Expat Life in Panama – IL Interviews Roberto R Hernandez (Ep 15)

This episode provides a glimpse into my expat life in Panama. It’s an interview of me produced for International Living Magazine. I recorded the conversation as a backup for the interviewer, and decided to feature it here for you. It’s not the typical content for this podcast, but it does speak to the journey of two digital nomads (me and my wife).

I hope you enjoy it!

Episode Highlights

IL begins the conversation by asking me to describe my location and surroundings. The discussion continues with:

• Where I come from
• The inspiration for our move to Panama
• I speak about our efforts to develop recurring real estate and investment income
• The big idea to accelerate our journey to retirement by lowering our expenses
• Places we visited before settling on Panama
• Where we started in Panama, and where we’ve ended up
• Checking off a bucket list item
• Reminders of what’s most important to us
• What I/we needed in terms of community
• Transportable careers
• My interest in music
• An idea for an online community and business
• Comparing El Valle de Anton and Coronado
• The process of getting to Panama,
• The things we looked for in a new home abroad and the timing of our move
• Building a network with fellow expats and Panamanian locals
• Our typical day in Panama
• The truth on cost of living in Panama
• The music scene and seasonality of Panama
• About my Unstarving Musician project
• If I knew then what I know now?

Key Takeaways

1. The expat life is an opportunity to work on patience, something that should be viewed as a gift
2. One path to accelerating the road to retirement is to lower ones expenses
3. It matters not where we live, we need community

Mentioned in this Episode

• UnstarvingMusician.com
• Decision Matrix Spreadsheet (sample)
• International Living
• El Valle de Anton
• Boquette Jazz & Blues Festival