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8 years ago

Water shortages and electricity outages

8 years ago
My wife and I are considering retirement in Panama.
The main thing holding us back is a concern over water shortages and electricity outages.
I have some questions to help me decide:
1. How bad is it really?
2. Which areas are less affected? (that could help decide where to live)
3. Are houses available that sufficiently mitigate these issues using; water tanks, wells, solar panels, etc.?
4. Can a house be reasonably built to sufficiently mitigate these issues using; water tanks, wells, solar panels, etc.?

Some background:
My wife speaks fluent Spanish, I speak Spanish reasonably well.
The reason for moving to Panama is because the lower cost of living (we are assuming 35% less that USA) will allow us to retire sooner and have more money for discretionary spending (e.g. travel etc.)
We want to live no further than 45 minutes from a "nice" beach (I realize that Panama does not have white powdery beaches, except for some remote areas)
We want to be less than 2 hours from an international airport (e.g. Panama City airport) for travel to US and Europe.
We prefer a larger town with amenities rather than a smaller town or desolate area with few people.
We are considering: Coronado, Playa Blanca area (rio Hato), Altos de Maria, Valle de Anton, Trinity Hills, 007 Las Lajas.
I left out Boquete because it seems to be too far away from the beach and from a major airport. Is that accurate?
One possibility is to live in the cooler mountain areas and travel to the beach, or the other way around.
We would like to rent for a year.
We are budgeting $3,800 per month for expenses, plus either $1,500 for rent or purchase a house for $350,000
We would like a newish single story house with; 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and a pool. Ocean views would be a plus.

Thanks

William Russell
William Russell

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Flexible solutions allow you to tailor your cover to meet your needs and budget. Use Promocode: LIFE10 and get 10% off your international health insurance for life!
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Flexible solutions allow you to tailor your cover to meet your needs and budget. Use Promocode: LIFE10 and get 10% off your international health insurance for life!
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William Russell
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