Internet Stability and other questions

Hola
We have now been living in Pedasi, the top Beach pueblo on the Eastern Azuero coast, for 4 months. We first had a Claro Hotspot and that was reasonable, but was Wi-Fi only and had to be recharged every 3-4 hours. We now have Cable & Wireless DSL and it has been reasonable. Moving here from Northern California and use too Cable or T1 speeds has required an adjustment. You will never get what you were use to, but you learn to adjust. Not all of Pedasi has C&W, some parts are covered by other carriers and they have their challenges also. Wherever you move, ask the local Gringo's what to expect for the area you are moving to. I too have internet interest and have learn to deal with the slow times and the better times. After a while you know when you can work or when you should play. BTW - If you want to see any North American programs, get an Apple TV or Chromecast and use a VPN program or router. We brought a Witopia Router/VPN with us (you can only get it if you have a North American address to ship it to)and have been very happy with it. You will also want to have a Magic Jack, the latest version is very good here.
Chau,
Mikkel

Thanks for the reply Mikkel. I've actually been reading your blog lately Very enlightening! It's so funny to realize how similar life in Panama and Nicaragua really is.

My husband's job requires stable, during office hours -internet, and he does have to work with VPN and such. Right now, we have 2 providers, the other one will be up, if one fails. We will just have to ask around, and if the internet connection isn't stable enough, we'll have to consider somewhere else to live, probably in a city

Here in Nica, we've been using torrent sites to catch the American tv shows... But good to know about the other choices. With torrents, you never know what you're gonna get.

Mikkel,
Saw your response to Mikuli, it made me wonder...  Can you use a Magic Jack with a Hotspot?
My house is sold, three day giant housesale this week, a little time to regroup then off to Chitre!!  I am going to keep an apartment here in New York for frequent visits back and forth.  Trying to figure out how to be connected here without signing up for yearlong contracts for Internet and phone when I may be in the States only a month or two.  Was wondering if a T-Mobile, pay by the month, Hotspot would work?  No one here seems to be able to answer my question with any certainty.
Thanks for your help.  If this would work, it would kill two birds with one stone!

It will work with a hotspot if you plug the Magic Jack into a computer. The Magic Jack has to have a hard connection to the Internet. The newest version really works best directly plugged into a router. But, that being said, when we first arrived in Panama we used a Claro Hotspot, brought up the Internet on a computer and then plugged the Magic Jack into that computer. Not as good a connection and sometimes had to hang up and call again. BTW-We brought our U.S. home number with us so that our friends and family already knew our number, the only downside is that we still get telemarketers calling, but we just ask, can you do that in Panama? Usually ends the call.
Also we take our Magic Jack and a small handset telephone with us when we travel, when the place we are staying has Internet we have a Magic Jack connection.

Another tip: First, you must do this BEFORE you come to Panama or have access to an address and a live body that can act as your surrogate in the U.S. Do not know if this is available in Canada.

Open an account with Charles Schwab. They rebate ALL ATM fees and DO NOT charge a Foreign Transaction fee. They will issue you a "Debit" card when you open your Schwab Bank account after you open your Schwab Stock account (You do NOT have to have any stock to open an account). You can use this as a Debit Card for ATM withdrawals and as a credit card at most Panamanian stores and gas stations that take credit cards.
The only catch is that you must have a verifiable U.S. address and be able to receive mail and answer the phone at that address, a P.O. box will not do. A Magic Jack number will work as long as you have the ability to answer it when they call and the area code must match the U.S. address you use.

If you are former or even active U.S. military or have a relative that is or was U.S. Military then you can open a USAA bank account. This can be used as a back up to the Schwab account. The USAA debit card only rebates the first $15 in ATM fees and they do charge a 1% Foreign Transaction Fee, sounds crazy since it is the dollar, but they will not budge on this one. We use this one to receive funds, pay bills and transfer money to the Schwab account.
Buena Suerta

Your question is a good one.  Many people ask, "Do you have internet?" and the answer is generally "yes".  BUT, it's the speed that counts.  We made sure that we have CableOnda in Boquete.  It is not available in many places away from towns.  We chose the speed we needed.  We pay $42 for 5 mg but we can go higher (up to 100 m) for a little more money.  Other companies offer .5 mg for $150. 
We have slingbox for our tv which is US TV through a wifi connection and we do not have any problems except for usual, temporary outages.
We also use Skype and MagicJack.  MagicJack is loaded on our Iphones as well.
For some things you will need to download HideMyAss or TunnelBear to access US sites. 
It's a slow process to learn the ins and outs but people will help you
Congrats on the sale NSYPT!

Thank you tombseekers. That'll give us tips on what to look for. We started our quest a few years ago, by asking: do you have internet.. and when we moved to Nicaragua, quickly realized it wasn't what we should've asked.

Even tho beach living calls me very strongly, we might have to start in a bigger city; common sense says bigger cities have better connections