Ausgemustert - Out of service

I read a newspaper article today in the Salzburger Nachrichten, reporting on an exhibition of photographs with old folks, who have been sent to nursing homes and are basically just waiting there for the end of their life.

It made me very thoughtful!

Ausgemustert - Out of Service!

I'm heading there, too. Or am I there already? I retired. I stopped working for money. I am no longer pursuing my career as software engineer.  am no longer in service the way I used to be!

There are quite a few older expats in the area where I moved to. All but one, actually, are retired. 

But, we're by no means "just waiting to die"!  

View of Pacific from 700m above sea-level - the road passing my home leading to town

The one expat neighbor who's still in her 40s had moved her mom here during the pandemia. The reason was exactly this: her mom was shutting down more and more. From each video call to the next she noticed the decline of her mother. Until it was more than she could take and she picked her up from the nursing-home in the US and brought her to live with her here in Panama. In the two years her mom is now living here her decline not just stopped, but turned around! She is now full of life again, enjoying walking in the large park like garden, singing karaoki, delighting in the food - much of it fresh from the garden. What a difference!

For the retirees of us it's about the same: we are all enjoying our time here on this planet. Panama makes it possible - no matter what condition we're in! While we're still agile enough we can work our own garden, explore the beautiful country, delight in reconnecting with nature. If the garden is too big, or cooking is not our thing, or there's anything else that needs to be done and we're not up to it for whatever reason, there are many people around here, who love to take care of these tasks for us. And it does not brake the bank!

Instead of paying 7,000$ a month for assisted living, here you can hire a live-in caretaker for 1,000$, should you need one. 

Instead of being fully dependent on the grocery store half of the year, here your garden bears fruits and vegetables and roots all year round. You decide how organic you want your food to be. 

Otoe - a root vegetable like yucca - also just 7 months old 

My neighbor and gardener Carlos planted these banana trees about 7 months ago

Instead of feeling out-of-service in the sense of "cast aside", "locked away", here you can feel out-of-service in the sense of no longer having to work. 

Instead of feeling abandoned and lonely and disconnected, here you can reconnect with nature, be taken care of as much or as little as you want or need, and - if you treat your neighbors and caretakers nicely - be integrated again in a village life!

Even more! You can be the window to the world for the neighbors' kids. Through you, they - and their family - get a chance to get to know about another culture, get introduced to different ideas and approaches, and get inspired to learn, grow, and be open for the world!

What a difference! 

There the rest of your life is just wasting away. Here, you are making a difference to your last breath!

There you are a problem. Here you are appreciated and part of a solution!

My neighbor's son loves to hang out with us. Soon he'll start learning english in school. He'll get plenty of opportunity to practice with us!

If you want more information about various topics, here are links to my blog posts about: residency options, learning spanish, the climate, locally grown food. For any other questions, you can ask in a comment, and I'll try to answer or point you to where you can find more information.

Financially, here's the summary: if you're retired you need a pension of 1,000$ (1,250 for you and your partner).  If you're not yet retired, you can invest 130,000$ in a reforestation project for your residency. If you want to buy a comfortable real estate, you can get something very nice for 150,000$. Or you can rent something nice for under 1000$/month. So, financially it is very feasible for almost anybody in Europe, the US, or Canada, Australia, and such... 

If you want to come for a visit to see how it suits you, chat me up, I'll help you plan and arrange if you like... For me, now was the time to be adventurous, but in a safe way. How about you?