The other side of the Panamanian postcard

I would say, no matter what anyone says or would like to think, that you need to learn to speak Spanish and immerse yourself in the countries culture whenever possible. You won't make lasting, real friendships without doing this.

Don't try to live life like a "home from home" and expect everything to "work" like you are used to...and even if it does, it will take longer to achieve your expectations.

Experience the interior of the country as often as possible and explore new places on and off the beaten track.

Enjoy the freedom the country has to offer and smile more often than complain.

Cheers!

You are so right. When you live abroad you are living daily life, not an extended vacation.  What do you need to be happy? What will you do with your days?

For me, some things took a little while to figure out. Sometimes there are more steps to get things done when shopping or doing business. Things aren't always as punctual as we expect in the US. But it was all minor stuff complicated by my lack of fluent Spanish. In general I found the transition easier than I expected, and living here a joy far beyond anything I expected.

Learn the language! That is really important, IMO. Daily life will be much easier, and it's wonderful to be able to make local friends and learn from them about the culture and life here. If you are open to new experiences you can have a great time. 

Julien wrote:

Hi,

As a tourist in a foreign country, very often, we are enchanted with what we discover.

Living abroad is different. It's a rich experience but there are also some difficulties to face.

When people ask me for advice on living abroad, I then tend to say that one should also look at both sides of the postcard.

As an expat in Panama, how would you describe the two sides of your Panamanian postcard?

Thank you for sharing your experience,

Julien

ola...

Panama is a beautiful country and the people are very nice...i'm only here for nearly 2 months so i haven't any hard or bad experience staying here...im still in adjusting period and getting to know the place well...the only thing i can share before coming here is to have learn the language "habla espanol",.it will help you a lot getting around here...cause i came to place were english is the main language to connect with the people..so its so hard for me to speak to people here cause i only have a little background in spanish...so language is very important here....a smartphone with itranslate app will also help you if you don't know how to speak spanish...so thats all next time again will write again



hope you all understand

The sunny paradise often depicted as Panama is true...there is beautiful weather nearly all the year; the local folk are friendly and tolerant of language mistakes; the fruits are plentiful; beer is cheap; the ocean is usually very close; beaches are gorgeous and unpopulated for the most part; the water is potable; roads are reasonably even; the US dollar is used here; and the expatriate communities are filled with fascinating people all seeking a dream retirement, or a place to which they can truly escape for part of the year.   

Flipping over the card, one sees a rather greyer picture. The electrical outages are numerous and often inconvenient, the water supply gets low or dries up by the end of the dry season, there are horrible insects that bite and seek to hide in your house whenever the seasons change; banking is difficult for foreigners; although Spanish is easy to learn, the language is not English; building methods are very different to North America; manana does not mean "tomorrow", but "sometime later" if  you are lucky; there are only 12 hours of daylight ALL YEAR LONG; the dust is reddish brown and even gets in your underwear!; when it rains (in wet season) it literally can flood you out;

Balance the good versus the not- so- good, and decide for yourself...there is more on both sides; this is just a synopsis of one person's view.