A retired boomer moved from Florida to Panama to start life anew after her husband and son died. Everything is cheaper, she said, and life has been much calmer. [Video]

Janet Sussman had her eyes set on her dream home: a cabin in the woods of upstate New York. But after a series of catastrophes, she decided to move far from the US to the coast of Panama.

In 2006, her son died in a construction accident, six months after her husband had a major stroke. Sussman scrambled to return to school, take up multiple jobs, and move so her husband could live out his last years peacefully. After years of stress, she decided to relocate to Panama in 2012.

Living costs are much cheaper, people are much more respectful and less overworked, and the country’s nature is what she desired. After working as a teacher for a few years, she now house-sits full-time, traveling the country while making some money.

“We all have tragedies in our lives, and we need those,” Sussman said. “If not, you don’t appreciate the good things, …