{"id":9488,"date":"2014-01-22T13:40:26","date_gmt":"2014-01-22T18:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=9488"},"modified":"2014-01-22T13:44:59","modified_gmt":"2014-01-22T18:44:59","slug":"panama-overtakes-costa-rica-as-retirement-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/panama-overtakes-costa-rica-as-retirement-destination\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama Overtakes Costa Rica as Retirement Destination"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I knew this in 2006 when I started my adventure to Panama and I was told by people familiar with Costa Rica and Nicaragua that Panama was the place to go and it would over take Costa Rica in the future.<\/p>\n

Written by Jaime Lopez in the Costa Rica Star<\/p>\n

As the cost of living in Costa Rica continues its steady and relentless climb, the real estate market is responding in sync. In 2012, the Inter-American Development Bank labeled San Jose as the city with the most expensive real estate in Latin America, and luxury housing construction in Guanacaste shows no signs of slowing down. As a result, Panama real estate is beginning to attract many North American and European expats who are being financially squeezed out in Costa Rica.<\/p>\n

Since the early days of the 21st<\/sup> century, jaded and disillusioned expats have been looking for the seemingly elusive \u201cnext Costa Rica.\u201d To this effect, Nicaragua is often mentioned as being an incredibly cheap alternative for those who don\u2019t mind political instability and uncertainty when it comes to holding legal title to property. Over the last few years, Panama has solidly emerged as the clear contender for the \u201cnext Costa Rica\u201d title, particularly with regard to real estate.<\/p>\n

Panama has a long history of welcoming foreigners looking for an inexpensive and tranquil retirement. For citizens of Group One nations (mostly European and North American countries), getting a tourist or retiree visa in Panama is a cinch. Retirees also enjoy certain tax breaks on income, properties and vehicles. International Living, a respected magazine that reports on matters pertaining to retiring abroad, puts Panama at the top<\/span> of their 2014 list of retirement destinations for the following reasons:<\/p>\n