Author’s Introduction to “Top Five Places To Retire Worldwide”
Hi my name is Michael Manville and back in 1999 I was like you. I believed there was a better place somewhere out there for me. I loathed the cold winters, boring desk jobs, and cookie-cutter homes in planned communities that were being offered to me. I had already traveled throughout South America and Europe and I craved the international exposure.
Lifestyle Enhancement
To be specific, I was looking for a yet-to-be discovered tropical locale to indulge my talents and enhance my lifestyle. I was looking for a place with growth potential – a place where my business ideas would flourish all the while enjoying a lifestyle my friends and relatives could only dream of. After visiting more than 20 countries on three continents, I knew within moments of arriving that Panama was the place.
But the Top Five Places To Retire Worldwide are not all about Panama…. keep reading to find out why.
It was the turn of the millennium and a new era was dawning on Panama. The impressive Panama Canal, one of the most important waterways on the planet, had recently been reverted from U.S. control and occupation to Panama and its people. More than a canal, Panama was given entire neighborhoods with vacant residential housing for tens of thousands of administrative staff and military personnel, airports capable of landing large military and passenger jets, hospitals, office space, entertainment facilities – and the first rate road, water, and electrical infrastructure to connect it all.
All of this property and infrastructure was sitting idle and located in a tropical climate, geographically positioned at the center of the Americas, in a U.S. dollar based economy with a modern banking sector. Back in the year 2000, tourism in Panama was hardly a blip on the radar screen even while foreigners had been flocking to neighboring Costa Rica by the hundreds of thousands per year. Real estate was more than a bargain, it was a giveaway.
They Called Me Crazy
In those years, most people thought Panama was a jungle covered land of drug runners and guerrilla war mongers. They called me crazy for spending time there and wondered what had possessed me to give up a comfortable, secure life back home.
Despite the social resistance, I was convinced that Panama would emerge as an irresistible draw to a good portion of the 78 million baby-boomers seeking alternative lifestyle and investment advantages, and I knew that my role was somehow related to that trend.
The Boom
What I did not anticipate, was the scale and breadth of the boom. Panama’s economic expansion encompassed far more than tourism or retirement dwellings. Multinational corporations opened call centers and regional offices. Banks relaxed their lending policies and flooded the market with loans for new construction. Warehousing and transshipment companies jockeyed for position in the Colon Free Trade Zone. Cruise ships actually stopped in Panama to let the passengers off the boat – for the first time in history.
Vast investments were initiated by large development firms, land speculators, and investment banks. Day traders showed up for the tax advantages. Residential tourism, resort tourism, eco-tourism, medical tourism, and shopping tourism all converged simultaneously. Then the media chimed in… New York Times, Newsweek, and national U.S. television coverage fueled the fire. Then finally, the “Venezuela Effect” encouraged thousands of Venezuelans to flee Chavez-style socialism with their families, their businesses, and their money. The boom was of a magnitude beyond my imagination in a class comparable to the mightiest on the planet rivaled only by the likes of Mumbai, Beijing, Dubai and Singapore. Today, construction cranes fill the landscape as the momentum of foreign investment rushes over Panama like a tidal wave.
The Bust?
Along with the boom emerged many changes. Prices for everything had escalated, new laws were enacted, and taxes increased. For those who invested a few years ago, good for them; they participated in the uptrend and could now enjoy the rewards of living in a country they were invested in. For those who have not yet decided on Panama as a place to grow, learn and enhance their lives and their finances, a fair degree more thought and consideration may be required.
Some time in the year 2007, it suddenly occurred to me that Panama was no longer a “no brainer”. For all of its continued benefits and advantages, I had to ask, “Is it still the optimum place to be?” Will this new expansion carry its momentum forward, making Panama an even more desirable place to live, or is Panama approaching an inevitable bust, fraught with unfinished buildings, further cost of living increases, water shortages, traffic congestion, and greedy government bureaucrats changing laws to their favor?
The World Tour
With a world wide economic slow down looming, it occurred to me that now would be a good time to stand back, take a deep breath, and broaden my perspective. Now would be a good time to take a world tour, and put Panama into a global perspective once again. And so I did.
The Top Five Places To Retire Worldwide
Five countries, four continents, three languages, and a myriad of experiences, observations and insights. It is with this new and broadened perspective that I present the Top Five Places To Retire in 2009. I hope you enjoy reading about this exciting tour and that it will inspire you to do some exploring of your own.
Regards
Michael Manville
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To get your copy of The Top Five Places To Retire Worldwide Join Retire Worldwide, a rapidly growing association of like-minded individuals seeking unique lifestyles and global experiences to include in their retirement years.
Retire Worldwide members are people who have broadened our horizons and consider the world beyond our home borders for exploration, discovery, prosperity, health and well being.
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