5 degrees this morning.

Just over two weeks and then off to Panama for the winter.

Where do you stay, in Panama? Also, do you rent or own? My wife and I have thought of moving there when our island in the Caribbean gets too expensive. She flew down a couple of years ago and checked out Boqueta and David but wasn't impressed by either of those two towns. But the country is still on my list of bolt-holes, so I'd be grateful for your opinion.

We stay a few miles from the Costa Rica border in an area known as Gariche.

We rent in a small condo complex consisting of six units draped around the small pool.
There is also a larger casa and a small casita short distances away.

Boquete has a fairly large proportion of North American owners and renters, but it is up in the mountains, so it's too cool for our liking.

David is just a big city. It is about an hour away from us and the wife and her friend often have "shop til you drop" days down there.
We stayed there our first winter in Panama and although it wouldn't be my first choice, I could live there.
We actually have memberships in "Price Smart" which is the equivalent of Costco in the Strates.

We are about 25km away from Bugaba which is a smallish town but has excellent grocery stores and has the usual banks, clothing and other stores that you would see in any North American Town.

The drivers are maniacs.

I'm told that medical costs are much cheaper than the USA, but we're covered by my Canadian plan, so it isn't a problem.

If you are looking for oceanfront, you might want to look at Pedasi.
It's a fair distance from where we stay, but we tried it and if we had to go somewhere else, we would seriously consider it.

The bus service is excellent and dirt cheap, but at a busy time you will be packed in like a sardine.

Anything else I can help with, let me know.

Thanks very much for all the information, Dave. It's kind of you to have taken the time. I have one more question about Panama, which concerns the cost of living. I won't ask you how much you spend, because it's too intrusive a question and we all live different lives. But... I have been calculating on the basis of something in the region of US$20-25,000, all in, including medical and rent. Is that a reasonable guess, for an old couple pushing 80? I'm roughly familiar with the cost of living in Mexico (Lake Chapala), and with the lifestyle in general.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but if winter's coming on and the alternative is settling somewhere in Europe, then checking out some place warm is very relevant!

Living reasonably and depending how close you are to the bigger cities, you can pay from $450 to $650 a month to rent a 2 bedroom condo.
Obviously you can pay much more if you go overboard.
We paid $650 on the outskirts of David a short walk to a decent grocery store.
Cab fares all the way across town hardly ever came to $5.
Add on about $80 for WiFi and about $120 if you crank the A/C like we do.
Groceries are much cheaper than we pay in Canada.
I can't help with the health costs, because I am covered with the policy I have in Canada.
We travel there on a tourist visa which lasts for six months, but if you are driving, your licence only lasts for three months and you have to leave the country for at least three days to re validate it.
We cross the border into Costa Rica, stay in a resort for three or four days and it makes us OK to drive again.
Hope this helps.

More rain. No snow on the local mountains yet, at least the ones I can see.

OK; thanks, Dave. Much appreciated. Now, back to the weather!

Nothing wrong with that minor diversion...it was winter related.

There is a little snow in Regina, not much but enough to produce some wild skid marks where people didn't slow down in time.
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca...tchewan/regina

'Tis gurt windy tonight.

Looking at the Accuweather app on my phone rain until Wed. Joy.

I remember my two Canadian winters, in Toronto back in the '60s. The only good thing about them was that we got to tell Americans about having to put our rubbers on when we went outside.

We had freezing rain yesterday-i would prefer a week of -40 to a day of freezing rain. I nervousley got in the car for work, it was still dark and thought God these head lights are dreadful in the rain and the hi beam doesn't seem very bright, I set off up the road and stopped to re clear the windscreen wipers off a slight build up of ice, thought I'd look at the headlights (o e of them has been temperamental) only to find I only had side lights. Turned round went back home and messaged my manager and told her I'd have to wait until daylight to come to work🤣 so I was saved from driving in freezing rain until daylight, which was still terrifying. I really want my pt cruiser and studded tyres back, just don't like the way my '93 Exploder wiggled along the road in slushy frozen stuff.

Must have been getting on for half of the province without power for the evening and through the night from the damaging winds.

We escaped that as we usually do, but there was a lot of debris out in the street. I think we lost at least three shingles from the roof.