Panama

Hi cccoger
We are in Auburn and have been researching Panama for 3 years. Made 2 trips to Panama, last one this January and we rented a house while there. Will be moving in August. We picked a small village of 2,000 people 5 hours from Panama City that is 2 km off the beach. Our rent for a 2 bdrm, 1 bath, including all utilities but gas, is $600 per month. If you would like to discuss this more, please email me direct at moller66 @ gmail .com, take out the spaces.
Buena Suerta!

What is your budget a month? 

You are reading about crime because for the countries you mentioned the income level is still very low for these people.  In Panama its $600 a month, in Ecador its like Nicaragua and closer to $300 and in Uruguay it's closer to $1000.

The mentality also persists that all Americans are wealthy - which is not even the case - or it isn't for us.  So a lot of what you are reading about is those who brought into this country a lot of wealth and the crimes are those of opportunity. 

We lived in a home of a local, we brought nothing with us and we did not use a cleaning woman and we had no outright thefts.  But my husband still found little things missing around the house and the only one with a key was the landlord.  So while I think he misplaced those things you will see topics on boards where expats tell you to confirm the integrity of your cleaning person for example.  They will tell you to leave a $20 bill in a drawer on cleaning day and if the bill is gone at the end of the day you need to fire your cleaning person.

We loved Uruguay.  It does get cold there however. 

A lot of where you will go will depend on what you want to spend a month and how you want to live.  What is the quality of life you want?  Do you want gated expat communities or to live among the locals?  Do you need malls and theatres?  That is the easier way to answer your question.  Well at least the first step in answering your question.

As far as being receptive to Americans, you almost don't get much better than Panama. A few other places are great too, but Panama is one of the few countries making it easier for Americans to move here. Opening a bank account here isn't as easy as it once was, but from what I understand it's not so easy anywhere else.

As for the cost of living, you're not going to find a great place to live, for what most people would consider affordable, in Panama City. That's where most of the crime is (in certain areas of course) and where the horrible traffic is. I live in the city. I'm American and married to a Panamanian. I'm kind of a big guy though and haven't been robbed or messed with at all really (fingers crossed), but I know people who have. But I know people who have been robbed in New York, Chicago, and Miami.

From what I've seen, most of the interior towns are a lot more safe and relaxed. For example, in a  friendly little town called Aguadulce, it's common to see people with their front doors sitting wide open. You don't see that in the city. In Las Tablas, a local told me you could fall asleep on the sidewalk and you'd be fine. Please...don't fall asleep on a sidewalk in Las Tablas though...or anywhere else for that matter.

Keep your eye on Panama. Don't let the negative stories of others (some are real, true, horror stories though) deter you from checking it out. Most of the bad stories have to do with being swindled while trying to run a business here or real estate problems. I'd definitely look into renting something when you're here. Just rent for awhile. Figure out the system, find a good, English speaking, trustworthy lawyer before purchasing property, and make sure you've given your Panamanian town of choice a test drive before digging in your roots.

Chris

Thank you for your reply. I am not sure of a budget as of yet. I would like to rent/buy in a gated community on the beach. I also have a small dog that would be moving with us. We are planning a trip in May to either Panama or Ecuador to take a better look. Any information you have would be appreciated.

Thank you for your reply. We are looking to eventually rent/buy in a gated community on the beach. It is a huge decision. We will be traveling in May to research further.

Out of curiousity, what is the name of the little town you have decided to settle into once in Panama?  We are visiting for the second time this March and traveling a bit farther west to Pedasi and Las Tablas.  Our last trip was to see El Valle and Coronado area (it was in October 2012).  We hope to retire early 2015 (last working months in 2014--yay!) and will rent first.  While renting we want to take trips to Boquete to see if that is the area we will settle into.

We have not decided on any paticular town at this point. We want to live at the beach and will be researching Coronado, Pedasi, Gorgona, Las Tablas and what ever else we come across. We have not made a definite decision as to where to retire. We are traveling in May to explore Panama.
Good luck on your trip in March, very exciting!