Business InsiderUSfinanceAug 23, 2026, 12:23 PMImpact 31.86

I booked a $200 flight to Panama on a whim, then decided to move there. I found the community I was missing in the US.

Chrysten Crockett moved from Atlanta to Panama City and said she's staying for good. Courtesy of Chrysten Crockett. Chrysten Crockett visited Panama during a trip to Latin America and fell in love with the country. She thinks Panama is more welcoming than the US and has a stronger sense of community. Crockett will still travel the world, but Panama has become her permanent home base. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Chrysten Crockett, a Cleveland native who moved from Atlanta to Panama City. Crockett, 36, owns a content marketing agency that she now runs from Panama. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I have no kids and I am not married, so I decided to take a leap and travel. I was like, "Let me try this travel thing out while I can." I've always been nomadic in a way; I went from Ohio to New York to Charlotte to Atlanta. Then I thought, let's try out another country this time. I didn't really know where I wanted to live; I just knew I wanted to move. I had a list of countries I wanted to check out. Costa Rica was on the list, along with Brazil, Colombia, and others. Then I met someone who knew I was going to be traveling and they said, "Hav