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To: stan_hughes who wrote (37)	3/23/2008 3:31:50 PM
From: B.K.Myers	Respond to of 72

I have been looking at Panama as a potential location for retirement. Last October my wife went to Bocas de Toro to look at possibilities. We were interested in Bocas de Toro because we are sailors and wanted to live on the Caribbean side of Panama. For five years in a row, Panama was the number 1 retirement country in the world. As another poster pointed out, Panama offers outstanding benefits for retirees who can provide proof of a steady retirement income and an initial deposit of $100K in a Panamanian bank. She reported back to me that Bocas de Toro has already experienced a growth in property values. She also said that the bugs there are bad and that the rain was a real damper. Bocas is located at the edge of the rain forest. Many of the "roads" are not paved and some of the potholes can be several feet deep. There is also a big difference between the "haves" and "have nots". Besides the great sailing, Bocas de Toro is famous for its surf that attracts surfers from around the world. They don't have the beautiful long white sand beaches that can be found in parts of Panama. Most of their beaches are small rocky beaches. We plan on revisiting Bocas de Toro sometime in the future because she did enjoy the company of the sailors and ex-pats that were there. We are also planning on looking at the Pacific side of Panama where retirement communities are being built at a blinding pace. You can find more information about retiring in Panama here: boomersabroad.com B. K.

To: stan_hughes who wrote (37)	3/23/2008 10:23:23 PM
From: KobaltBlauw	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 72

It´s always a good idea to move beyond the capital city of a country to get a good feel for what the country´s really about. There are lots of beaches with built up infrastructure within an hour or so of PTY. Coronado Beach and Golf Resort is the first one that springs to mind. Never been a golfer so I´ve never checked it out but the condo towers are visibile for quite a distance from the other nearby beaches. Punta Chame (John Wayne used to own an island near here), Farallon and the Sora area spring to mind. If you want to live away from the built up beaches and feel adventurous you could always run your own infrastructure from the nearest available point. Last I heard it was about $5,000 per kilometer. Or you could go green like a lot of people do and set up windmills, hydro and rain catchment systems. Not to mention all the little and big island chains like Bocas del Toro. Remember, you have two oceans within an 1 hour and a half to choose from. It´s also very nice around Lake Gatun which forms part of the canal. enjoypanama.com I expect that not only the $5 billion for the canal expansion but the $7 billion for the Occidental refinery they´re starting are really going to improve the average Panamanian's life. Though I'm not sure if it will mean high rates of inflation. Panama has typically had a lower inflation rate than the US despite using the US$. I´'m not sure how they've managed to do that as they have NO central bank (we US citizens should be so lucky). That got me to wondering about it and I found this interesting article. mises.org Also lots of good stuff in the Wiki. en.wikipedia.org Difficult to say where you should visit, especially for only a week. I prefer cool temperatures over beaches and am more of a highlands lover myself. If you're serious start Googling and pick out what sounds interesting to you. There are a zillion sites devoted to Panama though caveat emptor when it comes to using any of their services.