Living a dream life isn’t always so dreamy, as a Massachusetts couple revealed.
YouTube content creators Kaylee Dubeau and Jordan Saglio traveled through Central America in a converted school van for years before settling on the green climbs of western Panama.
The couple – who have more than 390,000 subscribers – bought a 2.5-hectare plot of land on the outskirts of Boquete for $75,000 four years ago and have since created a farm while welcoming their first child, Sadie.
When they moved to the empty lot, the couple had to build everything from scratch before they could finally move out of their school bus.
While Instagram posts show them living the “dream life,” a series of candid YouTubes reveal the harder parts of their off-grid lifestyle, including living without a proper toilet for six years and always getting stuck with higher prices in Panama because they are considered as foreigners.
Kaylee Dubeau and Jordan Saglio, from Massachusetts, traveled through Central America in a converted school bus for years before settling on the green slopes of western Panama
The couple has over 390,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel
To earn a living, the couple runs a coffee shop and sells beans sourced from local farmers. They also have a popular YouTube channel
Four years ago they bought a 2.5-hectare plot of land on the outskirts of Boquete for $75,000.
Since then, they have created a farm while welcoming their first child
In a YouTube video titled “We Have Regrets Moving To Panama,” the couple – who run a coffee shop and sell beans sourced from local farmers – discuss some of the downsides of living abroad.
First, Jordan says one of the things that makes living in Panama a “little challenging” is “buying things because we get ‘gringo’ prices.”
He continues, “So because Kaylee and I are obviously not from here, because we’re foreigners, we get a different price.
“It’s a higher price (for us) and this applies to everything from buying a car to buying property, taking a taxi and even buying fruit or food on the side of the road.”
Jordan says that anytime there is no price listed, especially if it is a large purchase such as a car or a piece of land, they should ask a Panamanian to go negotiate on their behalf.
He adds, “So I think you can imagine how sometimes the biggest purchases of your life, like a piece of land or a car or things like that, it just adds another layer of complexity if there’s someone else involved.” to negotiate and help. in your name.’
Then Kaylee reveals that the “waste situation” in Panama – especially in the cities – is something they did not expect.
“Unfortunately, almost everywhere you look there is just trash,” she says.
“And whether it’s in the trash or just blatantly lying on the side of the road, it’s one of those things that they just don’t have the systems in place here to dispose of or recycle properly. ‘
While Instagram posts show them living the ‘dream life’, a series of candid YouTubes reveal the tougher parts of their off-grid lifestyle, including living without a proper toilet for six years
The couple installed a wind turbine to power their home
The couple had to build everything from scratch before they could get off their school bus
On a personal note, Jordan says he discovered his allergies were out of control in Panama.
He explains at one point: ‘About five to six months a year I have a nasty allergy to some kind of pollen or some kind of substance.
“It’s so bad that my face is so swollen and even the strongest allergy meds don’t do anything.”
Jordan says the only time his allergies stop is when it rains, so he just has to “learn to love the rain.”
On the food side, the couple says it is impossible to find organic produce in Panama, and the use of pesticides and fungicides is “very, very high” due to the tropical climate.
As a result, they end up buying a lot of fruits and vegetables imported from other countries.
Finally, Kaylee says, “Another thing I regret that I definitely didn’t think I would feel as deeply as I did, and I regret even more now, is how much I was going to miss our family.”
In other YouTube videos, the duo reveal the hardships of starting a farm.
They say growing food has been difficult and it has taken them four years to learn what works and what doesn’t.
They also survived for many years without a proper toilet.
While living in their school bus, they experimented with a bucket, and when they moved to their farm, they installed an eight-foot latrine.
Kaylee poses next to their beloved school bus, which served as their home for years
They say growing food has been difficult and it has taken them four years to learn what works and what doesn’t
Despite the drawbacks, Jordan and Kaylee remain determined to make their off-grid lifestyle work
In a YouTube post from just over a month ago, Kaylee and Jordan revealed how they finally built a real outhouse, complete with a flushable toilet.
They said the outdoor latrine was ‘dirty’ and they had to go outside to use it ‘in the rain, in the wind’, and because it was adjacent to a public path, people would occasionally walk past it.
After moving to their farm, they also went with cold showers for seven months, but eventually they fixed it on a hot water heater.
The couple installed a wind turbine to power their home.
Despite the drawbacks, Jordan and Kaylee remain determined to make their off-grid lifestyle work.
In an Instagram post, Kaylee revealed what she finds most appealing about their lifestyle, telling viewers, “I knew from a very young age that I always wanted to live on a farm.
“I’m not sure why I wanted to do that, especially since I never really spent time on a farm or really understood what that life was actually like.
‘Maybe it was my inner child intuition that pointed me in the direction of my destiny, or maybe it was just the simplicity of living off the land, caring for animals and just being closer to nature that I was so drawn to.
“All I know is that my soul has never felt more awake and alive than it has in the past three years since we stepped foot here on Lola’s farm.”
Over the years, the couple have built a loyal fan base, with their followers praising their tenacity.
One fan left a comment for Kaylee: “You are a beautiful person inside and out. Your little girl is so lucky to have a mother like you.”
Another commenter from Australia addressed the entire family, writing, “You, Jordan and Sadie have been my zen for the past three years, watching you build your dream life in Panama and your beautiful pregnancy.
“You bought my daughter and me so much joy, thank you to you and Lola’s farm, all these wonderful people and amazing fur babies, BIG love.”