Welcome to Retire to Panama.

 Some facts:

• Official name is Republic of Panama
• Government is a constitutional democracy
• Size is 78,200 sq.miles or slightly smaller than South Carolina
• Population of 3,320,000
• Location is between Costa Rica on the West, Columbia on the East, the Caribbean Sea to the North and the Pacific Ocean to the South
• Capital is Panama City
• Climate has two seasons – Dry between December and April and the Wet season the rest of the year
• Temperatures average 81 degrees year round except in the valleys that are a little colder
• Language – officially Spanish but many speak English also
• Religion – no official religion and all types are welcomed
• Culture is primarily Caribbean Spanish
• Time zone is the same as Eastern Standard Time without daylight savings
• Unemployment is 7.3%
• Inflation is 2%
• Rain forest – the largest in the Western Hemisphere except for the Amazon Basin

From a retirement perspective, Panama is considered the third best place to retire in the world.  Considered by various groups to be the best place to retire outside the U.S.  It contains a free trade zone that is second only to Hong Kong.  There is a low cost of living, low crime rate, reasonable housing cost, modern health care, and no active volcanoes or earth quakes or hurricanes.

So consider retirement to Panama based upon:

• Stable democracy
• No tax on income from overseas
• Can buy and own property
• Incentive programs for retiring there
• Property tax exemptions
• Strong relations with U.S.
• Friendly welcoming people
• Excellent communications and infrastructure
• Affordable prices of real estate
• Beautiful country

To learn more listen to the podcast: