My experiences in Panama

For many years I went to Costa Rica for my long winter holiday. I normally went for 2 months or more. I found that living in Tamarindo that there was getting to be way to much crime and violence. After getting robbed of our belongings we decided to go and visit friends in panama. That was an eye-opener. There was a much better infrastructure in place and a much more middle class population. The people were lovely and life was much different than costa rica. before we came back to Tamarindo we were sold on the concept of moving there for our retirement. We contacted a realtor and purchased some beachfront property about an hour and a bit out of David. The subsequent years saw us going down every year. We have invested there and introduced it to many of our friends and clients who ended up getting property there as well. I never have built on the beachfront and would in fact like to sell it. We did get property in David in a gated community that works for us very well. Business is done a little differently than it is in Canada but all in all it was a very good experience.

Hello almostretired.

Welcome to Expat.com! :)

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

Aurélie

Hi neighbor! It's interesting to hear your perspective on Costa Rica vs Panama. We've heard similar stories from quite a few people. Are you in Cuesta del Sol? We have Canadian friends who stayed there and through them, met quite a few other Canadians there.

Kris

almostretired wrote:

For many years I went to Costa Rica for my long winter holiday. I normally went for 2 months or more. I found that living in Tamarindo that there was getting to be way to much crime and violence. After getting robbed of our belongings we decided to go and visit friends in panama. That was an eye-opener. There was a much better infrastructure in place and a much more middle class population. The people were lovely and life was much different than costa rica. before we came back to Tamarindo we were sold on the concept of moving there for our retirement. We contacted a realtor and purchased some beachfront property about an hour and a bit out of David. The subsequent years saw us going down every year. We have invested there and introduced it to many of our friends and clients who ended up getting property there as well. I never have built on the beachfront and would in fact like to sell it. We did get property in David in a gated community that works for us very well. Business is done a little differently than it is in Canada but all in all it was a very good experience.