa to protect their identity, as if that were really necessary. Both older than me (in their upper 40's) none of us came to Panama to retire and all of our experiences in the first six months have been very different.
It was a big challenge for me to downsize before leaving the US. That is a story in itself. David has lived internationally before and said that getting rid of everything was the easiest part of his move. Melissa maintains her home in the US and plans to do so indefinitely. I found a house rental before arriving, which is not usually recommended, but was preferable given my circumstances. Both David and Melissa opted to search for homes after they arrived. Each of us are happy with our finds.
Melissa and I have our own businesses and David works remotely for an international company. We engage in different levels of social interaction but all agree that connecting with both locals and expats is rewarding.
None of us speak a lot of Spanish, but hope to gain some command of the language. When it came to turning on utilities, David and Melissa had difficult times with the language barrier. My very basic Spanish got me through relatively easily and my neighbors, who speak NO English at all, were a big help with connecting me with a gardener and a handyman. No such luck for David and Melissa.
David describes his biggest adjustment as the food, which he says is never seasoned enough, and the meats, which are too tough to enjoy. I guess knowing that the meats are hormone free makes the tougher meat a little easier to accept, but not any easier to swallow. He also says he really misses a lot of products and conveniences that don't seem to be easily found in our area. Melissa says that the hardest thing for her to work with and believes she will not get accustomed to, is the "manana attitude" that makes it difficult for her to run her business. I couldn't agree with her more. For me, that, combined with what I consider "intense heat," leaves a lot to be desired.
Although we are all still adjusting to life in Panama, we agree that the move was more than worth it. We each did our homework and knew what we were getting into. For us, the pros far outweigh the cons. We are happy with our new lives and look forward to the many challenges that are ahead.
There are lots of English-speaking doctors in San Miguel de Allende. My dentist is Mexican but she speaks perfect English. I speak Spanish fluently so that’s not a problem to me, but if you’re looking for English-speaking doctors, you’ll find more than one. For example, we have an acupuncturist who is Mexican and speaks perfect English. 
On account of there being so many new mobile companies in Portugal, there is a lot of competition, so you can get a bundle including Internet, television, mobile phones, television, and depending on how many foreign calls you want, you can pay anything from €32 up to €78 (about $35 / £23 to $85 / £56). 
Internet is one of the more expensive luxuries here in Belize. The cost is about BZ $88 (US $44) a month for 1 MB of Internet. In the Caribbean, we're the most expensive when it comes to Internet per month. And the fastest Internet speed we get is about 16 MB and that's going to cost you around nearly BZ $700 (US $350) a month. 
Nicaragua has one international airport. The airport code is MGA. It is located in Managua, the capital city of the country.
There’s absolutely no reason to move your US brokerage account, investments, IRA, or retirement account if you retire overseas. You only need access to a computer or an ATM, so you shouldn’t have any problem getting to your accounts, especially if you’re living in the big cities. 
Almost on cue, just minutes after my wife Jet was finished with her massage on the beach in Mahahual, the wind picked up, and we and everyone else could notice that the squalls that earlier were further out and more separated were now consolidating and moving closer. Evidently not strangers to what would happen next, everyone but us folded up and headed for nearby shelter. Having a full itinerary, we got in our van, retraced the road back to the main highway, and made a left...
at Panama is a backward place with grinding poverty, poor infrastructure, political instability and lots of risk for investors. In fact, while there is poverty there in relative terms, the people are happy, relaxed, friendly and open.