Why is Panama the "Best Place in the World to Retire?" 

Retirement is wonderful if you have two essentials - much to live on and much to live for. Invest wisely and get good returns.

I agree that Panama and Costa Rica, then probably Mexico or Portugal, would be the best choices if I was interested in living abroad. But my wife and I just retired and decided to stay right here in rural Tennessee. Other than health care costs, it beats out all the choices for living abroad I have seen. We continue to live in our medium sized 3 bedroom ranch, with great utility costs, close to friends and family, convenient to shopping and entertainment, and while we do not live "rich" we certainly live quite comfortably, able to afford several trips a year and not just eke by. My advice to people in their 40s is to figure out where they would like to retire to, and then get themselves a paid for house there ASAP. Makes all the difference in the world.

Excellent video. My Dad is thinking about living abroad and the top things he considers is health care and crime, esp given the soaring crime rate and medical/dental costs in the USA now.

I spent a week in Panama last year and I loved it. It was a tour for people wanting to retire there. Very informative, no sales pitch. I have to wait a few years before I can qualify for the Pensionado visa. Lots of expats there. I watched all the videos of people that went there on the YT channel panama relocation tours.

Crime and safety should definitely be on the list - major oversight.

This was Geoff’s typical video…..WONDERFUL! Great info, well presented. Thanks for turning us on to International Living. Seems to be a good resource. Evan for us looking to stay 3-6 weeks at a time in various counties, this might be the perfect travel guide. All the best in 2022, Sir!

Nice objective presentation. I’m a retired expat from the US living in Phuket Thailand. Lifestyle is so much better for older expats than in the West provided you go easy on the bar scene.

Regarding climate in Panama -- the Boquete region is the highlands of Panama. There you have the 'eternal spring climate' compared to the tropical/humid climate of most of the country. The Boquete area is a very popular destination for retirees.

I am a U.S. expat. I live and own properties in Costa Rica and Panama. Lower taxes, higher standard of living, stable governments, low crime, great weather and the ability to excise Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness!

My criteria--- 1. low crime 2. good health care. 3. low cost of living. 4. not overly crowded. 5. clean water and food.

My informal business partner (General Manager of my main supplier) lived in Burbank, California up until about 2016. He and his wife had two choices, in his view: continue to work for the rest of his life and barely get by living in Burbank, or he could retire at age 60, living in Panama. It's now nearly 6 years later and I get a couple letters per year from him. They all say the same thing: he doesn't live like a king (he didn't have that much money), but he lives happy days 365/days a year, enjoying life and for the most part, doing whatever he wishes, and it beats the hell out of working 48 hours a week in Burbank, HOPING it will be enough to not go under, living in the highest taxed part of the USA. He spends some busy time volunteering for his Church, helping the less fortunate out locally. He golfs. He wanders beaches with a metal detector. He reads. Or he could struggle at a stress-filled job in Burbank 48 hours a week...

Hi, great video. I am from Panama! A country that offers a bit for everyone! You do have to do your homework! More than happy to answer any questions you may have!

I lived as a kid in Panama and it was one of the best places we lived. One thing you didn’t mention is that Panamá dollar is 1:1 with the US dollar.

I spent a year (2019) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I lived incredibly well on my late husband's IRA dividiends of $1100 per month. I plan to become a digital nomad. I loved SE Asia, very easy to travel to different countries. Full on internet and modern malls in every medium sized city. I also have friends who live in Albania (hop and a jump from Italy). Don't even need a visa to visit, roughly same cost as Thailand.

A relative moved to Portugal a few years ago for retirement. So far, so good. They bought a house, and working on the language. Me? I'll stay here. Good video topic Geoff.

Geoff - Thank you for taking the time to help us learn more about finances in retirement, as well as for providing the information in such an organized way. Will you consider adding an index or video chapters in the description so we can quickly access various sections of the video? Thank you for considering this and I wish you well.

I have been listening to this channel for about two months; I think the information is solid. Thank you! For the info. Don't stop!😁

I am retiring in 2 months and just bought an AirBnB on the beach in Nicaragua. I am not sure I will be full time expat. But I will be able to at least sample the culture for long periods of time, and make an income, while figuring out where I will land in retirement.

Great information, already being to Panama 6 times, retiring there in August 2022.

Thank you Geoff! You certainly do your research for these awesome videos!

Good points. Then again, Colombia is #5 on the International Living list, and we have family in Colombia but not in Panama. So, for us, Colombia goes to the top of the list.

Your videos are truly excellent, very concise and informative and truly a pleasure to watch. MANY THANKS!!!!

Thank you for a well-presented, factual video with concise info. I found it very helpful as I prepare to go visit Panama to check it out.

Currently living in Panama. Healthcare is good in Panama City outside is suspect as the facilities tend to be public rather than private. Note if you go private they will want big deposits before they admit you if you don’t have insurance. Drugs prices are high. They seemed to have followed the US model. Equally not all drugs are available. If you want health insurance that will cover you globally you will pay for it. Currently spend $9200 per year with a $10,000 deductible. There are less expensive options but if you want coverage in the US it will cost you. Mountain climates are preferred to Panama City which is stinking hot during the day. Though the city comes alive at night. Great restaurants in PC due to the canal and cultural cross roads. Boquete is a North American ghetto great if that is what you want but you don’t get to experience the culture as they become very insular as they want to emulate the North American experience. Biggest benefit is discounts on airfares and connectivity to Europe and Latin America. Utilities cable internet etc are no great bargain if you want the full enchilada. Taxes are another issue that was not discussed. Panama only taxes on locally sourced income which is great. The best analogy I can think of is it is like moving to Florida without having to be in Florida. By and large good place to be short term (5-10 years) if you can get out when the rainy season gets to you.

We lived as temporary retirees in Panama (6 months) , Costa Rica (6 months) and Mexico (2 years) We loved all three countries, but my favorite was Mexico. Honestly, least favorite was Panama. Especially Boguete. It felt cold and damp. To me anyway. Plus, they make you quarantine your pets. International living is far more user friendly than people would imagine though.

Why I watch. This production clearly shows why many of your kith and kin so enjoy your productions, .Stated simply, you're a caring human who likes to help his fellow. Dig your stuff. and thank you for spending your time with us. Reagrads.

My girlfriend and I will be retiring soon enough. We spent 3 weeks in Panama in Feb '23. We really liked the country and want to take another look down the road. Several others we met were doing the same and some have committed to moving there. Panama Relocation Tours have lots of helpful information and videos on YT.

Paid off home, low property taxs. I'll stay in the US and travel to other places.

Great video,- lots of useful information. Surprised that safety wasn’t on the criteria list. In my opinion it’s very important.

Great Video and presentation. Retired 3 plus years ago in portugal. Very much at home here.

My husband and I are moving to Ecuador is 2026. Housing and healthcare are main reasons driving this move. We are excited though and wish we could leave sooner. We are working so diligently to save enough to afford a reasonably comfortable retirement. We still have to watch every penny . We even considered Thailand or Serbia. But the former is too hot and latter has snow.

An interesting presentation. I retired to Panama 22 years ago and even became a Panamanian citizen. I do think Panama is a good choice. There are other good choices as welk. I favour Latin Americsn countries becsuse I like the tropics and I am fluent in Spsnish. Panama uses rhe USD for their currency which also helps. Panama is pretty diverse so there are many different kinds of places from which to choose depending on your preferences.

Great video once again Jeff. And I too started my investigations of offshore retirement with a subscription to International Living. But today there are many expat groups on social media to get boots on the ground info. So don’t neglect free sources of great info, plus potential contacts once moved. 👍

For me they all sound good but leaving all my friends and family at this point in my life is a no go. Maybe for a couple of months but certainly not year round. People and friendships are very important to me. Not cheap living.

Check with local expat FB groups to get the real lay of the land. Many expats in Panama are leaving and moving to other Latin countries. The raise in prices and the crime that is developing is causing them to move.

Excellent content. The media is overwhelmed with worthless misinformation ranking best places to live based on gibberish. It’s refreshing to see organized and well thought out content ranking potential expat communities around the world.

I lived in Panama for two years. I liked it but it rains almost every day and very hot and humid. There are limited resources and you can’t just cant pop downtown and get it. Don’t even get me started with the crazy drivers that put New York cabbies to shame. Things do cost less but selection is limited. If you want to live there, I suggest you try it for a few months.

I have wondered about Puerto Rico. As its a territory of the US Medicare is used there.

This video is so good. Please do Portugal next! That’s where we plan to retire.

Always a great video packed full of important info!

Panama is great! Knowing the language helps a great deal.

Additional Criteria: 11) Taxes International living is a great source of information. Love the criteria.

Great video… I read many of the comments below. As for my wife and me, I’ve served for 37 years in the Marine Corps and have moved with my family around the world, including Central America. While they’re beautiful countries and the people are great, I’m happy to be living in the good old USA.👍🏽🇺🇸 we are also close to our three daughters and hopefully future grandchildren! We do plan to travel though. Semper Fi!🇺🇸

Vietnam. I have visited there seven times and lived there for a year or so, March 2020 to June 2021. Beautiful country, lovely people, great food, very inexpensive place to live. You should consider a vacation there, they have lovely resorts. I can't imagine retirement there. I lived in Ho Chi Minh city, pop roughly 9 million. "commute" traffic is incredibly horrible. Mostly scooters driving randomly. It's like swimming with a school of fish and trying to not touch any of the other fish. By the way, most of the fish don't know how to swim. Outside of the big cities the countryside is beautiful. Medical. Decent hospitals in a third world kind of way. My ex wife convinced me to try acupuncture for back pain. I tried it before. This time one of the needles caused some soft tissue damage. I went to a hospital, was seen by three doctors one of whom did the ultrasound scan of my left knee where the damage occurred. Total cost, $22. Vietnam has managed the pandemic very very well. Again, I think it's a wonderful place to visit. Not great for retirement unless you really like the challenges of living there. If you subscribe to International Living, an author named Wendy Justice has written some articles about living in Vietnam. Thanks again for your hard work putting together your wonderful videos.

I think Panama is also a fully dollarized economy, thus does not have its own currency. I think this would add to stability for a smaller economy. I think this makes it a markedly different economic risk than many other countries. It’s a point worth investigating to add to your basis for ranking counties.

Retire in Panama If you are planning to retire in Panama we can help with Panama Residency Visa. Typical processing time is 6 months. We have an expedited service that takes 6 weeks or less.

For me the tough part of retiring in a foreign country would be giving up Medicare. Not sure if healthcare is provided free by the country or if I'd need to buy health insurance. When I was in Panama it was cloudy and poured rain, like buckets of rain.

Thanks for the interesting statistics. We looked at Costa Rica and there was a little too much crime for our liking. We have watched a ton of videos on panama and are taking a tour in January 2024. We fully intend to move when I hit 62 and get pensionado visas. I just cant take the US any longer!!! Thank you for all your insight into this and your financial advice.

Holy S....Great video Panama 🇵🇦 3 hrs from Miami 😊

I love international living! The one country that they recommend quite often Portugal from what I've read and seen on their website and emails that is where I would love to retire to

What a great video! I am thinking on moving from US to another country when I retire in a few years. All the items you covered are important, I am bilingual too so either Panama or Costa Rica will be perfect for me! I cant wait to try either one or the other. Thanks for this video. Do you have any for Costa Rica?

Geoff watching your videos is like drinking a nice warm cup of hot chocolate. Very comforting.

Excellent video. Great information. My wife and I are strongly considering becoming ex pats in retirement. Another good subject on this matter is collecting social security while living out of the US. I’m hearing in some cases you might not be able to collect SS if you leave the US. Some people have figured out a way around this. I would love to hear your advice on that one.

The criteria for retiring in the Philippines is Filipinas. As a single 65 year old American man it's a compelling reason.

Very informative I always enjoy your thoughtful videos

Excellent video Geoff, please review a few additional places to retire in the future. Thanks Much......

Thorough and excellent assessment. Thank you

Great job, as usual. Thank you for providing informative, useful and well articulated research.

Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 🙌 😎 💕 🥳🏝 im retired I love it 😀 the weather is like Hawaii

Excellent video , I will be 65 on the 1st July 2022 so this video is of real interest to me . Doing the research at the moment , it takes time but you have to get it right. I had zoomed in on two locations Panama and Portugal, currently live in Canada but moved from the UK back in 2007. Living on a fixed income means cost of living is up there but so is healthcare. The key thing for me is quality of life & healthcare. We own an apartment at the moment and we are looking at renting it out here in Calgary and moving to the selected country full time. The 6 month rule for tax and benefits means a 6 month flip flop. Have you ever considered doing a comparison between both countries?

Panama is great. There are lots of opportunities to join and start bowling leagues and pickle ball leagues. I’m currently the commissioner of our pickle ball and bowling leagues and it’s going great. Weather is warm too.

"Colombia topped the list at 87". You are talking about an Andean nation with coastlines on the Pacific and Caribean. The type of climate in Colombia varies greatly throughout that nation, depending on location. Some locations near the coastal areas are hot and humid (like its neighbor, Panama). Others, in the higher altitudes can be chilly and cloudy, year round. Still others will have a perpetual spring-like climate. Due to it location near the equator, the climate intrinsic to a specific locale tends to be constant year-round. So, you have to pick the climate you like, as you are stuck with it year round and at least will have only one wardrobe for one season. The other nations along the equator have a similar dynamic. An Ecuadorean I know has explained how the climate varies throughout his small nation. Want cool, mild weather? Stay in Quito. Want warm year roundt? Stick to the coastal areas.

Whoa! To determine if one country is the best place to retire in this world, you world need to visit them all. I personally plan to retire SOUTH of the Panama Canal, in some pace that most gringos would be afraid to visit. But that's a lot of places I need to visit after I quit my job in June and do an epic tour of South America. And while Panama no doubt has its advantages for retirees, it can't possibly be for everyone. Not everyone likes hot and humid.

Thank you for you presentation.

Thank you, this is excellent information!

Que the Van Halen! Panama!

Good to know about Int'l Living. The magazine also has a Facebook page.

Easy to understand and no bs. Thanks !!!! Subscribed….

Thanks for information .

I am of the same idea. And East Europe too.

Great synopsis but I still am left wondering about safety/crime?

Thanks for this invaluable info.

My wife is Filipino. She like to retire there. Only problem. Its a long plane ride. Id like to be a snowbird leave here in winter come back in spring. Thank you for information. I enjoy your videos.

Actually, this topic is a nice addition to channel.

The best place to retire is individualized. For example a single man in good health would need something different than a couple in good health. Then if your health is bad that totally changes things.

I have flown to Panama many many times with my airline job. Believe me Panama is far from a place I want to retire to. The city of Panama City is dirty, and far too many high rise drug money condos. Way to expensive. Flooded with hookers from many latin countries. Lots of casinos. Humid like here in Houston. Costa Rica or Colombia for Latin countries, would be far better options. Personally I prefer New Zealand or Australia. Both speak English. Brisbane or Sydney being my favorites, and South Island New Zealand.

That was very well done. Thanks

I planned to retire in Mexico since childhood, I am a native Texan.I always loved so much about MExico. My family vacationed in Mexico. I have been traveling there since childhood in the 1950s. As time went by during my adulthood I traveled to MX many times and saw how various areas changed over time. Some developed to the point of being over developed, some not. We chose a country in Central America that looks like Mexico did 20 yrs ago. We are in a mountain year round Spring climate. Property tax is $97 a year. Cost of living is about half of the USA doubling our purchasing power. Being a US retired professor was a local dissertation advisor for a Panamanian American PhD student working on her PhD research at NYU. She was studying expats in this country and asking if the expats had considered Pamana since the Panamanian government DOES have programs incentivizing retirement, while this country does not. What people interviewed here said was they selected the two particular areas popular with expats HERE as uniquely fitting their needs.Several interviewees had lived in other countries in retirement first: Costa Rica, Ecuador, and in my case and several others, Mexico. In my particular case my husbamd and I had lived aboard our sailboat in the Yucatan over a several year period. We also.had rented longterm in San Miguel Allende, Oaxaca, Mexico City and had visited many towns and cities repeatedly on vacations for decades. For us this town had it all, a small historic tourist town with plenty of restaurants and activities, nead the capital and internatiomal.airport,, a good system of heath professionals and lrivate hospitals . There were active like minded expats from European and North American countries from our professional and business social class with whom to socialize. We had luck making inroads into the social,life of LOCAL professionals and business people unique among expats here...ie social introductions into local society making us feel more at ease and welcome than most expats typically do. The more locals you know well in a small area the easier life becomes because Latino culture is all about knowing the decision makers...owners of local businesses, etc All the red tape disappears in governement and utility offices, businesses and banks when you have "friends" or aquaintances who lift that tape allowing you ease of access..it is how Latinos social and business systems work, far more personal than most Anglo systems. The longer you live in such an area the easier and more fluid life becomes...it is WAY better in this regard than life in the USA. Life becomes personalized not automated and anonymous. Here I am not talking bribes or mordida but personal courtesy and relationships, friendliness. Not every expat gets this: if they are used to urban abruptness, impersonal relations, disagreeable, short tempered they will find many barriers thrown up in their way everywhere they go.And then life as an expat is exceedingly unpleasant and difficult...we see many come and many go because they cannot learn the social customs and lessons. They are not adaptable...adaptsbility and the personality trait of openness to a different cultures the the MOST IMPORTANT variable in happiness in a different country. We could happliy live in several spots in MX, Spain and Portugal...We just chose here because it had the most of the most important variables to US Sybil Francis PhD clincial psychologist, professor since 1979.

Most thanks ❤️

Well done, sir.

Sir, I respectfully suggest that you visit Panama before proposing this for your viewers. Having actually lived there, in my humble opinion, this video does not present reality.

Great video!!! Thanks again... 💗

I do believe everything you say but my fiance is in the Philippines. I'll be heading to the Philippines shortly because it will be opened for tourist on the 10th of this month. I will be watching you from over there.👍👌

I'm about to find out

Personally I would choose Costa Rica over Panama but that's just me.

Thanks so much for this great video! Warm regards Jennie

No bugs, cool temperatures and a big canal to fish in.

I've done a lot of research on this topic as I plan to exit the USA when I retire, this place has become far too toxic for me. Portugal looks great to me, but the language is tough to learn. I only speak English and haven't studied any other language since high school, so it would be a monumental challenge for me to learn Portuguese, but their excellent healthcare, low cost of living, extremely diverse and welcoming culture might just make it worth the effort. I will also look into Panama.

Spend a couple of months living in a place to see how it suits you. No one size fits all solution.

Sounds like you should take a research trip to Panama. Stay for a few months. Maybe with the family. Properly report your experiences and you conclusion upon return. Seems a tax deductible business expense, no?

I wonder how objective International Living is since they make money by helping people live internationally.

🇺🇸 VERY informative. Your like spock. Thanks.

I'm seriously considering moving to Mexico or Panama.

Geoff…fantastic!!

The idea seems nice, but logistics seem like a lot. Our mortgage is paid off and we have low property taxes. Selling and packing up to move seems kind of crazy difficult. If we could only keep our home base AND move to Panama, then maybe.

So what is an average cost of living in Panama? Also how does healthcare compare to US healthcare and how much does it cost, since Medicare won’t work there? Or how much is good health insurance and can you qualify if you have health issues?

David Lee Roth nailed it.

good info, thanks!

One of my buddies retired to Panama and he and his wife loves it there.

I have access to the best doctors in the world 10 minutes from my house (very near a large city). Everybody who moved away from a large city area has to drive back to the city when need top-notch doctors, because the local doctors in the middle of nowhere can't handle anything besides routine procedures, and the hospitals don't have the experience in delivering this level of care. Small towns are great and they can save you a lot of money. But understand you are moving away from transportation hubs for travel, moving away from the best doctors in the world, and moving away from concerts, and a variety of museums, restaurants, and other forms of entertainment that you'd like to enjoy in retirement.