New members of the Panama forum, introduce yourselves here - 2024

Am a young man living in Ghana.

Panama is one of the most popular countries in the world not only that but talking about reliable infrastructure is undoubted by the whole world, Talking about amenities Panama has the first class .

Economically speaking doing business in Panama is a great deal because taxes and rates are very moderate.l love Panama Soo

Much.

May my God bless Panama

@Julien

Hey Julien! Thanks for the Welcome! Nice to meet you 

I’m interviewing attorneys now to help me with my Pensionado visa. Hoping to move to Panama in Dec 2024.  I am an empty Nestor in San Diego. Kids will be off to college this year. I have been researching on YouTube and online EVERYTHING Panama! 😂. I’m having fun learning about the country, the people, the cities, the towns, the government. Everything.

I’m thinking the city for the first year and then maybe Pedasi after that.  I can’t wait to meet everyone!😊🏝️🌟🎼❤️

My advise; dont go to Panama, I have experience living there as an expat. it is expensive, corrupt (even the police and authorities) not well develop (health and education are very low level) and recently locals feeling Xenofobia against foreigners. “Panama for Panamanians” is what they said. my advise DONT GO THERE!

@manper Whoa! Your experience has been totally different from mine. I’m sorry it went so badly for you. The most trouble I’ve seen is people trying to do business here where things are very different and complicated, and people living in Panama City which is much more expensive and comes with the hassles of a big city. I hope your future is much better than your experience here.

@Choosehappychoosehappy

Welcome on board !

Feel free to participate on existing threads of the Panama forum or to open your own topic to seek advice from our dear members.

All the best

Bhavna

Hi, y'all!

My name is Daniel, I am a German national, and have moved to Panamá at the beginning of March to start my new post as Executive Director of the German Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Central America and the Carribean. I will be living in Panamá with my wife of 25 years and an (old) cat for the coming 7 years before retiring, as retirement age in Germany is 67, and I left the 50s behind last year. We are moving here from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where we spent the last almost 9 years. Prior to that I worked for 8 years in Tehran, Iran, where I also grew up in the 70s and picked up a rock solid Farsi slang. Somewhere in between I spent some time working in Mexico. That's where I fell in love with Latin America, learned Spanish and Salsa, travelled the region extensively - and developed a dream to one day come back again. Some dreams in fact do come true in life - so, here I am, and looking forward to a getting to know Panama  and the region much better - preferrably on motorbikes or 4x4s, and to enjoy a good exchange with this group. Please, also don't hesitate to ask me about Southeast Asia, the Middle East, or Germany.

Cheers

Daniel

Hey Daniel, I am going with my wife from Washington DC to Coronado, Panama on  April 10  for a week, we just got a townhouse. I am planning to work in Panama part-time and explore full-time.

I will contact you upon arrival, we would like to learn about your Southeast Asia experience and welcome you to Panama.

Regards,

Vincent.

Hi Danial.   Van and I are retired and are planning to travel to Panama in either August or September.   We currently live in the U.S.  I lived in Japan for a few yearas and traveled to th;e Far East.  Also lived in KSA for 12 years and Italy for 2.  Would like to hear your immpressions regarding living in Panama.  If you have the time, please keep in touch.

Regards,

Marci and VaN

@Julien

I've been to Panamà several times, planning to get the Pensionado visa and move there as soon as possible. I am an ex member of this site but for some reason was not able to log in.

@gsanial1

Hello and welcome !

Can you send me your old username + email in private  please ? Click on my photo to send me a private message.

Thank you

Bhavna

Team Expat.com

@danielbernbeck

good day, Daniel. My name is jae  and I’m wondering how it’s been in Panama for you. I am in a gay marriage and my wife and I would like to expatriate to Panama, particularly if things start going downhill in the US for LGBT+ people. However, I don’t want to move from tyranny, to tyranny. I understand from reading a lot of these blogs and other ones I’ve been on that the country is pretty much live and let live, but our marriage will not be recognized. I’ve explored enough to know how we can protect ourselves financially and legally, but I’m more worried about having to regress when at least in the US my marriage is recognized… for now at least. That may change, but for now we’re solid.

i’m wondering if you have any suggestions for any other places we might look for safety if things go downhill in the United States.. We’re considering Costa Rica, Portugal, and Spain, but I sure like the economy of Panama and how well they treat their pensioners.

Thank you,

Jae

Hi all!

My name is Timon and I'm currently working as an apprentice in Germany. I'm 20 years old, I speak English and German fluently as well as conversational Spanish already. I love to read and in my free time I do Dragon Boat Racing as well as gaming.

Panama has been on my radar for the past 4 years now and I will attempt to visit it for the first time sometime mid 2025. As such I'm looking for expat communities I could get in touch with, who'd be interested in giving me tips for my first time in Panama or similar aged and like minded young adults who would be open to sharing their experiences with me. I'd also really like tips for planning my vacation, since I want to get to know the country as best I can in order to make a decision on whether or not I want to move there.

Feel free to friend me here and I will get back to you!

Thanks!

My name is Chris Frochaux. I was born in Switzerland and spent my teenage years in West Africa. I'm a professional expat with several passports. I was living in New York City during 9/11, and out of solidarity, I became a US citizen, which was very easy. Originally a Swiss attorney-at-law, I was hired as a delegate by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Despite speaking Italian but not a word of Spanish, they sent me to Argentina overnight to deal with political prisoners under the regime of General Videla. Fortunately, my first prison was a women's prison, and they took it upon themselves to teach me Spanish from scratch. When asked where I learned Spanish, I reply, "In jail." I married a young Panamanian diplomat I met in Geneva. I have been working as a broker associate/director at Servmor Realty since 2008 and am also a broker in Florida, although I focus on selling properties in Panama. Additionally, I am a certified interpreter/translator in Spanish, English, and French. While I could live and work in many countries, I am happy in Panama, where I have lived alternatively for almost 30 years, and I am glad to be of assistance.

Hello everyone

71 year old Marine Corps veteran thinking about migrating in the future to Panama. It will be awhile as I have a wife who doesn't want to live abroad, so if anything happens in future I would like to move to a place with ocean that I can live in as a US retiree on SS without a hassle.  I'll read posts on here from time to time about expats who actually live in the country. Thanks and God Bless all

@manper Panamanians LOVE foreigners, especially what they affectionately call GRINGOS - which I'm proud to be. Your negative experience very likely mirrors your attitude.

@wilfordwilson418 You appear to qualify for a "pensionado" visa - which is not based on your age but the fact that you receive a pension - in your case, social security payments. (Consulting a Panamanian immigration attorney is strongly suggested, as I'm not an attorney in Panama). While Medicare is only available in the US, it's possible to enjoy emergency care if you have parts A, B, C, and D. You can live close to the (Pacific) Ocean in nice locations, but not in the immediate proximity of the capital.

@panamaw

isecom

Thanks for your info.

My

pleasure.

Hello all,

Just making a quick post as an introduction before attempting to pick your collective brains and experiences for some information.

My wife and I are still several years from retiring but Panama is at the top of òur list for locations to retire and Pedasi seems to tick the vast majority of our (well my - but don't tell my wife) boxes.

Hi Wayne, Having spent two months in Montréal during the winter, I can empathize with the snowbirds flocking to Panama at that time. Pedasí is a relatively charming and quaint little town. The beach is not too far, but certainly not within walking distance. Occasional stays are fine, but I would think twice about spending my retirement days three hours from the Rio Hato airport or five hours from vibrant Panama City. I suggest you take a (winter) holiday, spend a few days in Panama City (Uber), and then explore the interior with a car rental (Waze). Your secrets are safe. While new on this forum, I've lived in Panama for many years.

Hello ALL... I am Albert and was born in Colon Hospital. Father unemployed at time so I am Naturalized. My Mother was from Panama and met my Am.Father. My last true visit with family I was 15yrs old. There were six of us at the time born in Panama with Canal Zone but me. It was a nice visit seeing everyone there. We have a big family there in Panama. My oldest sister has been able to re-visit many times. I only got 2nd chance by bus from Costa Rica. So I stayed one nite at The Contenintal(sp) in Chirique & one nite in Boquete. It was Festival time so not many rooms. I worked as a comp. operator in a D.C. Hosp for 18yrs then left the winters and moved to Sarasota FL. Outsourced after 7yrs working at a College and now in Clearwater,FL. Well Ins & Assessments going up in 2025. WOW...what will I be paying. So I go back & forth if I should try Panama for at least 1-year. Panama City was not where we lived but visited relatives. So I really don't know a lot but what the new Panama City is like now. WOW...beautiful...Things I worry are my meals. I would miss my BOGO deals at Publix & my Free Medication I don't pay for. This still a hard decision for me but thinking again of moving. Neighbor listing her condo this Sunday. Does she know what rates HOA is going to hit us with?  I have no excitement here but watch tv & shop. So idea maybe living in Panama, I will get out and do more. Thanks for letting me share and hope did bore. OH...thinking more of David maybe to want to live if I make the move.

Hi there!

My name is Jessica 42yrs (American)and my husband 54yrs (French) bought land in in 2019 and are finally ready to make our move to Panama in January of 2025! 😁. We have a combined 35+ yrs in the luxury hospitality industry, and after a long stretch living in St Barthelemy, it is very exciting to have found a place where nature is abundant, people are friendly, and we can stretch beyond the limits of a 26 square kilometer island.

As nature enthusiasts with a special particular for birding, so we fell in love with Panama the first time we visited, especially Torio and the western coast of the Azuero Peninsula... And that's where we decided to purchase land and pursue our goal of creating a small nature reserve and ecotourism business. We have 16 ha of former cattle pasture that we are currently letting re-wild and a small residential lot in Torio where we plan to build a small house and ADU for the 2 of us, and family and friends that may want to visit.

We are currently researching lawyers and how we may be able to qualify for the Friendly Nations Visa (as it has change since we first bought land and wanted to move). We also have plenty of questions about bringing our 2 small dogs with us.

There is a nice community that we've met in our future home in Panama, however I hope to find a broader insight from this community and am so happy to join this forum. 😎🌿🌺