Posted on 08/26/2019 12:43:21 PM PDT by plain talk
Mary Taft lives with her two daughters, seven cats and two dogs in a mansion in Panama — and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
But the former teacher and school administrator didn’t always know that a Panamanian retirement was in store for her. Indeed, as she consulted with her two adult daughters about where to move, dozens of spots were on the table. “We had this blue-sky conversation — where can we all go and live together?” the 63-year-old former Springfield, Mass., resident recalls. “Canada was out because it was too cold. We wanted the tropics because we were sick of winter. We ruled out Asia because it was too far and [because of] the language barrier. Australia was too expensive.”
The Spanish speaker had been to Latin America numerous times, and her older daughter, a musician, worked a lot in Brazil, so they began looking around there. They ruled out Belize because of a “lack of infrastructure,” and Costa Rica because of its cost and “poor track record with health care,” according to Taft. But Boquete, Panama — a lush, mild-weather town in the Panamanian highlands that’s popular with expats — checked nearly all their boxes.
“The U.S. has gotten so out of control — the social fabric is shattering,” she says. “It is an act of insanity to continue to stay in the U.S.,” she adds, noting that in Panama crime is low, you see guns less frequently, and life can be more affordable.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Real reason:
Panama has lots of American’s retiring there because you can live very well on little money.
Ya damned right!
Does anyone still live in Guatemala, or are they all here?
Seriously, I heard Costa Rica was pretty cool.
Don’t know. No mention of a husband. Perhaps she did pretty good in a divorce settlement?
Mary has catastrophic health insurance from Cigna International, and says she pays roughly $2,000 a year for it. In Panama, she pays out of pocket for her occasional doctor’s visits (about $20);
...
Mexico has some excellent health and dental care, if you know where to look, and it’s much cheaper than the US. Why?
Perhaps, but Panama uses the US Dollar.
Heat. Mosquitos. Not sure I could get past those two things.
“See you back in the US when you need medical care.
There is a John Hopkins affiliated hospital in Panama City, Panama...
Where does a “teacher” get the funds to purchase 3/4 of a mill in homes?\
Don’t know. No mention of a husband. Perhaps she did pretty good in a divorce settlement?
...
It probably cost a fortune and he considered it money well spent.
I’ll remember that at my hut in Florida. Lakeside and loving it! I knew a Panamanian. He moved his family and Mistresses out in the ‘90s. It’s not any better in 25 years!
So basically she spent her entire career advocating for ever fatter teacher benefits and pensions, and thus raising everyones property taxes in perpituity, and then when she reitred she took her fat pension and moved out of the country so she doesn’t need to pay those (state and local) taxes - leaving the taxpayers who can’t leave to pick up the tab for her multiple houses....I see what she did there.
“The U.S. has gotten so out of control — the social fabric is shattering,” she says. “It is an act of insanity to continue to stay in the U.S.,”
_____________________________________________
I see. Orange Man Bad equals USA Bad.
Had this moron simply moved out of Taxachussetts - she would have been fine. Thank God she didn’t move to Texas.
A friend of a friend was a school admin and she bought a very high end BMW with all the bells and whistles for cash ... over a $100K I heard.
She’s probably getting pension well into the six figures, and free health care for life from the MA government employees plans.
Just guessing.
Regular private sector employees cannot generally retire before age 65, because they do not have access to health insurance.
Many teachers, especially in lefist run states like Massachusetts, are extremely well paid, with exceptionally high pensions.
She is 63 now, and has lived in Panama for a year. Very likely retired at 62 but could be much earlier.
I would not be surprised if her retirement package is over $100k a year.
She has only been there a year, and spends most of her time in Boquete, which is an expat center in rural Panama.
Panama has a very high street crime rate and burglary rate.
I loved living in Panama for a little less than five years. Great place. I considered retiring there, but it is far less safe than most of America.
The Panamanian homicide rate is over three times as high as in the U.S.A. My experience is street crime was even higher.
Gated communities were the way to avoid having most of your stuff walk off.
You nailed it. This is Fake News.
While it might be true, the purpose of the MSM regurgitating this garbage is to - as usual - run down the US.
But it was “for the children”, right?
She probably has a defined benefit plan, with automatic cost of living increases, and health insurance that is nearly free.
>>Springfield. MA is one of the most dangerous cities in the US.
Hmmm. 60% black and Hispanic population. But that doesn’t have anything to do with it, I’m sure.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.