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For the last seven years, my husband Gary and I have been enjoying a snowbird lifestyle. For six months each year, we wave goodbye to family and friends in cold, snowy Canada and set out for our home in Panama’s Chiriquí province.
Living in the expat haven of Boquete has been a wonderful experience. A cool-weather mountain retreat in Panama's highlands, Boquete is surrounded on all sides by flowers, fruit trees, coffee farms...
“My husband Eric cannot stop smiling,” says Lorrie Griffith. “For the past 12 years, we’ve been talking about buying a house and moving to Panama, and finally that dream has become a reality.”
Life in Texas was not going well for Allen Connally. A professional designer, his business was falling off as more and more clients turned to the internet instead of the print publications he specialized in.
I am a beachophile. Having grown up on Plum Island, north of Boston and lived in Sarasota, Florida for 10 years, salt water is in my blood. Florida appealed to me because as a veteran Northeasterner, I wanted to get away from the snow and ice.
Looking out my window, I watch a beautiful sea grape tree and a huge almond tree swaying in the breeze. A slight distance away, I can see the incredible turquoise of the Caribbean Sea, and I feel so lucky.
A capuchin monkey is in a tree just a few steps from where I sit. I stay still for as long as I can—I am enjoying looking at him and don’t want to scare him away. Surrounded by lush rainforest, I could almost forget that I am in Panama City.
With its relaxed Caribbean lifestyle and spectacular beauty, Belize’s Placencia Peninsula has proven irresistible to a growing number of expats. This popular retirement and tourism destination boasts 17 miles of golden-sand beaches on the shores of the Caribbean Sea.
In the morning, after grinding and brewing a fresh pot of local Panamanian coffee, I set up my laptop on my front porch. From here, I have an unbeatable view of Volcan Baru, Panama's largest mountain, its highest peak rising above the clouds.
Seven years ago, hating the cold and dreary winters in British Columbia, Canada and worrying about the cost of living there when we would soon be living on our pensions, my husband, Gary, and I began researching where our next home would be.