I enjoyed quickly reading through Richard's modest book. It provides a good general sense of what to consider if planning to move to a foreign country and specifically to the community around Boquete. This is one of two glaring problems with the book. First it only covers Boquete and omits any real discussion of anywhere else one might consider living in Panama. The second omission is any serious discussion of alternative countries in which to settle, in Latin America in countries including Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay where Americans have been moving and settling for quite some time, much less other countries in Central America.
It would be like writing a book on moving to the USA and then covering only Ventura, California, and left out the Rocky Mountain states, the Carolinas, or even northern California which only has the Napa wine country, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco Bay area, Monterey/Carmel, Palm Springs, and lots of other areas to consider. What struck me with the comments made by Richard was the lack of perspective on alternatives.
For example in the community of Boguete he mentions that it takes more than 6 hours to drive to the nearest hospital. For him this is perfectly reasonable. Apparently unknown to Richard is that one can live almost anywhere in Costa Rica and be less than 2 hours from a hospital and for 70% of the areas where gringos are settling there is a top rated hospital within 60 minutes or less drive time.
Flying in or out of Panama means using the airport at Panama City which is a 6-7 hour drive from Boquete which makes going in or out of the country a multi-day affair as does going to the capital on business. Contrast that with a drive time of 1-3 hours for most destinations in Costa Rica and going in and out of the country or going to the capital to conduct business or just to do shopping at the discount hypermarkets are going to be very different experiences.
What is not apparent in reading Richard's book is to what extent he spent any time traveling around countries other than Panama in Latin America before making his decision to move to Boquete. In planning where I want to spend my retirement I am investing the time and money to go to multiple countries and travel around for weeks at a time and get knowledge to add to what I get from books, websites, and the experiences of friends and business associates.
I like Richard's overall perspective about living in a foreign country but I would not recommend his approach that is a little too analytical and does not provide adequate weight to many factors I would expect many people would consider important, like access to medical care, hospitals, goods, and services. An MBA inspired spreadsheet is of very limited value as the appraisal is basically a compilation of subjectively evaluated perceptions on aspects like the relative "stability" of the government which means determining the stability of Panama and all the other governments of the western hemisphere.
I would also want to spend a month traveling around the country and checking out as many locations as possible before settling down into one particular town in one corner of the country. As difficult as it is to move and settle down and possible buy land and build your own home it would be wise to try to avoid doing it twice. Most of the people who have written books on retiring in Costa Rica first built or bought homes along the ocean and then moved to the cooler inland highland plateau areas (which also provide better access to goods, services, and hospitals).
It is not a bad book but it could have been much better and should have been for the price. I found the same information, often of little interest, repeated multiple times in the book and with no new information or perspective provided with each retelling. For someone who has spent so much time in university classrooms it is also strange that the concept of a lead in sentence followed by additional sentences that support the first is not actually done within the book. A more critical editor would have helped greatly.
One example is the repeated references to the Empera native tribal members which may be of interest at a cultural anthropological point of view but has no bearing on a "European" or North American moving to Panama and taking up residence. The context is hard to see.
Richard makes the provocative statement that he wishes he had taken more of his tools when moving his household goods to Panama. And he leaves it at that. At first I thought, this is helpful, but then I realized that he had provided no information as to why he regrets not taking more of his tools with him or which tools. Big difference between wishing you had your former metal lathe or table saw and wishing you had your assortment of pipe wrenches or woodworking tools. What could have been a very informative paragraph dies on the page.
Richard is a good writer and one can only hope that he updates this book with a critical eye as to how to provide more information and provide a broader perspective. I suspect that like so many people before him he has spent a year or two settling in to his newly adopted country and then decides to write a book on his experiences. The difficult is in recalling all that transpired over that time and what mistakes were made and what would have been done instead with the aid of hindsight. I am sure that Christopher Howard with his books on Costa Rica and other countries in the area has worked hard to update and add to and edit his books to make them as good as they are today.
I've been following Richard's blog at for several months. You should sign up for his updates. His stories are always entertaining and educational about Panama. The more I learn about Panama, the more exciting it sounds.
Moving to another country is a big decision but Richard's book helps you think through all the benefits of moving to Panama.
Get Escape to Paradise! It is a GREAT book and the best information I have found anywhere about relocating to Panama
Why Panama? The cost of living is much cheaper, 1st class health care costs 80% less than North America, the food is better for you, the air is cleaner, you'll have less stress in your life because you're not worrying about money all the time, and from the photos I've seen Panama is breathtakingly beautiful.
The one comment hear from everyone who has moved to Panama is -they wish they had moved there sooner! Many report that they can live comfortably in Panama on their social security alone.
Thousands of Americans, Canadians, and Europeans have moved to Panama -i hope to be one of them soon.
Congratulations on a fantastic book Richard!
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My husband and I both enjoyed this book immensely! We made the move ourselves to Boquete, Panama six years ago. If ONLY we had had this book to help prepare ourselves when we were first considering making the move!! The author tells you everything you need to know about what it's like to live here. We loved the way he included his own experiences in the telling. It made it ever so much more personal and interesting to us. If you have any thoughts about finding your own paradise, and particularly finding your paradise, as we and the author did, here in Boquete, Panama, you MUST buy this book!!
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The book had a lot of really great and practical information. We are planning on "retiring" abroad for a multitude of reasons, many of which were mentioned by Richard as his reasons. I really enjoyed making the list of 15 things we wanted in our place of residence. Great exercise!
This has honestly been more helpful to me than any other ex-pat book I have picked up. The real costs of things like health care, electricity and so on. I would have liked more information on other areas, but since Richard lives in Boquete this is his area of expertise.
My only criticism is much of the information gets repeated 3 or more time throughout the book. I feel this is the editors shortfall more than the author. But clearly I am not a writer..
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Richard really hit the nail....of all places...on the head !!
Of all the articles and books I RESEARCHED...this one tells it like it really is, with no personal axes to grind. Even tho Richard has obviously been in Panama for quite some time his approach is current. His answers are to questions that the other literature I read failed to ask....much less answer!
Not only that, his approach is far from lofty or detached...it's like you're both sittin' at the breakfast table sharing conversation....with a little wit here and an off hand comment there. None of it a waste, but a nice easy way to give the info YOU'RE interested in !!
Oh....and there are a few little cliff hangers...like what is the meaning of Boquete in _________....well I don't want to spoil it !!
Not that I'm the expert all of a sudden....but we have been there a several times, have bought our land, have a great architect, and are headin' that way really soon !
Bob
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"You are not done and you are not broken. You can and will find a new direction." Strange Silence by Nicole Drumheller Gargus.
