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A Priceless Resource for Anyone Considering Living in Panama
Panama Relocation Tours的点评
点评：I’ll cut to the chase as I apologize in advance for this lengthy review and say that after attending Panama Relocation Tour #308 I would HIGHLY recommend Panama Relocation Tours (and its included GUIDE) to anyone even remotely curious about living or retiring in Panama. The information and “boots on the ground” sampling of Panama experience that the tour provides is invaluable.
My reasons, which can be quite different from others on the tour, are many and are detailed below in no particular order. Did everything in the tour go 100% perfect as planned? NO – but pretty close all things considered. Did this fact tarnish my view of Panama as a retirement option OR Panama Relocation Tours as a resource for those wanting to retire in Panama? ALSO NO. I will also share where I could see there would be room for improvement – these will be followed by asterisks.
Here we go…
REASON 1: MANAGED EXPECTATIONS OF PANAMA AND A RELOCATION TOUR vs SITE-SEEING TOUR
As I first embarked on Panama Relocation Tour #308, one of our very wise tour guides, John, reminded us in our launch meeting of what enabled me to fully enjoy and learn through my prior vacationing, living and studying abroad in the first place: mindset. A mindset of leaving my USA expectations and assumptions behind – along with any perceived entitlements. We are a GUEST in our destination or travel country. We need to have an open mind, and LOTS of patience and perspective as our way and perspective is not always that of others. T.I.P – “This is Panama”.
As I went down the internet research rabbit hole of retiring in Panama, like many I of course viewed lots of alluring Panama Relocation Tours Videos. These really showcase the PROs of living in Panama through interviews with expats, but also very little if any of the cons are expressed (unless you get to the Q&A live video replays and the interviews with the various niche experts). This can set up some false expectations of both Panama and the tour itself. Our tour guides John and Victoria reminded us in the launch and throughout the tour that this was not a real estate tour, it was not a site-seeing vacation tour, but a RELOCATION tour. Its purpose was to give us the proper foundational info, a chance for getting “boots on the ground” to see with our own eyes and to hear face-to-face with our own ears from immigration lawyers, realtors, doctors and expats who have done what we are considering doing – relocating to Panama. It is not all of what we WANT to hear, but what we NEED to hear of how things actually work in Panama, and how the transition is done.
REASON 2: KNOWLEDGE BOMBS GALORE & OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE (1 on 1 w/ Guides)
During the tour we had to opportunity to learn about so very many topics to consider when moving to Panama. We were able to leverage the experience of our guides John and Victoria, the immigration lawyers, realtors, the tour guides in training, and EVEN a chance to meet with a local doctor of which I took advantage. Our guides barely took breaks from speaking on many topics of each area we visited while standing on the bus, yet always offered to meet with anybody after the tour breaks to answer any further questions. Our launch meeting also included a detailed presentation from an immigration lawyer in the various types of visas and ways to go about moving to and Living in Panama, and cautions on the traps you might encounter in leasing or purchasing real estate and the even down to the fastest embassies to use to process your papers. He was even generous enough to come to one of our dinners later in the tour answer more questions. Many of the expat speakers left their contact info as well.
Other topics covered were:
• Insurance options for Expats (Panamanian, Travel, Private, and Even Medicare)
• How hospital systems and doctors work in Panama
• Medical care options in various Cities in Panama
• Banking Considerations
• Advantages of Types of Visas
• Tax Considerations on Foreign and Local-Earned Income
• Driver’s Licenses (Different ways / best states to keep one in)
• Transportation options / How-To’s
• Other Infrastructure Considerations
• The different climates of Panama
• Considerations of Shipping items To and From Panama
• Buying a Car vs Shipping Your Car
• Culture considerations when living and working with Panamanians
• Pros and Cons of all of the above
• Bringing Your Pets to Panama
• Budgeting for Your Desired Lifestyle in Panama
• And more I am sure I have forgotten
REASON 3: EXCELLENT NETWORK OF RESOURCES (NICHE PROFESSIONALS & EXPATS)
One of the priceless line items on this tour is that you get to meet with and form connections some of what is a vast and vetted network of professionals that Jackie Lange put together to ease our transition to living in Panama. Drivers, private tour guides, realtors, immigration lawyers, mechanics, fixers / translators, and language tutors just to name a few. I got to meet with a doctor the tour suggested in Boquete for $15, and she gave me an hour of time, patiently answering all questions about how to best get my meds, my medical conditions, and the best hospitals themselves for my conditions. Her English was perfect, and, she gave me her private what’s app number to call with any further questions and even offered to ask some colleagues in other hospital systems on some specific questions I had asked. And - And let’s not forget the guides / expats! These people have been there and done that! The expats are volunteering their time to speak, and are willing to be a resource to help ease your way into Panama. Very generous people, and the tour guides always took extra time for my questions during tour breaks.
REASON 4: A NICE SAMPLING OF PANAMA LOCALES, MICROCLIMATES AND REAL ESTATE*
While I did not get to do all the touristy activities I would have wanted to do, I did get what the tour intended: an informative sampling of many of the locales. Ideally, I would have liked to seen more areas, but turns out you can’t see very city or hip part of town you want to in 6 days, with a giant tour bus no less! But guess what, the guides can connect you with resources to see more after the tour if you want. That said, there was no shortage of BEAUTIFUL sites to see like nice beaches, marinas, mountains, lush nature, hotels and real estate. Between this and the knowledge shared and the tour I learned what IS and what IS NOT for me in Panama. I really believe now Panama has something for just about everyone.
*As for the real estate portions of the tour. I know some people were disappointed, even upset, by the fact that one of the properties was no longer available to see, and, that the first one we saw in Panama City was not properly matched for the tour’s audience (small, expensive, meant for YOUNG digital nomads and content creators). John was also visibly disappointed, but, I do not know how real estate operates in Panama and I guess this can happen last minute as the properties are only finalized early morning as these properties can get scooped up last minute. We DID indeed get to see some excellent properties, some that were not for me (think of when you went shopping for your first home) and very necessary centrally located and city-specific all-inclusive, modest landing pads that you can leverage to find a long term rental or home for purchase. We did get to see a home in a new development generously offered by a lovely expat couple to view, and herein lies my suggestion: incentivize your expats to be available for a stand-by showcase home should your realtor’s property suddenly not be available, and try and find comparables to be able to offer what a home like what we are seeing might cost.
REASON 5: AWESOME INCLUSIVE MEALS AND GREAT HOTEL STAYS
THE FOOD WAS AWESOME - and Pina Coladas were insanely good! I know because I tried a different one in about every city we visited. Most of the food was naturally sourced, I had some of the best seafood in a long time, and although the beef was different, less fatty and more gamey than we have back home, it was prepared in a vary tasty fashion and is likely more gamey because it is not artificially enhanced or fattened.
I know the hotels were not 5-star hotels, but many actually exceeded my expectations of what I thought I would see in a Latin American Country like Panama. They were very comfortable for the most part, the infrastructure was great – internet was faster than I had at home in the USA (1GB up/ 1GB down in some locations). The AC was definitely working solid, the staff where very helpful (even gave us suggestions on amazing local restaurants), some of the hotels were beautifully laid out blending in the local nature - beautiful plants, and even a creek running through the middle! The included breakfasts were generous except for at one hotel. That said Panama is NOT ADA and you may need to watch your step, or endure very small bathrooms. If you wanted to venture out on your own during the tour breaks, walking distance was very reasonable, and UBERs were super cheap!
REASON 6: OBVIOUS HARD WORK TO KEEP THINGS ORGANIZED AND RUNNING ON SCHEDULE**
I used to run large networking events with up to 300 people attending and 30+ vendors on the regular, as well as weekly networking groups with up to 50 members each, so I can tell when there is a ton of logistics at play as there was with this Panama Relocations Tour #308. The guides and the drivers had a lot of variables and time-pressure to manage between the speakers, the meals, hotels, the trips and bathroom breaks, potential passport checks and of course the 30+ personalities along the way just to name a few. And with 30+ personalities, it is hard to keep them all 100% happy.
** It can make for a long, physically and mentally taxing day, and I can understand where some might have seen the guides as coming across a bit abrasive or short at times (such as after trying to deal with some of the real-estate snafus). I however, honestly think I did not see it to the degree that I believe one or two others mentioned in their reviews. The guides do need a better way to get the attention of and herd 30+ adults to wrap up a bathroom break or get moving onto the next portion of the tour as I know this can be like herding cats vs clapping or whistling, perhaps getting someone to walk by and warn each micro-group that we are getting on the bus now please – or maybe one of those vibrating cup-holders restaurants use (only half-kidding). The guides should also make clear that not only are they available after the tour breaks for questions, BUT, for concerns or to facilitate any issues the tour members may be experiencing.
Our drivers Jorge and his son were excellent and the bus was smooth rolling and the AC was great (thank you sirs!). AND our driver Humberto who picked us up from the airport was great, and served as a pseudo-guide / personal driver to check out Casco Viejo (very small roads in here so we needed a private car) and the Canal was awesome. One of our guides suggested we reach out to him to help with this, and I am glad we did.
REASON 6: CHANCES TO FORM BONDS WITH OTHER TOUR MEMBERS
Many of us tour members exchanged contact info, joined WhatsApp groups, and as tour members we get access to private Facebook groups. We can all learn from each other’s experiences and I see that as a tremendous resource. The network of expats and experts that Jackie has built is invaluable, and we all have access to it now, so, hopefully we can all take advantage of it.
We had people from all walks of life, political ideologies, ethnic backgrounds and at least one different country come on the tour. We all had some similar and many different reasons to connect here, so we all had at least one thing in common – being open to the idea that somewhere other than the USA may be where we spend our Golden years, for one reason or another. It was funny that we were encouraged to leave politics behind, yet, it was inevitable in some conversations, and still yet, we ALL were here on this tour. There is always common ground to be found if you open your ears, your mind and your heart.
Thanks again to Jackie Lange, her guides John and Victoria, and her crew for making this an option in my journey to exploring Panama.
My reasons, which can be quite different from others on the tour, are many and are detailed below in no particular order. Did everything in the tour go 100% perfect as planned? NO – but pretty close all things considered. Did this fact tarnish my view of Panama as a retirement option OR Panama Relocation Tours as a resource for those wanting to retire in Panama? ALSO NO. I will also share where I could see there would be room for improvement – these will be followed by asterisks.
Here we go…
REASON 1: MANAGED EXPECTATIONS OF PANAMA AND A RELOCATION TOUR vs SITE-SEEING TOUR
As I first embarked on Panama Relocation Tour #308, one of our very wise tour guides, John, reminded us in our launch meeting of what enabled me to fully enjoy and learn through my prior vacationing, living and studying abroad in the first place: mindset. A mindset of leaving my USA expectations and assumptions behind – along with any perceived entitlements. We are a GUEST in our destination or travel country. We need to have an open mind, and LOTS of patience and perspective as our way and perspective is not always that of others. T.I.P – “This is Panama”.
As I went down the internet research rabbit hole of retiring in Panama, like many I of course viewed lots of alluring Panama Relocation Tours Videos. These really showcase the PROs of living in Panama through interviews with expats, but also very little if any of the cons are expressed (unless you get to the Q&A live video replays and the interviews with the various niche experts). This can set up some false expectations of both Panama and the tour itself. Our tour guides John and Victoria reminded us in the launch and throughout the tour that this was not a real estate tour, it was not a site-seeing vacation tour, but a RELOCATION tour. Its purpose was to give us the proper foundational info, a chance for getting “boots on the ground” to see with our own eyes and to hear face-to-face with our own ears from immigration lawyers, realtors, doctors and expats who have done what we are considering doing – relocating to Panama. It is not all of what we WANT to hear, but what we NEED to hear of how things actually work in Panama, and how the transition is done.
REASON 2: KNOWLEDGE BOMBS GALORE & OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE (1 on 1 w/ Guides)
During the tour we had to opportunity to learn about so very many topics to consider when moving to Panama. We were able to leverage the experience of our guides John and Victoria, the immigration lawyers, realtors, the tour guides in training, and EVEN a chance to meet with a local doctor of which I took advantage. Our guides barely took breaks from speaking on many topics of each area we visited while standing on the bus, yet always offered to meet with anybody after the tour breaks to answer any further questions. Our launch meeting also included a detailed presentation from an immigration lawyer in the various types of visas and ways to go about moving to and Living in Panama, and cautions on the traps you might encounter in leasing or purchasing real estate and the even down to the fastest embassies to use to process your papers. He was even generous enough to come to one of our dinners later in the tour answer more questions. Many of the expat speakers left their contact info as well.
Other topics covered were:
• Insurance options for Expats (Panamanian, Travel, Private, and Even Medicare)
• How hospital systems and doctors work in Panama
• Medical care options in various Cities in Panama
• Banking Considerations
• Advantages of Types of Visas
• Tax Considerations on Foreign and Local-Earned Income
• Driver’s Licenses (Different ways / best states to keep one in)
• Transportation options / How-To’s
• Other Infrastructure Considerations
• The different climates of Panama
• Considerations of Shipping items To and From Panama
• Buying a Car vs Shipping Your Car
• Culture considerations when living and working with Panamanians
• Pros and Cons of all of the above
• Bringing Your Pets to Panama
• Budgeting for Your Desired Lifestyle in Panama
• And more I am sure I have forgotten
REASON 3: EXCELLENT NETWORK OF RESOURCES (NICHE PROFESSIONALS & EXPATS)
One of the priceless line items on this tour is that you get to meet with and form connections some of what is a vast and vetted network of professionals that Jackie Lange put together to ease our transition to living in Panama. Drivers, private tour guides, realtors, immigration lawyers, mechanics, fixers / translators, and language tutors just to name a few. I got to meet with a doctor the tour suggested in Boquete for $15, and she gave me an hour of time, patiently answering all questions about how to best get my meds, my medical conditions, and the best hospitals themselves for my conditions. Her English was perfect, and, she gave me her private what’s app number to call with any further questions and even offered to ask some colleagues in other hospital systems on some specific questions I had asked. And - And let’s not forget the guides / expats! These people have been there and done that! The expats are volunteering their time to speak, and are willing to be a resource to help ease your way into Panama. Very generous people, and the tour guides always took extra time for my questions during tour breaks.
REASON 4: A NICE SAMPLING OF PANAMA LOCALES, MICROCLIMATES AND REAL ESTATE*
While I did not get to do all the touristy activities I would have wanted to do, I did get what the tour intended: an informative sampling of many of the locales. Ideally, I would have liked to seen more areas, but turns out you can’t see very city or hip part of town you want to in 6 days, with a giant tour bus no less! But guess what, the guides can connect you with resources to see more after the tour if you want. That said, there was no shortage of BEAUTIFUL sites to see like nice beaches, marinas, mountains, lush nature, hotels and real estate. Between this and the knowledge shared and the tour I learned what IS and what IS NOT for me in Panama. I really believe now Panama has something for just about everyone.
*As for the real estate portions of the tour. I know some people were disappointed, even upset, by the fact that one of the properties was no longer available to see, and, that the first one we saw in Panama City was not properly matched for the tour’s audience (small, expensive, meant for YOUNG digital nomads and content creators). John was also visibly disappointed, but, I do not know how real estate operates in Panama and I guess this can happen last minute as the properties are only finalized early morning as these properties can get scooped up last minute. We DID indeed get to see some excellent properties, some that were not for me (think of when you went shopping for your first home) and very necessary centrally located and city-specific all-inclusive, modest landing pads that you can leverage to find a long term rental or home for purchase. We did get to see a home in a new development generously offered by a lovely expat couple to view, and herein lies my suggestion: incentivize your expats to be available for a stand-by showcase home should your realtor’s property suddenly not be available, and try and find comparables to be able to offer what a home like what we are seeing might cost.
REASON 5: AWESOME INCLUSIVE MEALS AND GREAT HOTEL STAYS
THE FOOD WAS AWESOME - and Pina Coladas were insanely good! I know because I tried a different one in about every city we visited. Most of the food was naturally sourced, I had some of the best seafood in a long time, and although the beef was different, less fatty and more gamey than we have back home, it was prepared in a vary tasty fashion and is likely more gamey because it is not artificially enhanced or fattened.
I know the hotels were not 5-star hotels, but many actually exceeded my expectations of what I thought I would see in a Latin American Country like Panama. They were very comfortable for the most part, the infrastructure was great – internet was faster than I had at home in the USA (1GB up/ 1GB down in some locations). The AC was definitely working solid, the staff where very helpful (even gave us suggestions on amazing local restaurants), some of the hotels were beautifully laid out blending in the local nature - beautiful plants, and even a creek running through the middle! The included breakfasts were generous except for at one hotel. That said Panama is NOT ADA and you may need to watch your step, or endure very small bathrooms. If you wanted to venture out on your own during the tour breaks, walking distance was very reasonable, and UBERs were super cheap!
REASON 6: OBVIOUS HARD WORK TO KEEP THINGS ORGANIZED AND RUNNING ON SCHEDULE**
I used to run large networking events with up to 300 people attending and 30+ vendors on the regular, as well as weekly networking groups with up to 50 members each, so I can tell when there is a ton of logistics at play as there was with this Panama Relocations Tour #308. The guides and the drivers had a lot of variables and time-pressure to manage between the speakers, the meals, hotels, the trips and bathroom breaks, potential passport checks and of course the 30+ personalities along the way just to name a few. And with 30+ personalities, it is hard to keep them all 100% happy.
** It can make for a long, physically and mentally taxing day, and I can understand where some might have seen the guides as coming across a bit abrasive or short at times (such as after trying to deal with some of the real-estate snafus). I however, honestly think I did not see it to the degree that I believe one or two others mentioned in their reviews. The guides do need a better way to get the attention of and herd 30+ adults to wrap up a bathroom break or get moving onto the next portion of the tour as I know this can be like herding cats vs clapping or whistling, perhaps getting someone to walk by and warn each micro-group that we are getting on the bus now please – or maybe one of those vibrating cup-holders restaurants use (only half-kidding). The guides should also make clear that not only are they available after the tour breaks for questions, BUT, for concerns or to facilitate any issues the tour members may be experiencing.
Our drivers Jorge and his son were excellent and the bus was smooth rolling and the AC was great (thank you sirs!). AND our driver Humberto who picked us up from the airport was great, and served as a pseudo-guide / personal driver to check out Casco Viejo (very small roads in here so we needed a private car) and the Canal was awesome. One of our guides suggested we reach out to him to help with this, and I am glad we did.
REASON 6: CHANCES TO FORM BONDS WITH OTHER TOUR MEMBERS
Many of us tour members exchanged contact info, joined WhatsApp groups, and as tour members we get access to private Facebook groups. We can all learn from each other’s experiences and I see that as a tremendous resource. The network of expats and experts that Jackie has built is invaluable, and we all have access to it now, so, hopefully we can all take advantage of it.
We had people from all walks of life, political ideologies, ethnic backgrounds and at least one different country come on the tour. We all had some similar and many different reasons to connect here, so we all had at least one thing in common – being open to the idea that somewhere other than the USA may be where we spend our Golden years, for one reason or another. It was funny that we were encouraged to leave politics behind, yet, it was inevitable in some conversations, and still yet, we ALL were here on this tour. There is always common ground to be found if you open your ears, your mind and your heart.
Thanks again to Jackie Lange, her guides John and Victoria, and her crew for making this an option in my journey to exploring Panama.
翻译：我先为这篇冗长的评论致歉，然后就直奔主题：参加完第308期巴拿马移居之旅后，我强烈推荐巴拿马移居之旅（及其提供的导游服务）给任何对在巴拿马生活或退休哪怕只有一点点兴趣的人。这次旅行提供的信息和“实地体验”巴拿马的感受都非常宝贵。
我的理由可能与其他团员有所不同，以下列举一些，顺序不分先后。这次旅行是否完全按照计划进行？不，但考虑到各种因素，已经非常接近完美了。但这是否影响了我对巴拿马作为退休目的地的看法，或者对巴拿马移居之旅作为巴拿马退休资源的评价？同样没有。我也会指出一些我认为可以改进的地方——这些地方后面会标有星号。
好了，开始吧……
原因一：对巴拿马的预期管理以及移居之旅与观光之旅的区别
在我第一次参加巴拿马移居之旅（第308期）时，我们一位非常睿智的导游约翰在出发会议上提醒我们，我之前在国外度假、生活和学习之所以能够让我充分享受和学习，首先在于心态。一种放下美国固有观念和假设的心态——以及任何自以为是的权利。我们是目的地或旅行国的客人。我们需要保持开放的心态，以及足够的耐心和视角，因为我们的方式和视角并不总是与他人相同。小贴士——“这就是巴拿马”。
当我像许多人一样，在网上深入研究在巴拿马退休的相关信息时，我当然也观看了许多诱人的巴拿马移居之旅视频。这些视频通过对巴拿马侨民的采访，充分展现了在巴拿马生活的种种好处，但几乎没有提及任何缺点（除非你观看问答环节的现场视频回放以及与各领域专家的访谈）。这可能会让游客对巴拿马以及这次旅行本身产生一些不切实际的期望。我们的导游约翰和维多利亚在出发前以及整个行程中都反复强调，这并非一次房地产之旅，也不是一次观光度假之旅，而是一次移居之旅。它的目的是为我们提供必要的背景信息，让我们有机会“实地考察”，亲眼所见，亲耳聆听移民律师、房地产经纪人、医生以及已经完成我们正在考虑的事情——移居巴拿马——的侨民的经验分享。这并非我们想听到的所有信息，而是我们需要了解的关于巴拿马的真实情况以及移居过程的信息。
原因二：知识宝库，更多学习机会（与导游一对一交流）
在这次旅行中，我们有机会了解移居巴拿马需要考虑的方方面面。我们充分利用了导游约翰和维多利亚、移民律师、房地产经纪人、实习导游的经验，甚至还有机会与当地医生见面（我充分利用了这个机会）。在巴士上，我们的导游几乎全程都在讲解我们参观的每个地区的各种知识，而且总是在休息结束后主动提出与大家见面，解答任何疑问。我们的出发会议还包括一位移民律师的详细讲解，内容涵盖各种签证类型、移居巴拿马和在巴拿马生活的方式，以及在租赁或购买房产时可能遇到的陷阱，甚至还推荐了办理文件最快的使馆。他甚至非常慷慨地在之后的一次晚餐中抽出时间来回答我们的问题。许多外籍演讲者也留下了联系方式。
其他涵盖的主题包括：
• 外籍人士的保险选择（巴拿马保险、旅行保险、私人保险，甚至医疗保险）
• 巴拿马的医院系统和医生如何运作
• 巴拿马各城市的医疗保健选择
• 银行业务注意事项
• 各类签证的优势
• 国内外收入的税务考量
• 驾照（不同途径/最佳驾照持有地）
• 交通选择/实用指南
• 其他基础设施注意事项
• 巴拿马的不同气候
• 往返巴拿马的物品运输注意事项
• 购买汽车与托运汽车的比较
• 与巴拿马人共同生活和工作的文化注意事项
• 以上所有内容的优缺点
• 携带宠物前往巴拿马
• 如何在巴拿马规划理想的生活方式
• 以及我可能遗漏的其他内容
原因三：卓越的资源网络（专业领域人士和外籍人士）
这是无价之宝之一这次旅行的亮点之一是，您将有机会结识并建立联系，接触到杰基·兰格精心组建的庞大且经过严格筛选的专业人士网络，以帮助我们顺利过渡到在巴拿马的生活。其中包括司机、私人导游、房地产经纪人、移民律师、机械师、中间人/翻译以及语言教师等等。我在博克特见了一位旅行社推荐的医生，花了15美元。她花了一个小时耐心解答我的所有问题，包括如何最好地获取药物、我的病情以及哪些医院最适合我的病情。她的英语非常流利，还给了我她的私人WhatsApp号码，以便我随时提问。她甚至主动提出可以帮我咨询其他医院系统的同事，解答我提出的一些具体问题。还有——别忘了那些导游/外籍人士！他们经验丰富，对这里的情况了如指掌！这些外籍人士自愿抽出时间来帮忙，希望能帮助你顺利地融入巴拿马。他们非常慷慨，而且导游们总是在行程休息时抽出额外的时间来解答我的问题。
理由四：对巴拿马当地风土人情、微气候和房地产的精彩体验*
虽然我没能体验到所有想做的旅游项目，但我确实实现了这次旅行的目的：对许多地方进行了信息丰富的体验。理想情况下，我希望能去更多的地方，但事实证明，在短短六天的时间里，即使乘坐大型旅游巴士，你也不可能游览到所有你想去的城市或热门街区！不过，好消息是，导游可以帮你联系一些资源，让你在旅行结束后继续探索更多地方。话虽如此，沿途的美景也数不胜数，比如迷人的海滩、游艇码头、山脉、郁郁葱葱的自然风光、酒店和房地产。通过这些以及导游分享的知识，我了解了哪些地方适合我，哪些地方不适合我。我现在真的相信，巴拿马几乎能满足每个人的需求。
*关于行程中的房地产部分。我知道有些人对其中一套房产无法参观感到失望，甚至生气，而且我们在巴拿马城看的第一套房子也不太符合我们这次考察团的目标人群（面积小、价格高、面向年轻的数字游民和内容创作者）。约翰也明显感到失望，但我不太了解巴拿马的房地产市场运作方式，我想这种情况可能会在最后一刻发生，因为房产信息通常要到清晨才会最终确定，而且这些房产很容易在最后一刻被抢购一空。我们确实看到了一些很棒的房产，有些并不适合我（想想你第一次买房时的感受），还有一些位置优越、设施齐全、价格适中的临时住所，你可以利用这些住所找到长期租赁或购买的房产。我们有幸参观了一对热情友好的外籍夫妇慷慨提供的一套位于新建楼盘中的房子，我的建议是：鼓励您的外籍员工随时待命，以便在您的房产经纪人的房源突然无法提供时，可以提供一套备用样板房；同时，尽量寻找类似的房产，以便能够提供类似房子的价格参考。
理由五：丰盛的全包餐食和舒适的酒店住宿
食物非常棒——尤其是椰林飘香鸡尾酒，简直好喝到爆！我几乎在每个城市都尝试了不同的椰林飘香鸡尾酒，所以深有体会。大部分食材都是天然的，我吃到了很久以来最美味的海鲜，虽然牛肉的味道和我们家乡的牛肉不太一样，脂肪含量更低，膻味更浓，但烹饪方式非常美味，膻味更浓可能是因为没有人工增肥或催肥。
我知道这些酒店并非五星级酒店，但很多都超出了我对巴拿马这样的拉丁美洲国家的预期。大多数酒店都非常舒适，基础设施也很棒——网速甚至比我在美国家里的还快（有些地方上下行速度都达到了1GB）。空调运转良好，工作人员非常乐于助人（甚至还给我们推荐了一些很棒的当地餐厅），一些酒店的布局精美，与当地的自然环境完美融合——美丽的植物，甚至还有一条小溪从酒店中间流过！除了其中一家酒店外，其他酒店的早餐都很丰盛。不过，巴拿马的无障碍设施并不完善，所以您可能需要注意脚下，或者忍受一下非常狭小的浴室。如果您想在行程休息期间自行探索，步行即可到达的地方非常方便，而且优步也超级便宜！
原因六：维持秩序和按计划进行显然需要付出大量努力**
我过去经常组织大型社交活动，每次活动都有多达 300 人参加，30 多家供应商参与；此外，我还组织每周一次的社交小组，每个小组最多有 50 名成员。因此，我能看出哪些活动需要大量的后勤保障，就像这次巴拿马搬迁之旅 #308 一样。导游和司机需要应对诸多变数和时间压力，包括演讲嘉宾、餐饮、酒店、行程安排、休息时间、可能的护照检查，当然还有沿途 30 多位形形色色的人等等。要让 30 多位参与者都百分百满意，实在不容易。
** 这可能会让这一天变得漫长而身心俱疲。我能理解为什么有些人会觉得导游有时态度生硬或语气简短（比如在处理一些房产相关的小问题之后）。不过，说实话，我觉得并没有像其他一两位评论者提到的那样严重。导游确实需要更好的方法来吸引30多位成年人的注意力，让他们结束上厕所的时间或者开始下一站的行程。我知道这就像赶猫一样难，拍手或吹口哨都比不上。或许可以安排一个人走过来，提醒每个小组“请上车”——或者用餐厅里那种震动杯架（我只是半开玩笑）。导游还应该明确表示，他们不仅会在行程结束后解答游客的疑问，还会帮助游客解决遇到的任何问题。
我们的司机豪尔赫和他的儿子都很棒，巴士行驶平稳，空调也很给力（谢谢两位！）。我们的司机 Humberto 非常棒，他从机场接我们，还兼任了我们的“准导游”/私人司机，带我们游览了老城区（Casco Viejo）（那里的道路非常狭窄，所以我们需要一辆私家车）。运河景色美极了。我们的一位导游建议我们联系他寻求帮助，我很高兴我们听从了他的建议。
理由六：与其他团员建立联系的机会
我们很多团员都交换了联系方式，加入了 WhatsApp 群组，作为团员，我们还可以加入一些私密的 Facebook 群组。我们可以互相学习彼此的经验，我认为这是一笔非常宝贵的资源。Jackie 建立的由外籍人士和专家组成的网络非常有价值，现在我们所有人都能利用这个网络，希望我们都能好好利用它。
我们团员来自各行各业，拥有不同的政治理念、种族背景，而且至少来自一个不同的国家。我们来到这里相聚，原因各有不同，也有一些相似之处，所以我们至少有一个共同点——我们都对在美国以外的地方安度晚年持开放态度，无论出于何种原因。有趣的是，我们被鼓励暂时放下政治，但在某些谈话中，政治话题却不可避免地会浮现出来。尽管如此，我们所有人还是参加了这次旅行。只要你敞开心扉，用心聆听，总能找到共同点。
再次感谢Jackie Lange、她的向导John和Victoria以及她的团队，感谢他们让我有机会体验这次巴拿马之旅。
我的理由可能与其他团员有所不同，以下列举一些，顺序不分先后。这次旅行是否完全按照计划进行？不，但考虑到各种因素，已经非常接近完美了。但这是否影响了我对巴拿马作为退休目的地的看法，或者对巴拿马移居之旅作为巴拿马退休资源的评价？同样没有。我也会指出一些我认为可以改进的地方——这些地方后面会标有星号。
好了，开始吧……
原因一：对巴拿马的预期管理以及移居之旅与观光之旅的区别
在我第一次参加巴拿马移居之旅（第308期）时，我们一位非常睿智的导游约翰在出发会议上提醒我们，我之前在国外度假、生活和学习之所以能够让我充分享受和学习，首先在于心态。一种放下美国固有观念和假设的心态——以及任何自以为是的权利。我们是目的地或旅行国的客人。我们需要保持开放的心态，以及足够的耐心和视角，因为我们的方式和视角并不总是与他人相同。小贴士——“这就是巴拿马”。
当我像许多人一样，在网上深入研究在巴拿马退休的相关信息时，我当然也观看了许多诱人的巴拿马移居之旅视频。这些视频通过对巴拿马侨民的采访，充分展现了在巴拿马生活的种种好处，但几乎没有提及任何缺点（除非你观看问答环节的现场视频回放以及与各领域专家的访谈）。这可能会让游客对巴拿马以及这次旅行本身产生一些不切实际的期望。我们的导游约翰和维多利亚在出发前以及整个行程中都反复强调，这并非一次房地产之旅，也不是一次观光度假之旅，而是一次移居之旅。它的目的是为我们提供必要的背景信息，让我们有机会“实地考察”，亲眼所见，亲耳聆听移民律师、房地产经纪人、医生以及已经完成我们正在考虑的事情——移居巴拿马——的侨民的经验分享。这并非我们想听到的所有信息，而是我们需要了解的关于巴拿马的真实情况以及移居过程的信息。
原因二：知识宝库，更多学习机会（与导游一对一交流）
在这次旅行中，我们有机会了解移居巴拿马需要考虑的方方面面。我们充分利用了导游约翰和维多利亚、移民律师、房地产经纪人、实习导游的经验，甚至还有机会与当地医生见面（我充分利用了这个机会）。在巴士上，我们的导游几乎全程都在讲解我们参观的每个地区的各种知识，而且总是在休息结束后主动提出与大家见面，解答任何疑问。我们的出发会议还包括一位移民律师的详细讲解，内容涵盖各种签证类型、移居巴拿马和在巴拿马生活的方式，以及在租赁或购买房产时可能遇到的陷阱，甚至还推荐了办理文件最快的使馆。他甚至非常慷慨地在之后的一次晚餐中抽出时间来回答我们的问题。许多外籍演讲者也留下了联系方式。
其他涵盖的主题包括：
• 外籍人士的保险选择（巴拿马保险、旅行保险、私人保险，甚至医疗保险）
• 巴拿马的医院系统和医生如何运作
• 巴拿马各城市的医疗保健选择
• 银行业务注意事项
• 各类签证的优势
• 国内外收入的税务考量
• 驾照（不同途径/最佳驾照持有地）
• 交通选择/实用指南
• 其他基础设施注意事项
• 巴拿马的不同气候
• 往返巴拿马的物品运输注意事项
• 购买汽车与托运汽车的比较
• 与巴拿马人共同生活和工作的文化注意事项
• 以上所有内容的优缺点
• 携带宠物前往巴拿马
• 如何在巴拿马规划理想的生活方式
• 以及我可能遗漏的其他内容
原因三：卓越的资源网络（专业领域人士和外籍人士）
这是无价之宝之一这次旅行的亮点之一是，您将有机会结识并建立联系，接触到杰基·兰格精心组建的庞大且经过严格筛选的专业人士网络，以帮助我们顺利过渡到在巴拿马的生活。其中包括司机、私人导游、房地产经纪人、移民律师、机械师、中间人/翻译以及语言教师等等。我在博克特见了一位旅行社推荐的医生，花了15美元。她花了一个小时耐心解答我的所有问题，包括如何最好地获取药物、我的病情以及哪些医院最适合我的病情。她的英语非常流利，还给了我她的私人WhatsApp号码，以便我随时提问。她甚至主动提出可以帮我咨询其他医院系统的同事，解答我提出的一些具体问题。还有——别忘了那些导游/外籍人士！他们经验丰富，对这里的情况了如指掌！这些外籍人士自愿抽出时间来帮忙，希望能帮助你顺利地融入巴拿马。他们非常慷慨，而且导游们总是在行程休息时抽出额外的时间来解答我的问题。
理由四：对巴拿马当地风土人情、微气候和房地产的精彩体验*
虽然我没能体验到所有想做的旅游项目，但我确实实现了这次旅行的目的：对许多地方进行了信息丰富的体验。理想情况下，我希望能去更多的地方，但事实证明，在短短六天的时间里，即使乘坐大型旅游巴士，你也不可能游览到所有你想去的城市或热门街区！不过，好消息是，导游可以帮你联系一些资源，让你在旅行结束后继续探索更多地方。话虽如此，沿途的美景也数不胜数，比如迷人的海滩、游艇码头、山脉、郁郁葱葱的自然风光、酒店和房地产。通过这些以及导游分享的知识，我了解了哪些地方适合我，哪些地方不适合我。我现在真的相信，巴拿马几乎能满足每个人的需求。
*关于行程中的房地产部分。我知道有些人对其中一套房产无法参观感到失望，甚至生气，而且我们在巴拿马城看的第一套房子也不太符合我们这次考察团的目标人群（面积小、价格高、面向年轻的数字游民和内容创作者）。约翰也明显感到失望，但我不太了解巴拿马的房地产市场运作方式，我想这种情况可能会在最后一刻发生，因为房产信息通常要到清晨才会最终确定，而且这些房产很容易在最后一刻被抢购一空。我们确实看到了一些很棒的房产，有些并不适合我（想想你第一次买房时的感受），还有一些位置优越、设施齐全、价格适中的临时住所，你可以利用这些住所找到长期租赁或购买的房产。我们有幸参观了一对热情友好的外籍夫妇慷慨提供的一套位于新建楼盘中的房子，我的建议是：鼓励您的外籍员工随时待命，以便在您的房产经纪人的房源突然无法提供时，可以提供一套备用样板房；同时，尽量寻找类似的房产，以便能够提供类似房子的价格参考。
理由五：丰盛的全包餐食和舒适的酒店住宿
食物非常棒——尤其是椰林飘香鸡尾酒，简直好喝到爆！我几乎在每个城市都尝试了不同的椰林飘香鸡尾酒，所以深有体会。大部分食材都是天然的，我吃到了很久以来最美味的海鲜，虽然牛肉的味道和我们家乡的牛肉不太一样，脂肪含量更低，膻味更浓，但烹饪方式非常美味，膻味更浓可能是因为没有人工增肥或催肥。
我知道这些酒店并非五星级酒店，但很多都超出了我对巴拿马这样的拉丁美洲国家的预期。大多数酒店都非常舒适，基础设施也很棒——网速甚至比我在美国家里的还快（有些地方上下行速度都达到了1GB）。空调运转良好，工作人员非常乐于助人（甚至还给我们推荐了一些很棒的当地餐厅），一些酒店的布局精美，与当地的自然环境完美融合——美丽的植物，甚至还有一条小溪从酒店中间流过！除了其中一家酒店外，其他酒店的早餐都很丰盛。不过，巴拿马的无障碍设施并不完善，所以您可能需要注意脚下，或者忍受一下非常狭小的浴室。如果您想在行程休息期间自行探索，步行即可到达的地方非常方便，而且优步也超级便宜！
原因六：维持秩序和按计划进行显然需要付出大量努力**
我过去经常组织大型社交活动，每次活动都有多达 300 人参加，30 多家供应商参与；此外，我还组织每周一次的社交小组，每个小组最多有 50 名成员。因此，我能看出哪些活动需要大量的后勤保障，就像这次巴拿马搬迁之旅 #308 一样。导游和司机需要应对诸多变数和时间压力，包括演讲嘉宾、餐饮、酒店、行程安排、休息时间、可能的护照检查，当然还有沿途 30 多位形形色色的人等等。要让 30 多位参与者都百分百满意，实在不容易。
** 这可能会让这一天变得漫长而身心俱疲。我能理解为什么有些人会觉得导游有时态度生硬或语气简短（比如在处理一些房产相关的小问题之后）。不过，说实话，我觉得并没有像其他一两位评论者提到的那样严重。导游确实需要更好的方法来吸引30多位成年人的注意力，让他们结束上厕所的时间或者开始下一站的行程。我知道这就像赶猫一样难，拍手或吹口哨都比不上。或许可以安排一个人走过来，提醒每个小组“请上车”——或者用餐厅里那种震动杯架（我只是半开玩笑）。导游还应该明确表示，他们不仅会在行程结束后解答游客的疑问，还会帮助游客解决遇到的任何问题。
我们的司机豪尔赫和他的儿子都很棒，巴士行驶平稳，空调也很给力（谢谢两位！）。我们的司机 Humberto 非常棒，他从机场接我们，还兼任了我们的“准导游”/私人司机，带我们游览了老城区（Casco Viejo）（那里的道路非常狭窄，所以我们需要一辆私家车）。运河景色美极了。我们的一位导游建议我们联系他寻求帮助，我很高兴我们听从了他的建议。
理由六：与其他团员建立联系的机会
我们很多团员都交换了联系方式，加入了 WhatsApp 群组，作为团员，我们还可以加入一些私密的 Facebook 群组。我们可以互相学习彼此的经验，我认为这是一笔非常宝贵的资源。Jackie 建立的由外籍人士和专家组成的网络非常有价值，现在我们所有人都能利用这个网络，希望我们都能好好利用它。
我们团员来自各行各业，拥有不同的政治理念、种族背景，而且至少来自一个不同的国家。我们来到这里相聚，原因各有不同，也有一些相似之处，所以我们至少有一个共同点——我们都对在美国以外的地方安度晚年持开放态度，无论出于何种原因。有趣的是，我们被鼓励暂时放下政治，但在某些谈话中，政治话题却不可避免地会浮现出来。尽管如此，我们所有人还是参加了这次旅行。只要你敞开心扉，用心聆听，总能找到共同点。
再次感谢Jackie Lange、她的向导John和Victoria以及她的团队，感谢他们让我有机会体验这次巴拿马之旅。
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