My Move To Panama

How Michael Vuytowecz Ended Up in Panama, and How His Wife Martha Was Convinced to Even Visit

Michael and Martha Vuytowecz at the pool in Panama in 2009  – Best Places In The World To Retire – International LivingFrom an interview with Michael Vuytowecz in July, 2016...
 
Chuck: You have led a very interesting life, Michael.  You’ve lived in some great places that would make a lot of people quite jealous, including Boston, Lake Tahoe, San Diego, and of course Panama, which is where you live now. Tell us a little bit about how everything came to be.
 
Michael: I grew up in Massachusetts, and immediately after high school, I had a small nightclub for...

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Never Say Never

Before we moved to Panama, we spent 18 months to 2 years researching where in the world we wanted to relocate to, Panama was not even on our radar!
 
We, like most people who relocate, had a long list of criteria, This list included things like: The county must have a growing economy (we were coming here to work and sadly couldn't afford to retire yet!), a good infrastructure, good education (we have school age children), good healthcare, good weather, including safe...

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Learn Step by Step

Ahhh, Panama, you have been sitting wherever for months trying to learn as much as you can about this place, finding some great info and some downright lies, I bet.
 
How you can retire here and live like a king for around $1,000 per month?  That one always makes me laugh.
 
It is true some things are cheaper here, but overall a gallon of gas costs what it costs, right?
 
Now let’s say you’re getting older like me, not in too great of health and you see...

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Fourteen Months Later in Panama

The sun comes up in the east (even though it still seems like the south to me after all this time). The same bright sunshine that warms America warms my day here in Boquete. Night time brings bright stars and often a huge moon.  No matter what phase it is in, it shines beautifully in the dark velvet skies. The same moon shines on my family and friends in America, too.Hills around Boquete, Panama, with clouds – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living
 
Our adventure here in Panama has been a good one. This month we get our Panamanian ID...

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US Citizen and Permanent Resident in PANAMA!

Hi I moved to Panama a year ago and I love it. I have lived in Puerto Rico, Peru, Miami, Atlanta and Indiana and Panama is by far the best choice for retirement. You must remember, and a lot of people often forget, that Panama is still a third world country. BUT with lots of advantages like currency, cost of living, life style, and much more. It's a lot safer than Puerto Rico and Miami. You can have a maid for $350 a month. Fruit and vegetables are always fresh. I even became...

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Runaway Giselle

My name is Giselle and I have been a runaway for 12 years.
 
Well...at least according to some of my stateside friends.
 
It all started innocently enough (as most adventures are want to do): My husband and I had begun to contemplate our retirement options. We were living in Florida at the time. He was a doctor and I was a Real Estate Agent. We talked up a storm about places we would like to see and destinations that would be good fun to wake up in. Of...

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Settled Happily Here In Panamá

Having spent around 5 years researching the best places to retire my wife and I decided that Panama was the best place. We arranged an exploratory trip to judge first hand. We selected a bed and breakfast in Ancon which is strategically placed for easy access to the important places of interest and conveniently just 5 minutes drive to the bridge of the Americas. Nearby Albrook airport was the perfect place to rent a car and only 10 minutes away in a cab.
 
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60 Shades of Green; How Boquete, Panama Seduced Me

60 Shades of Green; How Boquete Seduced Me60 shades of green in Boquete, Panama – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

Maybe I was ready to be “taken” when I arrived in Panama to study Spanish ....but I sure didn’t think I’d be living there within the year.  After being “liberated” from a position I thought I’d be in forever or at least until retirement, I suddenly had the “gift of time.”  So why not have an adventure, learn a language, see the world? Panama is where I started. I found an inexpensive Spanish school that...

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My life in Panama so far...

Many, many years ago, back when they still printed Newsweek and we managed to live without iPhones, I was leading a quiet existence in Geneva, minding my own business, when my friend Dr. César Pereira Burgos introduced me to Rita, a bright young diplomat and my future Panamanian wife. César, a prominent lawyer and politician, went on to become my compadre (my son's godfather) and Panama's Supreme Court president.  Love at first sight; we married a few months later. The timing was a...

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