Yard Sale

We had our yard sale today and woke up very early to get everything ready for it.

We managed to sell a lot of things. By the end of the day everything we had left fit into two boxes, minus the books. We had a lot of books. Today was a success, and we will not have to sell what is left tomorrow. The remainder of the stuff will go to charity.

The surprising thing? The stuff people bought first. I thought people would buy things like the bookshelf, Legos, and a filing cabinet we had right away. We were wrong, way wrong. Instead, people bought things like the reindeer decorations for your car, and a knife sharpener that we were actually selling with a knife as a "set" (they did not want the knife). It was actually a good feeling selling it and knowing that this is one step forward to moving to Panama!

Oh and just as a rivalry joke back home...nobody wanted the Ducks mug that was for sale. And yes, surprisingly, there are a lot of U of O fans here so I do not want to hear "well you're in another state" stuff. I see cars with U of O memorabilia more frequently than I see ASU or U of A logos on cars. There is a game tonight so I have to say...Go Beavs!

~Natalie

So Much To Do, So Little Time

We have been busy with so much lately. Moving has always been a lot of work, but moving out of the country, owning a house that you are hoping to put of for sale soon, and figuring out what you can live without and ship to Panama is a lot of work. This comes from somebody who does not find organizing very relaxing.

We've gone through every room of the house packing what we want to keep and what we are hoping to sell. While we know we can always store things, I think Robert and I are both realizing stuff is just stuff and a lot of what we are getting rid of, we either rarely use, or have little emotional attachment to. It is amazing how much "stuff" a person can have and yet, do we really value it? At the end of the day, there are just some things that we both feel like we can live without and it turns out we have a lot of it.

So alas, a yard sale is in the works and we are pretty much including everything we do not use on a regular basis. Goodbye griddle pan that is awesome for cooking pancakes. Goodbye to a lot of our planting pots, and adios to the random filing cabinet that I got in college as part of another desk set.

Some of the items to be included in the yard sale.

We've also been cleaning the house like crazy. I've been hand scrubbing the linoleum to make sure most of the dirt is out of the nicks and corners of the floor so it looks somewhat presentable when the realtor comes by (which will be be at a date not yet determined). The pantry is wiped down and looks as organized as possible. We'll be donating the non-perishables since we seem to have accumulated a lot of random food since the last time I cleaned out the pantry, which was less than six months ago.

I think one thing I've learned so far in this process is learning about what is really worth value and items that people can live without. At the end of the day, it is all about perspective.

Baby Steps Forward

Panama is a relatively easy place to get a visa, at least for people from Canada, United States, or other countries they consider Friendly Nations. There are several different passport options, including the tourist visa; various investor/business visas, which each have unique requirements including how much you need to put in a bank account; and a retirement visa, aka the Pensionado Program, which I have read is one of the world's best retirement plans.

What is an expat? It is a shortened term for expatriate and is the term used for somebody who resides outside of their native country for any given amount of time. When we move to Panama, we will be part of the expat community, along with others around the world. What is the difference between a migrant worker/immigrant and an expat? After "heavily researching" on Wikipedia (perhaps the Oxford Dictionary have been a more credible source), the difference between an expat and migrant worker is a skilled/professional laborer versus manual laborer. In essence, it is all about perspective. I might consider myself an expat when I move to Panama, but Panamanians may see me as an immigrant or migrant worker. It is an interesting concept. Immigration reform is such a hot topic in the United States. If Immigration reform were a hot topic in Panama, this topic would directly affect us; because yes, at the end of the day, we will be immigrants of Panama.

As a whole, you can have a varied amount of options of what your goals are for living in Panama. We have spoken to people who live in Panama and have visitors visas. We have heard that many people will drive up to Costa Rica and turn back around, so they can re-stamp their passport and stay legal for the amount of given time allotted: up to 90 days.

Another visa option, which is apparently very new is called the Executive Decree 343 for Work/Business visa. This visa requires that you are able to put $5,000 in a bank account, plus $2,000 more for each dependent. You also have to show proof that you have real estate, an employment letter/contract from a business for work, or proof of ownership of a corporation that is licensed in Panama.

The next option for one wishing to get a visa in Panama is the Forestry Investor visa. This visa in essence, is to help with teak (a type of hardwood) growth. You can apply for as a large or small investor, which either requires an $80,000 or $60,000 investment. The large investment, from my understanding can eventually allow you to gain citizenship after 5 years of residency, whereas the small investor does not.

There is a Self Economic Solvency Visa, which requires you to invest at least $300,000 into a CD at a Panamanian bank, into real estate in Panama, or a combination of the two. If you maintain this investment for three years, you are eligible for permanent residency.

The last visa is the Pensionado Plan, which I have read is one of the best and most appealing retirement plans in the world. In order to qualify, you must prove you have a pension of $1,000 per month. Those who wish to obtain this visa do not have to purchase real-estate. Benefits include discounts on many things, including but not limited to hotels, health care, airline tickets, and energy bills.

There are two common currencies in Panama: the Balboa and the US Dollar. While people have Balboas and Panamanian money, you can easily pay for something with a US Dollar and will not have to convert anything. If a coconut costs one Balboa, you can give the vendor $1 USD. Sometimes you will get USD as change, other times you will get Balboas, or a combination of both. They covert 1:1.

We recently got our finger prints done and are now in the process of sending them to get checked by the FBI. I am not exactly how strict the Panamanian government is with your criminal history, such as whether you can have a drunk driving charge and how long it has to be since that charge was on your record. Luckily for us, there should not be anything to worry about. Once we submit our payments and fingerprints to the FBI, we should hear back from them within about 30 days.

Once we hear back from the FBI, we will proceed with the next steps of the visa process. Some of the process depends on us. We will have to be available for at least 11 working days in Panama as part of the process. Once this is complete, we will have a better idea on when we will actually move down. We will provide more in depth details as we get closer and become more familiar with the actual steps.

~Natalie

Disclaimer: these pictures were found off the internet and not ours.

The Explanation

Time and time again I have learned to never say never. I remember in college, I would jokingly say that I would never move to a landlocked state...primarily out of my love and admiration for the ocean. Where did I move for graduate school? Go figure. Arizona. I remember saying that I will never work with children in foster care. Guess what I'm doing? Yep, working with kids in foster care.
So as it may be no surprise, I said that I had no real interest in going to Panama; and I would never enjoy it. When Robert and I took a trip to Panama, we didn't enjoy it. We loved it. We loved it so much that after some research, we have decided to begin the process of moving to Panama and starting a new adventure for our family.

What is there to love about Panama? Isn't it an underdeveloped country? Is Panama safe? Good questions; ones that both of us have been asked by people. Yes, you can find small cinder block houses with tin roofs. There are other parts like Panama City that rival any other city. There are very poor areas, communities where cookie-cutter houses thrive, and areas where wealthy people have weekend beach homes. There are areas where people live completely off the land; and there are areas, like in Panama City, where night life and entertainment thrive like anywhere else. The reality is that Panama is not completely unlike the United States as far as having a spectrum of socio-economic statuses, it just tends to be more visible.


Robert and I quickly fell in love. Perhaps it was because we were on vacation and we were caught up in the bliss of it all. But there is so much more as to why we are moving. First off, the job opportunities are endless as an entrepreneur. Industries are growing and so is Panama. The economy is booming and the cost of living is a lot less than the U.S. If you avoid the areas that are catering to the tourists, one can easily live a comfortable life making $12,000 a year.

The population of Panama is roughly the population of Los Angeles, California; so the government in Panama is a lot smaller. I am not sure there is any perfect government. I will be the first to admit that. However, right now Panama's government seems like something both Robert and I value. Back in the 80's there was a dictatorship. That is no longer the case. Panama has a parliament and a president that serves one term of five years. Also, the president cannot run two terms in a row. 

These are some of the very basic reasons of why we are considering packing up the dogs, shipping our turtle, and packing our lives into several very large suitcases. The house is going up for sale soon. It will soon be time to say goodbye to things like spare coffee tables, board games, and our cars. 

Saying goodbye is hard, but so is opening a new chapter in our lives. This is our perspective of saying goodbye to what we know and hello to a world of culture shocks. Bring it!

~Natalie



The Introduction and the Announcement

Welcome to our first blog post. If you are reading this, you probably know who we are already. But, just in case...we are Robert and Natalie. With all good things, they must end and new adventures arise. This is our journey into our new adventure.

We have got two dogs and a turtle. We are currently living in Arizona. Robert currently works in the hospitality industry and Natalie is a social worker currently working as a therapist. We play recreational softball, spend time with our animals, and enjoy traveling. We are not native to Arizona but have been here over three years. Robert and Natalie both grew up in Oregon.

Now time for the big announcement. We are currently in the process of moving to Panama. Yes, the country, not the city in Florida. There will be an explanation of why and how later as there are a lot of reasons why. This blog is meant to allow people to follow our journey and the process as we search for houses, talk visas, and move more than 3,000 miles away to a country where we barely speak the language. Cheers to a new chapter in our lives!