Names: Denis, Susan, Jonah and Elijah Roussel

Ages: 35, 37, 11 and 18 months

Nationality: Canadian

Living in: Gorgona, Panama

The Roussel children are no strangers to adventure. Perhaps that’s because Jonah, 11, and Elijah, 18 months, have traveled rather more than your average Canadian youths. Mom and Dad—Susan, 37, and Denis, 35—are self-confessed globetrotters.

It helps that Denis is able to work from anywhere; he’s in marketing and online advertising. And Susan is a certified teacher who loves to teach and travel—a combo that works well, as teaching young kids (in English) is a job that’s easy to find nearly anywhere in the world.

Last year, they decided to do more than just take a vacation. ”We just decided that we were going to make a move somewhere other than Canada,” says Susan. “We wanted to get away and experience a tropical hot climate for a year.”

The Roussels visited Costa Rica but didn’t find an area that “spoke” to them and their needs. When a family member insisted they check out Panama, Susan balked: “Isn’t Panama dangerous? We had no idea,” she laughs. “We had heard a lot about Costa Rica but it seemed no one talked as much about Panama.”

It seems Panama was meant to be. On the plane back home from Costa Rica, they found an article in the glossy airline magazine. They pored over color photos and read about Panama’s modern infrastructure and excellent residency programs. Though Panama was unknown to them, it seemed incredibly safe and stable.

Denis and Susan started to read about Panama in earnest in the pages of International Living. The Pacific coast beach communities near Panama City sounded ideal, especially the beach town of Gorgona. Adjacent to the growing town center of Coronado, Gorgona is convenient and very affordable.

But their main concern was finding an international school that Jonah could attend. Susan wrote to Panama Coast Rentals for help finding an apartment and asked about schools. She was thrilled to find that the owner of the company was also the head of a school called Panama Coast International School which Jonah could attend.

In fact, the best thing about their stay in Gorgona may well be the school. The facility is small, with about 30 kids and four volunteer teachers (including Susan). The other parents are also required to volunteer, some teaching elective subjects that have ranged from baking and poetry to rugby and web development. Tuition for the private school is about $250 a month, and that includes books and supplies; there are no extra costs or uniforms to buy.

The school is pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and, says Susan, is “a really good school. The kids are far ahead for their age; the kindergartners are already doing double-digit addition, and the second graders are reading at a fifth-grade level.”

“We’ve been in Gorgona for about four months,” says Denis. “We are planning on staying until June.” After that, the Roussels plan to go back to Alberta and decide whether to move to Panama permanently.

Even with the tuition fee…and $1,200 a month in rent for an ocean-view condo that is literally on the beach (the Roussels can step into the sand from the building’s pool area)…the Roussels are saving a lot of money. Their cost of living, says Denis, is about half what it was back home.

Jonah has taken time to adjust. But, says Susan, he is now starting to really enjoy it. “He’s so active here, he has lost weight and met other kids…half the time we look up to find him gone to visit some friend in the building.”

Susan says the locals in Gorgona have been very friendly and welcoming, attempting to teach her Spanish a little at a time. “We’ve also been able to spend more time as a family together,” she says. “We can have fun and not worry it’s costing a fortune.”

In addition, the excellent health care gives them peace of mind, as Jonah has a neuromuscular condition that could require medical attention at any time. “But most of all, we’re happy,” says Susan, smiling at baby Elijah as he attempts to climb everything in sight. “That’s all that counts.”

You can read the Roussels blog here.

Editor’s Note: See the video interview Jessica recently did with the Roussels.