So you have probably heard me talk before that I lived in the Middle East for 8 years, specifically in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

I loved it there, my wife and I had built a beautiful life together in the country, there was amazing food, we had lots of friends and even our first child was born there.

People always want to know why after living there for so many years that we finally decided to leave.

The truth is, there were many things…

When we arrived in 2011 the price of oil was about $98 dollars a barrel so the UAE saw a huge boom in their economy, the country was growing at a rapid pace and expats were hugely celebrated (literally parades in the streets welcoming us). Life was amazing for several years.

However, by 2015 we saw the price of oil crash all way back down to $34 dollars a barrel and the feeling on the street had changed… the country still needed expats but “expensive” expats like me, a Canadian (or Americans, Germans, British, etc.) were seen as the problem with outrageous salaries the companies couldn’t afford.

All of my friends started being replaced with expats from countries like Eastern Europe, the Philippines, Indonesia, and other countries where they could get cheap employees. It was even common practise to hire 2 or 3 people for one position and it would still end up being less expensive.

You see, economies like the UAE are built on $100+ dollar oil and when it’s not this amount or more, the country crashes. There was even such arrogance surrounding this that some companies would start playing on the futures markets making bets that oil would always stay at this level, when it didn’t, businesses collapsed and thousands of people lost their jobs.

During this time the feeling in the country had changed and it felt like people would rather spit on you than give you the time of day, it was a dark couple of years.

I had been in a fortunate position throughout this period as I was a trader working in the options markets and making a nice little income tax-free, and of course, I was doing the podcast and doing business and offshore consulting as well.

Anyways, by the time I left in 2019, the country had rebounded a bit and oil was over $60 a barrel so things were levelling out.

The ultimate decision to move was that the country was way too dependent on just one thing, in this case, the price of oil. I had seen my friends expat journeys cut short by something they had no control over and I wanted to be in a place that respected expats and the valuable skills, expertise and capital we bring to a country.

At this time it also looked like there would be war with Iran. The US Sixth Armada had been positioned in the Persian Gulf (or the Arabian Gulf depending on who's map you are looking at) and it looked like the UAE was going to be a staging ground for an invasion. 

I even had a conversation with a US Senator on a first-class flight from the States to Abu Dhabi about the economic ramifications of using financial markets and currency as a weapon against them. 

It seemed to me that if there was war with Iran that being located in the same Emirate as the 11 nuclear reactors that were being built would not be a smart decision, they would be an obvious target and the fallout would be catastrophic.

I wanted to be in a country that continued to offer a tax-free environment but was also food and water independent. Somewhere that was growing and had a bright future ahead of it but was not only dependent on one source of economic growth.

We also needed a place that had a straightforward residency process, was an English-speaking country or another language that was easy to learn like Spanish, and was stable, safe, and beautiful.

After a ton of deliberation, my wife and I chose Panama.

It’s been 3 years since we arrived here and I have not regretted my decision once. We have an active social life and have made a huge group of friends, we go out to incredible restaurants a few times a week, there are opportunities everywhere, and we have amazing nature and beautiful beaches a short drive from our place.

Next Wednesday I will be doing a massive presentation with my friend Patrick and his team about Panama and what the country has to offer expats.

Registration is free and you can sign up now, spots are limited though so if you are curious about life in Panama then it’s best if you register now:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8316515994498/WN_wjG3_13HQpyCldzUw67Wig

See you on the webinar,

Mikkel