FUNERAL HOME OWNER MAKES SIXTH NEW FRIEND

The names have been changed to protect the innocent in this post.  A man I will call “Joe” reached out to me through email after reading about my wanting to retire to Panama in one of the many forums Ray and I have been reading and posting on.  Joe had just made a trip to Panama in March and was hoping we could connect at some point by phone to compare our notes.  And he would fill me in on what he and his wife, “Mary”, did while in Panama for ten days.  He is a funeral home owner and was available to talk whenever I wanted to try calling. The three of us chatted like old friends a few nights ago. What an experience this whole “wanting to retire to Panama” dream has been!  Ray and I now have six new friends because of it.  For Joe and Mary, they vacationed in Panama, stopped in a realtor’s office just to see what was out there, and this summer he and Mary had bought a house!  It was a great buy for them and in the town they were hoping to retire to someday.  It was fantastic to hear that they could buy the house while in the States.  It is nice to know that real estate transactions can be completed through an attorney and realtor involving a Central America country such as Panama.  It is encouraging.

This is a very exciting time for Mary and Joe.  I have never met them, but I find that I share in their happiness.  While in Panama in October, Ray and I will also be touring homes with a realtor, but I do not want to be homeowner yet.  I own one and co-own another, and it goes against all that we say we will do and should do.  The realtor also recommends renting first before buying.  I do want to come away from my trip to Panama being able to give others insight as to what I have found whether having to do with the small towns, big cities, beach and mountain properties, restaurants, stores and malls.  There won't be enough time on this trip, so I will want to travel again to see things I will have missed this vacation.  Now my biggest dream is that in a few years I will be entertaining my six new friends in a wonderful home in Panama myself!