The Panama Chronicles (Pt.1)
HOW IT STARTED:
Last summer my husband and I were sitting in the back yard and he said ”winter is coming, I hate the winter I wish we could move”. And for the first time in my life it kind of settled in… why do we live here? What is keeping me here? Each and every day I become more disappointed in the way the country is going, living in Canada is getting so expensive and limiting. And we’re working our butts off to make ends meet. Spending time away from our kids just so we can finally - what - go on a vacation and get to know who they are for a couple weeks a year? So I said “if we want to move somewhere, we actually need to visit the places before we make the leap. We need to figure out where we want to land.” And from there a ChatGPT journey of research took off.
Criteria being:
- Warm temperatures all year round to grow food
- safety
- economic stability
- low cost of living
- healthcare accessibility
- favourable tax structure
Top of the list: Panama.
Some other options came in a close second: Spain, Canary Islands, Mauritius. But Panama was top. And considering we are living in Canada we then looked at direct flights, time change etc. Panama starting checking all of the boxes. 1-2 hour time difference so we can still regularly and easily contact family & friends, travelling back and forth wouldn’t be so cumbersome and there were direct flights to Panama City from Calgary that were 6.5 hours. People can ACTUALLY come visit us. We will ACTUALLY fly back home.
2 weeks later, my husband booked flights to Panama over the kids spring break.
HOW ITS GOING:
I write this on our second last day in Panama. We have been here for 2 weeks now. We stayed for 3 nights in Panama City, 3 nights in Coronado, 3 nights in Cambutal, 3 nights in Boquete, 2 nights in El Chiru and will be spending one night in Panama City again for our departure.
Panama City:
One word: Bustling
It’s a lot of infrastructure for a population of between 400-500 thousand people. My original thought was who lives in all of these buildings? Are they all corporate? The math ain’t mathing.
We stayed predominantly in Casco Viejo. An old settlement from the 1700’s built after the original colony was burned down by pirates. A UNESCO heritage site now. A beautiful section of town that is being painstakingly rejuvenated. Totally walkable, VERY touristy. Good restaurants and bars and coffee shops. Now from what we’ve heard since then is that the locals actually aren’t that happy with the way it’s going. Big money from Israel coming in and pushing out the locals and jacking up prices. But it was a good first stop for us considering we are not really city people but love history. The Panama Canal is just adjacent to the Old Town and thats where the Panama Canal Museum is as well.
We had zero intention of looking at property here. And we didn’t. But we wanted to familiarize ourselves with the city and the vibes.
Coronado:
One word: Overhyped
This was one of the spots where we were pretty hopeful. It has a big expat presence, ocean town, beaches, etc. We were disappointed. Everything is basically off the highway. With million dollar homes lining the beaches, it’s very tricky to find any public access points and parking. As a result, the beaches are DEAD. Very little community vibe, low walkability and just wasn’t for us.
Cambutal:
One word: Underhyped
I was really sceptical of our plans of moving here until I reached this sleepy surf town. My nervous system totally downshifted here. A small oceanfront town that has some of the better surfing and fishing in Panama. There’s one market, one coffee shop and a surf shop on the main drag. A few restaurants peppering the one road. We had an oceanfront property rental that was dated, but waking up to the view every morning was pretty special. We booked a fishing charter here and it was a major highlight of the trip. Keny OG born and raised in Cambutal and Ben a fresh expat from Florida were incredible. Just down to earth good people with a similar value system to ours. Young kids, slow living, focus on what matters. We were out for a half a day and caught a mahi mahi, and 2 yellowfin tuna. We saw 2 whales, a bunch of dolphins, and sea turtles. It was honestly a perfect day (barring the sunburns that ensued!). Despite me being covered head to toe, linen pants, linen long sleeve, wide brimmed hat, my face got burned from the reflection off the water.
The only downsides here are the isolation (5 hours to Panama City, 5 hours to David - the main airports) and the heat. It was 36C degrees each day. I had to pull the kids inside from basically 11AM to 4 in the afternoon because the sun was so hot and we would burn in 10 minutes. Yeah, you could probably get used it it, find ways to protect against the sun. Shade, hydration, cooling showers, appropriate sun wear. But we’re already extreme temperature people. -30C in the winter and being cooped up inside is equally as limiting as +36C and cooped up inside.
I would come back here in a heartbeat. I love what they are building here.
Boquete:
One word: Goldilocks
I can understand why Boquete has become such an expat hub. The temperatures are way milder 16-28 degrees during the day/night. Truly a Goldilocks zone of warm temps, but not stifling. Lush mountain terrain, beautiful views, coffee farms galore, wonderful gardening environment. Boquete itself is very touristy. Lots of restaurants, cafe’s, groceries and some shops. It’s known for its coffee and flower festival in January. It’s about 45 mins to David which has an airport, and its a bigger city in which you can get a lot of your big ticket items, car dealerships, furniture, etc. We think this region (not the town itself but acreage outside of it - is the winner). Plus it has a really lovely golf course called Lucero that we would love to give a try and would draw my parents down to us more often (hopefully!).
All in all, it’s been a successful trip. So many wonderful things to say about the food, the pace of life here. Are we crazy? Maybe. But we’re going to take the leap.
I‘ll keep you posted!
-HHH