As a coaching client, you will benefit from what we learned by moving overseas. We will gladly share what we have learned during our coach sessions together. As you will see from our journey, things did not always go smoothly. Because of that, we are more than happy to coach you to stay on the path and guide you to accomplish your goal and live the life you desire. And yes, we are working on a book about our experiences.
Our Journey
Patty and Robert started planning to move abroad soon after we married in 2011. We attended several International Living seminars and spent two weeks exploring Panama. In 2012, Patty was informed that she had breast cancer. Fortunately, it was caught early and treated. We realized that it was time to put a plan into action.
Plan A
Our original plan was to establish residency in a non-tax state, live there for a year, and then move to Panama. Robert worked at an IT consulting firm and traveled to client sites. This made it easier to move. In 2012, we sold our house and moved to Florida with our two dogs.
Once we moved to Florida, we started to enjoy the lifestyle. We had brought a small sailboat with us from Pennsylvania. We realized that it was a bit small for Florida. We purchased a 30-foot sailboat and spent our weekends sailing it from Lake Monroe to a house we rented on Merrit Island.
As we started to get more serious about moving to Panama, we were concerned about our dogs. Our larger dog did not handle travel that well. To make matters worse, we learned that he might have to fly cargo. That would me the two dogs, who had never been separate would have to fly on different planes. As we thought about it, we developed Plan B.
Plan B
Our new plan was to sail to Panama. We would sail through the Caribbean, stopping at islands along the way. We thought that the trip might take a year.
Our first step was to get a larger sailboat. We bought a small used catamaran and started to get it ready for the long trip. We christened her “Savannah Rose” At first, Robert was still working, so preparations were slowed. We started to add equipment to the boat to be self-sustaining such as solar panels, updated electronics, and other safety equipment.
Robert was laid off after a corporate merger moved him to new management, so we began to make more progress.
However, we had a setback. Patty fell in the Marina parking lot soon after we moved aboard full time. There were three street lights burnt out at the marina, so she did not see a step at the end of the sidewalk. She hurt her ankle, reinjured her knee, and injured her shoulder.
At first, the injuries seemed small. However, even after Physical Therapy and Chiropractic treatment, the injuries did not fully heal. Patty developed a frozen shoulder and could barely lift her arm. She went to see an orthopedic specialist who looked at her and told her that in addition to her arm, something was wrong with the way she walked. After X-rays, we learned that her hip was bone on bone. They recommended surgery.
Patty resisted the surgery. The surgeon told her that he did not like to operate on diabetics unless their AIC was less than 6. Patty´s was 6.5. So she decided to work on blood sugar first. We wound up living at the dock for most of a year. Patty had a walker and a wheelchair for longer distances. She developed sciatica and was often in pain. Finally, she had the surgery.
After the surgery, we decided to move forward with the trip to Panama. However, the surgeon did not think it would be safe for her to be on the open sea with a new hip. So, we came up with Plan C.
Plan C
The new plan was for Robert to hire a captain and sail the boat and the dogs to Panama. Patty flew to Pennsylvania to stay with family and then flew to Panama to await Robert and the Boat.
The hired captain and his first mate joined Robert and the dogs. After some more preparation, we left Florida and headed south. If you want to see all the details of the trip, you can read about them in our upcoming book.
The trip, which was expected to take 6-8 weeks wound up taking a total of 9 months. Four months of that were spent on the hard in Guatemala while repairs were completed and we waited for the end of hurricane season. The rest was a series of adventures that will someday be in a book. Some of the highlights included many stops for repairs, a hellish night where we thought we might sink, an international incident while trying to travel with the dogs overland, thousands of dollars in repairs, and even more to pay the hired crew.
Robert left the boat in Guatemala and flew to meet with Patty at the house we were renting. The dogs flew a couple of weeks later with the help of Panama Pet Relocators. The boat finally arrived months later to the East Coast of Panama with a new crew. Patty and Robert picked up the boat and sailed it through the Panama Canal to its new home at Vista Mar marina.
Our journey took much of our savings and we would definitely do things differently if we did it again. But it was an adventure and now allows us to help others avoid some of our mistakes
Our life now
We currently live in the Playa Coronado area in a house we bought in a Panamanian community. Our retirement income includes money from social security and a small pension. Online freelancing and coaching provide the money to allow us to travel and rebuild our savings.