For many years I have dreamed of moving abroad and seeing what life could be like outside of the United States. Costa Rica had always been on my radar, but, as often seems to be the case, the dream and the reality tend to diverge. I am writing this from a house overlooking the town of Bajo Boquete in the western highlands of Panamá in Chiriquí Province. How Nancy and I got to this point in our journey together is a bit of a story in itself.
I have spent most of my adult life in the glass and glazing business, primarily in commercial construction. A bit of a wanderer, I have lived in New York, Florida, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and now Panamá. My marriage to Nancy is my second and I have two daughters from my first marriage. My daughters are now adults living in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Nancy was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Pennsylvania when she was eleven. She spent her career in graphic design, mostly working for a small town newspaper. This is also the second marriage for Nancy, and she also has two daughters, now adults, living in the Slate Belt region of eastern Pennsylvania. Her daughters have been far busier then mine in at least one regard and we have been blessed with eight grandchildren ranging in ages from sixteen to three months.
Nancy and I met in Allentown, PA in 2001, as both of our first marriages were ending, and we have been together ever since. I have some family connections to the Bahamas, and we got married there in 2004. We have had the normal ups and downs of any marriage; raising kids, owning a couple of homes, working, and living our lives. Through all of these years there was always the dream of moving abroad in the back of my mind, and Nancy caught the bug from me.
In 2018 we had the opportunity to act on our dream. Our children were grown and mostly self sufficient, we were tired of the eastern Pennsylvania winters, the congestion and population growth were out of hand, our jobs seemed less rewarding, and we decided it was time for some new adventures.
This is about the point where our blog begins, and extensive details of our experiences and impressions can be found on those pages.
Currently we have a home in Fort Pierce Florida where we spend part of our time. With daughters and grandchildren and family, we wanted a base in the United States. We also spend a lot of time in Panamá, and we are excited the country is slowly opening up after the Covid outbreak.
We are looking forward to whatever further adventures our lives together hold for us. We see a lot of possibilities and we’re looking forward to sharing new experiences with you all! Thanks for reading our blog, and write us anytime!
Craig & Nancy
