My permanent residency application is submitted.

[carpetbagger]

Wish me luck. Wait time for finalization is about a year.

[MLAA]

1. Fingers crossed!

Do you mind my asking under what plan/conditions did you apply? I’m retired so I wouldn’t be able to offer special skills. Wish I’d started the process while I was still working.

[carpetbagger]

2. Family sponsorship.

I recently married a Canadian. My plan before meeting her was retiring to Latin America if I didn't stay at my job until 57/health insurance on my pension.

Even at 55, I could have gotten in with a 3-year commitment to full-time rural work in my field.

[PJMcK]

3. We chose Panama

We found a modest apartment and applied for the Pensionado visas. They’ll be ready by the end of the year. Got our Panamanian drivers licenses.

It’s our bail-out/escape plan!

[carpetbagger]

4. Nice.

I was considering Panama along with Costa Rica and Ecuador. The cons with Panama to me were that the pensionado visa kicks in at 62 and that I've spent the last 25 years in Florida and Texas, so the idea of high-elevation living appealed to me.

Prolly overdid the cooling off thing.

[PJMcK]

5. Our place is on the beach

So we’re at sea level. We’ve driven up into the mountains and it’s quite beautiful. They are about 3500 feet high. We just didn’t like Texas or Florida and decided that we wanted to look outside the US

Good luck with your search!