2 Retire In Panama?
NEWSLETTER
Volume 5 October 26, 2020
I remain comitted to publishing...
...an interesting and informative newsletter each week on Monday. Some of you may have noticed last week that the newsletter did not deliver until Thursday. My providor determined that I was exceeding my limit on delivery of the newsletter. A very helpful IT manager, who is a friend of mine, helped me to slow the delivery speed; and I am hopeful that these glitches are now solved. I am using free software to keep this newsletter free, so I have to suffer through these challenges. If you are no longer interested in receiving this newsletter please feel free to scroll down and unsubscribe.
Panama continues to reopen...
...and as of Saturday the beaches have reopened. Despite the special rules which include no more than 7 family members per group, no food or drinks, special hours (6am-4pm). and social distancing, the PanAmerican Highway was chocked with cars headed to the beach.
The Sunday lockdown has also ended, which leaves us with only a few small things still closed. The nightly curfew from 11pm-5am remains in effect. With this announcement The Coronodo Bible Church announced plans to resume Sunday Services on December 4.
Our bathroom remodel is continuing...
...and we agree that the workers are doing a great job regardless of our communication challenges. The demolition is complete, and the project is starting to go back together. The electrician pulled a new line for the water heater and added some outlets. He also added a lighting fixture above our bath vanity which will increase in size. The plumbing has been roughed in and the guy has the glass block shower enclosure about half done. Jen and I went and ordered most of the finish materials on Thursday and they will be delivered today. Projects like this move slowly here in Panama and a great deal of patience makes it easier to tolerate. I am anxious for things to get back to normal. When the project started, we thought that the bathroom work would not necessarily keep us from sleeping in our bedroom. Realistically they have dominated that whole end of our condo, so we have been sleeping in our guest room. I will be grateful to sleep in our regular bed when thing wraps up.
The government has announced changes to some visa...
...programs. Panama Living reports that Executive Decree No. 722 of October 15, 2020 reduces to USD 300,000 the amount necessary to invest in real estate in the country to qualify for this visa, in addition to opening other opportunities in the capital market and fixed terms. Click on the link to read the entire article.
Our immigration attorney sent two recent messages involving changes to the immigration law. The first on 16 Oct stated that changes in the Friendly Nations Visa were coming. The second involves applicants with drug related infractions in their police report. In the past these have been approved, however they are being recently denied. We are following these changes and will report updates as they become available.
Changes to traffic fines...
...for moving violations. There was an official looking document that appeared on social media a couple of weeks ago that stated a substantial increase in fines for moving violations. We checked government websites and have been unable to verify this information. As of now, I would call it fake news but rest assured I will be monitoring the situation and keep you informed.
Great news this week…
…from the Independent Press. “2 Retire In Panama?” has been awarded a New York City Big Book Award. It was recognized as a Distinguished Favorite in the category of Reference. Writing the book has been an adventure all of its own. I feel blessed that it is getting noticed by many important organizations.
Remember that you can get a copy of my book by clicking the link here, or the link on the blog. It is only available on Amazon or Kindle. Kindle Unlimited subscribers read it free.
Blessings from paradise, 
Greg