Why Half Our Team Chose Panama
In this article:
Last week, I told you to get a Plan B before you're forced to.
So it's fair to ask ‘...but do The Bitcoin Way team take their own advice?’
The answer is yes.
Almost half of us hold Panama residency - or are in the process of getting it.
So I decided to interview my own colleagues about their experiences in Panama. Over the next two newsletter issues, I'll share what they told me.
This week (part 1): Why they went looking for a second residency, which other countries they considered, and what surprised them when they got there.
Next week (part 2): How does the cost of living compare, what they'd warn you about, and their advice to anyone still on the fence.
Financial sovereignty is only half the picture
At The Bitcoin Way, we don't recommend anything we wouldn't do ourselves.
And naturally, that starts with Bitcoin.
It should go without saying that we all hold our own Bitcoin in self-custody, and run our own nodes.
It's nearly impossible to spend your working day helping people get their Bitcoin off exchanges and not do it yourself.
But as our co-founder Tony, who has been a Panamanian resident for a few years, puts it:
….protecting your money with Bitcoin in self-custody is "only half of the equation". If your Bitcoin is safe but you still live somewhere the rules keep getting worse, you've only solved half the problem.
Your Bitcoin can cross borders without friction.
You can't, unless you've already planned for it.
Almost half our team have a Plan B
I'll be upfront. Our team members are not objective about The Bitcoin Way. We all believe that our service is the best in the business.
But ultimately, any one of us who obtains a second residency still needs to be able to live in the place of our choosing, regardless of the path we took to get there.
That’s why I wanted to ask our team members what THEY thought about Panama.
They are the ones on the ground, experiencing the good, the bad, and everything in between.
We don’t just tell you to sign up for a residency program. We live the realities on the ground - every day.
Free webinar series: You Need a Second Residency
Three live sessions, each with Q&A. Can't make the time? Sign up anyway and you can watch the replay.
- 28 October, 9pm ET: Why YOU Need a Second Residency, with Adam Hudson of Unemployable Media
- 4 November, 12pm ET: When Plan B Becomes Plan A, with Patrick Hiebert of Veritas Villages and Tony Yazbeck of The Bitcoin Way
- 11 November, 12pm ET: How to Get a Second Residency, with Tony and Bert of The Bitcoin Way
The Other Plan B Options They Considered
After experiencing the crisis in Lebanon in 2019, Tony knew he had to get out. He wanted to go somewhere where it wasn’t going to happen again.
For anybody who knows Tony, you will know that he never compromises.
"I tore apart the entire planet for about nine months, really checking off every possible box in the most OCD and paranoid way before finally deciding on Panama."
Bert, from the Netherlands, also did his research in person.
He visited Costa Rica, Paraguay, Switzerland and Portugal, and lived in each of them for a while.
"We checked other countries of course, but the quality of life in Panama is in general higher than others."
Mo, from Norway, also weighed up Switzerland and Portugal.
Another of our team from the UK took his family to Madeira (Portugal) first, but ultimately decided,
“...things didn't go to plan and Europe felt like only a temporary solution that we would eventually have to move on from as well.”
Our team members all had different circumstances and different starting points. But they still arrived at the same conclusion.
What surprised them about Panama
Panama City is modern and well-developed
Almost everyone expected Panama to be a step down from what they were used to. Turns out, it wasn't.
"I come from a certain standard growing up in Norway and the EU, and expected Panama to be below that threshold," Mo wrote, "but I was very amazed by how well developed the infrastructure is."
Tony calls Panama City "the hybrid between New York, Miami, and Vegas."
But if you aren’t a fan of the bright city lights, or it just gets too much sometimes, it doesn't take long to leave it behind.
Tony likes the quieter, cooler places outside the city, "It's quiet, it's you, the wildlife, the greenery and the birds."
In fact, on our last Panama trip, clients got to take a look around Veritas Village, located in a quiet, green, mountainous area about 1.5 hours drive from the city.
Veritas Villages is a freedom-focused residential community with two locations in Panama (Coronado and Chiriquí).
The idea is to live among like-minded neighbours, grow your own food and generate your own power, and use Bitcoin for day-to-day transactions.
Being in Panama is like ‘an exhale’
The bigger surprise was the general environment - how it feels to be there.
Anna, from the US, visits Panama three or four times a year and plans to move there full-time in the near future.
"Visiting Panama feels like an exhale. I can go about my business without the feeling of Big Brother watching my every move."
Tony said almost exactly the same thing: "You don't feel like someone's always watching over you, treating you like a crook."
He describes a live-and-let-live attitude. Follow the rules and people leave you alone.
Panama is very international
Anna isn't usually a city person, but Panama City won her over. "There's so much to do, but I still have my local spots that I frequent and recognize the people there and know them by name. It's very special and it's so easy to meet people."
So a big part of whether a country wins your heart is about who you meet. "There's so many people from all over the globe over there," Bert said. "It's definitely an international place."
Panama has world-class food and dining establishments
Our UK colleague didn't expect great food. What surprised him most was "the quality of the restaurants and food in general", and he's become a fan of the rooftop bars in Panama City - a perfect place for a balmy tropical sundowner.
Amra, who lived in Norway for 32 years and now lives in Panama full-time, was just as surprised: "Modern buildings with top amenities. And FOOD!!!!!"
The rooftop bars are Amra's favourite too: "Always full of people, salsa music and amazing views. But my absolute favourite place is a jazz club called Les Mecs."
In next week’s newsletter…
I have so much great information about Panama shared by the TBW team members, that I had to split the newsletter in two parts. So next week I will cover:
- What does it actually cost to live in Panama?
- What would our team warn you about before you go?
- And what would they say to someone who keeps putting the decision off?
In the meantime, make sure to save your seat for our free webinar series, You Need a Second Residency, starting on 28 October.
IMPORTANT NOTE: After this newsletter was written, we were saddened to learn that on Friday October 9th, a rare but powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Panama. All our TBW team members located in Panama are safe and well. No deaths, serious injuries or major damage has been reported in the wake of the earthquake, which is a testament to the structural engineering and high building quality in the country.
Hi, I’m Katie and I write this newsletter. If you found anything in this newsletter helpful, you have some feedback, or you have a suggestion for something you’d like me to write about, just hit reply and let me know! I read all your emails.