For the past decade or longer, Panama has been recognized as one of the world's top retirement havens, top offshore havens, and top tax havens.
And, still, today, no question -- Panama remains one of the best places in the world to think about living or retiring overseas. However, today's Panama is a very different place from the Panama of 10 years ago. It's a different place today even from the Panama we moved to about five years ago.
Plus, of course, no place is perfect, including Panama. Even "paradise" has its downsides.
In that spirit, here are 10 things that anyone thinking about spending time or money in Panama today needs to know to make a success of the effort:
#1: Panama City is no longer a cheap retirement choice.
The cost of living in Panama's capital city has appreciated steadily over the past decade. As a result, today, Panama City no longer qualifies as a "cheap" place to call home. You can live modestly in this city on a budget of $1,500 per month, but a more realistic monthly budget for an average couple of retirees would be $2,000.
The cost of living elsewhere in Panama, however, can be much more affordable. A couple could retire to Santa Fe, for example, in the highlands of Panama, on as little as $1,000 per month.
#2: Panama City rents aren't cheap either.
The lion's share of any retiree's budget is typically given over to rent. This is an important part of the reason why the cost of living in Panama City can be considerably greater than the cost of living many other places in this country. A retired couple will spend $1,000 or more per month to rent a comfortable apartment in an appealing Panama City neighborhood. Meantime, you could rent a small house at the beach on the Azuero coast, for example, for $600 per month or less or a house in the mountains around Santa Fe for $500 per month or less.
#3: Health care in Panama is international standard and costs a fraction the cost of comparable care in the United States.
However, both the standard and the cost of care can vary dramatically, not only from one part of the country to another, but also depending where you seek care in Panama City. The Johns Hopkins-affiliated Hospital Punta Pacifica in downtown Panama City offers facilities and services like those available at any metropolitan-based U.S. hospital for perhaps half the cost. However, Clinica Einstein, located in Panama City's El Cangrejo neighborhood, offers many of the same services in a small, friendly, clean clinic environment where doctors and nurses speak English, lab tests can be processed on site, and prices are half as much or less than those at Hospital Punta Pacifica...meaning they're one-fourth as much as U.S. costs.
#4: Panama offers many options for establishing legal residency.
However, the great numbers of foreigners, especially foreign retirees, migrating to this country over the past several years has resulted in a backlog at the Department of Immigration that can mean months of delays getting your visa processed and approved.
A new visa option, however, created by Executive Decree in 2012, offers a short-cut. This "Friends of Panama" visa, as it's referred to, can be processed in weeks instead of months and can even result in a work permit.
#5: Panama is not the banking haven it once was.
When current President Ricardo Martinelli signed an exchange-of-information tax agreement with the United States in 2010, he ended the country's position as a banking haven. Still, though, Panama, home to more than 80 banks, remains an international banking center.
#6: Panama has used the U.S. dollar as its currency since 1904.
This is an important advantage for American retirees today who don't have to worry about exchange risk.
#7: Panama is known as the "Hub of the Americas" for a reason.
This is an ideal base from which to explore Central and South America. Panama City's Tocumen International Airport is currently being expanded from 34 gates to more than 50 gates, and Panama's airline Copa offers regular flights to every Latin American country and is adding more routes all the time.
#8: Panama City is hot and humid year-round.
However, elsewhere in the country the climate can be very different and much more appealing. On the coast outside the capital, the hot temperatures are tempered by ocean breezes, and in the mountains around Boquete, for example, the climate is cool and crisp year-round... even chilly.
#9: Panama City is bursting with nightlife...
Including five-star restaurants, casinos, night clubs, gentleman's clubs, sports bars, pubs, discos...
However, this is not a place to come for what you might call "high culture." If your favorite thing to do on a Friday evening is to attend the opera or a live theater performance, Panama may not be the place for you.
#10: Panama's program of special benefits for pensionados is the Gold Standard.
As a pensionado, you'll enjoy discounts on most anything and everything you buy.
Bankrate.com's 10 Best States For Retirement 2013
1. Tennessee(01 of10)
Open Image ModalTennessee's cost of living is the second lowest in the country, just behind Oklahoma, according to data collected from the Council for Community and Economic Research. And the Tax Foundation puts Tennessee's state and local tax burden as the third lowest in the nation.Tennessee also ranked among the best in the country for access to medical care, and its weather is warmer than average. (credit:Getty Images)
2. Louisiana(02 of10)
Open Image ModalBesides jazz and beignets, Louisiana offers retirees an excellent combination of low taxes (the Tax Foundation ranks it as the fourth lowest in the nation) and balmy weather. Louisiana has a 30-year average temperature -- that includes both winter lows and summer highs -- of 66.7 degrees. That's higher than every other state except Hawaii and Florida.It also has better-than-average access to medical care and a relatively low cost of living. One major knock on Louisiana, however, is a crime rate that's among the highest in the nation. The FBI says there are 4,244 property and violent crimes per 100,000 people in Louisiana. (credit:Getty Images)
3. South Dakota(03 of10)
Open Image ModalThe Mount Rushmore State may not be on many retirement wish lists, but it should be. What it lacks in warmth, it makes up for in a variety of ways.South Dakota has the lowest crime rate in the nation. The Tax Foundation also says South Dakota residents have an estimated state and local tax burden of 7.6 percent, which is lower than every other state except Alaska. Its temperatures are on the chilly side, with a 30-year average of 46 degrees -- about the same as New York and Colorado. (credit:Shutterstock)
4. Kentucky(04 of10)
Open Image ModalOne of the strongest benefits that Kentucky offers retirees is an extremely low cost of living. The Council for Community and Economic Research, or CCER, which collects data on the relative costs of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and health care in communities across the U.S., found that retirees in Kentucky are paying less than many of their counterparts across the country. Bankrate, which analyzed CCER's data, found that Kentucky boasts the fifth-lowest cost of living in the nation.The Bluegrass State also has warmer-than-average temperatures and a crime rate that's slightly lower than average. (credit:Shutterstock)
5. Mississippi(05 of10)
Open Image ModalThe Magnolia State is not just one of the warmest in the U.S., it also has relatively low state and local taxes and a lower-than-average cost of living.Those factors make Mississippi an accommodating place for retirees, even though its crime rate is a little higher than average. It also has only 178 doctors per 100,000 people -- one of the lowest physician-to-resident ratios in the nation, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (credit:Shutterstock)
6. Virginia(06 of10)
Open Image ModalVirginia isn't just for lovers. It's for seniors looking for an all-around good place to settle down.The Old Dominion is better than average in most categories that Bankrate considered, including cost of living, warmer temperatures and access to physicians. With only 2,446 property and violent crimes per 100,000 people, Virginia has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.Throw all of that in with Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Colonial Williamsburg, the Blue Ridge Parkway and other gems, and you have one of the best states in the U.S. for retirees. (credit:Shutterstock)
7. West Virginia(07 of10)
Open Image ModalRetire in the heart of Appalachian coal country? Absolutely. West Virginia ranks No. 7 on Bankrate's list of great retirement states for three main reasons: It has a lower-than-average cost of living, boasts a lower-than-average crime rate, and residents also have better access to hospital beds than the national average.And then there are the intangibles: The mountain ridges that ripple across the state are home to countless trout streams and hiking trails; its vistas look like something sketched by Thomas Kinkade; and temperatures are right in the middle range for U.S. states. Last year, temperatures in Charleston, West Virginia, ranged between a low of 12 and a high of 103 degrees Fahrenheit, and the 30-year state average is about 52 degrees. (credit:Alamy)
8. Alabama(08 of10)
Open Image ModalHome of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Alabama boasts a trio of benefits that retirees may find alluring. It has some of the lowest local and state taxes in the nation. Its cost of living also is relatively low, especially for a Gulf Coast state. And its temperatures are among the warmest in the U.S.: Its average annual temperature of 63 degrees compares favorably to the national average, which is more than 10 degrees lower.However, Alabama has relatively high crime rates, with 4,026 property and violent crimes per 100,000 people (compared to the national average of 3,253). And access to medical care isn't as good as the national average. (credit:Alamy)
9. Nebraska(09 of10)
Open Image ModalThe Cornhusker State ranks at No. 9 on Bankrate's best list for several reasons.Nebraska residents have excellent access to hospital beds, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, and FBI statistics show that its crime rate is slightly lower than average. Its cost of living also is one of the lowest in the country, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research, which tracks the cost of groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and health care in most major U.S. cities.The state and local tax burden is near the national average at 9.7 percent, according to the Tax Foundation. And its 30-year average temperature is about 49.2 degrees, which is colder than the national average. (credit:Alamy)
10. North Dakota(10 of10)
Open Image ModalYes, it's frigid there. The 30-year average annual temperature in North Dakota is around 41 degrees, making it the coldest state in the continental U.S.If you can handle the cold, North Dakota could be an excellent place to settle down. Consider its access to hospital care. There are five beds available for every 1,000 people in the state, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That's tied for second-best in the country.North Dakota also has the second-lowest crime rate in the nation, and the state and local tax burden, which takes into account income, sales, property and other taxes, is at a relatively mild 8.9 percent of income. (credit:Shutterstock)