Panama For Real

Congrats on the new website! I know you have a lot of information to offer so I'm sure it will be very useful to many people. I like how you've done it too, very easy to find your way around.

Watched the Volcan video last night. Very good, we were and still are going to Check it out next month, just made us more anxious. Thanks and good job.

Thanks Kris and Hugo&Cyd. I appreciate the support. I'm really trying to push this thing. It's amazing how hard it is to get your youtube videos to show up in the search. I'm really excited about the site and have been working nonstop. We're headed to Cerro Azul tomorrow, so if anyone's interested in that area, we should have that one finished right around the 15th.

Chris

Wow It's awesome that I found your post. I'm from close to Tulsa we live in Haskell, OK. My wife and I are thinking about moving to Panama. I'm still working... I'm working at the VA hospital, but think of quitting gathering up the kids and moving down there. I'm looking for a spot to retire, but I get mix communications on the cost of living down there. Plus I only speak English. Can you give me the low down? I been watching you vids on youtube as well, so thanks for those. Is there any information or advice you can give?

This is only my second message please forgive me if this is not normal message etiquette.


Thanks

Hi JadeB,

Well it's great to meet a fellow Okie! I still have a lot of family in Tulsa and in Coweta (not sure if I spelled that correctly). There's a lot of info to give on Panama and it's hard to give you the real lowdown here in this forum. I've tried to cover a lot of it on the website at PanamaForReal.com. Check out the budget snapshots section to see just the budget breakdowns. I do my best on those but as you probably know, nailing down a budget is really hard because people live different lifestyles.

You might not go out to eat at all and spend less on entertainment and you might not plan to travel outside of the area at all, which would cut that cost down too. Or you might be someone who needs a lot of medical attention, so the trips to the doctor might cost more and you might pump your AC 24 hours per day and raise your electric costs. So it's always scary putting together those budgets. At some point someone is going to say I'm full of it because they spend this and that, but again, it really does depend on the person, so I try to give a ballpark figure.

There are plenty of places in Panama that are still very affordable, but you have to realize that the places already full of gringos are going to be a little more costly, because we usually move in and start buying up all the real estate, lol. Coronado is probably the most move-in ready (as far as beach locations go) when it comes to being an expat because tons of expats are already there transforming the place. Boquete is probably the most expat-friendly mountain town for the same reasons. So neither of those places is super cheap. Small towns like Las Tablas and Aguadulce and parts of Rio Hato are still quite affordable, but you'll find less of a concentration of foreigners. Rent in Pedasi isn't too bad right now and there are a lot of foreigners, but it's small town living. And it's growing by leaps and bounds so the cost of living will eventually go up.

Speaking English isn't a problem. You can figure it out. I'm not going to lie and say that everyone speaks English. I've seen posts where people have written that. It's not true, especially if you live in the smaller towns. In Panama City you'll find quite a few English speaking people, but in Las Tablas you won't. I still don't speak Spanish. Not really. I know a lot of words and can get around for the most part, but I definitely don't speak Spanish fluently. I'm not picking it up as easily as I thought I would. It's definitely advantageous to learn Spanish before coming here, at least the basics, and the main reason for that (other than the ease of getting around) is that learning Spanish enables you to meet some great friends. Panamanians are friendly people and they appreciate when you try to learn their language.

So...as far as advice goes. Learn Spanish if you can, but don't let it prevent you from doing this. Moving to Panama is far easier than you might think and can be the most rewarding experience of your life. But DO NOT move here without visiting first. People make that mistake and they're miserable. First of all, you never know which area/town of Panama you'll like until you come for a visit. Or you might not like Panama at all. It's not for everyone. If you come here and you like it and you have some sort of retirement income to live off of, this can be a great move for you and your family. It's not the easiest place to work and make a living. But it is a great place to launch a business and in many of the small towns, they're still so young, like the U.S. back in the 50's. You might find a small town without a good sandwich shop, so you open a sandwich shop. Please for the love of God someone open a Philly cheesesteak shop.

Check out the rest of my site and also click on "Other Panama Blogs" on my site and check out those blogs. I've made some great blogger friends, like Kris, who commented above. They all have great experiences to share.

So go to my site at PanamaForReal.com and read through everything. Watch all the videos.

You mentioned having kids. You definitely have to check out our Kidpats video then. We only have one up now, but if you haven't seen it, check it out at: panamaforreal.com/kidpats/kidpats-in-parque-omar/

If you want to just see the videos, go to our Youtube channel (and subscribe and share please) at:

youtube.com/channel/UC6N7Ih2bjD0FjOBnDg_-Flg

And if you have a Facebook account, please "like" us there. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to give info away for FREE!!!!

facebook.com/pages/Panama-For-Real/418977398194595

Ok, now that I've spammed my reply, thanks for commenting JadeB and I hope some of the info on the site helps you out. Definitely check out the blog as there's tons of info on there and in the nuts & bolts sections.

Chris

Hey, I just wanted to let everyone know that we posted the new written report on Cerro Azul, the closest mountain town to Panama City. It's all free info about living in or visiting each and every province, town, and neighborhood in Panama. Here's the link to the written report:

panamaforreal.com/pfr-location-reports/mountain-locations/cerro-azul-panama-written-report/

And the video report: panamaforreal.com/pfr-location-reports/mountain-locations/cerro-azul-panama-video-report/

And our Youtube channel: youtube.com/channel/UC6N7Ih2bjD0FjOBnDg_-Flg

And our Facebook page: facebook.com/?q=#/pages/Panama-For-Real/418977398194595?ref=br_tf

Check them out and let me know what you think. Thanks.

Chris

I enjoyed reading both reports.  Will you also report on Sora?
Thanks.

Hi Lollard,

We are going to report on every place in Panama. It just might take us a little while to get it all done, lol. The plan is to complete a report every two weeks. Sora is definitely on the list though.

Thanks for checking out our sites.

Chris

Oh and if anyone wants to check out my first video interview with the Canada-Panama Connection, check it out here: panamaforreal.com/the-pfr-mission/pfr-video-interview-with-canada-panama-connection/

Chris

And check out our first Q&A Monday, with answers to readers' emails at: panamaforreal.com/the-new-qa-monday-reader-emails-answered-starting-today/

Hey guys,

I just posted a new Thanksgiving Day post on "Understanding the Panama Lottery." I get emails about this all the time and have had several discussions on Facebook. Prior to the research for this article, I had no idea how to play the lottery here and was afraid to buy tickets because I didn't know if I was wasting money. I've figured it all out though. If you've ever had questions about playing the lottery, check out this post:

panamaforreal.com/understanding-the-panama-lottery/