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“We watched our friends struggle. Not fully eligible for Medicare,
they were spending 50% of their income on health care.
And because we got a late start planning for our own retirement,
we were in even worse shape.”
Over late-night glasses of wine on their California patio,
Stephen Johnson and Linda Murdock talked about moving to a place where they could stretch their money further.
Now, three years later, they say…
“Panama May Not Be the End of the Rainbow…
But it’s Pretty Darn Close.”
Dear International Living Reader,
Stephen and Linda’s story isn’t unique. They’d enjoyed successful careers and were living the ‘good life’ in Aromas, California. In 2002, and just about to turn 57, Stephen was a corporate executive, and Linda, 51, owned a successful specialty dog-food business.
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Is Your Nest Egg Cracked? It wasn’t supposed to be like this… we’re living longer, healthier lives than ever. But sinking retirement accounts, a bottoms-up housing market, and out-of-control health care costs mean that too many of us are giving up our retirement dreams. Don’t let it happen to you. In the tropical paradise of Panama you can live well… happily and comfortably… for as little as $1200 a month. Keep reading for a real-life sample budget. |
They lived in a nice home and were starting to think about retiring. Problem was, they’d gotten a late start on their retirement planning. They didn’t have as much equity built up in their home as they would’ve liked. They had watched their friends struggle in retirement with rising taxes and runaway healthcare costs. And these were friends who were better off than they were…
Stephen and Linda were pretty sure they wouldn’t be able to maintain their current standard of living once they retired. To do that, they knew they’d need to move somewhere with a lower cost of living. They joked that they’d have to retire to a double-wide in the Mojave Desert, with summers in excess of 100 degrees and winters that can dip below freezing.
Over late-night glasses of wine on their patio, they talked about their options. Linda had taken up surfing on her 50th birthday, and she wasn’t ready to give that up. Stephen wanted to be in a place where the cost of living was low since his pension would amount to 40% of his pre-retirement income of $150,000.
They made a checklist of all the things they were looking for in a retirement destination, and they started doing the research.
One place stood out. Panama.