Introduction

Hi  Mrstwayner !

Welcome to Expat.com

Armand

Hey ya'll right back at cha!  Moved from San Antonio last September and LOVE it!  Penenome is definitely up and coming!  Other than near the beach what criteria are you looking for?  Where does you family live in Panama?

We have a daughter in Panama City, son in Panonome and grandchildren in Chitre.  We thought that Panonome would be the best for us as the area is close to a lot of thing and still close to the City.  Plus the stores, hospital, etc. are there.  We aren't city folks we live close to San Antonio but far enough to be considered country.  We like it that way.

My birthday is on June 13, but 1946.  LOL

Ha - well I moved from Boerne to San Antonio (actually my hubby did as I moved here to Panama after we sold our home) so I get to now say I have a spot in San Antonio in addition to my adopted country.  Sounds like you will have a great family "fit" near Penonome - there are some newer homes/developments being built in Anton that you may want to peek at.

It's good to see so many fellow Texans in Panama.  Maybe if we do move down in a couple years, we'll feel right at home.

What are the closest "suburbs" to Panama City that have shopping, an airport, good access to the city and importantly, hospitals and doctors? It's also important that I'm near other expats.
Thank you.

Howdy Y'all,

There are lots of Texans here in Panama so you'll feel right at home! We moved here from Corpus Christi, TX 2 years ago, but hubby grew up in San Antonio where he went to Robert E. Lee High School.  We live outside of the Coronado area in Chame.  It's actually cooler here than it is in Texas these days which is funny considering you'd think the tropics would be hotter.

It's been an adventure and our early retirement has been fun and exciting and certainly not boring.

Terry and Clyde Coles

Thanks a million for getting back to me Terry. After 34 yrs. in Houston, I know all about humidity and rain. We've had our share in Atlanta this summer.

If you have time, would you mind sharing the biggest challenges you faced in getting settled?  don't know the geography of the area very well yet, so I'm not sure where you are. I'm asking all of my blog contacts to send me pictures of their residences if they don't mind. I'm interested to see what everyone is paying, as the real estate sites haven't shown me a broad base of options yet. Perhaps I don't have the right one.

I'm not sure where I'm going to work in PC.....likely in a large day school. I don't want to work full time.I'll likely live right outside of PC, but I'm clueless at to where. I'll probably be there to visit before the end of the year.

I'm glad to know your family is happy. I've only seen a few expats who aren't. I look forward to anything else you'd like to share.

All the best,
Sherry

The number one biggest challenge is the language.

Do NOT let some of the sites lie to you.  If you are going to live in a foreign country, one must make an attempt to speak their language.

We work very hard on our Spanish.  We started a year before we moved here with Rosetta Stone.  It gave us a very good base to get things started.  We now take weekly lessons from a local Panamanian and it has made quite the difference.

Real Estate?  That is a difficult one.  You say you want to live in or near Panama City.  We are not familiar with that area.  It is too difficult to live too far away from the city and expect to commute.  The traffic is terrible when attempting the commute.  A one hour trip will take three hours during rush hour.


Hope this helps! 

Clyde (Terry's other half)

Hi Clyde:

This was a big help. I have heard about the horrible traffic in PC, so hopefully, if I get a job at the day school, which I hear has around 3,000 students in grades k-12, it will be on the outskirts. A friend told me that if I live nearer the inner-city, that I should get a driver.

I speak "stay out of difficulty" Spanish. I learned enough when I went to Mexico, Spain and Argentina to deal with a bit more than basics. Taking classes there would definitely help. My friend told me that in the city, about 70% speak some degree of English.

You and Terry are very kind to give me all of this advice and I really appreciate your time. I'll probably be in the area before the end of the year.

I hope all is well for both of you.

Sherry

Sherry--Clyde and Terry are the best!  They were virtual friends of mine prior to our visits to Panama, and now they are really great real friends!  Listen to them and also all the others on these sites--they live there and know what they are talking about when it comes to life in Panama.  They will tell you what they know and don't know, and like all the others, they will say "visit, live it and come to your own conclusions."  Good luck!

very good advice Allig. i'm new to the forum but know very well about " go there and see for yourself ". you definitely cannot rely on advertisements. mike is my name

mike again. I see you are an active member. what is an active member and what is the purpose?

mike again, mike again, mike again. not a misprint, just submitted too quickly. maybe I should have ask " what is your role " not purpose