Panama Expat Forum

chupanama
Joined 2018
Posts: 51

5 years ago

some research and thought about Panama - your input is welcome

5 years ago

after 3 months of intensive research on maybe make Panama my new home - away from it all - I have come to the following results:

(please feel free to correct me wherever I have come to wrong results)

you will get wet - in the north on a daily base, in the south you might stay 4 months dry. will have a lot of fine mist during the dry period.
you will get hot - except you go high into the mountains where you will get cold and even wetter.
if you like it hot and steamy, you will love it in Panama.
there is very little middle ground where the temperatures are moderate but you might have a wetter experience there.
source: Panama long time weather records from private and official agencies.

paperwork is simple if you pay the right persons to do it.
there is a bigger chance you find the wrong persons and you pay up to a lot more.
source: information from people who have been in these situations.

buying a house can be fast and very interesting - worse case, you loose everything (ROP burn) - best case, you find what you are looking for, find the right lawyer and notary and other persons who work mostly in your interest.
the police might help you to lighten your wallet and so will a lot of freelancers who will see your home and possessions as a part of theirs.

selling your house, prepare for loss and a long period to sell, or bite the bullet and slash the price drastically for a moderate or fast sell.
source: information from people who have been in these situations, people who did research and real estate agents.

visiting the Costa Rica forum and talking to some people there, the situation in the neighbor country is not so well, expect some spillover in the west of Panama.
source: information from people who have been in these situations.

projected outlook for the next years:
with the world economy slowing down all over the place, most stock markets loosing a lot (look at GM and GE, two huge American companies) and an overdue recession, major financial losses and a myriad of artificial inflated bubbles about to burst this will also have a major impact on the baltic dry index (what tell you in simple terms how much ships are on the way with all kinds of goods)
this could mean less ships through the canal.
Panama is planing a major cooperation with China to maybe counter that future, but take a closer look at the states who engaged with China and the B+R project - got cheap money and now...

sorry I had to take the rose colored glasses off after a couple months playing with a possible future in Panama, it really was nice to dream.

but I am just getting burned in Spain where my future was planned and executed with a lot of financial, physical and personal engagement for the next 20 years.

a year later (2015) the EU decided it would be a wise choice to bring most of Africa to Europe. You see the fallout in our neighbor country France right now.
and next week Germany, France, Spain and a lot other EU members will sign the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
I have not heard that Panama will not sign.
check out the fine print and there are some good interpretations from law professional what tell the real meaning.

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