Today, I want to introduce you to someone…
Pam Trezevant is a member of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) club. Some years back, she bought in an off-market RETA deal in Playa Caracol, less than 90 minutes west of Panama City.
Pam had the goal of beating her mom’s record and retiring before 60.
And she did it.
International Living Panama Editor Jessica Ramesch shares Pam’s story, below…
Wishing you good real estate investing,
P.S. I’m about to bring members an exclusive new deal in Playa Caracol. Ocean-view condos in a true beachfront community…steps from the sand. For under $300,000! I expect gains of $181,100 five years after delivery. If you’re a RETA member, stay tuned. Tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET, I’m sending members my full briefing on this exclusive new beachfront opportunity…
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“How I Retired on the Beach at 57 in Playa Caracol”
By Jess Ramesch
Retired early, with a home on the water and a pad in the city—that’s the dream. And at the age of 61, Pam Trezevant is living it.
You can see it in her smile… hear it when she describes the beauty of her morning walk on the beach, or her circle of found family in a vibrant new city.
Though it gets busier on weekends, she often has the beach at Playa Caracol almost to herself. “Today I was out just after sunrise for my two-mile walk on the sand. I only ran into one other person (who was also exercising) and I saw two surfers in the water.”
If she’s not walking, then she’s on her balcony with a cup of coffee, enjoying the view and the mesmerizing rhythm of the sea. Sunshine on pale sands, aquamarine waves dissolving into white foam and spray, crashing onto the shore only to slip away and do it all over again.
Pam retired just shy of her 58th birthday, leaving behind corporate America and her home in Oregon for a new life in Panama. Alternating between a condo in the Pacific beach community of Playa Caracol—her “Zen place”—and the hip and bustling downtown of Panama City allows Pam to get her alone time and plenty of social time, too.
It’s a “best of both worlds” situation that suits her perfectly.
Just 50 miles west of Panama City, the beach community of Playa Caracol is easy, breezy, beautiful.
“This retired life is a wonderful thing,” she says. “It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is.”
Mornings at the beach are tranquil, while the capital—a UNESCO-recognized heritage destination and foodie heaven—is a cornucopia of fun. “In the city, sometimes I have too much to do—way more than I ever did when I was living in Oregon. I’ve been here since November of 2021 and I already have a lot of friends. We’ve become like our own little family,” she says.
“I landed on Panama for so many reasons, but—and this is important—I’m a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and so that was a big part of my research, to make sure that I could feel welcome.
“International Living played a huge role [in my discovering Panama]—I was always in there looking up stuff, and Panama had the best benefits for retirees,” Pam says. As she speaks, she mimes ticking boxes on a list:
“I learned the age for women to receive retiree discounts was 55—check!—and the U.S. dollar was the currency”—another check. “That’s major. I don’t have to sit here worrying about conversions every day. My money is my money, it works the exact same way, and I don’t have to guess at what’s what.”
Playa Caracol boasts miles of Pacific beach fronting a hotel, spa, restaurants, gym, beach club, market, sports bar, surf shack…
“I Wanted to Beat My Mom’s Record and Retire Earlier”
From a young age, Pam had a “retire early” mindset. “I had a competition with my mother,” she says. “She retired at 61, but I beat her—I managed to leave corporate America a few months before my 58th birthday.
“In Oregon I watched prices go up and everything get crazy expensive. I knew my money could stretch further if I moved out of the country.”
Pam came to Panama for an International Living event in 2017. After the conference, she took a tour with Ronan McMahon’s Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group to the site of what would be a new beach development called Playa Caracol. Impressed with the raw coastline and the master plan, Pam decided to buy. And she has no regrets…
Playa Caracol is popular with Panamanians. Many like Pam are city-dwellers with second homes here, but there’s a steady stream of seasonal and weekend renters, too, as well as full-time expat residents. The location, just 50 miles west of the capital, makes it an easy, obvious choice.
Playa Caracol is just 60 to 90 minutes from Panama City, one of the wealthiest cities in the Americas. This is a true global city, sporting the world’s 25th biggest skyline, beating out LA, Miami, and Beijing to name just a few
A Fun Life Filled with Travel and New Friends
The avid traveler also has the “Hub of the Americas” at her doorstep—that’s Tocumen International, the region’s best and busiest airport. “I wanted to see the world like my mom—the woman went everywhere after she retired,” says Pam.
“She went to Korea, she went swimming in the Dead Sea… for a Black woman from the South, born in 1928, to travel as much as she did… let’s just say I learned a lot from her. I enjoy walking in her footsteps and I do a lot of what I do to honor her.” (Pam’s been to every continent save Antarctica, and has many more trips in store.)
As an expat, Pam has truly made the most of her experience—spending time outdoors, exploring this beautiful country, and taking advantage of all it has to offer.
“My family and friends all want to come back,” she says. “I turned 60 in January [2024] and had 32 friends and family members come from the U.S. to help me celebrate. With my local friends, there were over 100 people at my party. My family was like ‘How do you know all of these people? You’ve only been here two years!’”
“There are so many groups you can join—on Facebook and WhatsApp—it’s been easy to connect. I’ve met people I think I’ll be friends with for the rest of my life.”
The Radisson Riviera Hotel is right on the sand of Playa Caracol.
Generational and Financial Benefits…
“I have a great niece staying with me— she’s here writing her thesis on Afro-Panamanian culture, but we planned a fun getaway to Bocas del Toro. She’s 25 and enjoying spending time with her 60-year-old great aunt. That’s amazing,” says Pam.
“I’m so happy my relatives can come and experience this. It’s not just for me, it’s for them as well. I love that they can say, ‘We’re going to our beach place in Panama.’ My property here—it’s something I can pass on in terms of generational wealth. I hope it stays in the family.”
Pam credits her dad with teaching her the importance of being financially savvy, and now she says she’s got a new reason to be excited about her property in Playa Caracol. The newest phase in the development will be a Margaritaville-branded community.
“That was a big surprise,” she laughs. “I didn’t purchase my condo as an investment property—I meant for it to be my retirement home. But my mindset has shifted slightly. This is going to be a serious investment area. I’m happy for the investors and I’m happy for myself!”
Ronan says: Pam’s story exemplifies why Playa Caracol is so special. The chance to live the beach lifestyle so close a cosmopolitan capital of the caliber of Panama City is so rare and so special. When you factor in the incredible off-market pricing I’ve negotiated for beach homes, it’s simply unbeatable.
Ocean-view condos in a true beachfront community…steps from the sand. For under $300,000!
And I expect gains of $181,100 five years after delivery.
As I say, tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET, I’ll send RETA members my full briefing on this exclusive new beachfront opportunity. RETA members, stay tuned to your alerts…
