So here I am in Las Tablas, standing on my porch, talking on the cell and BANG!!! Another pop-fly baseball bounces off the aluminum roof right above where I am standing. Now this hasn't happened just once or twice mind you. We are talking about 20 - 30 times since I have been living here, not to mention how many have bounced across the porch or just into the yard. I really hated to do it but in a loud voice I asked "POR FAVOR NO MAS"!! No doubt I am probably considered the "angry gringo" at this point but hopefully everybody gets over it and nobody robs the house while we are gone. :rolleyes:

Dear Member,

PanamaForum.com is under attack.

At first the forum was down for almost two weeks and took down
an entire server with it with mysterious symptoms that not even
our hosting company could put its finger on.

Then we came back up but went down again within hours.

Right now PanamaForum is being pounded day and night by 1,500+
remote-controlled zombie computers; we can only speculate about
the motivation of this attack, so if you have any ideas please
contact us.

While this situation is ongoing, we have instituted a site-wide
password policy for PanamaForum. You will be required to enter
the following username and password in a pop-up window at the
beginning of each of your PanamaForum sessions.

Please note that this username and password is the same for
everyone, and is obviously DIFFERENT from your individual
PanamaForum username, which is yours only.

[username and password sent to all members by email]

This password protection ensures that the zombie computers can't
enter the site and therefore can't use up its resources. Feel free
to share this information with others you refer to PanamaForum.
We might have to change these credentials frequently to stay one
step ahead of the attackers, and will keep you posted by email
whenever this information is changed.

Also, this is just a reminder that you are safe while visiting
PanamaForum. All the zombie computers do is connect to PanamaForum
and randomly download images, posts, etc. in order to use up
resources and bandwidth, so that genuine users (like you) are
unable to connect. Now that the password policy is in place,
the attack should not influence your PanamaForum experience and
you should be able to visit and participate as usual.

If you have any information or suspicions about this attack please
do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,

PanamaForum Admin

Wow, I'm so glad we are finally back online! Something had gone seriously wrong with the site. Fortunately "only" 3-4 days worth of posts were lost; we tried to rescue the site as it was when it went down but that turned out to be impossible, so we had to use a recent backup. PanamaForum is now switching from weekly to daily backups to ensure maximized continuity in the future. Apologies to everyone for the inconvenience!

Test Post

Hi there,

I just registered on the forum, extremely interesting conversations.

I even just sent out a looong post in the Business section about the everlasting offshore subject :-)

see ya soon!

Hi there,

I am new to the forum. I am a french citizen, and have not lived in my country for the 10 last years, working for multinationals all over the world. Most recently, I was resident of the UK, being employeed by a UK firm. Then got fired... :-(

I am now based in Bogota, Colombia, mostly on holiday and very bored to be so.

I am thinking of setting up a foundation owning a corporation ( bearer corp with nominee director?) in Panama, even though I wont be living there, but in Bogota and in the future Spain.

The company would be trading legal goods between South america and Europe. I have even thought of opening a bank account in Uruguay ( that has secrecy as well), to soothe suspicious customers who could potentially find it weird to pay a panama account - you know how europeans are suspicious...

After having read much of your forum and many attorney websites, I still have a set of questions before getting to a real attorney - could you please share your views?

1. Is that possible to incorporate in Panama, not being resident in panama, living abroad? (i can fly in to sign paperwork but will not live there)

2. Can i buy a home in Spain and avoid paying tax? (am french with panama corporation)

3. If my name never appears on the foundation or corporation ( neither beneficiaries, not director, not owner nor founder - which is great, how can i control and make sure that the 3 lawyers representing me take over all my assets? (which a bit of cash)

4. Can i be employed by the panama corporation and live and get paid in Spain or Argentina or Colombia ( the country i guess doesnt matter)? I guess I d pay tax on the salary/ bonus in the country i am in.

5. Do you know if Uruguay is a tax haven as well and if a panama company can easily open an account in uruguay?

6. What about a loan from the corporation to myself to buy a home in another country? albeit I d pay an interest to the corporation? ( I read this in several websites)

7. do I really need to set up a fundation or can just a corp make the deal? I dont have much asset to hide, just thinking of optimizing tax by setting up a corp, I am wondering how to think about the privacy - never thought about it

8. Can I have both personal funds in the foundation (or the corp?) and the corporation in operations? how Can I separate both but still have both in Panama?

9. My funds are currently in the UK. How can I trasnfer them to Panama or uruguay wihtout the UK asking me where the cash is going? mmm is this a stupid question? haha dunno, cant think about it actually, this is too new

I know that I should ask this to lawyers but I am not yet in the country and wanted to make sure I have a "basic" knowledge so bad lawyers have a limited access to ripping me off

thanks a million for your time
Ilolay

Hi guys
I have a 1200 sq meter or 12,000+ sq feet lot for sale in the town of Lidice, Capira. Around 45 mins from Panama City and 8 mins from the Panamerican Hwy. Nice little tranquil town safe and quiet.
The lot is flat and fenced in. There are all kinds of fruit trees and hardwood trees in the lot.
This lot is even blessed with a stream.
The lot has all the utilities available water, phone, cable and electric.
Priced to sell at $15,500 deal directly with owner American/Panamenian citizen. I can also build you a house on this lot 20+ years in construction exp in the US and Panama. I also have 3 more bigger lots in Chiriqui highlands.
Let me know
thanks George

Does any one know where I can find semolina flour (sèmola de harina)?
I am going to Chìriqui this week if someone knows a place there.
Panama City is fine also
Thank you!

We sale the beautiful Tucan Lodge on the Isla Boca Brava and we rent also for long terms. The Tucan Lodge consists of a main an adjacent house and is fully equipped including public electricity and water.
The Tucan Lodge is located 20 m above the sea with beautiful view of the ocean, is situated on the Golfo de Chiriqui on one of the first marine protected areas of Panama.
The Lodge has it`s own pier and is well situed as a Sport Fishing Lodge, as a Diving Station or just as a retirement pension with a small Bed & Breakfast business.
The Lodge is surrounding by a fully dubbed, 8800 m² (94723 sq.ft.) large, wooded lot.
For more Information: www.panamatrip.com
Google pictures: Tucan Lodge Isla Boca Brava www.panamatrip.com
Google Earth: 8°12’31.66” N / 82°13’04.06” W

HOLY CRAP!!!! So I live out here in Las Tablas and I know a local that is selling a 300 sq meter property for $120/meter in the middle of town. I ask if I am looking at property bordering central park in Manhattan? She replies that she has some flexibility, lol. I almost can't believe that real estate is so expensive here.

Hello,

This is my first post....I can't seem to find the newbe post. I am interested in finding a member
on one of these forums who makes some part of their living selling their art in Panama. Presumably
to tourists. I am an illustrator/cartoonist doing more painting these days. I need to somehow pad
out the SS retirement a little with some sort of income. I do meet the requirement for the retired
visa and the cost of living seems....incredibly low....still experience teaches its good to have a little
margin for the unexpected. Anyway I will be doing enough pictures of the forests and animals,
birds and beaches, might as well share them.

I hope to make my first trip to Panama in December of 2010, to do a little exploration and see if
the country is a good fit for the down hill slope I am surely on. Thanks

Glen

hello, I would like to know how this site works, thanks for your help!!!

So I just got back after 5 weeks of being in the US and to my surprise I was not asked for a tourist visa form and an additional $5. I actually went looking for the form when I entered immigration and started looking inside the blue kiosks. I guess they are not sure what to do with the old furniture in customs? Wait and see, Panama is liable to become more friendly towards expats.

Three men accused of plotting to kidnap the president of Panama - including two of his bodyguards - have been arrested.

BBC News - Panama leader's bodyguards arrested over 'kidnap plot'

I am a physician who owns 550 acres of land near Las Tablas. The land is perfect for building a huge house (which in the countryside will cost less than 100k), and has space for raising cows. The land is part valley, part low hills and has high profile neighbors next to it. I am asking around 500k negotiable for this unique property. If you are interested, please either answer me back here or at my email: Panama_house@live.com. Please, only serious buyers. Thank you.

Interested in learning some basic info about Panama. Plan to retire in 2 to 5 years. Have traveled quite a bit in Colombia and been in Peru. I have heard about all the good retirment percs and want to learn more. How is the climate in the mountains?

Panama is a great place to live if you are a retiree, independently wealthy, or a surfer that sells hemp bracelets in Venao....but what about for the rest of us? There are a slew of foreigners in between the ages of 20 and 60 that come to this country in search of making a living. Is it a feasible goal? Or will it end up being a black hole which sucks up all of your saved up cash? "Tom" has many ideas for this country because he has vacationed here and has seen how much room for improvement there is. He has noticed the lack of products and services that exist is his native country and believes that he can use what he knows, here. He has heard how cheap it is to live here and loves the idea of year round fun in the sun. Can Tom become the perma-vacationer he so desires and live happily ever after in Panama? Are the obstacles too great? Do the benefits outweigh the efforts? Will Panama open up it's doors and arms and accept that there is room for change? Or will he be sent home defeated, broke, and cursing this country and it's inhabitants? Are we trying to change something that will not change in our lifetime? One thing is for sure...we are at their mercy. But, not to fear, there are still those few James Bond foreigners that can play this system like Pinocchio. People that work the system instead of the system working them. Are you one?

Just joined, looking for general info from those with Panamanian experience. We have lived in and out of Latin America in the last 20 or so years, no rookie to the Latin experience. Quick question for Panama. In general for a small home in a quiet, safe location where should we look for a retirment home. I am not a closed gate person and do not mind living within the Panamanian communities. Any recommendations? We are in excellent health and travel without problems. Looking for some general names for reasonably priced zones.

Thanks.

Are there any good bilingual schools outside of Panama city.

This may be a strange/odd question, but here goes. I am a healthy, retired woman. The only medication I take is Natural Desiccated Thyroid (not synthetic). I am concerned that if I move to Panama I won't have access to this same kind of medication. As it is, the leading manufacturer of this medication has not been able to supply it for some time and I am having to have it made at a compounding pharmacy. Actually, I think I'm answering my own question -- because I'm sure there are compounding pharmacies in Panama.

Any comments will be appreciated. Thanks,