I just returned from my first trip to Panama... It sure was not what I expected at all.. First stop was Boquete... The town was.....nice... Very small town surrounded by gorgeous mountain scenery. Not much to do on a long term basis. CROWDED with expats... Guys barely over middle age riding around on oversized motorcycles, elderly guys wearing some kind of Aussie outback hunting gear, oeople wearing sandals with white socks.. Midwestern grandmas doing lunch... Boquete screams of an American retirement village where it seems that people are more interested in recreating the American culture rather than adjusting to a new one in Panama.. People who are not really interested in learning Spanish but rather going to a bar and speaking English as loud as possible so that everyone can hear that they are American/Canadian as I see so often in my travels.. Being someone in my 40s from NYC who still has a young, busy social life who was trying to plan for a retirement further down the road by trying to pinpoint a location early - I realize that a small town that is not near to a large city probably would not work..
To get away from this, we wanted to see what was in David.. Being from NYC, the outskirts of David look like a Long Island strip mall and when going to the center of town, it looks like the Bronx... I can't see 3/4 of the people who moved to Boquete dealing with anything from the Bronx which may explain why so many stay for awhile and then leave...
Off to Panama City. Fell in love with Casco Viejo, but quickly realized that for the space that I would be looking for, I am priced out...bummer.. I was quite impressed with the skyscrapers and new subway, but so many things in Panama City are just as expensive if not more expensive than NYC...ridiculous... Apartments in brand new high rise condos do seem affordable enough to buy something as an investment property / vacation rental but definitely not a place to settle long term due to the prices in general which is part of the reason of moving to a Latin American country. My trip also took me to Colombia and Medellin with it's surrounding small towns blew me away in every way....
To get away from this, we wanted to see what was in David.. Being from NYC, the outskirts of David look like a Long Island strip mall and when going to the center of town, it looks like the Bronx... I can't see 3/4 of the people who moved to Boquete dealing with anything from the Bronx which may explain why so many stay for awhile and then leave...
Off to Panama City. Fell in love with Casco Viejo, but quickly realized that for the space that I would be looking for, I am priced out...bummer.. I was quite impressed with the skyscrapers and new subway, but so many things in Panama City are just as expensive if not more expensive than NYC...ridiculous... Apartments in brand new high rise condos do seem affordable enough to buy something as an investment property / vacation rental but definitely not a place to settle long term due to the prices in general which is part of the reason of moving to a Latin American country. My trip also took me to Colombia and Medellin with it's surrounding small towns blew me away in every way....
