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Ten years ago Panama was in the forefront of attracting American retirees. Hailed as another Florida in the making, many soon-to-retire Americans looked at Panama as an ideal country in which to retire. With a democratic government and stable economy, solid 30% plus middle class, many members of which were educated in the United States, Panama was an attractive destination for those in search of a country in which to retire. But much has changed since.

In the mid 90s Panama established retirement visas patterned on the concepts pioneered in Costa Rica. With mere $500 per month in guaranteed retirement income, an American retiree could easily qualify for a “pensionado visa” in Panama, which guaranteed permanent residency in the country. With $600 of guaranteed pension, namely social security, an American couple could settle in Panama and remain for rest of their lives. While Costa Rica costs of living were skyrocketing, many Americans were convinced Panama was the place where to go.

For a while it seemed that Panama would get hundreds of thousands of Americans, all building or buying a house in Panama. Number of gated communities, such as for example the Altos del Maria development, all geared to attract Americans, sprung up all over Panama.

Then slowly cost of living in Panama too began to increase, including legal fees charged by Panamanian lawyers, costs of building permits, costs of construction and hired labor of any kind. Americans were subject to being charged higher rates by any contractor who saw the gringos as easy source of higher revenue than the domestic population was willing to pay.

Then came 2008 and the sub-prime mortgage debacle and with it start of the economic meltdown that has triggered a chain reaction of downward trends, from decreasing property values to unemployment. Suddenly those Americans who were trying to sell their home at home not only could get the price for it they were hoping for, they could not sell it period. And moving to Panama, or any other country for that matter, retiring abroad, was no longer an option to look forward to anytime soon. It became a dream all over again.

It seems the tide is beginning to change. Unemployment has come down in recent months and it may be we have gotten over the worst. Though many stopped looking for work and their real situation is not easily discernible, and the current rate of change in the US, the underlying national debt and volatile dollar all seem to clearly suggest that prospects of significant changes coming soon can’t be determined with any kind of predictable certainty.

Perhaps the bottom line approach remains: undeniably those who were ready to retire and move to Panama five years ago need to realize that if they are really still wanting to make Panama their second home, they must make the necessary change at all cost, now, as they are definitely not getting any younger. That means you must quit your job, if you still have one, retire, sell your home for at least a marginally reasonable price, and move to Panama!

Bocas del Toro province

In Almirante, a jumping-off point for the Bocas del Toro archipelago, if the light is right, you may catch a glimpse of a picturesque canal settlement. So it may seem for a moment, but quickly the undeniable ambiance of board-and-tin hovels, a mixture of squalor and romace, though more of poverty-stricken Chiquita banana port town creeps in. Indeed most of what one can see around this township are banana trees and most residents are indeed in the banana business, for the most part poor folk who toil the endless stretches of banana plantations in the vicinity and in spots from here on to Changuinola.

Almirante, Bocas del Toro

Before one nears the one lane decrepit iron bridge across Rio Teribe and enters the uninspiring, one long-street town of Changuinola, one passes by a few of Nobe-Bugle settlements. Their simple houses on stilts and roofed with thatch lay scattered on the doorstep of a gorgeous virgin rain forest that stretches into the distant Parque Internacional La Amistad on the high slopes of the Talamanca and Central Mountain Ranges on one side and the simmering islands amidst turquoise blue waters of the Bocas del Toro on the other. While most tourists never make it up this way, the route is a pleasant one and offers three things to do – to continue on through the back door to enter Costa Rica, take a ferry to the Bocas, or, and this is perhaps the best reason for coming to this remote part of panama, and that is to visit the the Naso Indians, better known in Panama as the Teribe or Naso-Teribe.

Public transport, Changuinola

Pondering retirement in Panama? Only hour and half from Panama City, along the Pacific Coast, Vista Mar development posses a remarkable site up on a bluff overlooking a beach with grand vistas of the coastline in both directions. The elevated perspective adds to Vista Mar’s grandeur, but it’s not all that makes it stand out among Panama’s Pacific Coast resorts. While Vista Mar’s Par 72 Championship Golf Course, tastefully set within the 700 acre resort community is its major draw and of appeal to those that relish the sport, every house and condo here will have a view of either the golf course, ocean, Cordillera Central or all three. The resort is pleasantly  landscaped with palm trees and studded with manmade lakes although stunning natural enclave of tropical vegetation was left near beach to create ambiance of a peaceful retreat.

Of course it is the architecture of the homes and condominiums that are of particular fine design, maximizing on Vista Mar’s natural riches, whether the natural environment, views and vistas of the ocean or the balmy sumptuousness of the tropics. For those that prefer a house, Vista Mar offers single story homes on the Terraces overlooking the ocean. The homes on Terraces 3, 4, and 5 start at $700,000, lot of 900 square meters included. The homes on Terrace 2 start at $900,000, with same size lot as above. The lots closest to the waterfront are sold at $600 per square meter and home design is per own image and guidance of a Vista Mar architect.

Set back along the perimeter of the golf course are the condominiums. The condo towers offer truly great views in all directions and the design incorporates them from within all rooms, kitchen included. The Las Olas Towers will have four condominiums per floor and their size is from 178m2 (1,916 sq.ft.) to 301 m2 (3,238 sq.ft.) and their prices start at $312,900. Las Brisas units will be slightly smaller, about 165 square meters (1,775 sq. ft.) each, while the Penthouses will be from 280m2 to 480m2. If you have thought to retire in Panama, check out Vista Mar.
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Concierge.com, the online home of Conde Nast Traveler had published its 2008 list of the world’s best adventure trips. Here are their selected destinations, more details on each can be had in their article:

Best of Peru
Lost Alaska by Kayak
Bicycle trip in northwest Argentina, a trip that begins and ends in Salta
Sand and Savannas in Mali, perhaps best known for the fabled trading city of Timbuktu
Panama: Jungles and Caribbean Beaches
Gabon
Trekking Through Transylvania
Swiss Alps
Trekking in Tibet
River Wild in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan
Philippines
British Columbia
Biking Big Bend