Everything about this plan is a bad idea. We’re just asking for trouble in every way possible. But… we’re doing it anyway! If you read my post “Our Planned Trip Back to the U.S. from Panama…” from a few weeks ago, you might remember that we were heading back to the U.S. in the second week of July. Well, not too surprisingly, that whole agenda fell apart quickly. The President of Panama, Nito Cortizo, decided to extend the suspension of …
Back in early January, I had an opportunity to be interviewed by the wonderful Risa Morimoto from Modern Aging. She wanted to get my take on our time here in Panama. What do we like and dislike? Why would someone want to retire in Panama? I met Risa earlier this year during the shooting of our House Hunters International episode. She was the director and she’s just a great person all around. Risa’s got the personality and sense of humor …
Reasons to Retire in Panama – My Interview on YouTube Read More »
Hey, everyone – I thought it would be fun to start a new series called “Here’s Why I’m Liking…” I’m guessing that the title of this one should be a pretty good giveaway that I’m talking about the Fitbod app today. I keep running into awesome products, services, apps, and just other fun stuff that I think you would enjoy as well. This series will showcase those cool things. Sometimes there are just some great products and services out there …
After a year of teaching Faith ourselves (mostly Lisa), she was nice enough to give us a homeschooling review. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Lisa and I were both blessed enough to retire from our jobs. I left my job at the end of 2018 after 20 years in IT. Then in 2019, we sold everything and moved to Panama with just two suitcases each. We decided not to get residency here yet until we’ve had a chance …
My Homeschooling Review After One Interesting Year Read More »
Oh, don’t you worry, this planned trip is just a visit to the States – we’re not ready to move back from Panama just yet! Crazy times we’re living in aren’t they? This pandemic has probably affected every one of us in one way or another… it’s kind of insane when you think about it. At the end of March, we had decided we would take our chances here in Panama rather than head back to the U.S. It was …
If you’re an English-speaker in a country like Panama and don’t speak Spanish well, you’ll find yourself saying things like this quite a bit to strangers: ¿Habla usted Inglés? or ¿Hablas Inglés? Both sentences are asking “Do you speak English?” with the first being a little more formal. Either iteration tends to get the point across though… you don’t speak Spanish well and you’re praying the other person does. Generally here in Boquete, Panama, the response will be “no”… and …
Living in a foreign country means it’s in your best interest to learn the ropes. One of those ropes I wanted to become familiar with was the medical service in Panama. I wanted to see how things flowed and have an idea of costs that were involved. I wanted to know what happens when you need to go to the hospital here. If an emergency should happen while we’re here, being a little familiar with how things work here could …
My Test Run of Medical Service in Panama Went Awry Read More »
If you’re like many of us, you’ve been spending a heckuva lot more time at home during this pandemic. And right now, streaming services are busy providing entertainment to folks at home. But living outside the U.S. generally warrants a VPN to access that same entertainment. I’m sure you’ve heard that term “VPN” before, but even if you’re not very technical, I’m going to get you on the right page with what you need to know. Today I’ll talk about …
How We Use a VPN for Streaming & More While Abroad Read More »
This week marks five years for me as a blogger. For some that’s nothing – just ask J.D. Roth, Jim Wang, and ESI Money who are just a few personal finance bloggers who have been around for ages… and they’re all fantastic! For others though, five years might seem like a lifetime. I’ve heard statistics that most blogs fail within 6 months or that 95-99% of blogs fail each year. I’m not going to link to any of these articles, …
Stay at home. Those might end up being the most spoken words of 2020. This COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic has caused a whirlwind of change in an instant. Businesses have had to figure out how to adapt quickly or close, unemployment has reached record numbers, and social gatherings have all but disappeared. On top of all that, a large number of people have suddenly become telecommuting employees. And many surprised parents became homeschooling teachers at the drop of a hat. Some people …
Is This Stay-at-Home Thing a Taste of Early Retirement? Read More »
