Panama vs Thailand (Which is Better?)

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Panama is also on path to join Mercosur

Couldn’t have said it better myself. I did the pensionado visa process for my family of 3 in Panama and we lived there for a year and half. We got very tired of how expensive it was and how we had to import anything we needed from the USA because shopping options are much more limited in Panama.

We left to travel south east Asia last August and can definitely say, as a whole, that this is the place to be. Much more affordable cost of living. Loads of shopping options. Amazing food. Better services. Impeccable health care options.

My 4 year old daughter broke her arm in Vietnam and we went to a public hospital and had a great, and very affordable experience. We did the follow ups at two different private hospitals in different cities because we were travelling the country. Still both visits were very affordable and state of the art facilities. We couldn’t have been more impressed.

My wife also visited Prince Court Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur and it was state of the art as well.

We only wish there were more visa options to live here long term. As I am retired young from military service with full pension due to medical release and injuries in line of duty, none of the Asian countries recognize me as retired because I am 34 and they have an age requirement of 45-50 for retired consideration.

The original Panama Friendly Nations Visa still exists for Italian passport holders due to Italy being grandfathered in. For those with a path to Italian Citizenship through descent, Panama is about the best plan B visa option out there in terms of value and bang for the buck. I went to Thailand for a few weeks at the end of last year and came away feeling like it was way more expensive than the hype led me to believe, especially for the train system in Bangkok. I'm curious why you wouldn't have chosen Malaysia or the Philippines instead of Thailand for this comparison. Both have better overall tax treatment for foreigners than Thailand. And in the case of the Philippines, they have one of the best visa programs in the world, especially if you are former military from a list of friendly nations. Malaysia has the added benefit of allowing foreigners to purchase land, unlike almost all of SE Asia.

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Thanks for the super informative video.

Great topic. Livability is the secret sauce that makes or breaks international relocation.

Thailand
Not even close

The fact that barely anyone if anybody at all stayed in Panama longer than 5 years says something big

Thailand wants you to spend your $$$ and then go away unless you are rich.............Panama is happy if you stay longer term. But people vote with their feet.........

Panama is boring as hell.
Now try to compare Panama with Cyprus, please.

Philippines or UAE?

Thailand's new DTV visa has Elite visa holders complaining that they've overpayed for the same thing. Something worth looking into.

Great video! I would love more case studies of how someone could get the Thai Elite and still not be liable for Thai taxes.

I am from Canada. Would a Wealthy Pensioner with an LTR visa be exempted from paying tax on foreign sourced passive income ( pensions, annuities, etc ) in Thailand? Thank you for your kind advice.

I spent several months bouncing around the world as a digital nomad, where I was in Panama twice. I wanted to like Panama, but I just couldn't enjoy it. The weather was oppressively hot and the vibe was uncomfortable. I like that the USD was the currency and the airport has great connections both to Panama City & the world, but that was about all that Panama had going for it.
I chose Uruguay instead. Latin culture with a time zone that is a good fit for both North America and Western Europe. The country is a lot better organized, safer, and cleaner than a lot of the neighbours. The weather is much better than Canada (not that much of bar to pass, I know) or Panama. The difficulty is you won't survive here without speaking Spanish; hardly any tourism services available in English here. Much freer than North American countries – if you want to buy a Chinese electric car, you may. If you want to buy a french diesel car, you may. Nobody is interfering in your options.

Ocean at Panama City is fully contaminated.

Panama’s culture is more African than Latin and so is the ethnicity.

Having been in both places ...Thailand is more interesting ..... simple.

I would prefer somewhere far away from Russia, China or the middle east to retire. South East Asia is good when the world has its peace

Thailand will tax people on their worldwide income within a few years. This is a problem.

We lived in Panama 5 years and had residency. At the 5 year point we could not take the stupid any longer. Good place to visit for a few weeks, but do not live there to maintain your sanity.

There is no comparison with Thailand and any South American City, if you want to say in North America your better off being in Mexico at some of the great resort towns.