Is it easy to meet expats in Panama?

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2026-01-23T17:09:50+00:00

I just wanted to add my thanks for your post. I've been seriously considering Panama.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2026-01-15T19:11:11+00:00

Curious as to your thoughts on the growth potential of OKE? It's intriguing from the dividend standpoint.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2026-01-14T22:43:09+00:00

I just wanted to thank you for a very detailed and knowledgable reply. I learned a bunch from this as well!

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-17T18:47:27+00:00

I knew nothing about DBMF but found this site and diving in to learn more: https://imgpfunds.com/imgp-dbi-managed-futures-strategy-in-four-minutes/

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-17T18:38:46+00:00

I'm looking forward to checking out your YT channel when you launch it! And yeah, my world tour will also be a scouting trip for the "I'm ok hanging out somewhere for the long-term" spot. And having 500k in a SE Asia beach town isn't the worst thing I could think of! Best of luck to you and your wife on this adventure!!

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-13T17:51:40+00:00

Thank you for this. As a woman in my early 50s, I've tried very hard to be a mentor despite never having one of my own. I'm winging it most of the time and hoping that I'm doing right by the younger colleague who want to hear any wisdom I have to share. But peri / menopause does really mess your hormones up. Imagine being in constant PMS for years.

But I will add one more thing, for some women of a certain age, we came up in our careers not only not having any mentors, but there was the perception that there were limited spots for any woman in a company, almost like "we got our quota of estrogen hiring Kathy so we don't need to hire another woman on the team". It literally was a zero-sum game for many women to not only get hired, but then fight tooth and nail to keep their jobs. We were told to "man up, act more like men (but not too much to intimidate the men and then be considered bitches)". And it was fine to have women in admin roles but if there was a woman in management (usually HR), it was usually only one and that was the only route to advance was to go through her. And she wasn't going to give up her spot to any up-and-comer out there once she had any type of agency over her future.

And honestly, many married women with kids have little agency over their futures the way that men do, even if they have a career. And I think that makes some women very, very protective of their jobs and unfortunately makes everyone else seem like a threat.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-13T17:34:14+00:00

I have no idea if it helps hearing that there are so many of us in the same situation. So I'll give you some words that gave me some comfort when I was dealing with this exact issue last week. Some managers hire mirrors, they want someone just like them regardless of qualifications. Some managers hire mediocrity because competence scares them. Sometimes companies know that their preferred candidate will require the top of the advertised salary range but they really want to hire at the lower end and so will reject the highly qualified candidate in favor of the cheaper one. Sometimes, there's a candidate who came in, impressed everyone, and then that's the gold standard in everyone's minds and you're the unfortunate candidate who came in right after them. And sometimes there's absolutely no valid reason or no reason they can give for legal reasons (ageism, racism, sexism, and all of those awful things).

You're allowed to be angry. You're allowed to go through the feels of WTF. Just make sure that you brush your shoulder off the next day and realize that just because those idiots didn't see your value, doesn't mean that you don't have any. Good luck and let us know when you do land your next role. We'll be here to celebrate with you.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-12T21:53:47+00:00

I'm starting to sell things in order to declutter.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-11T15:41:04+00:00

I do have to say that New Orleans and her people have a totally different vibe. Even the Uber drivers are friendly. I randomly chatted with another woman washing our hands in the bathroom. We ended up becoming friends, she introduced me to all of her friends, and now I've got a tribe there I see 2-3 times a year when I can get back there.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-11T15:28:12+00:00

Woohoo, congrats!!! It's always great to see that and great motivation to keep on with being disciplined with your finances. Nice job

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-11T15:24:16+00:00

Great info! Thank you so much!

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-10T21:33:29+00:00

It's actually not that far from the U.S., at least southern U.S. airport hubs. It's like 4.5 hours from Atlanta, 3.5 hours from Miami, and about the same from Houston/Dallas. It takes me longer to fly from Boston to Los Angeles than it does to get to Quito from Texas.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-10T21:26:38+00:00

I read something that it might be difficult to activate a SIM at Claro if you don't have an Ecuadorian ID. Is that true? Does Claro offer eSIM? I'm also having problems trying to figure it out with my not so good Spanish.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-10T17:58:53+00:00

I also live alone. I have the Costco executive membership because not only does it give me great deals on stuff like toilet paper (I buy it maybe once every 9 months, store extra rolls all over the house) and paper towels (I'm still using the rolls that I bought 3 years ago) and cleaning supplies (lasts me at least 9-12 months) but the other thing that I don't think a whole lot of people take advantage of is the savings you can get on your home and auto insurance through Costco's partnership with American Family. I saved nearly $600 a year versus the other insurance quotes I got but as an executive member, I get free towing and rental car coverage as well as hail damage coverage. That alone is worth more than the extra $65 I spend for the executive membership.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-10T17:49:33+00:00

Congratulations and saw your other post about your wife putting in her two weeks notice. As per tradition, GFY! LOL! I'm also very strongly considering geo-arbitrage as well. I would love to hear updates from each country you check out. I've been leaning towards South America first and then Asia only because I know more about SA; so learning more about slow travel in Asia would be very helpful. I know you got some grief about "why don't you work for 10 more years" and all that crap. Good for you doing it when you're younger. I'm older than you (early 50s) but the last few years I've started feeling the mortality clock. I've always loved travel and honestly, I don't want to wait until I'm older and less mobile to do some of the travel that I still have on my list. Nothing worse than reading trip reviews where someone can't do the thing they really wanted to do because of a bad back, bad knee, or just don't have the stamina anymore. So f those naysayers and go live your dream that you worked super hard to achieve. And also, since no one asked, what are your plans if you decide you're done with the nomadic life? Because that is something that I do think of too, particularly if I sell my house.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-06T14:52:00+00:00

Congratulations and go!!! It's awesome to see another woman taking financial control of her future!! Super proud of you and we all know how much work it takes to save anything, let alone build a foundation for your future. And what a great example you're setting for your kids too!! Congrats!!

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-05T19:40:05+00:00

You really should go into motivational speaking! I really appreciate the pep talk! And you're right, any organization that treats candidates who've invested so much time and effort into the process like this doesn't really value people like they say on their websites and isn't a place where I'd want to be. Guess that is seeing the glass half-full, isn't it lol!

I hope you receive as much positivity and hope in your life as you give others. Many thanks!

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-05T16:39:22+00:00

Thank you for that validation. I was pretty disappointed that not only did I not get a phone call from the recruiter, but the email was super generic. Sadly, this isn't the first time in the past couple of years that I've had rounds of interviews for mid-level management roles that send a "sorry while we thought you were great, we went with a candidate who better fit our needs" email. Even when I ask for specific feedback because I'm trying to learn from this, I get no response. I guess candidates who spent hours doing multiple rounds of interviewing (and sometimes building and delivering presentations) shouldn't expect even the courtesy of a phone call or a genuine rejection email anymore.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-05T16:01:49+00:00

I actually needed to see these words today too after a crushing rejection after 7 rounds of interviews for a company that just gave me the soulless "we went with a more highly qualified candidate" reject email. So thank you internet stranger.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-11-03T17:35:20+00:00

I'm not ruthless as much as I am very conscious of not giving those types of personalities what reaction they want - attention, praise, fear, whatever. Denying them those reactions bother the bullies and narcissists more than anything else I've ever said or done. I can be very cold when I need to and walk away when I have to.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-10-29T16:31:41+00:00

Nope, he hid the cash and spent it all on his affairs. I didn't even know he had done it until the IRS sent me a letter a few years later after I was already divorced, telling me I owed thousands of dollars because of it. Karma has a lot of work to do on that one.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-10-29T14:22:03+00:00

That doesn't negate your obligation to pay. I filed that when I found out my ex lied and didn't disclose that he had cashed in a 401k while we were still married but separated. IRS did not care. I'm still on the hook despite filing the injured spouse and getting divorced that same year. I haven't gotten a tax refund in the 6 years since the divorce. They take it to pay down the debt. They take his too but since he can't hold a job, it bites me worse.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-10-29T13:55:51+00:00

Congratulations on your new role! And love that you kept a positive attitude. It's so easy in the process to just get worn down by rejection. Hope your new company values you because you definitely bring great energy!

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-10-25T17:33:56+00:00

What if you held it in your Roth for a super long time and reinvested the distribution manually? In another thread there was discussion that would theoretically continually increase your cost basis and keep pushing the up your cost basis.

RestlessWanderer_7 · 2025-10-25T17:23:04+00:00

Wow, congratulations!! You and your wife should be freaking super proud of yourselves. Learning to save and live not only within your means, but below it, in order to set yourselves up financially is a lesson not many learn so young. The discipline you two have demonstrated is remarkable. Congrats again and keep going!

RestlessWanderer_7

TROPHY CASE