Panama Forum

volcan357
Joined 2013
Posts: 1681

6 years ago

Panama vs other Latin American Countries

6 years ago

I have lived in Panama for 17 years and even became a citizen 4 years ago. However I married a girl from the Dominican Republic and Panama doesn't want to renew her visa even though we were legally married in Panama. They cite the difference in our ages but we have a Panamanian marriage certificate and I would be forced to pay for a divorce if I decided to end our relationship. This has really gotten under my skin so I have been seriously investigating other Latin American countries where I might possibly want to live. Obviously the Dominican Republic comes to mind which would be very easy for me to get residency because of my marriage. So I have been considering the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Colombia and Ecuador. Since my wife only speaks Spanish and I am very fluent it doesn't matter to me if other expats live near to me. There is a site on the internet called NUMBEO that compares prices and the cost of living between various countries and locations. According to them all four of these countries have a lower cost of living than Panama. However there is a PriceMart in Santiago de Los Caballeros in the DR so I made some comparisons to the one in David where I do a lot of shopping. Most items in the Pricemart in Santiago were more expensive than the one in David especially anything electronic like a TV which conflicts within the information on the NUMBEO website. One big item which is considerably cheaper are the rents which are cheaper in all four of these countries compared to Panama. Medellin in Colombia is cheaper than the DR and is a clean modern city with a better culture and a higher level of education than the DR. It has much better public transportation. Nicaragua is cheap but is dirty and looks much more third world than even the DR and way more than Colombia. I have yet to go to Ecuador but I would like to go. I could probably live in the DR but so far Colombia has made made best impression on me especially Medellin. Medellin is by far much nicer than Panama City and lot cheaper and a lot more interesting. The DR is interesting because of their national parks and the somewhat subtropical climate which makes it easier to grow many different ornamental plants and also vegetables. You have a different in temperature and daylight length which is lacking is the deep tropics such as here in Panama. That is because the DR is much farther north and quite a bit closer to the US. So far Colombia wins even though I like some things about the DR. And last of course is that unlike Panama someone with a passport from the DR can enter Colombia without a visa. Likewise with Ecuador. I need to go to Ecuador and see what it is like.

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