Cheapest Places to Live

Post 9/11 we were restless. The world was calling and we decided to see just how well we could live 'off-shore' on a bargain budget.

Our internet search took us around the globe but one country kept popping up again and again. The draw was strong enough that we spontaneously packed our bags and boarded a plane to see if all the hype about Panama was for real.

Now I have to pause and admit that although we are budget minded we really couldn't be classified as 'cheap'. Don't get me wrong - we love a bargain but other priorities certainly bumped price down the list when it came to finding what we considered to be a cheap place to live. With two kids safety was right at the top. Next was climate and then came comfort and a standard of living at least equivalent to our Canadian lifestyle.

Our first visit to Panama was such a pleasant experience that we moved there a short six weeks later! We felt very safe and welcome and the Panama Weather was wonderful. As for being the cheapest place to live I can honestly say it was by far the cheapest we have ever experienced. Housing was a fraction of what we paid back in Canada. Our grocery bill, including an abundance of fresh fruit, veggies, fish and meat came in at about 1/3 the price and one of the biggest costs of all didn't even exist - property taxes.

Well I don't have the space to share our entire journey here on this lens so if you're curious and interested in 'the rest of the story' and the journey we took to our Panama Retirement you can sign up for our free 'Letters from Panama' - here -
LearnAboutPanama.com
Hasta Luego! Mark