Shocking Revelations On Real Life In Panama—

Dear Live And Invest Overseas Reader,

My name is Kathleen Peddicord.

I’ve just published a new tell-all book that reveals the truth about Panama…

This is a look behind the curtain at real expat life here…

Showcasing the extraordinary natural beauty of this land, its secret worlds, and its remarkable people against the shocking, sometimes unsettling realities of living here.

This is a book that only I could write…

My team would like to send it to you FREE.

In 1998 I moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to Waterford, Ireland.

Seven years later, my husband Lief Simon and I relocated ourselves, our family, and our business to Paris.

Then, in 2008, we made a decision that led to the most dramatic and challenging events of our lives.

We moved to Panama.

Why did we depart the City of Light for the Hub of the Americas?

It was Lief’s idea.

Lief’s investment focus has always been real estate. It’s the greatest store of value and the surest path to true wealth.

Beachfront is the most marketable, so, 15 years ago, Lief set out to find a piece of coastal property in a path of progress.

He was shopping for the play that would set us up for life.

Lief knew that France was no place for the investment he had in mind. This was an idea best suited to a New World market.

I had been spending time and doing business in Latin America for two decades. I’d established offices for International Living in a half-dozen countries across the region. I knew the territory.

For Lief’s all-in plan, we considered Nicaragua, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay…

We landed on Panama.

It stacks up as an investment market better than any other either of us has known.

The Canal makes Panama the ultimate safe haven. The critical global trade route generates nearly four billion dollars a year. That’s a lot of per-capita cashflow in a country of four million people.

Panama’s economy cycles up and down like any other, but its dips are less severe and shorter lived than most, certainly than any other country in the region.

Plus, this country rolls out the welcome mat for foreign investors, big and small.

It was the right choice for a legacy-level property play.

Based on the unparalleled experiences I’ve had living, investing, and doing business in this country in the decade-and-a-half since, I can tell you with 100% confidence that it still is.

But I’m getting ahead of my story…

Launching a property development in Panama meant finding property in Panama.

Lief set off on a series of scouting trips that continued for more than two years.

We were living in Paris. I still remember the day Lief returned home after another of his expeditions to report that he’d finally found “it.”

“This piece of land is everything I’ve been hoping for,” he burst out as he came through the front door of our apartment that afternoon. He was too excited even to set down his suitcase.

“It’s mountainous so there are ocean views from nearly every spot on the entire property.

“Plus,” he continued, detailing the piece of earth that we’d tie our lives to, “there are two beaches. One stretches on for nine kilometers. The ocean there is strong, great for surfing.

“The other beach is smaller and protected,” he told me, “ideal for swimming.

“Between the two is an elevated point of land with rocky cliffs all around. The views are spectacular.

“Just offshore are three little islands,” Lief explained. “The ranch is named for them. ‘Los Islotes.’ You’ve got to see it to believe how beautiful it is. How perfect it is.”

I don’t need an idea to be fully thought through to be on board. Lief’s enthusiasm was contagious. Ready, fire, aim. I was in.

From the start, Lief had focused his search on the western side of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula.

The country’s Pacific coast is one of Panama’s greatest assets. Everyone who can afford a house at the beach has one. Beachfront nearer to Panama City had already been aggressively developed by the time Lief went shopping…

Following Panama’s Pacific coast, you come next to the eastern shore of the Azuero Peninsula. Lief and I knew it well. We’d been promoting it to our readers for years. It was firmly in the crosshairs of international investment groups.

The peninsula’s western coast, in Panama’s Veraguas Province, was a final frontier. Prices were one-third as much for land that is arrestingly more dazzling.

Plus the sunsets along this coast are the best in the country.

Pulling the trigger on the purchase of the finca known as Los Islotes was a bold move. We didn’t realize it at the time, but the decision set us on a course that brought us face to face with the real Panama… the good, the bad, and the sometimes very ugly.

Now don’t get me wrong. We don’t regret our Los Islotes decision… or any other investment we’ve made in Panama.

Lief and I have bought real estate in 24 countries over the past two-and-a-half decades. We’ve amassed a multi-million-dollar portfolio.

We know how to make money this way… and we’re more invested in Panama than anywhere else.

That’s intentional.

I’ve built a career scouting the globe to identify the most appealing and profitable places for people to spend time and money.

I’ve shared my discoveries from the platforms of International Living and now Live And Invest Overseas.

My first recommendation was Costa Rica, in the mid-1980s, followed by Belize, Nicaragua, then Honduras.

In 1996 I sent my property scout Bob Fordi to Panama City.

“This place is shaping up to become the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetimes,” Bob reported. “And right now it’s a screaming bargain.”

I visited Panama for the first time later that year.

Over the decades to follow, I put this country on the map for global retirees and investors.

I started by covering the sale of former U.S. miliary housing.

After the turnover of the Canal, Panama owned this inventory. They put officers’ homes in Clayton and Albook on the market for $20,000.

Today these properties sell for a million dollars and more.

After Lief joined the conversation (we met and married just as we both were repositioning to Ireland), he and I targeted Avenida Balboa in Panama City. Lief worked with Panama’s premier developer Empresas Bern to conceive then build and market this country’s first turn-key property offer for American retirees. It was smack dab in the center of the city on the Bay of Panama with views of the Panama Canal.

We bought one of these units ourselves. It has earned us rental yields of as much as 20% per year… is worth twice what we paid for it… and today serves as our home base as we come and go from Panama City.

Next we directed readers’ attention to Coronado and the City Beaches. These are the ones nearest to Panama City. Homes and condos we recommended along this coast two decades ago are worth multiples more now.

As the Panama market evolved, so did our recommendations. From the coast outside the city, we turned our (and our readers’) attention to Panama Pacifico then Costa del Este. These two master-planned zones have been very good to investors who got in early.

Many, many of our readers were among them.

A dozen years into our love affair with Panama, we turned our sights to the country’s highlands.

Down at sea level, Panama is steamy. Up in the mountains, temperatures are cooler, humidity levels lower. The climate is the big selling point, but Panama’s hill towns also offer a sweet, simple, satisfying lifestyle that can come with an irresistibly tiny price tag.

I toured Boquete, a jewel among Panama’s mountain villages, with U.S. developer Sam Taliaferro in 2000.

Sam showed me the valley he planned to purchase to create the world’s first intentional expat retiree community.

I reported on Valle Escondido in real time and named Boquete the world’s best place to retire overseas in 2001.

The AARP claimed the same of this flower-covered valley of eternal spring in 2010.

Next, Lief and I targeted the east coast of the Azuero Peninsula. Again, we brought our readers with us.

We told readers in the market for a comfortable, affordable retirement and investors shopping for an undervalued beach property play to look at Pedasi, Las Tablas, then Chitre.

We predicted each of these markets was set to boom…

And we were right.

Each one has.

Then we brought all that experience to bear when, in 2008, we headed over to the other side of the Azuero Peninsula, this country’s Veraguas coast.

“We have identified the next big thing in Panama,” we told readers.

It was the biggest recommendation of our careers, and we backed it up.

With the purchase of Los Islotes, we were all in on the Hub of the Americas.

We thought we knew what we were getting into.

By the time we found Los Islotes, we were already well invested in this country.

We’d made our Bayfront buy…

We’d purchased a 200-year-old French-colonial building in Panama City’s old town Casco Viejo that we’d renovated into apartments and commercial space… that later sold for a double.

We’d invested in a teak plantation…

And we’d bought riverfront for land banking.

Something else happened just about the time that we decided to purchase the finca known as Los Islotes.

I quit my job.

I’d been working for a publishing company called Agora since graduating college. I’d made my way up the ladder from editor to division head then partner. It was that role that’d taken me to Ireland.

When I decided to break with Agora, I thought I was opting for early retirement. We were in Paris. Where better to do nothing?

I found that idleness doesn’t suit me, not even in the City of Light. I need to work.

I didn’t want another job. It was time for a big new challenge.

That was the birth of Live And Invest Overseas.

Like Lief’s property play, my next-stage plan wasn’t compatible with Paris. The French don’t like entrepreneurs.

Lief and I could have gone anywhere and done anything at this point in our lives. Lief had chosen Panama for his legacy undertaking… now I chose it, too, as the base for my internet publishing biz. The country rolls out the red carpet for the business minded.

We were on our way to the Hub of the Americas with two business plans and an 8-year-old son.

What could go wrong?

We’d been spending time and money in Panama and reporting on opportunities for our readers to do the same for more than a decade when we decided to make the country our home.

Based on a whole lot of boots-on-the-ground experience, we’d been lauding Panama as the world’s best place to retire overseas.

Indeed, we’d named it an irresistible choice for reinventing and relaunching a new life at any age. Its top-notch international schools had tipped the scales for Lief and me. Our son Jackson would be able to continue his education at Paul Gauguin, Panama City’s French school.

We’d researched and reported on new tax incentives and a seriously pro-investor government… plus the world’s best approach to corporate taxation.

Panama, we’d long been telling readers, was the #1 pick worldwide for starting a business.

That’s why we intended to move there and start two!

The country was also the most proven property investment market in the world… with a track record for recovering quickly from downturns thanks to its secret weapon aka the Panama Canal.

Plus, Panama hides, we alerted readers, the best options on the planet for investing for cash flow. Its rental market is extraordinarily diversified, meaning you’ll always find a renter.

We’d been spotlighting Panama as the world's top retirement, offshore, investment, and doing business haven for years.

But, the truth is, we had no idea what we were talking about…

Because research is no substitute for experience.

Everyone knows that, right?

Sure… but then we moved to Panama… and we ran face first into the stone wall of the reality beneath the aphorism.

Our long experience had taught us that bribery, skimming, profiteering, and old boys’ networks are facts of doing business in the developing world.

But Lief and I weren’t prepared for what we encountered in the isthmus.

Again, please don’t misunderstand.

Our experiences living and doing business in Panama have been a roller coaster.

We’ve been brought to our knees by grifters and politicians, inefficiencies and red tape.

But I wouldn’t trade a day of it.

Lief and I are married to Panama. We’re fully acquainted with her flaws… and we love her anyway.

Considered from an investment perspective, our experiences in Panama have been a home run. Our Panama portfolio has returned us doubles and triples while earning us double-digit cash flow.

Today, in addition to our Avenida Balboa digs, it includes commercial and residential rentals, farmland, forestry… lake-view, riverfront…

It’s all appreciating in value in real time right now.

And we are actively shopping for more.

The challenges we’ve persevered to build what we’ve built in Panama make us uniquely qualified to help you appreciate what this remarkable little country has to offer.

Would Panama be the ideal place for you to reinvent your life?

Where specifically should you invest today for maximum upside and yield?

I’m not overstating things when I say that nobody is better equipped to help you answer those questions than I am!

As I’ve said, I don’t regret any of our experiences in Panama.

Au contraire. Lief and I owe Panama an enormous debt of gratitude. This country has super-charged both our lives and our investment portfolios.

Panama has gifted us adventure… profits… and a brighter future even than we hoped for.

We’ve raised our family here… built two successful businesses here… and set ourselves up for a rewarding next chapter filled with further upside.

Panama really is the best place in the world right now to retire overseas…

It is also the best place to start a business, to live tax-free, and to invest for immediate cash flow and long-term upside.

This is a powerhouse of a country with an ambitious agenda. Panama continues to roll out the red carpet—for foreign retirees, for foreign investors, for global entrepreneurs—making it the most appealing place on earth today to think about spending your time and your money.

However, looking back, I see how we could have navigated situations differently to get us where we were going quicker, cheaper, and with way less hassle… if we’d known better.

Now we do know better.

And I want to share all our hard-won wisdom with you.

No question, you should be looking at Panama right now.

No matter why you’re shopping the globe for opportunity—whether your objective is reinventing your life or making money… whether you’re ready for retirement or nowhere near… whether you’re considering a move on your own, with a partner, or with a young family—Panama should be at the top of your list.

We call it the World’s #1 Do Everything Haven.

And that’s not marketing hype. Again, nobody knows Panama like I know Panama… and I’m not blowing smoke.

This little country is an extraordinarily beautiful land of bounty.

That’s why a year ago I sat down to write this book…

I wanted you to be able to benefit from all that Panama serves up… but I didn’t want you to struggle the way that Lief and I have.

I want your Panama adventures to be smoother sailing.

Now, at last, 12 months later, the book is complete.

This is my real-deal story… filled with behind-the-scenes and behind-the-curtain reveals I’ve never shared before…

Because to get the best out of Panama—to determine which opportunities might be right for you—you need to know the full story...

You need to understand all the facts, straight and complete and current.

You need to see Panama for what she really is. You need to open your eyes to the truth about living, investing, banking, and doing business here.

Only then can you set yourself up for success.

I’ve called my new book “At Home At Los Islotes—Finding Our Way On This Veraguas Coast.”

It’s the full Monty… from my first visit to the country in 1996 to our purchase of Los Islotes and our move to Panama City in 2008…

Then it reveals the real details of the challenges we’ve faced in the 15 years since.

No one else tells you these truths.

Why?

Some don’t want you to know them. They’re afraid that admitting that life in Panama isn’t always sunshine and rainbows might put you off moving or investing here…

What real estate agent would risk losing a sale that way?

Others don’t tell you the hard facts because they can’t. They aren’t aware of them themselves.

Editors and travel writers researching and reporting on living and investing in Panama can mean well. But, like Lief and me before we set down roots and dug in to build two businesses, they have no idea what they’re talking about.

To take advantage of what's on offer in Panama today, you need reliable help that you can trust. You need not information... at least not only information.

More than information, you need judgment… based on firsthand experience.

That’s why I’m sharing mine now…

I’ve arranged to make it possible for you to obtain a copy of “At Home At Los Islotes—Finding Our Way On This Veraguas Coast.”

Better yet, I’ve asked my marketing team to make a limited number of copies of this new tell-all book available with my compliments…

We’re even going to send it to your door, free of any shipping and handling charges. All I ask is that you check out my Panama Letter service.

This is an actual book… the kind you can hold in your hands and stack on your shelf.

And, again, my team is prepared to send you one of the first copies, hot off the presses, with my compliments…

My living and investing experiences in Panama are unparalleled.

But I’ve learned enough in my decades of experience in this business to know that I’ll never know everything about navigating any spot in this big beautiful world of ours… including Panama.

That’s why I’ve worked over the past two-and-a-half decades to build a network of support in this country.

My on-the-ground team includes attorneys, bankers, architects, builders, tax agents, doctors, insurance specialists, shipping agents, and many fellow expats and entrepreneurs…

Everyone you’d need to make a new life or a profitable investment in this country yourself with success.

Now, to help you pursue your own dreams in Panama, I'd like to share not only my experience but also that of my most trusted friends and advisors with you.

That’s the objective of my Panama Letter.

Panama Letter is a monthly e-zine—in its 12th year of publication—that allows me to put the collective wisdom of my entire Panama-based Live And Invest Overseas team at your fingertips.

This is how we keep you up to speed, in real time, about opportunities on offer across this isthmus.

These are opportunities that would be impossible to uncover, to vet, or to act on your own.

My Panama Letter doesn't deal in theory or rhetoric. It isn't produced by researchers or editors sitting in some far-off office who may have visited Panama once or twice or who maybe come and go now and then.

My Panama Letter is packed with information from expats living in this country full time as well as from my personal team of in-country advisors and professionals, including the attorneys, real estate agents, offshore experts, and tax consultants I trust personally.

You can be assured that everything you read in Panama Letter is current, accurate, real, and based on firsthand experience.

More important, it's delivered by people with real judgment... judgment born, again, of real-world experience.

My team behind Panama Letter includes expats who, like me, love their adopted homeland but who aren't afraid to admit its pitfalls, downsides, and really, really frustrating, ridiculous, enigmatic, even maddening quirks...

Experts whose mission it is to give the full story.

As a Panama Letter subscriber, you'll receive our full reports on the top options for living, retiring, investing, and doing business across the isthmus.

From new property developments to legislative changes affecting foreign residency visa options... from updates on tax law and further surprises from the government to the annual flower and coffee festivals and the latest productions in the Teatro National our Panama Letter team will make sure you're in touch with Panama in real time…

My Panama Letter team understands what it takes to build a rich and rewarding life in this country, and they're all committed to vetting every destination they consider for coverage accordingly.

In addition to details to do with the cost of living and of buying real estate, you also need to know all about things like good medical facilities, leisure and entertainment opportunities, safety issues, who your neighbors would be, and on and on…

Every month, in the virtual pages of my Panama Letter, you'll discover...

In-depth, insider coverage of top expat lifestyle options... detailing the pluses and the minuses of each destination featured...

Full cost-of-living analysis for every featured destination, including detailed budgets...

Interviews with expats living and doing business across the country...

Current top recommended real estate options, for both purchase and rental...

Business opportunities... and guidelines for how to start one here in one of the most entrepreneur-friendly places on earth…

Top banking options... and which banks to avoid…

Updates on Panama's status as an offshore haven... and insider tips on how to pay as little tax as possible as a resident or an investor in this country…

Details on upcoming events of interest to expats and hotel and restaurant reviews…

Shopping tips to help you find what you’re looking for at the best possible prices… from furniture and appliances to bedding, office supplies, a new car, or a red bikini…

The secret to finding good, reliable help… from contractors and plumbers to mechanics, drivers, gardeners, and a maid…

Where to go when you need medical care… all the country’s top options considered and compared...

Opportunities for settling in, making friends, volunteering, and becoming part of the community...

Everything you need to know to bring your pet to Panama with you… 

How to get your Panama driver’s license…

How to pay your property taxes…

How to open a bank account…

How to pay your utility bills…

How to shop for car insurance…

Who not to trust for health insurance…

Where not to buy a car…

Hacks for staying in touch with friends and family back home…

The secret to reliable internet…

Plus: photos, maps, videos, and much, much more…

“At Home At Los Islotes—Finding Our Way On This Veraguas Coast” (a $17 value)—This is the never-before-told and sometimes shocking story of my personal adventures in Panama over the past 25 years… you’ll receive a first-run copy hot off the presses…

Panama 101: 101 Things You'll Wish Someone Had Told You About Panama (a $9.99 value)—This is the guide I'd love to have had when I first came to Panama some 25 years ago. It would certainly have saved me embarrassment, hassle, delay, and headaches... not to mention a whole lot of cash. In these pages, you'll learn vital lessons, including the absolute maximum you should ever pay for a taxi ride across Panama City... what not to wear if you want to be taken seriously by your new compatriots... where to go to shop for books in English... a guide to festivals and seasons... and helpful Panamanian-isms...

Panama Residency Visas 101, containing fully up-to-date information on all 14 of this country's top foreign residency options (a $9.99 value)—This is your step-by-step guide with answers to all your residency- and visa-related questions...

The #1 Property Market In Latin America (a $9.99 value)— Panama is one of the easiest and most advantageous places in the world to establish residency. This in-depth report will explain how all of that translates into diversification opportunities for you.

Special Focus Report on Azuero (a $14.95 value)— This region is the cradle of Panamanian folklore… the lifeline to customs, traditions, festivals, and agriculture. Located in the Arco Seco (the dry arch), the peninsula’s environment is drier than the rest of the country. It’s this year-round warm, dry climate that attracts many expats...

Special Focus Report on Los Islotes—Sunsets, Surfing, And Serenity (a $14.95 value)— The east coast of Azuero is popular among locals and expats… but on the western side of the Peninsula, you’ll find Los Islotes. A hidden gem where nature, privacy, and luxury all connect…

That's 6 publications in total with a total value of $76.87. 

Panama Letter's retail price is $120 for a year of service.

However, during this limited-time invitation all of these resources, including a copy of my new book, are yours free. All we ask is that you cover the $4.95 cost of shipping and handling for the book.

That's less than the cost of the special free reports listed above if you were to purchase them on their own... 

As soon as you’ve completed your order, we’ll send you immediate access to your special bonus reports… and we’ll welcome you on board as an honorary Panama Letter reader for 30 days.

If you like this monthly service, I hope you’ll decide to stick with us.

My Panama Letter is your real-life, real-time, real-deal guide to the real Panama. For your convenience, after this 30-day trial, we’ll bill your card a fully-refundable, 1-year subscription fee of just $120 $69 (that's almost 50% off the regular price, only during this special offer).

If you don’t wish to continue, no problem. Just let us know anytime within your 30-day trial period and your card will not be charged.

Either way, you’re fully protected by my 100% Satisfaction, Money Back Guarantee.

You can take the next month to see whether Panama Letter helps you plan for a richer, more prosperous future.  No matter what you decide, my book, along with your two bonus reports, are yours to keep forever.

Sincerely,

P.S. The most important thing I’ve learned, in all my experiences traveling, living, and doing business all over the world, including here in Panama, is that you can’t do it alone…

At least, not if you want to avoid making costly mistakes.

In Panama, you really can live better, retire well, start over, reinvent yourself, and take control of your financial future.

But I wouldn’t suggest trying to accomplish those things all on your own.
Speaking from decades of living and investing overseas experience, I can tell you that this is all far, far easier and your chances of success much, much greater if you have a little help along the way…

Panama Letter is exactly the help you need. I hope you’ll join us.

Panama Letter is the most complete and current resource to living, investing, retiring, and doing business in Panama available anywhere.

I guarantee it.

If you are disappointed in any way with the information, insights, recommendations, and discoveries shared in Panama Letter, simply say so. If you do, we’ll promptly reimburse you for any issues remaining in your subscription. No questions asked.

The printed copy of “At Home At Los Islotes—Finding Our Way On This Veraguas Coast,” along with all 6 Special Reports, are yours to keep, no matter what you decide…