3. Panama

Panama was International Living’s top-ranked retirement destination in 2022, and held the No. 2 spot on the list in both 2021 and 2020.

IL correspondent Jessica Ramesch writes it was the cosmopolitan capital of Panama City that won her over with its great nightlife, restaurants and cafés, museums and galleries, theaters, parks, and more.

“I had access to some of the best doctors and hospitals in Latin America, a brand-new metro line, and I started most mornings with a walk along the Bay of Panama,” Ramesch said. “One weekend, on a whim, I went to see an apartment in Coronado Beach. I wasn’t planning on leaving the city, but when I saw the view and the price tag—$157,500 for just over a thousand square feet—I was sold.”

Where else can you find this kind of value, with mild weather and no hurricanes ever? Panama is in the same hemisphere as the U.S. (no major time differences) and just a three-hour flight from Miami. Panama’s main international airport is one of the best in the Americas, with direct flights to key cities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

The country has a well-earned reputation for political and economic stability. It’s maintained friendly relations with the U.S. for decades, and it has used the U.S. dollar for over a hundred years. Best of all, Panama is a welcoming place for foreigners.

This has been an international crossroads since long before the Panama Canal was completed in 1914. Some of its most famous foreign visitors were pirates, but these days you’re more likely to meet retirees or remote workers.

Panama’s Pensionado visa makes it easy to move here if you have a pension of at least $1,000 a month. If you don’t have a pension, but you plan to buy a home here, you can qualify for the Friendly Nations visa with purchase of $200,000 (with or without financing). If you just want to test the waters, stay for up to 18 months via the new temporary telework visa.

“Here, I can afford more of life’s little luxuries,” Ramesch writes. “My monthly expenses are usually less than $2,700. I count nearly every penny I spend, and that includes my mortgage and condo fee.”

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