It seems that we’ve done something right. In October 2016, I was able to retire from my position as a manufacturing supervisor, and Jen announced her plan to retire from government service at the end of 2017. I began researching the potential for retiring to a tropical country where we could make our retirement budget go further. We wanted to have eternal summer, beaches, and a simple life.
We planned a vacation in Panama that first week in October, just prior to her retirement. While there, we checked off an item on our bucket list. We took a Panama Canal tour from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. We also looked for a rental where we could spend February and March of 2018. Spending the winter in Panama allowed us to explore the country. Panama is a country about the size of South Carolina, with an average daily temperature ranging from 72 to 88 degrees. It has hundreds of miles of beaches, rain forests, and even mountains where we found the climate a little cooler.
Our friends who knew of our plans encouraged us to blog our experience. Neither of us had ever published a blog or even contributed to one, but we became committed to writing a great blog. We both contribute, sharing our adventures and experiences. Our goal is to link you to the great places and adventures as we go. When the adventure started, our plan began falling into place. Our posts document the journey from initial planning to our eventual move to Panama in 2018, and beyond.
We’ve had over five years with our boots on the ground in Panama. Our posts have evolved from planning and exploration to our amazing adventures. We’ve explored Panama extensively and are starting now to explore the beautiful world.
Dig in and explore our archives. If you’re interested in moving to a developing country, learn from our experience by enjoying those early posts and reading my book, Retired in Panama. If adventuring is more of what you’re looking for, check out the later posts, subscribe to my blog below, and stay tuned for a wild ride of adventure.
We have adventured in Israel, Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, Jamaica, dozens of other islands, and more. We have plans to cruise nearly the entire South American coast, including a trek by ship around Cape Horn. The trip will include Chile, Venezuela, The Falklands, and more, ending in Rio de Janeiro. We will also be going to Cuba, Greece, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Belize. There will be no shortage of great posts and pictures to share.
As we moved into retirement mode, we both took on small retirement gigs. Jen does a little transcription work while I write. After settling into our new surroundings, I connected with the magnificent literary scene here in Coronado. My connection to that group played a great role in my publishing Retired in Panama, 2 Retire in Panama (the original version of Retired in Panama), and, more recently, a fiction, Murder in Eagle Cove. My vision for Murder in Eagle Cove is to produce a series of Detective Larry Saunders Mysteries. The back cover description is below. 
The tiny town of Eagle Cove rarely has crime of any type. Detective Larry Saunders is called to a scene where something smells terrible. As the crime unfolds, the small police agency becomes overwhelmed.
The terrible smell is only the beginning. The detective is attacked at the scene, and the suspect is in the wind. After Larry’s attack, his son, Noah, a criminology and law student at the University of Massachusetts, jumps in to help investigate while his dad recovers.
Murder in Eagle Cove is a wild ride, mixing murder, thrill, deceit, and coming-of-age into a lethal cocktail of international money laundering.
I hope you will enjoy the blog and all the related material. I have been blessed to be able to continue to offer the blog and weekly newsletter free. I accept no endorsement fees and only promote individual businesses that have exceeded expectations. When I post a link or praise for an individual, business, or service, it is one where we will return. The blog now has over 1100 subscribers, and I’ve never sent out spam or given my list to anyone. Please click the subscribe link below for a message each time I publish a new blog. Historically, I have posted around ten to twelve per year. I would also like to send you my weekly newsletter, Retired in Panama, if that interests you. If you didn’t get an opportunity to subscribe when you signed in and would like it, the link here will give you an opportunity to subscribe. It is free and I will always respect your privacy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Blessings from paradise,
Greg and Jen
#welovepanama
