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.
[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.]