With millions of Americans and Canadian baby boomers just a bank CD or two away from retirement, the race to find low-cost retirement destinations is off and running. That’s particularly true in Mexico and Central America, where many prospective expat gringos see the potential of stretching their dollars and living better for less than is possible back home, yet being within two to four hours by jet from their old home towns.
While there are many exciting choices south of the border, two contenders in that race, Corozal in Northern Belize and Boquete in Panama, are already attracting a lot of lookers and an increasing number of buyers.
These two small towns, both boasting a high quality of life and low cost of living, are worth looking at closely to see how they really compare in key areas of interest to relocating expats and prospective retirees, such as daily living costs, real estate prices, the cost of home building, acceptance of foreigners by local residents and overall appeal.
In looking at the Corozal and Boquete areas, retirees and other expats have to make a choice between living on the water and speaking mostly English or living in the mountains and speaking mostly Spanish.
I’ve recently visited both areas and talked with people who have taken the plunge to get their perspectives on the pros and cons of the two towns.
PROFILES OF COROZAL AND ...Read at escapeartist.com
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A Tale of Two Low-Cost Retirement Towns -- Corozal in Belize and Boquete in Panama - Lan Sluder |
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Life In A Dominican Beach Town - An American In The Dominican Republic - Elizabeth Roebling At 6 in the morning, I take my steaming cup of strong Dominican café con leche out to the porch and survey the sea. I have another hour and half before the local commuter traffic, on scooters, quads, pick-ups and buses, starts the parade on the paved beach road in front of the house. It is a wonderful quiet time, as I watch the sea. My awesome appreciation for it is only matched by my daily amazement at the number of times that the mosquitos have bitten me during the night. They are a different sort than in the States, quietier, more laid back, dancing the bachante rather than dive bombing and singing rather sweetly. It is hard to begrudge them a few drops of blood.
For the past three months, the sea has been boiling, rolling and crashing over the reef, changing color from deep blue to putty-colored green with the churned up sand. We have only had about a week of fair skies. It is, I am assured by everyone, highly abnormal. An aftermath, perhaps of the giant wave that devoured so many on the other side of the world. We are quite close to a deep sea cavern near Puerto Rico which scientists pinpoint as a perfect location for another Tsunami. Friends who live on the hill behind town have promised to alert me if they see packs of beach dogs running for safety. The rains have made the streets muddy as only half of them are paved. Everyone is a bit cranky, especially the ...Read at escapeartist.com |
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Panama - Daily Weather Forecast - Gerencia de Hidrometeorología de la Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica S.A. (ETES GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WEATHER IN PANAMA
Factors that influence the weather: 1- Geographical Situation and Relief Northern Hemisphere Latitude: Between 7°11' North and 9°39' North Longitude: Between 77° 10' West and 83° 03' West Panama is located in the inter-tropical zone close to the terrestrial equator. It is a thin strip of land orientated from East to West and its coasts are washed by the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. One of the basic elements that define the weather is the orography since the relief not only affects the thermic regime causing a lowering of the temperature in the air with the elevation, but it also affects the atmospheric circulation of the region and modifies the pluviometric airflow in general. 2- Oceanography The big oceanic bodies from the Atlantic and the Pacific are the main sources for a high percentage of humidity in our environment and, due to the thin strip of land that separates these oceans, the weather shows a strong influence from the sea. The ocean-atmosphere interaction determines, in great measure, the properties of heat and humidity of the air masses circulating over the oceans. The marine air currents are closely related to the rotation of the earth and the winds. 3- Meteorology The semi-permanent anti-cyclone from the North Atlantic, noticeably affects the weather conditions ...Read at com.pa |
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Panama Quality and Cost of Living - Panama Legal Introduction - Mercer Human Resource Consulting has released their 2007 findings. These are surveys which rate cities according to certain criteria they elect to use. They use New York City as a baseline with a rating of 100 for their surveys. Cities coming in under that are worse and over that are better. Mercer is a well-respected source of this information.
Panama Standings for Quality of Living – Mercer uses 39 criteria to determine quality of living. These criteria include social, economic, crime, police, banking, currency and related controls, censorship by the government, personal freedoms, medical facilities, doctors and pharmacies, education, transportation, public services, weather, climate, and other criteria. It is not based on the number of bars, restaurants, ballparks etc although these are factors in the equation. It is not a surprise that Baghdad is the worst city in this survey with a score of 14.5. Zurich hit the number one spot for quality of life with a score of 108.1 and Geneva comes in close with a score of 108. Vancouver and Vienna follow with a score of 107 tied for third place. Panama comes in with a score of 82.9 situating it in 92nd place. So mercer feels that there are 91 better cities to live in. For a frame of reference Budapest came in with a score of 90.2 giving is 74th place. Detroit came in 64th place with a score of 96.1. Pittsburg came ...Read at panamalaw.org |
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