Deposit down on 1st Tour--Investigating Retiring Abroad

[leighbythesea2]

Made it today.
Checking out Panama. It's for August 2022! Tried for February & March, but they sold out in minutes.

I have a list of countries. Obviously got to none of them in 2020. Am on a wait list for a tour in 2021, hoping that may work.
I feel behind in my reconnaissance, but have plenty of time.

[MLAA]

1. Wonderful, you have adventures to look forward to 🙂

[leighbythesea2]

2. I'm so excited!

It felt good to book it.

[Thekaspervote]

3. I know someone who retired to Costa Rica.. really likes it. listed in top 10 least racist countries

[leighbythesea2]

5. Costa Rica

Is on the list!

Have a friend who retired in Belize. He loves it.. He said could visit them, as they have guest house.

So it's Panama, Costa Rica and Belize, so farrrr...
Ive been to some Central American & Caribbean countries already, but they were vacation and not really with an eye for retirement. Totally different way of thinking and traveling.

[msongs]

4. howz your spanish? nt

[leighbythesea2]

6. My spanish is abysmal

BUT, I spent two weeks in Venezuela long ago and my spanish got better than my french ever was going to. (Studied french)

I realized Spanish is probably the language I should focus on.
I knew it would be later. I always had a goal to live in a foreign country, and figured immersion was how I was truly going to learn a language.

When I was in Guatemala for work, i found family sponsored language immersion programs. 30 to 90 days for lessons in a school setting, live with a family, and inexpensive! That is on the list.

[msongs]

7. looks like u have a year coming up to start learning. must be some good online places nt

[leighbythesea2]

12. So much

Time. Although, when you think you've got time to learn something, it goes fast.

[Nay]

8. Ah acquaintance retired to Panama. He loves it. He's a master woodworker and

is in heaven with all the exotic wood available down there.

[leighbythesea2]

11. How long ago

Did he retire? How great he does woodworking.

[Nay]

15. About 12 years ago. I haven't had contact with him since he moved. He and his wife

spent their vacations there while they were still working. They worked on their Spanish so they were pretty fluent by the time they moved permanently after retirement. The vacations they spent there solidified their feelings that Panama was where they wanted to end up.

[dhill926]

9. yep...Panama is on our list....

altho we haven't been there yet. Keep us posted...

[leighbythesea2]

14. Hoping

Can bump up to February. So far away, but that's ok.

[sanatanadharma]

10. Wife and I are happy with our 'did not visit first' country choice

Friends would ask, Aren't you going to check it out first?
Why I ask? I might visit at a terrible time and thus make a bad decision, missing out on the best, or visiting there might be great but the living not so much.
For us the looking first was too expensive. Thanks to the internet and some self-inquiry and honesty about ourselves, we chose wisely. By the time we arrived in the city, the sights already felt familiar thanks to Google Earth.

We arrived with six suits cases and a plan, all our required documentation in hand; a three month Air B&B booked and three months on our tourist visa for settling in the new land.
The first week here we were at 'migracion' and often again. We received our permanent legal residency a year and some later.

Without my wife's Spanish, we would likely have failed. Now, if I could talk to the cruise ship passengers not arriving this year because of the pandemic, I'd say, "It is a great place to live, but not so much for visiting.

[leighbythesea2]

13. Per recs on this Forum Group

I joined some fb groups of expats in various countries. That has been so helpful already. Plus it made my fb feed so much better.
People cover a wide variety of topics there, and just seeing all the discussion is really informative.

My list is wide and far. Sometimes I wonder if some should just be on the travel list. But, for example, Sri Lanka is on it. Because my husband has been there, and loved it, but I have not been. But I have colleagues there, and know some about their thoughts and feelings as citizens.

How great that you moved. That is very cool. I love that you had 6 suitcases. And just did it.