RichardThailand Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I'm at the age of retirement and looking for a country to live in. I have been to most parts of Thailand and the kind of place I like is to live outside of a big city close to a modern shopping mall with easy access to an airport and hopefully clean air. I don't really need access to a beach. Are there any members here who have been or lived in Panama City, who could give me some ideas about how BKK and Panama City compare. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I hope this isn't too annoyingly off topic, but have considered Medellin, Colombia? It's becoming quite the popular expat destination and the WEATHER is much more pleasant than Bangkok and especially Panama City. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardThailand Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 I hope this isn't too annoyingly off topic, but have considered Medellin, Colombia? It's becoming quite the popular expat destination and the WEATHER is much more pleasant than Bangkok and especially Panama City. Thank you for your suggestion. I'm interested to hear about the weather in those three places. Can you tell me your experiences. I've been to Bangkok many times but not the other two destinations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big carl Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I hope this isn't too annoyingly off topic, but have considered Medellin, Colombia? It's becoming quite the popular expat destination and the WEATHER is much more pleasant than Bangkok and especially Panama City. Also Ecuador is being touted as a great place to retire to. Panama has more English spoken. I have been looking at places for years before I actually came here. The ones I looked at were in Uruguay and Panama. Panama seemed to be to pushy with the promotions. I am talking ten years ago. Ecuador is some time in the last few years that it has become popular. For me Thailand fills the bill. There are tings I would like in the other countries but nothing that would make me want to move there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) I hope this isn't too annoyingly off topic, but have considered Medellin, Colombia? It's becoming quite the popular expat destination and the WEATHER is much more pleasant than Bangkok and especially Panama City. Also Ecuador is being touted as a great place to retire to. Panama has more English spoken. I have been looking at places for years before I actually came here. The ones I looked at were in Uruguay and Panama. Panama seemed to be to pushy with the promotions. I am talking ten years ago. Ecuador is some time in the last few years that it has become popular. For me Thailand fills the bill. There are tings I would like in the other countries but nothing that would make me want to move there. I wasn't suggesting I had personally been all those places. Only Bangkok. In South and Central America, I've only been to Lima, Buenos Aires, Rio, and San Jose. But the hot and humid weather in Panama City is notorious and Medellin is famous for its springlike weather. This lady is a promoter but provides a good P.C. vs. Medellin comparison: http://www.buycolombiarealty.com/medellin-versus-panama-city.html Currently, I'm in a situation where I might be forced to repatriate to the USA but if I was to expatriate again, I would definitely want to check out Medellin. Panama is interesting too but I think other areas than Panama City. Edited December 20, 2015 by Jingthing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Joe Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I lived and worked in Panama City for a year. This was about 15 years ago (or a maybe a little more). It was the last year that we had US bases there. I enjoyed it but would never choose it for city living over Bangkok. Restaurants, shopping, and entertainment options didn't even compare to BKK. It seemed like nobody went out before 10:00 PM to clubs. Traffic was not as bad as Bangkok though. I drove around in Panama City but would never consider driving in Bangkok. PC didn't have anything like the skytrain system but cabs were cheap and pretty honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpinx Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 There's been several threads on this topic over the last few years with some up-to-date information. The OP would do well to search the forum for those threads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fey Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 not sure about panama, but you can rule mexico out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetime Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Panama; $5000.00 US in a bank to get a retirement visa. No 90 day check-ins. If you play it smart, you get free health care and a discount card for may stores. There are banking privacy laws, and there's no tax treaty with the USA. Any money made outside of Panama is not taxed. You can own land and a business. Residential burglaries happen if you're not prepared. Police ride two-up with a pistol grip shotgun. Security everywhere. Medellin, Columbia and Villkabomba(?), Ecuador sit a 1500 meters above sea level, so the weather is really nice and, if you like a garden, it's got really rich soil. Can't tell you about the visa's, but I hear Ecuador has become a bit nationalistic and there's a huge import tax (read; a bit like Thailand) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Panama; $5000.00 US in a bank to get a retirement visa. No 90 day check-ins. If you play it smart, you get free health care and a discount card for may stores. There are banking privacy laws, and there's no tax treaty with the USA. Any money made outside of Panama is not taxed. You can own land and a business. Residential burglaries happen if you're not prepared. Police ride two-up with a pistol grip shotgun. Security everywhere. Medellin, Columbia and Villkabomba(?), Ecuador sit a 1500 meters above sea level, so the weather is really nice and, if you like a garden, it's got really rich soil. Can't tell you about the visa's, but I hear Ecuador has become a bit nationalistic and there's a huge import tax (read; a bit like Thailand) I think your info is really off on Panama. There is an income residency method but it is much higher than 50K USD. On the other hand there is a pension method which is quite low, last info I have is 1K per month but they might have changed. Ecuador is low cost pension eligibility as well. Lower pension or bank account (frozen funds) of 20K USD last time I checked. If you're saying U.S. nationals are not required to file FBAR / FACTA on Panama bank accounts, I find that hard to believe. Edited December 20, 2015 by Jingthing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mesquite Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) I have been to Panama three times and Medellin once. Never been to Ecuador. Panama looks good on paper and permanent residency is easy to get. You can get a pensionado visa and permanent residency if you can show, among other things, a guaranteed income of $1000 per month for life (as in Social Security). I find it too much like the US and the lady situation is not as good as Thailand. Medellin has one very nice area. The girls are all hairdo's and makeup. Many are overweight. The beautiful ones must have left the country. Most of the male expats I met in both places have never been to Thailand, and it is their dream to come here. The few who have want to come back. Bottom line for me is I would never consider leaving Thailand for either Colombia or Panama, unless something totally unforeseen occurred, like ISIS taking over here. Edited December 20, 2015 by mesquite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Depends what you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetime Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Okay, so I was off a bit. It's been a while since I looked at Panama. http://vivatropical.com/panama/retiring-to-panama-got-easier/ If you structure a business there, or buy a house, and have 5000.00 in the bank, you get an Immediate Permanent Residency Visa. I did not say you didn't have to file FBAR/FATCA. I said there is no tax treaty with the USA. As far as FATCA goes, anything under 50,000 is not required by the banks to report. There's an interesting piece I just read about FBAR. It seems a guy filed his FBAR and paid his taxes, but did not give any account information. When pressed, (I think in court) He plead the 5th. The court said he paid his taxes, and that was what the requirement was. I like his style! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 That's fine. Panama used to be the Switzerland of the Americas banking wise. Now not even Switzerland is Switzerland for Americans anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big carl Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Panama; $5000.00 US in a bank to get a retirement visa. No 90 day check-ins. If you play it smart, you get free health care and a discount card for may stores. There are banking privacy laws, and there's no tax treaty with the USA. Any money made outside of Panama is not taxed. You can own land and a business. Residential burglaries happen if you're not prepared. Police ride two-up with a pistol grip shotgun. Security everywhere. Medellin, Columbia and Villkabomba(?), Ecuador sit a 1500 meters above sea level, so the weather is really nice and, if you like a garden, it's got really rich soil. Can't tell you about the visa's, but I hear Ecuador has become a bit nationalistic and there's a huge import tax (read; a bit like Thailand) It is a fine thing to have security. But needing that much would seem to me to be a negative thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johna Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I find Panama really boring, and though English is not widely spoken its not a problem. I personally like Mexico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtycash Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 http://www.gringos.com/forum/f77/ plenty of info and advice on here, i have been looking into it myself. thailand for me is just f*** **d now , it has fuc** d itself . only good point about thailand is the availability of woman but im getting older and my list of priorities are changing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldragon Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I would consider personal safety and freedom. Have not heard good things about that anywhere in South America, especially when compared to Thailand where you really have to go looking for trouble. I would stay away from BKK though. It's not kind to older people and kinda a dump of a city anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenKong Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Medellin seems to be a bit of a red herring. No sensible long-term visa arrangements and high taxes put it right off the menu as far as I'm concerned. A shame as the cost of living and climate and language would be perfect for me, and all other things being equal (for example, the availability of foreign restaurants) I would go there like a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) I thought there was a retirement visa, the last time I checked. But it was an annual thing with a much bigger hassle factor than Thailand, so rather a bother. Also a weird thing Colombia did in recent years was to downgrade already granted lifetime residency visas to 5 years. That was outrageous! Definitely Ecuador and Panama are much easier with long term residency. Good point though, such things matter a lot. Edited December 22, 2015 by Jingthing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpinx Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I thought there was a retirement visa, the last time I checked. But it was an annual thing with a much bigger hassle factor than Thailand, so rather a bother. Also a weird thing Colombia did in recent years was to downgrade already granted lifetime residency visas to 5 years. That was outrageous! Definitely Ecuador and Panama are much easier with long term residency. Good point though, such things matter a lot. Which point only serves to prove that things never stay the same. Thailand - for all the little hassles - actually has a good record in this regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingthing Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Yes, but what Colombia did was an EXTREME case. So extreme that I've never heard a similar thing in any country that people are seriously looking at for expatriation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtycash Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) Medellin seems to be a bit of a red herring. No sensible long-term visa arrangements and high taxes put it right off the menu as far as I'm concerned. A shame as the cost of living and climate and language would be perfect for me, and all other things being equal (for example, the availability of foreign restaurants) I would go there like a shot. how is 180 days ( 6 months ) that bad, you get nothing like this oppotunity in thailand. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/colombia/entry-requirements http://latintravelguide.com/colombia/tourist-visa-renewal Edited December 22, 2015 by dirtycash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghworker2010 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 too many americans in panama... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realenglish1 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Yes I have lived in Panama and can say it is much more friendly that Thailand for retirement. No currency restirctions and lots of people speak english The infrastructure is very good and the cost of living is about the same as in Thailand. Once big advantage is the government is very stable and its close proximity to the United States . I have been seriously considering moving to Panama and do away with this society here in Thailand They do not care about you other than your money. Evident with the 2 tear system such as park entry fees and other fees which are higher for falang. The only think keeping me here is my girlfriend but that is also loosing some of its pull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fey Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 If what others think usually holds true for you, your better off staying in thailand! More people retire here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fey Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 http://www.gringos.com/forum/f77/ plenty of info and advice on here, i have been looking into it myself. thailand for me is just f*** **d now , it has fuc** d itself . only good point about thailand is the availability of woman but im getting older and my list of priorities are changing. Never needed 100's of women shouting anyhow. How many can you date at one time anyway 3,4? You can find that anywhere in a less affluent country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli42 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I hope this isn't too annoyingly off topic, but have considered Medellin, Colombia? It's becoming quite the popular expat destination and the WEATHER is much more pleasant than Bangkok and especially Panama City. Costa Rica and Belize worth a look as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomcondo Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Medellin is a rat hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanukjim Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) For most retires living here its the cost of living ,good food ,weather. liberal laws,plus the low cost of booze and lovely ladies.. Edited December 22, 2015 by sanukjim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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