Back when our family lived full-time in Seattle, I found that my days, weeks, and months were consumed with work, errands, and the basic maintenance of a life with children.
I never had a moment free from a sense of “rushing from one thing to another”.
I know people who seem unfazed by this “reality” of life.
I guess they have a higher threshold for stress than I do. Or, perhaps, they are just better at “faking it”.
Whatever the case, I was suffering from a lack of time to just “be”.
Our family’s decision to move to Panama was one of taking a chance, and of giving up many of the great cultural and social benefits of living in a bustling, artistic, cultural center like Seattle.
In exchange, we got a slower-paced lifestyle in the small Central American town of Puerto Armuelles. It was a huge trade-off for us.
What we have found in our over 8 years of living in Puerto is that, while we had much more access to events, institutions, and community that inspired us in Seattle, we have much more of the most basic element of a happy, creative life here in Puerto Armuelles.
That is TIME.
TIME. Free, abundant, time.
Time in which to think, to read, to draw, to go for a walk on the beach, to stop in the midst of our morning routine to listen to the sounds of the parrots, the howler monkeys, or to the horses that go clopping by our house.
This is pretty basic stuff, really.
And it is oh so essential to one’s sense of well-being.
It is amazing how much peace one can find, simply by removing the unceasing pressure to keep moving, and doing, from every minute of every day.
When one can just breathe, and “be”, one is able to connect with the moment.
With this gift of time, I have discovered that my mind doesn’t go racing ahead to the next moment, as if driven by a tyrant. I can stay in one place, and be peaceful.
Since we started our 8-year adventure in Puerto Armuelles, our older daughter has become a teenager. She is very happy living in Panama. She considers it her home.
As her parents though, we half-reluctantly realized it is time for her to explore the more tangible advantages that life in Seattle has to offer. Puerto is a wonderful place to be, but it is a small town. It does not provide the wide array of learning opportunities and experiences of a city in the States.
Knowing our daughter, we felt she would be glad she had those opportunities as she grew older and made her own way in the world. Therefore, we decided to spend part of each year in Seattle, and part of each year in Puerto Armuelles.
We have been engaged in this experiment for about a year now.
I am happy to report that everything is going really well so far.
At first our older daughter, Skylar, was very homesick for Panama. Now she embraces living in both places. Our younger daughter, Blaise, is 9 years old. She is not as enthusiastic about living in both places. She would still prefer to be living full-time in Puerto Armuelles. She does enjoy Seattle, but she misses our more laid back life in Puerto Armuelles.
Skylar, now 14, participates in a variety of home school type programs in Seattle. She studies writing with a favorite teacher at one school. She takes an amazing and renown college-prep science class taught by a ex-college professor at another location. She helps in the costuming department of a local theater company and studies ballet and modern dance at the home of a ex-professional ballerina. She took sailing over the summer and wants to sail more. She is also on a soccer team and is taking guitar. It is a full schedule. And she has more things she still wants to explore.
Many of her classes are within walking, or biking distance of our home. However, we definitely spend more time in the car in Seattle than we do in Puerto Armuelles. And the traffic in Seattle is getting increasingly bad.
After one year, we feel more inspired in BOTH PLACES.
By getting to spend 6 months in Panama, we are not affected as much by the traffic congestion in Seattle, or by the long stretches of grey days.
Spending half the year swimming in the warm Pacific Ocean, makes it much more bearable to be surrounded by all those lakes and Puget Sound in Seattle that are all too frigid to bathe in.
Not being quite so amped up by a year-long stint in Seattle, we feel that we have more time to explore all that Seattle has to offer, and to enjoy it. We go to the ballet, we see musical performances, we visit art galleries.
In the same way, after all the business of Seattle, we luxuriate in all the time we have in Panama.
Time to explore life on our own timeline. Time to enjoy the abundant nature and wildlife all around our house.
We find it is only by having open ended time that you can really discover and explore your interests and what you want out of life. Too much business kills creativity.
I think this article could apply to other parents of young children who have considered taking a “time out” of their lives in North America.
But for those with grown children, the notion that Panama isn’t necessarily an “all or nothing” proposition might be appealing too
We meet many retirees who enjoy going back and forth between their northern homes, and a smaller, much less expensive home and lifestyle in Panama.
In fact, we know several northerners, particularly Canadians, who enjoy seeing family up north during the warm summer months, and then they head down to Puerto Armuelles to relax and stay warm during the cold season up north. A cold season which corresponds perfectly with the warmest, driest part of the year in Panama.
They say that they are re-invigorated by the change, so that they feel fresher in both places. When they catch up with old friends up north, or their new friends in Puerto, they have some new stories to share.
Living in both places is more expensive. Not only do you have to cover airfare, but life is much more expensive in North America and Europe. So that is something to consider before embracing life as a part-time expat.
For folks on a limited or fixed income, the time in North America might be spent traveling in a motor home, or staying with several different children.
This gives grandparents a chance to really connect with their grandchildren, maybe travel together. It also gives you the ability to help your grown children to go on a vacation without their kids, but watching your grandchildren.
Right now our part-time experiment is working for us. Although, my family has admitted to missing spending more time in Panama. It still feels strange not be in Puerto Armuelles.
My wife feels that life is more of an adventure in Panama. More leisurely, less planning. She loves that you can decide to go snorkeling or hike in the mountains in the morning and be actually doing it by the afternoon.
See my post on easily enjoying the beach and the mountains within 2 hours in Panama
Life is definitely more busy and involves more planning in the States.
They say that we become our habits, little by little, day by day. So I am glad we are mixing the habits we have in each of these two places together.
The habits of exploration, adventure, and enjoying each moment.
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