BEACH BOYS (not really my favorite)

"Kokomo".  Remember that song?  Came out in 1988.  The year Ray and I married, and I loved it (even though I don't like or love many Beach Boy songs), because it was about islands and sun and warmth and just getting away from it all.  And we were going on a cruise for our honeymoon that November to sunny, warm islands to get away from it all for a week.

Many years later, instead of humming "Aruba, Jamaica, ooo I wanna take ya, Bermuda, Bahama" well you know the rest, I am now humming "Boquete, El Valle, ooo I wanna see ya, Coronado, Gorgona and all the wonderful places" I have not been to yet like Pedasi, Las Tablas, Altos del Maria, Sora, Cerro Azul, David, Bocas and so many more!

International Living was the first magazine Ray and I subscribed to.  Yes, we spent money on this dream subscribing to the magazine (some have written not to buy into IL and the conferences they hold annually, but we will--we want all of the good, bad and ugly--and if they sugar coat things, so be it.  We will find others and also other ways to find the ugly out.).

Our number one concern in retirement is health insurance.  In the States, we won't have it once our careers are finished. I am a dental hygienist covered through Ray's employer and would not have coverage even if I carried it on my own once I left employment in the private practice dental world.  Ray works for a large law firm, and he too will not have insurance once he has finished his career as "Assistant Billing Manager"--assuming this is how he finishes his career.  More on this will be in later posts.

So what we know from that part of our research is why we are looking to Panama to retire (this from the 2012 Global Retirement Index found in the January 2012 issue of IL)-----

Panama is second to Ecuador in this index (Ecuador scored a 91.1), and Mexico is third (89.6)

The way they score is based on Real Estate Costs (95), Special Benefits (100), Cost of Living (96), Integration (96), Entertainment and Amenities (91), Health Infrastructure (82), Climate (high avg 82 to low 68)
FINAL SCORE==90.4

So whether it's www.Internationalliving.com or liking them on Facebook and getting updates that way or getting snail mail in the form of paper, we started there and continue along reading, note taking and daydreaming.