The first question people typically ask me is, "What caused you to check out Panama?"
So, before you get my first 'Letter from Panama' let me take a moment to introduce my family and answer that question.
2002 was one of the most stressful years of our lives. Almost ten long years had passed since my wife, Deb and I had started building our women's fitness centers. We were still reeling from 911 when we got the call that my wife’s dad was being admitted to palliative care. In just a few days he passed away. The stress of juggling three businesses and her father’s death pushed Deb to the breaking point. One morning she woke and couldn't sit up. She seemed to have some kind of paralysis. Now you need to understand Deb is an extremely fit person. After 10 years in the fitness business and 10 years prior to that in the industry we were both very committed exercisers and very health conscious. We knew something was seriously wrong.
That was our wake up call. And it was really the beginning of our journey.
Have you ever heard the expression, “We live in a rat race?”
There’s another part to that expression
that you may or may not have heard of. It goes like this,
“Even when you’re winning the rat race,
you're still a rat!”
Well on that fateful day I realized that
even with two successful businesses I was working day and night and I was
working my wife to death! I was winning the race but, I was still a rat. It was
time to Escape. So, we sold the fitness centers and began our search.
More Great Resources for Panama Information:
Like you, we started with the
internet. The best climate was our highest priority so, we started there.
Before long we had quite a list... Stable weather - no hurricanes! Stable
government - Stable currency - Low crime rate - Low cost of living. I even googled, 'the Cheapest Places to Live'! We already
paid enough for everything from groceries to property taxes so, Cheap Living and
Low Taxes was high on our list. Yes, when you look at it we
really were looking for the ideal spot to get away too!
In a relatively short period of time we
noticed that
A Quick Tip - I have to say that we didn't even think about language! Although we are Canadian we are far from bilingual. The Panamanians are so kind and helpful that without knowing a word of Spanish we were able to get by. If I had to do it over again I would have certainly picked up some CD's and worked on my Spanish language skills before heading off to Panama. One of the courses we found to be the best and fastest way to learn is the Pimsleur program. I admit it's not the cheapest but after spending hundreds on other programs and hours trying to learn I wish we had just bought this program in the first place - it would have saved us time and money. Be sure to check it out by clicking on any of these highlighted links.
Watch your inbox for my next "Letter from Panama" and discover everything we learned!
Hasta Luego! Mark
P.S. It's Live! Check out my LEARN ABOUT PANAMA BLOG where you can ask and read answers to questions about Panama.
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