Moving my household to Panama - the last step in the emigration-process

Over the course of our lives we collect "stuff". Some of that stuff is easy to get rid of, there's no emotional connection. Other stuff is easy to leave behind, as it is easy to replace, if needed again. But some we want to retain...

In my case, I trimmed down as much as I could. But I still had a 3m by 3m (10 x 10 ft) storage unit full of items. Mostly, they were tools, books, DVDs and CDs, and memorabilia - a picture we had bought in India and which Suzanne had framed for me for my birthday, a wooden relief I bought when living in Tobago, photo albums, and similar items.

A week ago I came back to the USA to prepare these items to be shipped to Panama.

I contacted several moving companies in the US, but received quotations that were way beyond what I was able and willing to pay. The worst was 25,000$! When I looked in Panama, I found a customs broker who provided a reasonable quotation, and who was able and willing to answer all my questions. And questions I had many - I'm not doing this kind of thing every other week, so I'm not familiar with the process! 

RS Aduanas offered to provide a 20ft container, have it delivered to the storage facility, where I could load it up, then transport it to Panama, arrange for the customs process, and have it transported on to my new home in far distant rural Panama (10 hr drive with passenger car from the port) - all for about 5,400$. What a difference!

Panama customs requires a detailed list of all the items that are being shipped. So I had to go through everything, open every box to see what's in it, and inventorize everything.

Originally, I thought I'd rent a second storage unit just for a week, into which to move items that I already added to the list. However, the storage company wanted to charge me a full month's rent. Their offer of 1$ for the first month had a * next to it, and the fine print allowed them to exclude just exactly the unit I needed! They wanted 200$!

During one of my sleepless nights the idea occurred to rent a Penske truck instead. (Penske, BTW, is a much better company to use than UHaul! Penske gives you a quote and you pay what they quote. UHaul always adds many other fees afterwards, and when paying you get hit with a much higher amount than originally quoted and expected. Penske you can trust! UHaul you can trust to charge you way more in the end!)

Turns out, renting a 16ft truck for 5 days was just 150$. In addition, loading everything into the truck had several other advantages:

First of all, I can back up the truck all the way to my unit, and loading is much easier than carrying everything across the storage facility to another unit. Secondly, loading the truck means I'm already lifting everything 1.2m onto the truck bed, so getting it into the container will be just 30cm (1 ft)  more. And, the best part, I'm not tied to the storage facility anymore. That facility would make life of the trucker very difficult, to back into it and park the truck so the gate can safely close. If some other renter arrives, we might have to move the truck out again, and back in all over again...

Using the truck, I was able to redirect the truck to the motel where I was staying and move the load there.

Yeay! Everything in the truck - 4 hours, including making the list!

I was very concerned about how much effort it would be to take everything out of the unit and create the list. But, it took us only 4 hours to get that part accomplished!

My dear friend Cherryl had taken off the day from work to help me with this process. That woman worked like I would have expected a hired college hunk to work!!! Even the ultra heavy Bosch washing machine we were able to roll up the ramp into the truck using the dolly. 

I had booked the motel for 4 days, expecting to need at least 2 or 3 days. But, we got it all done before I even checked in! Well, I had a few days where I could try to source a few other items I had on my list, which are not available in Panama.

So much crap!!!! 😖

In case you end up near Elkton MD one day and need a motel, I would like to put in a plug for the Sunrise Inn where I stayed. It is a lovely old motel, like out of a 60s movie. Nicely restored and operated by a family. I found the room to be clean and very spacious, the rate affordable, the mattress to be comfortable, and the nights to be nice and quiet...

So, yesterday the container came. This time we loaded it in 1 1/2 hours! Well, The driver was a very friendly and helpful man! We connected well, as he's originally from Haiti, Cherryl from Jamaica, and I used to live in Tobago... He, a true gentleman, didn't want Cherryl to deal with the heavy stuff and helped me with it.

Darn! There's so much space for more stuff!!! 😝 

Well, we were done before noon, and the container went on its way! Yeay!

Off you go! Have a nice trip! See you in Chiriquí, your new home...

Now there's only my Prius left. I am planning on dropping that off on Friday at the Baltimore harbor for Roll-On-Roll-Off shipping.

Then I have no more physical ties to the US. Only emotional ones to the friends I made there... Next week on Tuesday, I'm flying back to my new home country. If Iris should get a visa, we might come back to the US to visit my friends. But I won't "have to" return anymore...

Whao! The second volume of my life, from age 30 to almost 60, is now about to be finished! The third volume, the autumn of my life in Panama, has started! I'm excited to see what experiences it will bring. So far it was very, very nice! And with Iris in my life, I think this third chapter will be amazingly wonderful...

Thoughts about learning another language - Spanish

Once it became clear that I'd be retiring in a country where English is not the main language, I went back to school to get a certificate in teaching english as a second language at University of North Georgia (A great program, by the way...) 

Among the things I learned was the (not so) new approach of "acquiring a language", rather than the old style of "learning about a language".

I learned english and french the old style while in business highschool in Austria. Now, I'm in the process of "acquiring" Spanish, as I am living in Panama. 

I started with Duolingo and Babbel. That gave me a nice little foundation. Interesting, by the way the difference between the two apps: Duolingo is by an American company and Babbel by a German. 

Duolingo is 99.9% "acquiring" and almost zero knowledge "about" the language. Works well - to a degree - but (at least to me) becomes more and more difficult as the skills improve.

Babbel is (by my estimation) 80% acquiring, and 20% background information about the language. To me, Babbel was an excellent complement to Duolingo - once I had acquired a little foundation with Duolingo, Babbel allowed me to reach the next step.

I would say, based on my experience (which means, my style of learning, my (non-)talent for languages, and such), Duolingo by itself wouldn't work for me to get proficient. Babbel by itself might work for proficiency. But, Duolingo and Babbel in combination work the best - for me!

So, if you are trying to learn any new language, I can only highly recommend to try both apps. Start with Duolingo, as it does not have a time constriction for the free version like Babbel does. And after a while try out the free week (month?) of using Babbel. (Just make sure you have plenty of time do maximize the time you can spend with Babbel during that period!) Then decide for yourself whether to pay for the one or the other or both apps; or whether to continue without the support of either...

Well, in my case: Trying to manage the construction of a home requires communicating a lot with local workers. So within a month or two, my Spanish has improved a lot from the Duolingo and Babbel foundation. Especially the vocabulary increased - I added a lot of words around construction, of course. And also I "acquired" certain phrases to the point where they became automatic... 

Now, I can mostly explain what I want my workers to do, and inquire about why they do what they do the way the do, and solicit their thoughts and opinions on various challenges.

However, I have pretty much zero understanding of grammar. I know almost nothing ABOUT the language. 

I find this makes my continuing progress much, much harder!

I now think, based on my own experience, that a combination of the "old style" and the "new style" would bring the best results. Start by acquiring, after a while catch up on grammar, and most of all, continue to "just do it" - speak the language everywhere and anywhere and all the time!

Well, if studying grammar wasn't so damn boring and hard it would be the best for me to now put a lot of focus on just that! If only I wasn't so lazy... 

Money Issues

 I used to think the hard part is making the money needed to get some savings together. Well, yes, that was hard, too. But that's in the past, and accomplished, so it lost its teeth!

Now, the issue is: How the heck do I get the money from the US to Panama?

Here's a log of methods and paths I tried. If you don't care about this, skip to the bottom, where I'll describe the one method that finally worked...

1. Wise (formerly Transferwise) directly into my Panamanian account

I used Wise multiple times to transfer money from the US to Europe. It works excellently, is quick, and inexpensive! I paid an Austrian company for the replacement windows, a German freight forwarder for their transport, refunded some AirBnB guests their downpayment, sent money to my kids, and such.

Not wanting to support the international money-extorting scheme of the banks (called internationl wire-transfer), I tried to use Wise.

However, Wise doesn't support sending money to banks with a Panamanian SWFIT code. I guess they don't want to risk getting into trouble with the US authorities about potential money-laundering? Although, when there's a clear path of where the money comes from and goes to, it can't be money laundering. So, who knows what's going on!

2. Wise via intermediary bank

My Panamanian bank gave me a list of half a dozen connections they have with intermediary banks in the US and in Germany. 

So, next I tried a transfer using Wise, to send money to my bank's account at one of their intermediary banks. However, that money came back again three days later.

Conclusion: Wise is excellent for whatever countries they do support. But it's useless for Panama!

3. ACH transfer to intermediary bank

The US banks on the list also have ACH codes. ACH is a relatively new system in the US, which facilitates easy and quick money transfers from an account in one bank to an account at another bank. Similar to the "Ueberweisung" that is standard in Austria (and other European countries) for more than 1/2 a century.

So I tried to make an ACH transfer into the account of my bank (Banesco Panama) at their sister bank (Banesco USA), specifying myself as beneficiary and my Banesco Panama account # in the memo field. 

Well, that money came right back as well (3 days later).

I guess, they don't want to do this, because then they miss out on the 25$ wire fee they charge for doing that same work!

4. US check deposit

I could have tried to write out a US check and deposit that at my Panamanian bank. However, don't have any checks for my US accounts anymore. I never use them - this is the least secure method of payment, the easiest to forge, and as such totally outdated! So, I don't have any checks for my US account any more. And, if I had some, I wouldn't carry them with me on an international trip!

I'm thinking this method might work, though. I have paid my alimony/child-support to Austria like this for close to 30 years. So, at least, for "smaller" amounts this might work... I haven't tried it though...

5. ATM withdrawals

I had been using my US debit card at the Panamanian ATMs a few times since I arrived here. That is a very expensive option! The ATM charges 5.25$ per transaction. The US bank charges another 2.50$ for using an international ATM. And, the Panamanian ATM network does not give out more than 250$ per transaction!

Now, after having made 4 or 5 withdrawals, every ATM suddenly claims my "card is not enabled for this service". What the heck is that supposed to mean?

I checked with my US bank, and they have no trace of the ATM even trying to contact them!

Awesome! I have 14.87$ in cash. Aside of gringo restaurants and gas-stations credit-cards are rarely accepted and sometimes they add between 3 to 10% to the amount when using credit-card, versus paying in cash. My return flight is in roughly 2 months.

How am I going to buy food, or pay for buses, or anything else?

6. Online international wire transfer

Out of options, and in dire need to get funds here, so I can buy a car and don't have to rent a car any longer (another fraudulent system, here in Panama), I broke down and tried to make an international wire transfer.

Well, turns out, that my bank's online system only support domestic wire transfers! (Why, in the world, would anybody send a domestic wire, with all its cost, when there's ACH? It's beyond me!) They require me to call them on the phone!

Sure! No problem. Simply make an international call, sit in the waiting queue for 1/2 hour or more until you get to talk to somebody. Answer the same questions you could answer in the app. And finally get your funds on their way!

7. Initiate international wire by calling US number from overseas

Luckily, my friend and AirBnB host Kyle reminded me of Skype. I had used it 10+ years ago to stay in touch with US and Austrian friends and family while I was living in Tobago. It has a feature, where you can call any regular (land or mobile) phone number for a few cents per minute. Yeay! So I just added 5$ to my Skype Credit, which reinstated my long dormant account...

I finally was able to call my US bank, complain bitterly about them not giving me any other option (like WhatsApp) but require me to make an overseas call, and, to top it off, stick overseas calls into the same queue as domestic calls! After crying enough, I finally was able to get the international wire transfer initiated. Hurray!

By the time I was at the bank, just about 1 1/2 hours later, the funds were already in my account!

But, Oh what a difficult birth!!!