New members of the Panama forum, introduce yourselves here - 2023

@Julien  Bonjour

Père suisse, mère française, bac français, ancien avocat, épouse panaméenne, vivant au Panama depuis de nombreuses années, je suis agent immobilier et traducteur officiel (espagnol, français, anglais). I'm one of those rare birds who think simultaneously in at least three languages. Je vous invite à visiter mon site web en plusieurs langues, dont le français: [link moderated]

Bon weekend,

Christophe

Hi,

We are a retired couple from Cape Town in South Africa that travel extensively. Our next grand adventure is leaving for the Caribbean in November 2023 and doing a bit of holiday travel before heading for Panama to hopefully do some medium to long term house sits and get to know the lay of the land. We have sold all but one of our assets and with our combined technical, financial, hospitality and admin experience, we are hoping to find the right place in Panama to settle. Thanks for the informative site 😀

Hello tokiamail,

Welcome to Expat.com

Thanks for the intro!

We are happy to have you here.

Feel free to start a new thread on the Panama forum if you want to discuss any specific topic with other members of the forum.

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

@Julien

Hello!

I am here to gather and learn all that I can about living in Panama.

I have a 7 year old and 2 small dogs💕

I plan on us coming this summer to spend at least a month, hopefully more like 2, to explore places for us!

Hello to everyone, name is Rudi  living here in San Pablo Viejo going on 26yrs with my wife from

Bocas De Toro. Made the decision to stay in Panama because of so many benefits  here compared

to California for retirees. Patience is the key word to have as things are done different here and

one needs a lot of pátience. With that said if anyone needs answers that are fairly new here

glad to help as much as I can. Everyone that is here to stay have a good journey as Panama

for me is a great place to live. Have a great day to all.

Hello and welcome Rudi !

Great to have you on the forum !

Should you want to interact with members, feel free to have  look at the thread of the Panama forum.

Have a lovely day ahead,

Bhavna

@rudi55panama  Hi neighbor!  (I'm in David)  26 years? It sounds like it's working out well for you. Saludos

Hello kristc99

Hope all is well with you.

Yes so far all is well here and with a lot of patience everyone can enjoy Panama.

so with that said have a GREAT DAY.

@rudi55panama 10 years here, super happy!

@Julien

Hi everyone,

I already have dual citizenship with UK and Canada, my wife is Canadian. We recently visited Panama City and enjoyed it. We are both tired of the long winters in Canada and are starting to investigate living elsewhere. Maybe initially for a period of 3 months to dip a toe in the water.

My wife (50) works remotely and currently I (65) am driving a taxi.

Any guidance or advice is welcome.

Bart

Hi everyone !

My name is Louise, I am 63 years old and I am retired.

I bought a piece of land in the bay of Saigon, with the aim of building very soon. 

I am Canadian, I have been coming to the island since 2017, once or twice a year.

I adore!

  I want to come and end my life in Bocas!  No more winter, no more racing and pressure!  In 7 years I have made wonderful friends, I love the environment, the islands, the pace of life and The Sun!!! Currently I am looking for the costs inherent in a property in Bocas del Toro, electricity,  water, municipal taxes and all other costs affecting an owner, Voilà!

@louisealarie might be useful https://www.facebook.com/groups/BocasOpenForum

    Hello, I am Larry, and am anxious to learn all about Panama. Colombian wife, but Panama seems  better for gringos...Want to move from New Orleans in next few years.

Thanks

Retired couple in late 70's looking for a 3 bedroom rental near beach for March of 2024. Some where near Coronado. Desire a place for about $1000-1200 for the month. We would be willing to house sit for pets and do upkeep  in exchange for the rent.

Hello Jdorland47,

Welcome on board !

This thread is meant for the introduction of new members. I would recommend that you create an advert in the Housing in Panama section of the website for your search. You can also gather as much information as possible by reading the articles of the Accommodation in Panama section of the Guide where you will find some useful links.

All the best

Bhavna

@Julien Hello expats!  I'm Robert from the US who was considering Panama as a possible retirement destination.  Don't know much about Panama other than the you tube videos I've been watching.  I don't speak Spanish so that might put an end to my possibility of retiring in Panama.  I've lived in the Philippines for about a year 20 years ago and that wasn't for me.  Horrible infrastructure and strange business practices however some of the friendliest people I ever met.  I would like to hear how other expats  feel about Panama.

I'm a professional foreigner with a collection of passports. Originally from Europe, married to a Panamanian lady. I could live - and work - anywhere, but I'm happy here. I'd recommend learning Spanish. I'm a certified interpreter (Spanish, English, French). Since it's apparently against this forum's rules, I cannot share a link to my website. I am a real estate broker (Panama and Florida). I'm not interested in selling you anything, but we might share a cup of coffee someday.

Thanks for the offer but I need to learn about Panama and what it has to offer for retirement consideration.

my name is Kenneth, already living in Panama City, I came here to establish my painting company. I already open my professional company named Kenneth Arts, Painting and Decoration Incp. Basically my company specializes in General painting, walls and ceiling textures, Marbles effects or mármore on walls, Lunar effects etc. drywall patching and finishing, Laca airless spraying of doors and cabinets, installation of baseboards and windows including casing, shower doors installation many more. I have canadian and USA working experience in consultation for more than 8 years and general painting since 1990 and was also a professional Artist. My phone number is *** or search for kenneth Moses Ogungbemi on google for details on my work. Thanks

@Julien

Would Anyone reply to my Post regarding Buildings? Is this website even current?

@ibacct

Hello,

I hope someone can shed the light on your queries. Indeed, the forum has been quiet lately.

Regards

Bhavna

@Julien My husband and I are looking to move to Panama in the next 2-3 years.  Currently living in Tennessee.  Waiting on our oldest child to graduate college. Hoping I'm not starting research too late. Looking forward to learning everything I can. In the process of planning a trip there in 2024. Are relocation tours worth it or are we better on our own? Appreciate any advice.

We are also from Tennessee near Chattanooga.

The wife and I spent the week of Sept 08 - 15, 2023 in Dreams Playa Bonita Panama  and had a wonderful time and recommend to everyone.

Now we took a day walking tour with a local and he spoke pretty fluent English and was very knowledgeable about the historic parts of the new old city.

We will go back and take a few more tours on our own time but we will seek out true locals.

The tour may be good but I would rather do it on my time schedule instead of someone else's

@Anissa F You should mix both.  On your own equals not knowing the area, prices, anything. So people can try sell you a house on a bad neighborhood or triple the price.  And these rellocation tours are a safe option to move around and know the areas. 

Of course that they are selling you what they want to sell (not what you need) so I'd recommend to start with a rellocation tour, chat with expats here, and have a good research on the areas and what to expect.

@Chad Road  that's cool!!! good to know you enjoyed it.  There are some certified tour guides who arrange their schedule to yours.  That helps a lot when moving around, taking a taxi, going to safe places and knowing restaurants and stores with more authentic products than the regular offered by tourism companies.

If you want to travel to Boquete where there's a big expat community, a recommendation would be to take a charter flight and then a 30min drive (or less) to Boquete. It's worth the drive.

@Anissa F Oh, and research for expat communities.  Right now the oldest is Boquete where there are many many bilingual stores and restaurants, also Volcán (near Boquete) and lately I heard that Mariato is being sold as investment opportunity but I don't have that much of info.

Places like Santa Catalina beach is good and also Pixvae.

@Julien

have plans in the next year of leaving Canada and moving to David

@Julien

Hi Julien,

Thanks for your welcome message! I live in FLorida and I'm considering moving to Panama. I will be there

in mid January to check it out!  I recently traveled to Spain and Portugal on my Expat fact finding mission and I've

decided to look into Latin America instead. I would rather be a bit closer to family in Florida. I love to research

and have already learned a lot about the country but now I want to know what real expats have experienced!

Looking forward to gathering info from this forum!

Sincerely,

Kathy

@Kathyhodges25

Hi,

I don't know what I'm doing.

I'm traveling by the seat of my pants.

No destination, no reservations.

Show up at the airport, buy a ticket on the first plane out and go...lol

@ronasjg  Once in David, go to Boquete which is a 40min (or less) drive. Temps are cooler and the bilingual community is better there.  Volcán is also as cool as Boquete and the last time I went they were improving sidewalks and roads so have some time to pay a visit there too.

David IS the commercial center but its really hot.

@Kathyhodges25  You'll be very welcome here in Panama. Have a list of places to visit.  As far as I've seen there are good expats communities at the beaches and in Isla Colón (Bocas del Toro, Caribbean)  If you are scouting, I'd tell you to first look into beaches in Panamá Oeste, starting from Coronado and Chame. Then David (Chiriquí), Boquete and Volcán (highlands, both), then Isla Colón (north of Chiriquí) and lastly, Mariato.

The only 2 places I wouldn't recommend going to if you are thinking in a community are Colón(the city) and Darién. Colón is hot on crime but the towns have a slower pace.  And Darién is very isolated.  There are hotels in Darién that are known for being a great place for sport fishing but still isolated.

I***