Possibly moving to Panama, many questions???

Hello Penny

I'm glad you decided Las Olas to live, is a very nice place!

In Panama are a lot of 40Ž' age a plus people. Basically because is a retirement country.

I don't know about teachers, but i know of a lot of bilingual schools in David, I'm sure some of those teachers may help.

Properties in las Olas here: www.panamarealestateproperties.comhttp://www.panamarealestateproperties.c … earch=true

Have a nice trip-

Hola buenos dias.. saludos desde Costa Rica.. estoy analizando ir a vivir a Panama por razones laborales. la empresa que me esta llevando queda en Edison panama, Panama. me estan ofreciendo $2300 dolares, y me iria con mi esposa (no tenemos hijos), con este monto podemos vivir comodamente? me preocupa que he visto apartamentos en por lo menos $1000 por alquiler, no se si me alcanzaria el dinero, otra opcion que me han propuesto es ir a vivir un poquito mas afuera de la ciudad, para alquilar por un monto masbajo, pero no se que tanto se durara viajando de un lugar un poco salido de la ciudad hasta la oficina... saludos desde Costa Rica

@danCR - Can you please write in English on this Anglophone forum so that other members may understand?

Thank you,
Aurélie

We are moving to Panama in about 1 1/2 months.  We are having a few items shipped but most we will buy there.  Our plan is to go to Panama City 1st for about a month and check out where we really want to live.  We will be flying with our 22 lb Shih Tzu.  Any ideas where to stay in Panama City.  Do we need to then fy to David?  That appeals to us but until we see it we won't know.  Many, many questions!  Would like an American community.

There are tons of resources available to you on Boquete.ning - most of your questions will be answered.  Also check out travel advice on the Articles page of BoqueteLots.com.  See you soon!

Why do you want to live in an isolated area with a youngster
of 16 years old? Live in Panama city so that he can have a good education.
As for yourself, start a bnb or teach, but do not burry yourself in old peoples country.

PICK ANOTHER COUNTRY!!!! It's a nightmare living here. Been here almost 7 years and regret not going to another country. Immigration is a nightmare and getting anything done just doesn't happen. Their is no customer service anywhere. You can't get a bank account anymore without giving up ALL your personal and your families personal financial info. Even when you do, they will not open your account. They get paid for providing the info to the IRS. They don't want the reporting problems imposed by the IRS now that the USSA have basically taken over Panama. This all goes directly to the IRS here in Panama.

They also just authorized GMO corn and other seeds here which means all the meat you buy here will have GMO problems bot to mention any natural and processed food made here. Beware of monsanto. They payoff the politicians everywhere.

Don't bring a car to many problems with aduana and getting it cleared.

In short pick another country.

Jim

The consensus here is that you should sell the car in the U.S. and buy one here. I followed that advice a few weeks ago and bought a 2011 Hyundai Tucson from Automarket/Dollar Rent-a-car. I am glad I sold my cars in the U.S. It is easy to buy cars here and the prices are about the same or less than in the U.S. Most of us are buying used cars here.

There are retired everything from the U.S. here including teachers.
Educational opportunities for a sixteen y.o. are best in Panama city. More choices! Maybe he could finish high school in PC and them you move to the interior.

Good luck.

Hi Penny,

congratulations on a great decision! My spouse and I are moving to Pedasi in early November, and think the David area would be lovely. Your son could attend school wherever you go, or there may be a private school nearby.  Costs are much less than North America!
Forget the container...we have found it is way too much money and you can replace your furniture cheaper in Panama. Just pack personal, sentimental things. Look at my blog at www.postcardsfrompanama.net for our experience, or watch for my upcoming book "Panama! Why Panama?" to be out soon.

Good Luck, Iris Todd-Lewis

You probably don't want to ship your car here. I made that mistake and wound up paying an import tax of about $3,500 on a car worth about $12,000. They don't consider full depreciation.

nfoote wrote:

The consensus here is that you should sell the car in the U.S. and buy one here. I followed that advice a few weeks ago and bought a 2011 Hyundai Tucson from Automarket/Dollar Rent-a-car. I am glad I sold my cars in the U.S. It is easy to buy cars here and the prices are about the same or less than in the U.S. Most of us are buying used cars here.

There are retired everything from the U.S. here including teachers.
Educational opportunities for a sixteen y.o. are best in Panama city. More choices! Maybe he could finish high school in PC and them you move to the interior.

Good luck.

Automarket is a great place to buy a car. We too, bought a 2011 Hyundai Tucson. Read more about it:
http://panamalife.freeforums.net/index. … &thread=37

invader609 wrote:

PICK ANOTHER COUNTRY!!!! It's a nightmare living here. Been here almost 7 years and regret not going to another country. Immigration is a nightmare and getting anything done just doesn't happen. Their is no customer service anywhere. You can't get a bank account anymore without giving up ALL your personal and your families personal financial info. Even when you do, they will not open your account. They get paid for providing the info to the IRS. They don't want the reporting problems imposed by the IRS now that the USSA have basically taken over Panama. This all goes directly to the IRS here in Panama.

They also just authorized GMO corn and other seeds here which means all the meat you buy here will have GMO problems bot to mention any natural and processed food made here. Beware of monsanto. They payoff the politicians everywhere.

Don't bring a car to many problems with aduana and getting it cleared.

In short pick another country.

Jim

Wow.... sorry that you feel this way about Panama.

Toddlewis wrote:

Hi Penny,

congratulations on a great decision! My spouse and I are moving to Pedasi in early November, and think the David area would be lovely. Your son could attend school wherever you go, or there may be a private school nearby.  Costs are much less than North America!
Forget the container...we have found it is way too much money and you can replace your furniture cheaper in Panama. Just pack personal, sentimental things. Look at my blog at www.postcardsfrompanama.net for our experience, or watch for my upcoming book "Panama! Why Panama?" to be out soon.

Good Luck, Iris Todd-Lewis

I am from India, 34 yrs old, been into customer service for over 5  yrs now, planing to move out of India and live somewhere closer to north america, how is panama?

Once I am living in Panama, my blog will continue with descriptions of the experience of living there.

Hey everybody,

I'm 33 years old and live here with my wife and family (my wife is Panamanian). I know some people living here hate it here or have had problems here (like PanamaDan above) and I'm sorry these people feel this way. I love this country. I worked my butt off in the States and lost everything during the recession. I always fancied myself a writer, but I never really followed my dream. Since moving to  Panama I've had the chance to travel around the country and write about it (for a monthly e-zine), I have my own blog about Panama, and I've written my first book. I'm also teaching English part time. So, in my opinion, Panama has given me many opportunities I didn't have in my own country. In many ways, especially for new business owners, Panama is like the U.S. back in the 50's. Many towns here are so young and growing so quickly. If you move to a place like Pedasi (my favorite place in Panama), you won't find much there. What you do find has been brought to the area by expats from all over the globe. That place is so young, but is growing so rapidly (an airport, hospital, shopping center, and several major housing developments are on their way). So you have the chance to get in on the ground floor and make it what it will soon be.

All that said, I want to answer the question that was asked on here. I used my severance pay to pack a container and have it shipped here. I want to say the 30-foot container wound up costing a little over $7,000 to ship. I had a two-story house in Ohio, packed with all my family's stuff. I didn't want to leave it behind. I still think that made sense in my particular situation. I always tell people this: bring what you can't live without. If you have fancy furniture that costs a fortune, bring it, because furniture here is cheap, unless you spend a fortune on it. If you have no problem replacing something, leave it, and buy it here. Appliances can be purchased here. No need to bring them. A car can be bought here. Plus, one thing that most people don't keep in mind when they move their car here, is that you need to be able to buy parts for your car here. So if you plan to bring a car, make sure there's a dealer here and that parts will be readily available.

For example, I was going to buy a Dodge Grand Caravan (it's what I had in the States and I loved it). I found one at a used car lot, but the guy working there warned me not to buy it. We struck up conversation early and he was being extra nice to me. He kind of leaned over and whispered, "Don't buy it. Finding parts will be hell." So that's something to keep in mind. Probably someone brought the Dodge van, couldn't find parts, and traded it in or sold it.

I don't know anything about Las Olmas (I want to take a trip there now), but I think one of the other contributors was right. Be careful cutting yourself off from society. If you're in your 40's, you'll find plenty of expats here in your age group. But I worry about your 16 year old. You don't want to cut him off too. I just came back from Coronado. I had to take a trip there last week to write about it. I'd never been a big fan of the area before, mostly just because I'm not a big fan of the beach. I'd rather be in the hills or mountains. However, after visiting, I'm really considering moving to that area. In the Coronado area there are three international schools. That would be really important for your son. Tudors should be easy to find, not to mention the place is packed with expats. I explained that it's kind of like the Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale, of Panama.

Some people say that Coronado is overpriced, and in many ways I'd have to agree. But the cool thing about that area is that you can live close to it and still enjoy the three major supermarkets, the golf clubs, the beach, and everything else the area has to offer. There's a lady selling a three-bedroom house in Chame, only about 10-15 minutes from Coronado, and she wants $165,000. The house even has a guest apartment that's separated from the rest of the house. It's kind of a fixer upper so not the best thing for me and my young kids, but I'm thinking of moving to the area at least.

Something else that's great is that it's only about 45 minutes to an hour outside of Panama City. Your son will appreciate being closer to the city. He can hop on a bus for less than $3 and be deposited at the Albrook Mall, which is the largest of the city's malls. It has a bowling alley, a movie theater (most movies are in English with Spanish subtitles), and all major stores, many of which you'd find in the U.S. Plus, you can even find mountain/hill top towns, like Las Lajas, which is right across the street from Coronado and gently rises uphill. Living there would cost a lot less than living in Coronado itself. I'm telling you all this because I've been here for about 3 years. My kids could handle the move to David because they're in an all Spanish school now, but they're young, and they picked up the language quickly. For a 16 year old, he might feel like a fish out of water. Think about living a little closer to the city, in an expat-friendly town.

I hope this helps. And don't be afraid to make the move. It's not as difficult as you might think. I just met a couple living in Altos del Maria, a hillside community near Coronado. They've been here for about two weeks and they love it. They wish they'd done it sooner. I'm sure they wouldn't mind chatting with you about their move. Send me a message if you want to talk to them and I'll ask if they'd mind.

Chris

I'm glad to hear from someone who has made a success of a move to Panama. We arrive on November 12th, and our house in Pedasi will soon be ready for occupancy. It is correct that this little "village" of about 2500 folks is growing...there will also soon be a large hotel near the beach! The distance from Panama City concerns me a little, but we can arrange for medivac at a minimal cost per year if required, and the new hospital will have an emergency dept.
I too wish I could have done this sooner, but it is never too late for change, and as pensionados, we will have many benefits.

Toddlewis,

Yes, Pedasi is definitely growing. The trip to the city can be a bit tedious, but it's possible by bus, so that makes it easier. It's only about $2.40 to Las Tablas. Then, from there you pay $9.70 to get to Panama City. So for about $12 each way you can make the trip stress free and be dropped off at Albrook Mall.

Plus, for anyone interested in Pedasi, remember that you don't have to travel all the way to Panama City to find shopping and a movie theater. While Pedasi and Las Tablas don't have fast food chains or malls or movie theaters, all those things can be found in Chitre. Las Tablas is about a half hour drive from Pedasi and Chitre is about a half hour from Las Tablas (so an hour from Pedasi). In Chitre you'll find a brand new mall with a great play area for the kids/grand kids, a small movie theater (I think 4 screens, but first run movies), a KFC, McDonalds, Payless Shoes, and several large supermarkets. So you may not even want to go as far as Panama City. Try Chitre first.

Chris

Thanks CMichael...I appreciate the update!     Iris

Good job of breaking it down, Jim.   My fiancee and I brought a used car in and the taxes they charged were 250 percent of the car's actual value.  The used car dealers have their own Mafia here to keep out decent used cars that would compete with theirs.   My fiancee could not get any work teaching English even though he is completely bilingual, having been raised in both Colombia and the U.S.   Gringos will find it close to impossible to find work.  As far as immigration goes,  his step father is Panamanian and he begun trying to get his papers back in 2005.  Fast forward to 2015, after being shuffled back and forth between offices for 18 months, he was told to just start over.  This is despite the fact that his stepfather's cousin used to sit on the Supreme Court of the country.   I have some command of Spanish but could not understand anyone other than the Colombian tourists.  Panamanians massacre the English language and drop the beginning and end of sentences -- so you are given one word answers and have to extrapolate the rest.  The crowd of Americans outside of Panama City is quite old.   David is kind of a miserable City without much to recommend itself and whatever you do don't buy anything there or anywhere in Panama.  No value for the Money.   If project is not yet built, chances are good it won't be and you can kiss your money goodbye.   It is almost impossible to resell your apt. Right now.  The economy is in a big slump.