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 ...
Don’t know. No mention of a husband. Perhaps she did pretty good in a divorce settlement?
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Seven cats. The article says she has seven cats. So who needs a husband when you have seven cats?
I saw lots of guns when I was in Panama.
Mostly in the hands of some version of their defense forces or police.
One nice thing about Panama is that on the Pensionado program, you can probably get a permit for a few guns, including carrying them concealed.
They don't like you advertising them with open carry.
Ammo is very expensive.
Learn to reload.
I clicked and read the article. After seeing her I cansay without a doubt, in my humble opinion, that she is a flaming lib...hands down!
Lived there for 52 years.Watched the downward decline.
She’s probably getting pension well into the six figures, and free health care for life from the MA government employees plans.
...
The article says she pays $2000 a year for a catastrophic health plan and $20 out of pocket for office visits.
Some of these places have really good healthcare if you know where to look and it’s much cheaper than here.
They answer to many of the worlds most wealthy dictators and tyrants, who like to keep their bankers honest.
“Panama has lots of American’s retiring there because you can live very well on little money.”
There is a reason for that. Why is that? Could it be that half the population live in slums who live in a few dollars a day.
Not thanks. As I said one revolution or drug cartel away from losing it all.
I will stick to 1st world countries for my retirement.
If I lived in Springfield, MA, my view might be distorted too. Springfield is a hellhole that is best observed from the comfort of one’s car while en route to better places in New England. The only reason most people in surrounding areas ever go there is for medical reasons or to enjoy some of the decent Italian food spots that are still around from a different era.
Because she is reaping the harvest of a lifetime of voting Democrat (along with many others) and can't afford to live among her fellow massholes on what is probably a generous pension form the taxpayers .
I never said you had to do it, I said folks do... and frankly I don’t blame them.
I know if I was looking at living in poverty in the US, or in a gated community in luxury because I didn’t have a huge nest egg saved up, I’d consider moving to another country to retire as well.
Yes, it has its risks, but the risk of a coup is less than the knowledge you will live out your years struggling just to make ends meet every month... Generally its a no brainer. Not saying I would do it, but if all I had was my social security... be damned stupid not to consider it.
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/100815/what-does-it-cost-retire-panama.asp
I read this article last Friday on Marketwatch. it intrigued me how a retired teacher from Springfield, MA could afford $700K in real estate.
However, I did check out the real estate for this Panamanian highlands town. It is up around 4500 in elevation. Therefore, its temperature ranges from 53F to 78F. The dry season runs from December through April. It sounded pretty humid in the summer though. In the fall they get rain. It is after all the tropics.
It is a nice town up in the mountains. Houses ranged from $200K up to over $1.5 million. It seemed like you could get a nice house between $350K and $500K in GATED communities. What I did notice were that the houses outside of town had BARS ON THE WINDOWS. This is a clear indicator that the poor people will break in a rob you when you are not present. Maybe also when you are.
What most people do report in other countries like Panama is that medical costs are much, much cheaper. That a trip to the dentist for a check up is $35. Prescriptions are $5-15. If you need a crown it costs $250. A doctors visit is $35. Now, if you need complicated surgery, you take the next plane to Miami.
When it comes to these sh*tholes, I always advise people to look into the life of the British actor George Rose. I’ll stick with my great country, warts and all.
Panamagun laws are quite liberal, in the classical sense. Boquete is a very nice place, not too far from David International Airport.
How about John/Ann Bender?
My Sister and Brother-in-Law spend 9 months a year in Europe.
He retired as a Naval Aviator then worked two more jobs before retiring for good. My Sister also always worked after their kids were grown.
They have a very good income but still try to live inexpensively.
This year they will spend 3 months in Belgrade then 6 in Hungary. In previous years they vacationed in most of the European countries such as France, Germany, etc. They now use the less expensive countries as a base and then do a lot of free traveling by train. They travel free because of their age.
They say the friendliest people in Europe are the Poles. The best food is in Serbia. The most beautiful country is Hungary.
I’m also about to retire.
The analysis is different for a retirement home.
On retiring, we aren’t raising children, we are just (to put it bluntly) waiting for death.
There is a rather short time horizon in this calculation.
Will it be reasonably good for X years? For any given place, probably yes. And if it goes bad, I at least am expendable. What is one old man more or less?
I find Europe, especially Southern Europe, a better choice. You have, besides much cheaper cost of living for a similar environment to the upscale urban islands of the US (SF Bay Area, New York), plus easy and very affordable transportation to an endless range of places that you cannot hope see in a lifetime.
Those places would work for me.
Bingo,
Springfield and New haven are two of the worst cities in New England.
They built that MGM casino in Springfield. It will be closed in a couple years because no one wants to go there. Especially now since the Encore just opened on the north side of Boston. The Encore is even hurting Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Those are nice casinos to visit.
They only reason most people go to Springfield is to go to the Big E in West Springfield. Even there you feel the need to Espanial.
The
You can’t beat the prices in Poland, you can eat like a king there for little money.
Krakow is an awesome city, and it’s close to the Tatra Mountains.
I’m hoping to spend next year’s Christmas and New Year’s in Zakopane.
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