Hello and thanks for getting back to me. Well, in a nutshell; I'm retired Army and live in Portland, Or. I have friends who have been there and tell me about how cool the military and civilian retired community was. So I want to move with my girlfriend ASAP. We are both 45 but pretty broke down. Lol I'm planning on doing a recon mission soon, by myself, to check it out. I own a house here so I wanted to rent it w/ a prop mang. I wanted to live close to the beach but still close to a base. I plan on buying a place down there eventually. It would be awesome if I had a sponsor or something. I lived overseas in Germany, Saudi, Iraq, Switzerland, ect. So I have been around but not Panama. I'm very excited to see it. What should I do as far as choosing a city or town or whatever?
What should I do as far as choosing a city or town...
Lookin to move to Panama close to military community and base. I'm retired military and my girlfriend and I are both 45. Love to have fun. Want to buy a house if it's as great as I've heard.
Hello 1991Recon!
Welcome on board 
I created a new topic from your posts on the Panama forum so that you may get some feedbacks.
First of all, kindly go through the Living in Panama guide so that you may be informed about the different aspects of expatriating to Panama.
You may also read the topics under the Everyday life in Panama so that to get a broader view.
Wishing you all the best,
Bhavna
Are you wanting to be near a U.S. military base? I'm only aware of DEA operations throughout Darien and remote areas of other provinces but no U.S. military base. The U.S. returned/abandoned Clayton, Albrook, Sherman, Amador, Howard and other military posts and bases within and outside the Canal Zone long ago.
Hello "1991Recon!",
I also am considering a move to Panama, my wife and I also live in Portland (Sherwood), and I also thought a trip there to look around myself would be a good idea - so we have a lot in common. I made a trip to Nicaragua last December like that and decided it was not for us, so now looking at Panama. Anyway, maybe we could get together and chat about our goals. I'm at 5039394777 if you are interested. My name is Denny.
Could I ask why you didnt like Nicaragua?
Thanks for posting this Bhavna. we did our own research for years before moving here which included several trips and networking but never on any forums! I just read them because #1 was too afraid - many not so nice out there and #2 when I did post, some of my questions weren't answered and I know why now. For example how much does it cost to build a house per sq/ ft.? That is a subjective question at its best. Do you want basic or high end finishing for example?
Not to say that most are here to help and I am one of those ,but many ( including myself) but have an issue with those that expect a " one size fits all" on the forums with definitive answers. It is imperative to use Google (or whatever search engine you use), to learn as much as you can independently. I bought over the years, I think every book that was written about Panama and there are many more now.
Thx again and regards!
What do you mean by "broke down" and living near a " base". Do you plan to live off what I assume is a modest Military Pension?
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