NewsLady Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Hi, everyone in Boquete! I hope you had a nice Christmas and will have a fabulous New Year. Especially during this time of year, one of the fears many people have about moving abroad is that they will miss their family and friends too much. Here’s how expats retiring abroad deal with missing family and friends. Some of the techniques expats use to keep their family and friends close may surprise you. https://www.thestreet.com/story/13931204/1/how-expats-retiring-abroad-deal-with-missing-family-and-friends.html Cheers! Chuck Chuck Bolotin Vice President, Business Development The Site That Potential Expats Trust BestPlacesInTheWorldToRetire.com Chuck.Bolotin@BestPlacesInTheWorldToRetire.com Office: U.S. (520) 498-0427 Cell: U.S. (520) 940-0481 Skype: Chuck.Bolotin Download the free eBook: Panama- 62 Things You Need to Know. Download the free research studies: Expats: Expectations & Reality, Is It Cheaper to Live Abroad? and Expat Report: How is Healthcare Abroad? Visit us on Facebook, Youtube, and Pinterest To see articles written by our about us in NextAvenue, TheStreet, Yahoo, MoneyWatch, Forbes, MSN, LifePart2, Sixty&Me, Daily Finance, etc., visit press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Might make you think that separation from loved ones is an easy matter. It's usually one or two on the list for returning back to the home country. Once you pass over the 75 yr old line...a 5++ hour trip back to see the kids and grand kids is difficult and the kids and grand kids are not so inclined to venture south of the border...thus the move back. This strikes me as another one of those International Living come ons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Ok so once you and your extended family realize these cold hard facts, usually the expat returns home. I think sometimes we tend to underestimate the value of closeness of the extended family as we age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 18 hours ago, Brundageba said: Might make you think that separation from loved ones is an easy matter. It's usually one or two on the list for returning back to the home country. Once you pass over the 75 yr old line...a 5++ hour trip back to see the kids and grand kids is difficult and the kids and grand kids are not so inclined to venture south of the border...thus the move back. This strikes me as another one of those International Living come ons. They make it sound so easy. Only 4 hours to Houston, 2-1/2 hours to Florida from Panama City! What they don't say is first you have to get to Panama City, then wait maybe 4 hours for your next flight, because if you don't take the early flight from David, you will miss the international flight. So a 4 hour trip to Houston, factoring in the time of driving to David and all the waiting, is actually 12 hours. It took me 16 hours to get to San Antonio, and 19 hours altogether to get to Seattle. You're right B, it is hype. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Absolutely Judy. Not too too long ago in the old Ning days there was a huge encouragement for young families to come and settle here where jobs were possible and life was easy. Check out the yard sales lately....the ones that say: Leaving Panama. Check the items for sale: children's toys, games,desks, clothes, and on and on. Young families that are selling it all and leaving is how it strikes me These kinds of major relocation moves are tough on families financially and emotionally as well. My irritation is with the ones that hype it and mis-represent it as well. Whether it be elderly who are fed up with the USA and life there, or persons of faith who are following a leader they feel they can trust. It's hoodwinking folks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I think the hype is unconscionable. Among its worst aspects are that many people end up in financial ruin after selling everything and moving only to discover living abroad unsuitable for a variety of reasons seldom addressed in the hype. Then, they often lose money or haven't sufficient money to return home. Another issue is that the hype encourages people to expatriate who should never live in a foreign country. In my role as U.S. Warden, I received a call on Christmas Eve about a U.S. expat who had suffered a stroke and, having no insurance, was in Hospital Regional. Her husband, who suffers from dementia, had wandered into a neighbors' house. These folks should be home where family and/or social services would have helped them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 That's an eye opener Bonnie. What a sad story. Thank you for doing the work you do to help these folks. My husband and I appreciate it. We agree with you 100% . Even if you are a younger retired couple who have resources and have done the research...life outside your home country is an adjustment which brings with it stress. My husband and I weighed the risk, knew pretty much what we were getting into and knew that God forbid, if we had to leave everything we have here and go home...we could survive and survive comfortably. You have to factor that in. You have to also factor in the coping with adverse circumstance alone and not put yourself in a place where dependence upon others would be necessary. I wonder how many who lift anchor from their home base and set it down here plan that way......my hunch is it's a minority. You don't read that in these pie in the sky reviews of life here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF13 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 I have to admit surprise at the number of people leaving. We have only been here 4 years but can't see us moving any time soon (except maybe to a different exotic location!). There must be "something" that causes people to come here then quickly become disenchanted, are there really a large number of people who buy the "it's a paradise here" or "God/my pastor told me to do it?" I know I read IL before coming here but I also did independent research. I wonder if some people are just lazy and accept the IL slant? Whatever it is, it is a tragedy for those that have to leave at a substantial monetary loss. I honestly believe that it is the "1 per centers" that wil thrive here, except in this case I mean those that not only have a well-developed sense of adventure but are also practical self starters. Back-to-the-landers would have been the 60's definition I suppose. Most of you try to emphasize the " come and try it" aproach, but it doesn't seem to get through to a fair percentage of folks. While being a big believer in personal responsability, I think the problems of the quick turn around people needs to be addressed somehow. I just don't know how. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 4 hours ago, Brundageba said: That's an eye opener Bonnie. What a sad story. Thank you for doing the work you do to help these folks. My husband and I appreciate it. Just to keep the record straight, I ended up having to do very little. I quickly discovered via a few emails and phone calls that the U.S. Warden for David, Don Ray Williams, had been on the case since the previous evening, having been called by the embassy and asked to look in on the woman in the hospital. I was greatly relieved as I was in the middle of cooking for 15 people expected the following day, Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 Yes I read Don's account. I guess the point is your willingness to serve and be there....and Don as well. Thank you for that..(.I already thanked Don !) I believe you would have been there had Don not beaten you to the punch. You could have drug the 15 guests along for moral support. Alison and Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted January 1, 2017 Moderators Share Posted January 1, 2017 On 12/31/2016 at 7:11 PM, Bonnie said: Just to keep the record straight, I ended up having to do very little. I quickly discovered via a few emails and phone calls that the U.S. Warden for David, Don Ray Williams, had been on the case since the previous evening, having been called by the embassy and asked to look in on the woman in the hospital. I was greatly relieved as I was in the middle of cooking for 15 people expected the following day, Christmas! Quote Life is Fragile – Enjoy Each Day. December 29, 2016Panama Journal Just one day after Carrie Fisher dies, her mother Debbie Reynolds followed her. The loss was too much to bear. I have seen this several times. This needs to be a reminder to enjoy each day to the fullest and always let our family and friends know how much we care for them. I just finished another Embassy case for a couple that had moved to Panama only about two months ago. They were loving it here. They loved the country. They loved the people. Then one had a stoke and fell and was taken to Regional Hospital. This is where everyone is taken following similar accidents, unless someone intervenes. The holidays are not a good time to be in need of medical attention in Panama. Doctors are not available often and sometimes it will take a couple of days for a specialist to come. Death followed We were able to take care of the hospital, the Doctor’s cause of death report (Desfuncion), the Panama death certificate and get the body sent for cremation in record time. The Embassy is preparing the US death certificates. These sort of cases, at Christmas time, really affect me. However, it was amazing to see the support of those that were there to ease the pain. As you go forward today, think of those you love. Call them and tell them. Life is fragile. Enjoy each day. http://www.chiriquichatter.net/blog/2016/12/29/life-is-fragile-enjoy-each-day/#comments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 I love what the Pana's call the death certificate: certificado de disfuncion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Yeiks...that's what I call my husband...certifiably dysfunctional. Alison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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