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
You're close to reciting the chief reason I moved to Boquete this summer. No way could I live independently on my income in the U.S. Here, I can subsist on $1600/mo and will try not to dip into my second pension until I turn 65.
Main reasons I am in Boquete:
* - the Panamanian Bolivar is equivalent to the U.S. dollar. No worries about converting funny money.
* - I can live in a furnished all-bills-paid apartment for $600 month that includes, gas, electricity, cable and wi-fi.
* - Every morning starts in the 60-degree F range. So far, it has only made it above 80 once or twice.
* - while biting insects are still present, there are far fewer than on the hot, muggy coast.
* - there are enough gringos for conversation while you learn to speak Spanish. I attend an English-speaking fundamentalist Bible church that is active in outreach ministries both to Spanish speakers and native Indian tribes, some so bore that they literally live on dirt floors with tin roofs. The public schools welcome you instead of threatening to sue you.
* - yes, everyone has bars on their windows but they are so ever-present that burglaries aren't that common. I feel safer walking around Boquete than I do most U.S. cities.
* - there's the cultural adventure of learning a new way of life with less processed foods and a more relaxed pace.
I'll be the first to say it's not for everyone and honestly I don't want a lot of people coming down here and complaining that it "isn't like America". It's not like America but I don't want it to be like America. I'm just a guest here.
Oh, and I forgot the pensionado discounts for being over 60 and how you rarely meet anyone of any nationality that thinks they are entitled to anything because they feel oppressed by white privilege. In some ways, Central America feels like the 1960s and 1970s.