Panama Forum

TwoJs
Joined 2017
Posts: 3

6 years ago

First impressions of Panama

6 years ago

We recently completed a trip to Panama City, Coronado, and David/Boquete as an introduction to Panama and our initial "tire-kicking" as a possible relocation site. We are both retired, but fortunately still in good health.
The trip went very well. We both felt that we saw enough to gauge whether or not Panama could be a destination for our retirement relocation, should we decide on this course of action.
The primary criteria for our search includes climate, access to health care, availability of goods, stability, and culture.
On these measures, Panama checks off pretty well, which a caveat being climate. The climate is very hot and humid in the low lands, but very cool and rainy in Boquete. We did not visit El Valle, which is also in the high lands.
Quality goods are available, particularly in the Panama City area and health care is of very good quality, but somewhat limited by geography. There are three primary areas for quality hospitals: Panama City, Coronado, and David.
It was the culture of the country that was paramount in our decision to suspend further interest in Panama. By this, I mean the culture is being destroyed by ex-pats in our estimation and at least some Panamanians are not particularly happy about it.
We found that many ex-pats - not all - tend to isolate themselves in gated communities, some of which were built on ridiculously inflated property that once held farms or coffee plantations. Boquete is typical of this phenomenon. The town of Boquete is rapidly becoming like an Ashville NC or Brooklyn with native Panamanians being pushed out by gentrification.
It is said that domestic help is very inexpensive here, but the true cost is in the exploitation of both indigenous people and other Panamanians. Most of the Panamanians we met spoke little English and are justifiably proud of their emerging country, but less so enamored of their new neighbors from North America. Just our impression - no one was rude to us, but our conversations with more fluent folks revealed this impression.
The climate issue is also a big consideration for us. We're Floridians so we're used to hot, but we get 6-7 months of cooler and drier air in Florida as well - all with brilliant & abundant sunshine. In Panama City and Coronado, it remains very hot and humid all year round, with a rainy season thrown in. In Boquete, be prepared for cool temps, lots of rain, and cloud cover for most of the year. I like to golf, and besides the fact that there aren;t many courses in the Boquete area (I saw both of them, one a 9-hole at Valle Escondido, and one an 18 at Lucero - an ultra high-end development outside of town).
Cost of living in Panama is definitely lower than Florida by a wide margin, If this is a primary consideration for you, then Panama should warrant a good look.
The infrastructure in Panama is rapidly improving. A new Metro is being built in Panama City and will include a link form the airport. The Chinese government is making a significant investment in Panama - there's talk of a rail link between David and Panama City. A major bridge is being built across the canal in Colon Province.
Police presence is heavy throughout the country. We were stopped at a road check on the road to Boquete from David; Driver's license and passports were demanded and checked.
In other roads, many speed checkpoints were observed.
One Panamanian told me that there a five cops to every person (facetiously, but point taken).
You can get pretty much anything you want in Panama for housing.
If your reading this and wondering if Panama is for you, I'd say definitely visit and try to see as much of the country as you can.

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