The first question people typically ask me is, "What caused you to check out Panama?"
So, before you get my first 'Letter from Panama' let me take a moment to introduce my family and answer that question.
2002 was one of the most stressful years of our lives. Almost ten long years had passed since my wife, Deb and I had started building our women's fitness centers. We were still reeling from 911 when we got the call that my wifeís dad was being admitted to palliative care. In just a few days he passed away. The stress of juggling three businesses and her fatherís death pushed Deb to the breaking point. One morning she woke and couldn't sit up. She seemed to have some kind of paralysis. Now you need to understand Deb is an extremely fit person. After 10 years in the fitness business and 10 years prior to that in the industry we were both very committed exercisers and very health conscious. We knew something was seriously wrong.
That was our wake up call. And it was really the beginning of our journey.
Have you ever heard the expression, ìWe live in a rat race?î
Thereís another part to that expression that you may or may not have heard of.
It goes like this,
Even if you're winning the rat race, you're still a rat!
Well on that fateful day I realized that even with two successful businesses I was working day and night and I was working my wife to death! I was winning the race but, I was still a rat!
It was time to Escape. So, we sold the fitness centers and began our search.
Like you, we started with the internet. The best climate was our highest priority so, we started there. Before long we had quite a list... Stable weather - no hurricanes! Stable government - Stable currency - Low crime rate - Low cost of living - Panama Tours - El Valle Panama - Best Places to Retire - Bocas del Toro Hotels... and on and on. I even googled, 'Cheapest Place to Live'! We already paid enough for everything from groceries to property taxes so, Cheap Living and Low Taxes was high on our list. Yes, when you look at it we really were looking for the ideal spot to get away to!
In a relatively short period of time we noticed that Panama kept coming up on our list. In fact it was the only country that had everything we were looking for. We also noticed that it had much, much more from our list than any other place we had considered. So, we spontaneously packed our bags, discovered a great website for cheap flights to Panama (just click that underlined text to check it out - Tip: the airport code for Panama is 'PTY') and headed off on our family adventure!
Here's a great lttle YoutTube video we discovered. In just 3 minutes it really captures the best of Panama and like us I'm sure it will entice you to come to Panama! Check it out -
Quick Tips- In most of my 'letters' you will find 'Quick Tips'. These are intended to save you time and money. Many of these 'Quick Tips' I discovered after the fact and really wish I had known these things before I started my adventure. However, that's what sharing is all about - helping others learn from experience. When you see a word or phrase that is underlined and in a different colour all you need to do is click on that and it will give you more detailed information. Now for today's
Quick Tips- I have to admit that we didn't even think about the language differences...dah! Although we are Canadian we are far from bilingual besides which known Quebec French would not help much in this Spanish speaking country. That said, the Panamanians are so kind and helpful that without knowing a word of Spanish we were able to get by but I have to admit it made for very stressful times. If I had to start all over again, before heading off to Panama, I would have certainly ordered some CD's and started working on my Spanish language skills. We found one of the fastest ways to pick up useful phrases was through the Pimsleur Language Program. Pimsleur was the first 'Learn Spanish' program our Canadian neighbour in Panama introduced us to. Click Here => Pimsleur Spanish to check it out. I highly recommend the Pimsleur programs and I now know that having an understanding of Spanish from the beginning would have saved us a lot of time, money and frustration.
So, before we go any further I strongly recommend you have a look at the program and get started on the fun and exciting assignment of learning some basic Spanish. I am recommending you start now because it takes a few months, at the very least, just to become familiar with some basic phrases. Remember this small investment will give you an immediate pay-back as soon as you arrive in Panama.
Now go ahead and click HERE => Pimsleur Spanish to learn more about the Pimsleur Programs.
Check out these other Great Resources to Learn more About Panama:
Watch your inbox for my next "Letter from Panama" and discover everything we learned!
Hasta Luego! Mark
P.S. Visit the Learn About Panama BLOG where you can ask and get answers to your questions about Panama. And while you are there be sure to enter your email address in the 'Subscribe' Box so you will be notified whenever breaking news is posted to the Blog.
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