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.
[The Panamanian homicide rate is over three times as high as in the U.S.A. My experience is street crime was even higher.]
In 2012, Panama had a murder rate of 17.2 per 100,000 population.[1] There were a total of 654 murders in Panama in 2012.[1]
Kidnapping
Panamanian authorities conducted a study which indicates that almost 90 percent of express kidnappings are unreported due to the threat that thieves impose on the victim and relatives of the victim. The procedure of express kidnapping consist of abducting the victim and taking possession of valuables such as cellphones, watches, credit cards, cash and jewelry. Besides taking all of the victim’s valuables, the kidnappers make the victim withdraw money from different ATM locations.
Once the kidnapper is satisfied, the abducted person is usually released. In other cases, the kidnappers may ask for ransom money for the release of the victim. This long process of kidnapping is slowly decreasing, since most kidnappers want a quick payoff without complicated negotiations with relatives. ]