Have been on the website among others, have actually visited Panama, and have read alot. Based on our family situation, DH and I don't think we would ever buy property in a foreign country, despite some of the attractive incentives especially in Panama. We might, however, rent for a while at some point and who knows where that would lead.
I agree that you need to be willing to learn the language. Hablas espanol?
One discussion we had--we have concerns about the direction health care in our retirement--(What will happen in our gap years? What is the future of Medicare? Will the government start to limit what procedures will be covered?) Due to the unknown future, we have discussed the possibility of having medical or dental procedures in other countries, where the doctors are US trained, and it would cost significantly less than here in the US. (There are other countries that have state-of-the-art medical care.)
The future holds lots of unknowns, so we never say never. Depending on your situation, it could work for you. There are certainly plenty of ex-pats who are very happy.
Norma