Moved to Panama from the US and had difficulty finding a job

• Patty Blue Hayes moved from California to Panama to save money before retiring.
• However, after losing her primary source of income last year, she struggled to find remote positions.
• She said side hustles like Airbnb, YouTube and self-publishing have helped her pay the bills.

Patty Blue Hayes, 60, moved from California to Panama to save money as she neared retirement age, but unemployment put a damper on her plans.

Hayes moved from San Luis Obispo, California, to El Valle de Anton, Panama, a city in central Panama, in 2019. Hayes believed that Spanish – the country’s official language – was fairly easy to learn and learn chose the country because it used the US dollar and was “much more affordable” than California. An analysis previously shared by BI from personal finance website GOBankingRates ranked California third on the list of states where it is most expensive to retire.

Hayes also hoped that by staying in Panama she would make more money in retirement.

“I was 55 and knew that my income would no longer be enough as I got older and eventually retired,” Hayes told Business Insider.

Hayes is among Americans who have moved abroad in search of a lower cost of living as they approach or enter retirement. As of: December 2023, approx According to the most recent data available from the Social Security Administration, 650,000 Americans age 65 or older received Social Security benefits abroad. In 2003 there were around 352,000.

When Hayes moved to Panama, she was an independent contractor providing communications and leadership coaching for a professional training company. However, towards the end of 2022, she said her client list began to shrink as her employer scaled back her program and prioritized other forms of coaching. In 2023, after the company’s acquisition, her program was effectively discontinued, she said. Hayes, who has a bachelor’s degree in communications, said she applied for jobs related to writing coaching, customer success, school admissions and tutoring, but didn’t have much success.

“It gets really discouraging when I spend so much time applying and nothing comes out of it,” she said, adding, “The job search was demoralizing.”

Age and demand for remote roles make job hunting difficult

Hayes is also among the people who have struggled to find work over the past year as some companies have scaled back hiring.

She said her only income comes from a guesthouse she rents in Panama through Airbnb, her YouTube channel where she shares content about her life abroad, some of which she has published herself Book sales through Amazon and referral fees tied to leads she gave to a real estate agent.

While that income was helpful, Hayes said it wasn’t enough. She said she has accumulated about $13,000 in credit card debt since mid-2022.

Hayes said she plans to start collecting Social Security when she turns 62, but doesn’t think it will be enough to live on. She hopes not to have to forego her retirement savings until she is 70.

So she continued to look for jobs. She estimates she applied to at least 150 jobs last year through Indeed, ZipRecruiter, LinkedIn and other platforms.

Hayes said her job search was difficult for several reasons. First, she only applies for remote positions that are in high demand. Additionally, she has not applied for a work permit in Panama because she does not speak Spanish fluently and believes it would affect her chances of getting a well-paying job.

Additionally, she said she doesn’t have good network connections and only joined LinkedIn last year. She also has concerns that her age is having a negative impact on her.

Hayes said she plans to continue looking for work in the future, while also spending more time growing her YouTube channel Self-publishing books, which she hopes can be a source of income if her job search isn’t successful. She also hopes to find individual clients for her coaching work. Although she is unsure when she will be able to retire, she is optimistic about her financial situation.

“Overall, I feel very fortunate and confident that the finances will turn around,” she said, adding, “I’ll just be very relieved when the money comes in so I can pay off this credit card.”

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