Mark and Bethany Sikora, an adventure-seeking couple from Canada, share their remarkable story of leaving their monotonous city life and settling on a remote island in Panama. The cold weather and high cost of living in Calgary, Alberta, were becoming unbearable for the couple, prompting them to look for an alternative place to call home. After stumbling upon a life in Panama TikTok video in January 2022, they sold almost all their belongings and moved to Central America within three weeks.
To obtain residency in Panama, expats must invest $200,000 in local real estate, which Mark and Bethany did by selling their 1,000 sq. ft bungalow in exchange for two acres of land with ten different structures on it. They now reside on Isla Cristobal, a lush island in the Bocas Del Toro province in Western Panama with a population of about 800 people. Accessible only by boat, the island is located about 20-30 minutes away from the nearest international airport in Bocas del Toro.
The Sikoras’ island plot includes a house, two guest huts, an outdoor kitchen, a greenhouse, a chicken coop, a boat house with a dock, a storehouse with a solar energy plant and rainwater collection system, providing them with the resources they need to live sustainably and off the grid. To generate income, the couple puts one of their guesthouses up for rent on Airbnb for $94 per night and offers various tours, from dolphin-watching excursions to waterfall treks, to tourists. While Mark manages the Airbnb, Bethany works remotely online as a recruiter in the US and Canada and hosts a podcast about relationships called Pillowtalk With Mark And B.
The Sikoras aim to be entirely self-sufficient, fishing for dinner and growing their produce, and are currently spending about $99 per month on internet and $35 per month on their cellphones. They miss a few things about their previous life, such as the legendary Alberta beef, but believe that the move was the right decision. On their TikTok channel, the Sikoras have expressed that they do not intend to have children and are content with their collection of pets, which includes two dogs, four cats, and several chickens. Overall, the Sikoras enjoy their off-grid lifestyle, finding the time both to work and to play, and describe their island in three words: paradise, peaceful, and serene.
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