Country Archive
Why Panama Is Top of Our List
Date: 01/20/2008Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008
Read more about retiring overseas in International Living Postcards—Sunday Edition
After a couple of false starts (first, two years ago, when we came close to leaving Paris and Waterford for Panama…then again this past summer, when we nearly became full-time Dubliners), we’re on track again for relocation…to Panama. All indications are that this mission will launch, though I’ve learned from experience to remain open-minded and flexible.
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The Return of Panama’s 20-Year Property Tax Exemption
Date: 01/07/2008Monday, Jan. 7, 2008
Read more about Panama in International Living Postcards--your daily escape
One of the main incentives to buy property in Panama was the 20-year property tax exemption law, first passed in 1990 to encourage economic development and investment. The exemption freed buyers of new homes or condos from paying property tax for up to 20 years.
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Will Prices Jump 50% in Sleepy Volcan, Too?
Date: 12/26/2007
Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007
Volcan, Panama
Few places rival Volcan for picture-perfect mountain scenery coupled with a low cost of living. The climate is cool (temperatures are usually 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit cooler here than in Panama City…at night, it can get as low as 60 degrees). You can get dinner for $4, breakfast for $2, or splurge at one of the good ethnic restaurants and spend $12 ($16 with wine).
Read OnSave $2,500 on Eye Surgery in Panama
Date: 11/23/2007Friday, Nov. 23, 2007
Read more about Panama in International Living Postcards--your daily escape
I’m not a young man, but I didn’t think I was old enough to have cataracts. However, the verdict of my eye exam was clear…much clearer than my eyesight, in fact. Looking through my natural lenses was like looking through cheesecloth.
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If I Had to Choose Just One Beach in Panama...
Date: 11/19/2007
Monday, Nov. 19, 2007
Bocas del Toro, Panama
Read more about Panama in International Living Postcards--your daily escape
A dread-locked surfer ambles past the café's outdoor terrace…I watch him with mild curiosity as I sip my piña colada (made with fresh pineapple and coconut). Drowsy and slightly sunburned after a day of boating from island to island, snorkeling and splashing along the way, I plop myself in a nearby hammock.
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IL Retirees Get Cheap Flights to Panama
Date: 11/06/2007
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007
Panama City, Panama
Learn more about Panama in International Living Postcards--your daily escape.
If you’re 55 or older it now costs you less to fly to Panama City. Copa Airlines is offering only IL readers a two-for-one deal on airfares from the U.S. to Panama City.
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All Aboard the Panamanian Party Bus
Date: 11/02/2007
Friday, Nov. 2, 2007
Panama City, Panama
Learn more about Panama in International Living Postcards--your daily escape.
A steamy Panama City night and it’s mayhem. I’m soaked in rum and seco (a sugar-cane spirit). Oozing beer, the sandals are beyond redemption. And my hair reeks of some smoky substance that definitely isn’t Marlboro Red.
Thirty or so sweaty bodies are crushed onto the bus’s side benches or hanging from ropes and shiny poles. Shrieks and whoops erupt as we hurtle around a corner and yet more alcohol sloshes out of plastic cups. The music (from a three-piece band) is blaring loud enough to wake the dead.
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Save thousands of dollars with surgery in Panama
Date: 10/03/2007
"Americans are in the midst of a global shift in healthcare service: in a few short years, big government investments, corporate partnerships, and increased media attention have spawned a new industry-medical tourism-bringing with it a host of encouraging new choices, ranging from dental care and cosmetic surgery to some of the most costly procedures, such as hip replacement and heart surgery." Josef Woodman in his 2007 book, Patients Beyond Borders
Bangkok, Singapore, and India host tens of thousands of medical tourists each year. Their patients come mostly from Europe but, more and more, from the
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