What’s the secret to being happy, healthy, wealthy and wise? I won’t go as far as to say that moving to Panama will solve all your problems. But if accessing good quality healthcare is important to you, then the affordable healthcare in Panama will make it easy for you focus on the other aspects of a retirement in paradise.

That’s why so many Americans—and Canadians and Europeans—are moving here. It’s one of the region’s most modern nations (if not the most modern nation) and the healthcare is famously good.

Linda McKee, an expat living in the province of Chiriqui, says Panamanian healthcare compares favorably to that of any First World country. “It’s one of the best reasons to visit or retire here,” she says.

Happy

“No system is perfect…and of course there are those who have had less-than-perfect experiences here,” says Linda. “But, back home, were you able to reach your doctor at home on a weekend? I had never had that experience until I came to Panama…and most of the people I talked to hadn’t either.”

Most expats would agree that healthcare in Panama is excellent across the board. From the availability of personalized care to the many insurance alternatives, this tiny country is impressive (even from a First World perspective).

Healthy

Linda’s husband, Eric, can attest to that. During a routine procedure, his doctor discovered a small tumor, and suggested some tests to determine whether it was malignant. To his surprise, the doctor ran the tests right away. Two days later, the doctor called with good news: the tumor was benign.

Just a couple of days later, Eric had the growth removed. He paid a little over $200, and this included the doctor’s fee, hospital fees, a lab test, and the anesthesiologist’s fee. Says Linda: “The nursing staff was great, the hospital modern and well-equipped, and the waiting time almost non-existent.”

Worrying about cancer, says Eric, is stressful enough, and the thought of waiting would have been unbearable. Back home, he could have waited for days or even weeks for the test results. “Getting everything done quickly was a great relief.”

“It was as positive an experience as it could have been under the circumstances,” says Eric. “The doctor was compassionate and professional…I couldn’t believe how quickly and efficiently my problem was handled.”

Eric’s is just one of many positive expat stories you’ll hear if you come to Panama. Certainly no country has perfect healthcare, and there are those that find plenty to gripe about (yes, even here in “paradise”). Still, the fact is that Panama has a lot going for it.

Panama boasts a large number of bilingual doctors—many of them trained in the U.S. or Canada. It is also home to excellent hospitals, including the Johns Hopkins-affiliated Punta Pacifica hospital. The most technologically advanced hospital in Latin America, Punta Pacifica is the only Johns-Hopkins affiliate in the region. Add to that a wide range of clinics dealing in virtually every specialty imaginable—from dental care to cosmetic surgery—and you start to get the picture.

Wealthy

That’s reassuring information for English-speaking expats who come here seeking a low-cost, high-quality lifestyle. Plus, residents here on the world-famous Pensioner’s visa get discounts of 10% to 20% on everything from medical consults to prescription medication. The savings can add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

…and Wise

I’ll talk more about healthcare in Panama at the Live & Invest in Panama Seminar 2010 in April.

Read the original article published by International Living here.

In Panama, the lifestyle is more convenient and comfortable than ever. Nowadays, because of a new coastal road, I need not sit in traffic for an hour to visit a bank in the busy financial sector. It’s easier to get to Casco Viejo, too…and when I have lunch in that historic district, I notice everyone has a BlackBerry. The city skyline, one of Panama’s best-known features, is more Hong Kong-esque than ever. And the cultural offerings are staggering…from flamenco to opera to theater.

Panama is more modern and cosmopolitan than any other Central American country. You can stay at a rainforest resort or an island hostel and still enjoy the same high-speed Internet that you would in Panama City. This means I can work from anywhere, even holding conference calls via VoIP programs like Skype.

From the expanding international airport at Tocumen, also known as the Hub of the Americas, you can travel anywhere in the world…often on a direct flight.

Panama has always been one of the most modern countries in the region. When I first came here in 1990, it was not what I expected. The lush jungles and pristine beaches were everything I’d hoped for. But the bustling city and international vibe were a pleasant surprise. There were new cars of every make and model…busy, perfectly paved roads…chic cafés with impeccably dressed clientele. Fresh from Eugene, Oregon, via the steamy metropolis of Mumbai, I was prepared to scorn—but instead felt quite the country bumpkin.

Twenty years later, Panama offers a unique combination of modernity, low cost of living, and Latin flair. “We are coming to Panama in the next few months,” says Jacqueline B. of Virginia. “Thanks to his work, my husband Randy understands the value Panama offers to expats. Plus, the cost of living there is fantastic and the people are wonderful.” There are other places in the region where Virginia and Randy could live well—probably for less—but none of them offers the same cosmopolitan feel.

The Panama Canal expansion is just one of several mega-projects expected to fuel Panama’s economy in the years to come. Back in 2007, Panama had the fastest-growing economy in the world. Today, it’s still going strong—one of the few countries in the world expected to show growth in 2009. In fact, the Latin Business Chronicle ranked Panama the number one “growth champion” in the region in its 2010–2015 GDP growth forecast.

With historically low inflation, one of the world’s biggest banking sectors, and a business-friendly president with a “go get ’em” attitude, Panama offers a combination of benefits (with an affordable cost of living) that no other Central American country can match.

New infrastructure projects are modernizing the city. A massive Panama Bay cleanup program is underway. Three contracts worth more than $413 million will get that job done. The $189-million Cinta Costera project—the coastal beltway I mentioned earlier—has completely changed the face of Panama City, for the better. Foreign investment and a growing international community have enhanced the city’s international character. And because those new expats bring with them high expectations, services have improved across the board.

Yet my daily cost of living is still low enough to allow for a comfortable lifestyle. I have a nice señora who cleans my house from top to bottom for just $15 a day. My friend Barbara raves about the health care, and about the fact that she can hire a nurse to come to her home for just $25 a day. When my car needs maintenance, I take a cab to the shop for $1.75. At my favorite restaurant, I can sit by the ocean and enjoy a cold beer for $2.

These prices are not unusual in Central America. But in Panama you can sip that $2 beer while networking at an internationally renowned trade show…or on a posh train en route to the hemisphere’s largest free trade zone…

Editor’s note: Join International Living in Panama, April 18-20, and discover everything you need to know about Panama to help you decide if it’s your ideal retirement or relocation destination. We’ll assemble more than 50 Panama experts, including an unprecedented number of expats, to make sure you get the most during three information-packed days.

It may have been a sign of the times–health care was on everyone’s mind at our just-completed 2009 Live and Invest in Panama seminar.

No wonder, with the growing storm over health care reform in the U.S.

Many of our 235 attendees in Panama City told me they had no idea what kind of U.S. health care system would be waiting for them when they got back.

Some didn’t want to go back at all. In fact, several decided to stay…to act on what they heard during our three days of presentations and make a better life for themselves there in Panama, starting right then.

They were thrilled with what they learned about the Panamanian medical system. Local physicians and expatriates report it’s just as advanced as that in the U.S.–with many American-trained doctors and even a Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospital. Only the costs for care, medications, and insurance are significantly cheaper than what you’re used to paying.

As one attendee told me after listening to Panama expert and IL legal counsel, Bob Bauman: Panama could be the last refuge of sanity, sense, and free-market values in the Americas today.

Thanks to a booming economy anchored by the Panama Canal and a new, business-minded president, Panama is looking more like the America many attendees remembered from the “good old days” than the one they actually live in now.

And the opportunities are great when it comes to living a better life at a lower cost in any of Panama’s stunning tropical beach or cool-weather mountain communities.

As our resident foreign real estate expert, Ronan McMahon, told us during his presentation, a recent history of overbuilding in the country’s capital means a market in which those who know where and how to look can find remarkable deals today.

If you’re considering your best options for comfortable, easy living overseas and you missed this event, don’t despair.
Some years back we began recording our conferences at the request of attendees who said there was just too much good stuff to remember. They begged us to provide a complete and comprehensive recording so they could go home and review the content at their leisure.

Today we do. And we’re happy to offer you the same recording package they receive.

It comes with not only a full audio record of every session from every speaker, but also all their Power Point slides, handouts, special reports, and more. We call it our Fast Track Panama Package, and it really is the next-best thing to being there in person.

If you’re trolling for an affordable, easy place to live outside the States–where you can enjoy all the comforts of home for a fraction of what you’re used to paying–Panama should be at the top of your list.

The 2009 Fast-Track Panama Package hands you the most efficient, cost-effective way to get a current, right-from-the-ground look at what your best options are there today.

P.S. The full price to attend this sold-out event was $1,195–but you can reserve a copy of our 2009 Fast Track Panama Package in your name today for just $349–a small fraction of what it would have cost you to be there in person.

So grab your 2009 Fast Track Panama Package today for just $349, here now.

Aug. 12, 2009
Kobbe Beach, Panama
Live from IL’s Live and Invest in Panama Seminar

“So give me the downside…what’s the ugly underbelly here you’re not telling us about?”

I’m Suzan Haskins and this is the last note you’ll receive from me from our 2009 International Living Live and Invest in Panama Seminar at the gorgeous Playa Bonita Resort, just outside the capital city.

I overheard the conversation above between a gentleman from Arizona and Anne-Michelle Wand, an expat who moved to Panama a few years ago.

Anne-Michelle has been living her dream life, splitting her time between the mountains of Colorado and the beaches of Hawaii. At least she thought it was her dream life…until she visited Panama. She quickly sold out of the U.S. and moved to Panama.

“I have a house in the mountains of Boquete, beachfront property in Bocas del Toro, and a condo in Panama City…the perfect golden triangle,” she says. She couldn’t be happier, and no matter how hard she’s looked, I heard her tell the man from Arizona, she has yet to find anything ugly about Panama.

Even Rainelda Mata-Kelly, our expert attorney here in Panama couldn’t dampen the crowd’s spirits…and she talked about taxes! You’re not liable to pay many of those at all in Panama…if you buy a new home here you’re eligible for a property tax exemption of as much as 20 years!

Low Cost, High Quality Health Care (Including Pioneering Anti-aging Treatments)

Health care reform. It’s the big debate in the States right now. It’s something everyone cares about. Everyone has an opinion. Usually, a strong one.

“I don’t like what’s going on in the U.S. right now,” a doctor from Texas told me over cocktails. He and his wife are thinking of moving to Panama with their two youngest high school-aged kids. He’s ready to bail out on his health care career and do something else. Become a part-time farmer, maybe.

He…like many others at the International Living Live and Invest in Panama Seminar the past three days…is pleased with what he’s learned about health care in Panama.

There are excellent hospitals here, including the brand new state-of-the-art Punta Pacifica Hospital, affiliated with the U.S.’s well-respected Johns Hopkins Hospital. The latest technology is there (even more than in many hospitals in the U.S.), and most of the doctors speak fluent English.

And it’s all very inexpensive, as expat after expat has mentioned: $10-$30 for a doctor’s visit, $5 for blood tests.

According to Dr. Michael Sigler, who took the stage yesterday, some procedures and treatments (especially anti-aging and preventative) are available in Panama that you just won’t find in the States or Canada…

Health insurance, too, is a fraction of the cost it is back home, said Dorothy De Sing, from Alianza Insurance. Cheaper still…in a revolutionary move, many Panama hospitals offer private facility-specific plans. Pay a small monthly plan fee and your preferred hospital becomes your major provider for all of your medical needs.

A personal note here: My husband and I have been living outside the U.S. for nearly a decade now. We’ve been more than happy with the top-quality health care we’ve received overseas…and ‘care’ is the key word here. We’re not treated like numbers or cases or checkbooks, but like people with issues and concerns that matter.

Start Your Own Business in Panama

Also today, we’ve learned about construction techniques and costs here (would you believe $60 per square foot?). And we learned how to get our pets to Panama…our household goods…and even the things we buy on eBay and Amazon.

I have yet to meet anyone here at the conference who isn’t thinking seriously about making Panama their home…even some of the presenters who came from other countries are talking about Panama and considering a move here.

After all, it has a stable government, a strong economy (the official currency is the U.S. dollar), a great health care system, and daily living costs are low. And you can drink the tap water.

Today we learned how easy it is to set up a business in Panama. Businesswoman (and yes, expat) Mirella Rugulotto offered resources and contact information for help in setting up a business anywhere in the country. This is ‘need-to-know’ information for my doctor friend or anyone who decides to come here and wants to make a living.

Want to learn more about the good life in Panama? Here’s how…

If you’ve been reading these dispatches these past several days, you know the motherlode of information that’s been shared here in Panama this week. We’ve heard from scores of highly respected professionals…attorneys, business owners, tax specialists, financial advisors, expats who live here, and others who know from whence they speak. By my tally, there have been 40 different presentations on everything from health care … to how to find Panama’s best real estate bargains … to some sound investment opportunities.

We’re putting together a complete package of nearly everything (minus only coffee breaks and cocktail parties) that’s happening at this event. We’re making audio recordings of all 40 of the presentations.

We’re also making copies of the handouts, PowerPoint and visual presentations. And we’re including the complete dossier we gave to each attendee when they arrived here in Panama for the seminar.

It’s our Fast Track Panama Package. And we guarantee it will help you fast track your plans of moving to…or investing in… Panama.

Reserve your Fast Track Panama Package NOW — at the Lowest Price Possible

We’re offering the Fast Track Panama Package for a short time only at a tremendous discount. The full price to attend this sold-out event was $1,195–but reserve now and you can have the entire Fast Track Panama Package for only $349… a tiny fraction of what attendees paid to join us here in Panama City.

Even those in attendance at the seminar are excited about the Fast Track Panama Package.

“Thank God you’re offering these recordings,” a seminar attendee from Minnesota told me. “There’s just too much to process…all the speakers have been so excellent! When we get home we’re going to listen to each one of the presentations again, and then talk about them…and then listen to them again!”

Reserve your Fast Track Panama Package here.

As Always, Our International Living Guarantee: If This Information… These Tips and Secrets… Don’t Work, You Pay Nothing

We guarantee that the information in our Fast Track Panama Package will help you make your Panama dreams come true…whatever they are. If you don’t agree, we’ll return every penny you paid.

You have nothing to lose: Call us at any time in the future–next month…next year…or next decade–and tell us the information didn’t help you. (Or don’t tell us anything. Just ask for your money back.) We’ll give you back your $349.

If you’re serious about tapping into the opportunities Panama offers you, I urge you to reserve your Fast Track Panama Package now.