Update from Panama June 2

The Three Most Glaring Mistakes We Made Moving Overseas

Buenas tardes from Panama,

In our brief overseas experiences during the past couple of months, we noticed three glaring mistakes we made when moving overseas. Just a bit more thought into these areas would have made our move much easier.

Mistake #1: Not buying a vehicle.

One of the many reasons we chose to live in downtown Boquete was to be within walking distance of any conveniences that were offered to us.

Unless you’re a person who is comfortable with hailing a taxi or taking a bus, a vehicle is a must-have when moving to another country.

Don’t get me wrong, buses and taxis here are cheap. If you like dealing with a varying amount of risk or unfamiliarity, depending on where and when you go, riding a crowded bus with strangers that makes many stops or getting into a taxi where you’re not really in control of where you may end up, is probably something that wouldn’t bother you.

In our case, we weren’t brought up this way. In our travels, we’ve found that taking buses and taxis is not for us. It’s a decision you’ll have to consider on your own. Of course, everyone is different.

We’ve encountered early darkness, inclement weather and the uncomfortable feeling of having three people being squeezed into a seat that has room for only two people. Also, it has taken much more time and planning to do anything and our dogs weren’t able to travel with us.

Most buses here have smaller seats made for school-bus children. The majority of taxis are smaller-sized vehicles due to fuel-efficiency considerations and the very narrow streets here in town. In both cases, a person of my size has nowhere to put his legs or needs to turn his shoulders and move over to accommodate a passenger that really shouldn’t be there.

It’s made us realize that freedom or avoiding that trapped feeling, would be much better served with a vehicle of our own. It would allow us to travel when and where we want, in much less time with less hassle and we would be happier taking our dogs along for the ride.

Mistake #2: Not reducing the amount of personal belongings that we shipped here.

We have had many self-induced difficulties in Panama simply because we brought far too much stuff with us in our move overseas. Not only was our freight sent to the wrong country and therefore was delayed, we had trouble locating the cargo terminal, clearing customs and then had to pay exorbitant taxes on our used goods.

Our advice is to bring as little as possible with you and save enough money beforehand to purchase the things you actually need when you get to your destination.

Mistake #3: Not learning the native language.

Above all, we needed to learn the language of the culture, or at least a good portion of it, to reduce the number of everyday situations where we didn’t know how to communicate with locals and understand what was going on. Our cell phone translators helped a lot however there were times when there was no internet signal leaving us with that lost feeling.

Until next time…buenas tardes from Panama, Don

Update from Panama May 15, 2013

Update from Panama May 15, 2013

I connected with my brother the other day via email and he was struggling with why we would move to Panama, of all places.

Ten Reasons Why I  Moved to Panama

1) Financial (cost of living) – We all know that since Panama is one of the top Latin American countries with respect to economic growth that prices have risen here over the past two years however we still find that the majority of our purchases for whatever it may be amounts to about 1/4 to 1/3 of the cost for a similar item in Canada. i.e. the cost of living is definitely lower here than in Canada. Sometimes the quality of the items can vary but when it comes to the cost and quality of the food here for example, Panama wins hands down! Also, services are still reasonably priced albeit again the quality of that service can be questionable at times but it is steadily improving, in my opinion.

2) Banking/Starting a Business – Panama is known as the banking hub of the Americas and uses the Balboa as its currency which is on par with the American dollar. There are over ninety banks in Panama and starting a business here can be profitable as cash is still king.

3) Climate – We are now in Boquete, which is in the mountains about 3500 feet above sea level.  We have spring-like weather year-round with very pleasant weather during the dry season which is from November to April and a combination of rain and sun during the wet season which is from May to October. Even when it rains here in Panama, the temperature is still warm and the rain usually doesn’t last long. Most people in the world know about Canadian winters. They can be brutal depending on where you are and seem to be getting longer! At least this is what I’ve noticed in Alberta over the past few years.

4) Two Oceans in Close Proximity – In Panama, there is the Caribbean Sea to the north and Pacific Ocean to the south within about a two hour drive of each other. That’s difficult to beat in any country in the world. Canada is a huge country where the Pacific ocean at one end is about 5000 km from the Atlantic Ocean at the other. I won’t mention the Arctic Ocean to the north since I abhor the cold and who would want to go there anyway!

5) Mosquitoes/Insects – Yes, this deserves a category all its own! So far in Panama, I haven’t experienced these pesky critters yet, and I believe they are situated in small pockets throughout the country. Although some insects are larger here, they are few and far between. The crazy stories we heard about spiders, snakes and scorpions just aren’t true. Recently I’ve heard that the mosquitoes are out in full force in Canada, especially in Edmonton. Nothing beats being able to go out on the terrace at night and drink, BBQ and dine in comfort! Here in Panama, this certainly has been the case. If our memories serve us correctly, this was very difficult to do for the majority of evenings in Edmonton.

6) Food – I found the taste of various foods to be delicious in Panama. In particular, fruits, vegetables and dairy products have caught my fancy. The papaya and pineapple are to die for. Melt-in-your-mouth status, really. Their yogurts are wonderful and their non-fat milk, comparable to skim milk in Canada, tastes really good too! Chicken, fish, seafood and pork are great here, however Panama’s beef is a little suspect. The cows are grass-fed and are skinny which makes the beef as tough as nails! The food variety is still very good though but Canada pretty well has everything you need in every corner store and supermarket and nothing worldwide, in my opinion, beats AAA Alberta beef!

7) Travel Hub – Panama is an international travel hub making it easy to board a plane and fly for a low cost to many countries within close proximity such as The Honduras, Dominican Republic, Cuba, St. Croix, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Columbia, the list goes on. Western Canada is still having trouble attracting airlines to fly to their part of the world and travel expenses can be costly when attempting to access any of the above countries from there.

8) Infrastructure – Canada has long had a great infrastructure but Panama is building  a very capable one, too. Cable TV, Internet and cell phones work very well and are inexpensive to set up and use. Our internet, even in the mountains, has turned out to be fast and reliable. The Panama Canal is being expanded, the Metro Subway system is being built at this time in Panama City and the beautiful four-lane highway from Panama City to Santiago is being duplicated from David to Boquete as we speak, with the Santiago to David highway upgrade silently waiting in the shadows to be started . Growing pains are being experienced now, but look out when things are completed!

9) Nature-lover’s/outdoor paradise –  Beautiful flowers, birds and trees of many types abound, world-class fishing, sailing, boating, surfing, swimming and snorkeling all carried out near gorgeous beaches, need I go on? This is one of the best things about Panama!

10) Friendly people/less stress – Where we are, it has a country feel, laid back, less hectic, and the people smile and say hello when you pass them in the streets. And seniors are well-respected in this country, something that was not demonstrated a lot when we were in Canada. We noticed that the majority of our Canadian neighbors kept to themselves most of the time.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love Canada and will always maintain my ties with it! They’re not going to get rid of me that easily! But you must admit Panama has a lot going for it!

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