Thread: Hola Halo Namaste

Good Morning to you all! I have wanted to move to Panama for a very long time. In fact, I almost bought a piece of land along the road from David to Boquette about 7 years ago. I was dealing with Saskia Delic from now defunct Happy Whales Real Estate. Then life changed and I moved to southern Oregon from Seattle. Now we are starting to think about the retirement years (may be in 5 to 7 years) and the Panama-thoughts have rekindled in my mind.
I have researched things a lot, but never joined any of the forums before now. Like many of you, I appreciate all the work of many people to keep this forum alive. Yes, there are many discourses, but a saint once said that ‘eddies form only in moving waters’. This forum is certainly not a stagnant place for opinions!!
We wonder about the problems we read about rude and unfriendly Panamanians. People seem pretty unanimous about this issue. Are these experiences mostly from urban areas or folks feel the same way about rural dwelling Panamanians too? In the US, folks are lot nicer in small towns compared to the big cities! Also, does one’s experience change when one learns fluent Spanish?

By profession I am a veterinarian with strong holistic leanings. We are not sure yet, but we are considering setting up a tiny practice. However we do not want to live anywhere near the cities. I am a farmer at heart and will be looking for a bit of land. But funds are limited, so we have to be careful. At present we are thinking about the Penonome area.
My better half has never been to Panama. We are planning to take a vacation there in few months and drive around.
Again we really appreciate all the hard work of many folks to keep this forum alive.

Hi GVet and welcome to Panama Forum!

Originally Posted by GVet

Good Morning to you all! I have wanted to move to Panama for a very long time. In fact, I almost bought a piece of land along the road from David to Boquette about 7 years ago. I was dealing with Saskia Delic from now defunct Happy Whales Real Estate. Then life changed and I moved to southern Oregon from Seattle. Now we are starting to think about the retirement years (may be in 5 to 7 years) and the Panama-thoughts have rekindled in my mind.
I have researched things a lot, but never joined any of the forums before now. Like many of you, I appreciate all the work of many people to keep this forum alive. Yes, there are many discourses, but a saint once said that ‘eddies form only in moving waters’. This forum is certainly not a stagnant place for opinions!!
We wonder about the problems we read about rude and unfriendly Panamanians. People seem pretty unanimous about this issue. Are these experiences mostly from urban areas or folks feel the same way about rural dwelling Panamanians too? In the US, folks are lot nicer in small towns compared to the big cities! Also, does one’s experience change when one learns fluent Spanish?

By profession I am a veterinarian with strong holistic leanings. We are not sure yet, but we are considering setting up a tiny practice. However we do not want to live anywhere near the cities. I am a farmer at heart and will be looking for a bit of land. But funds are limited, so we have to be careful. At present we are thinking about the Penonome area.
My better half has never been to Panama. We are planning to take a vacation there in few months and drive around.
Again we really appreciate all the hard work of many folks to keep this forum alive.

Hello GVet,

I am a local here, and all i have to say is that if you are planning to live in Penonome or near areas, this is the place to do it. People are very nice comparing living in the suburbans in Panama city which is another story. As you know, in any country there are good and bad people, but right now, many american friends that I have are moving here to escape the US pain you are going through.

As a Vet and farmer lover, i am pretty sure you can establish here with a small biz, and the current goverment is giving incentive to all people who wants to move here, so you can have your residency quite fast. My friends from Florida, already have their own panamenian resident id, just to let you know.

I will be glad to show you around and to find any land you may require to start, just email me, ok

Cheers,

Hello Lalwong
Thanks for your reply. I agree with you about city folks and country fols! Do you actually live in Penonome area?
I have a question. Somewhere, I read that there is starting a LARGE copper mining project near there. This inevitably means a lot of pollution; including polluted running streams. Did you hear anything about that?
Also after going through many, many posting in this forum, one gets the distinct idea that many hungry sharks are circling to rid newcomers of their money. How does one find a trustworthy lawyer and real estate agent?
GVET

In short you have to ask other people for recommendations and make a semi informed decision. Watch out for people who approach you right away and offer help. Not saying they may not have your best interests in mind but its a trigger. One decent measure at least on this forum is to look at how long people have been a member, how many posts they have and more importantly how many Thanks they have. Its not a sure thing but if 3 people recommend a certain lawyer and all 3 have high numbers it would make me feel a bit better than 1 person who just joined a month ago

In Panama everyone is a real estate agent it seems or they try to shuttle leads to one.

The best advice anyone can give you is to come to Panama and rent for at least 6 months, longer is preferred. This allows you to make sure Panama suits you (there are a lot of things to get used to and many cant and move back) It also allows you to get the feel of certain areas and travel a bit to other areas. Get a 1 month rental in Penonome then spend another month in Volcan, one in the hills above Chitre and another near El Valle and so on. Most places that I have seen are pretty fertile so you can start a little farm almost anywhere.

This also allows you time to get to know people who live here and develop contacts. Even the real estate agents will tell you if they call a place that is for sale they will get one price, when they have their Panamanian assistants call they get a drastically lower price.

I know there is a mining operation near Penonome but I don't know how far, near is. This is the only mention I found with a quick search so it looks like its around 56 kilometers

"Access to the project area is via the Pan-American Highway, from Panama City to the city of Penonome, Cocle Province (76 kilometers), then to the north through the towns of La Pintada on the Llano Grande-Coclesito road (48 kilometers). The deposit is approximately 17 kilometers to the northwest of Coclesito."

Good luck Vet

sjc

Hi GVET
I do live in the city, but have many friends in Penonome and surroundings areas, where I practically go all the time, so Im checking the area as well since an american friend wants to buy land there.
This is the answer you may want to read about the copper mining project Minera Panama, a subsidiary of a Canadian miner Inmet Mining, and I have not hear anything about pollution or else. The Cobre Panama deposit is located 120 kilometers west of Panama City and 20 kilometers from the Caribbean Sea coast, in the District of Donoso, Colon Province, Panama. The project will occupy approximately 5,900 hectares of the 13,600 hectare concession area.Access to the project area is via the Pan-American Highway, from Panama City to the city of Penonome, Cocle Province (76 kilometers), then to the north through the towns of La Pintada on the Llano Grande-Coclesito road (48 kilometers). The deposit is approximately 17 kilometers to the northwest of Coclesito.
Agreed with many people, when it comes to sharks waiting for new victims. This is why I hated about this people. Please add me and email me so I can help you out with trustworthy laywers that can help and do not overcharged for that. You know.
lalwong