M. Atlee: What about healthcare, education, immigration, and taxes in Panama? Are they expensive compared to other countries you’ve lived in?

P. Sarasqueta: It all depends from which country you are coming (as you might know education in Germany is free, you don’t have to pay for school or university no matter if you are German or a foreigner, so education in Panama might look expensive to Germans. For people from the USA though good international private schools in Panama might look a lot more economical than in their own country. The same goes for the other services, it all depends from which country you are coming from, but in general they are more economical than in Europe, Canada or the USA. And there are of course special tax laws for expats.

M. Atlee: What kind of social life can expats expect to find in Panama City as well as in the interior of the country? Are expats finding enough things to do in order to keep themselves occupied?

P. Sarasqueta: I think most expats deciding to come and live in Panama have visited the country numerous times and know what to expect in regards of entertainment. People who look for big opera houses, theaters or places to enjoy a nice musical or play might be disappointed in Panama. But if you like to enjoy good restaurants, bird watching, beach, fishing, mountains and all in the same country you are in the right place. The expats already living in Panama have formed groups and have get-togethers in different parts of the country. People thinking about moving to Panama and wanting to find out what to do in this beautiful country can visit their website at http://www.expatsinpanama.com/ and contact the expats who have already been living for here some time.

M. Atlee: There is a lot of talk about the low cost of living in Panama: could you discuss that? 

P. Sarasqueta: Once again, it always depends from which part of the world you are coming from, but in general people have told me that living costs are about 40% less than in great parts of the USA and Europe. The best example in my opinion is the fact that a couple with a monthly income of USD 2000.00 can live comfortably employing even a maid full time and a gardener a couple of days a week.

M. Atlee: Can you tell us a little about the people you’ve helped expatriate to Panama? Where do most of them come from and why are they choosing Panama as their country to relocate to?

P. Sarasqueta: Most of the expats are from the USA and Canada, but I had also clients from Europe, especially the United Kingdom and even from South Africa. Most of them wanted to live in a warm climate with all the comforts their own countries offered for less money. Some had already lived in Panama as so called “Zonians” and missed this country and decided to return once they retired from their jobs. For others Costa Rica or Mexico were their first choices only to find out that the laws of these countries are not as favorable for expats as the ones in Panama. And others just followed the Pan-American-Highway and fell in love with Panama and its people.

M. Atlee: What are the laws in Panama about buying islands or coastal property? Could you clarify the difference between rights of possession and legal title?

P. Sarasqueta: "Right of Possession" is an official term used for land that has not been or cannot currently be titled. Right of Possession is recognized by the government and the owners have the same rights as any other titled landholder. You can never be the owner of this piece of land even though there are many multimillion dollar businesses who are working on the basis of  a concession which are given for 20, 30 or 50 years. Titled land, and the process of buying this, is similar in concept to that in the US, and land and deeds are duly recorded with the Public Registry (Registro Público).

M. Atlee: Have you been involved in any of the reforestation projects in Panama? Are there any benefits to coming to Panama as someone who wants to invest in reforestation?

P. Sarasqueta: I personally have no experience with reforestation projects in Panama. But should one of my clients wish to know more about these programs and their benefits I would put him/her in contact with friends who are in the reforestation business and can provide all the requested information.

M. Atlee: Is Panama a stable country to invest in; if so, why?

P. Sarasqueta: Panama is an important center for international trade in the Western Hemisphere due to the Panama Canal as well as the Colon Free Zone. Panama is also a financial and communications hub that sits at the crossroads of five international fiber-optic networks and hosts 110 international banks. A big part of the economic stability of the country is the monetary agreement it has with the United States which allows Panama's Balboa to circulate at par with the U.S. dollar. Panama doesn’t print her paper currency but uses the US dollar and we only have our own coins, even though you might find just as many US coins on Panama’s streets. Also for consideration is that Panama does not impose any tax on income derived outside its borders. International trade and income from such is tax free. The country has strict banking and privacy laws designed to protect those doing business here. At the same time, Panama does not have any tax treaties with the United States or, for that matter, with any other country.

So taking in consideration all the above points Panama is the place to be in the next five years. This year already 2000 Pensionado visas were issued and more than 5000 are expected for 2006.

M. Atlee: In what way has Panama most changed in your lifetime? And how do you see the future of Panama developing?

P. Sarasqueta: Panama has changed completely since 1990, the economy has duplicated because of the constant arrival of foreigners who see in Panama a safe and strategic place to live and invest. I am sure that Panama will become a place for tourists to visit as well as for expats to live in. Every time we came back from a long visit outside of Panama we found new shopping malls, high-rises and hotels occupied which were just months earlier empty spaces. Panama is constantly growing and we, the Panamanians are learning every day to be more attentive to the needs of our visitors and the country. To contact Pedro Click Here To see his web site Click Here

Thoughts On Moving To Panama

I don’t want to tell you what exactly it’s like to live in Panama because everyone’s experience will be different. For me the country has been a great stroke of luck and a great place to live and I’m not the only one. That has always surprised me because the history between Panama and the U.S. has always been difficult and most people in the U.S. associate Panama with militarism and political unrest. That was the way people talked about the country when I first moved here. People don’t talk that way about it anymore, thank god. The history of the U.S. involvement in Panama is interesting. The Americans made three terrible decisions in Panama and one good one. The three terrible decisions were to declare de facto sovereignty over the Panama Canal and the territory along the Canal; the second terrible decision was the Jim Crow laws that the U.S put in place in Panama; and the third, was to help the U.S. gave in turning the Panamanian national police force into the Panamanian military. The one good decision was to give the Canal and the territory around it back to the Panamanians – it absolved, sort of, the three mistakes. 

There have been four stages in Panama’s political development since the country declared independence in 1903. The first stage was the “provincial stage”. In this stage the U.S. intervened in Panamanian politics at will in 1918, 1920 in Taboga, and during the riots of 1925 in both Panama and Colon - the U.S. also occupied parts of Chiriqui Province, Panama during this time as well as other parts of the country. But you must calculate in your thinking of Panama and its development the long and very strong relationship it has had with Colombia: that relationship equals in importance Panama's relationship with the U.S. After independence in the Fall of 1821 and the subsequent union with Colombia, Panama attempted independece from Colombia three times: 1830, 1831, 1840; in 1855 Panama was granted by Colombia the status of a federal state. The second stage in 20th century Panamanian politics was the nationalist stage. This stage begins in January of 1931 when Arnulfo Arias and his brother Harmodio oust President Florencio Harmodio Arosemena from the Presidential Palace in San Felipe. The Americans don’t interfere and a nationalist junta called Acción Comunal is put in place. This was the trend in Latin America at the time - juntas =ed political order. Following this, from 1931 to 1968, the country lives through a struggle between professional politicians who are liberal-minded in principal but chaotic and anarchic in the execution of political power - though progressive. And a police force that is transformed into a military for Cold War purposes, but which pushes the national project forward, sideways and eventually backwards. The military wins in its long struggle with the professional politicians between 1931 and 1968 and on October 11, 1968 they come to power for good. In February of 1969 Omar Torrijos replaces Boris Martinez as military leader. Martinez is replaced by Torrijos because of a speech the former gives in favor of a left-wing rural development policy in February 1969. Martinez is eventually flown out of the country by force to Miami where he falls into obscurity. After the overthrow of Martinez in February 1969 and to protect his left flank, Omar Torrijos reaches out to a left wing party called the Partido del Pueblo for left-wing credentials inside and outside of Panama - this party will supply technocrats for Omar Torrijos's "progressive government". This is the third stage. During Torrijos's time in power, the U.S. and Panama negotiate the return of the Panama Canal to Panama; Torrijos also helps create a small middle class and pursues a personalistic rural development program that is effective, but in the end the Panamanian militiary from the very beginning of its 21 year rule tries to weaken civil society and those in civil society that want freedom from military rule. The  U.S. ends military rule abruptly in 1989 and the country moves in a democratic direction. This begins the fourth stage in which the country can finally reduce some of the political tensions that had been playing themselves out in society for so many years – in a sense for the first time and, for a long time, people can enjoy their freedom and their talents. 

Of course the U.S. government and the U.S. military were living right next door to Panamanian politics during the whole process. They added real fuel to the political mix and they loved every minute of it: and to this day they miss it, believe me! You can imagine. And it was their U.S. Canal and their U.S. territory. The Americans were always disciplining Panamanians from what I am told by Panamanian friends. All Panamanians lived in fear of U.S. Canal Zone cops with their big Canadian mountie-esque hats and tickets. And this ugly fear comes through if you read accounts of Panama in the days when the U.S. Canal Zone and U.S. military were here. 

What you don’t often here about in this saga of Panama’s political development is how much normal living was going on and what good times people had from Independence Day November 3rd, 1903 until today. Many former U.S. military soldiers have Panama burned into their memory - it was a part of their youth, part of their military experience. Many of them never left the U.S. military bases in Panama, but all have something to say about Panama. And many come back today and tell their stories of what great times they had in Panama during their youth. Most remember the name of some wooden roadhouse or cheap hotel they went wild in while stationed in Panama with the U.S. Army, Navy or Air Force. But to most Americans, Panama was always such a secret: all the bad things you heard about it covered up the good stuff. And people who came to Panama were always put off by two things: the militarism and the very particularistic way Panamanians communicate with each other and foreigners – the latter will be something you will come to love with time. 

Now what’s good and what will you like? The country knows how to relax and have a good time. The parties are excellent and people here are great to be with because you never know what’s coming - and that’s for the most part to the good. But people are also very private so you have that as well. Fishing is excellent. Beach is good, scuba diving is better on the Atlantic side, best in June to August. Scuba on the Pacific is not great, except out on the Pearl Islands. Food is good. Great seafood, the best: you have the Atlantic and Pacific oceans right next to each other. Housing quality is very good. Concrete block. Good air conditioning. Water is good. Currency is great: U.S. dollar. The countryside is wonderful for birds and flowers and hiking. One thing Panama does not have and has never had as far as I know – Costa Rica also – is a war in the countryside, say, like, Guatemala or Colombia. The countryside is safe and extremely beautiful. Roads in Panama are good, not U.S. standard, but good. Good healthcare. In fact, Paitilla Hospital has just opened a new hospital that is tied to John’s Hopkins in the U.S. Almost every room has a view of the Pacific Ocean: the hospital is painted Caribbean white with blue glass windows. People are open to foreigners; they are not ethnocentric: they might be grumpy or nationalistic, but not ethnocentric. You can buy just about anything you could want here. The rum is good. Golf is good. Very good public swimming pools; some on the old American military bases. Good air links to other parts of the world. 

The bad you say: lots of gas and diesel fumes in the city. Public transportation around the city is not good, but transportation to the interior of the country is excellent. Being a foreign woman can be hard. Education is not what it could be if you are not paying lots of money. The country is small. At times, the feeling that you and everyone else is very confused. 

In the end I think that living in Latin America is a good idea for anyone; at least having a place here is a good idea. In the future this will be the best of the global neighborhoods. Low population, good water, a fairytale landscape, individual liberty, low cost, modern, yet not too modern and completed. Far from the centers of world conflicts and politics; in other words, a place to escape to that really feels like an escape. 

Other articles by the author:

Lost Valley Of Panama ~ Agua de Salud
Santa Catalina And Coiba Prison Island ~ Little Known Frontiers
John Wayne Island ~ In An Imaginary Tropical Western
Hiding Out In Panama - The Hotel Ideal
Vista Mar Resort ~ Living On Panama's Pacific Coast
San Andres Island ~ In The Western Caribbean
Travel To Nombre de Dios ~ A Very Famous Unknown Place
Living And Investing In Panama ~ What To Look Out For
Looking At Property On Contadora Island ~ Exploring The History And Landscape Of An Island
Isla Grande ~ The Lost Sides Of Isla Grande.
An Interview With John Carlson ~ Talking With An Old Hand About Investing In Panama
Altos del Maria - Another Look
Carnaval 2003 - Hanging In
Cerro Jefe ~  In An Old Cloud Forest
Daytrips In Panama ~Looking At Real Estate And Passing Through Colon
Deep In Veraguas - Traveling Down Backroads In Panama
El Cope, Cocle ~ And Some Other Ideas
On The Pacific Coast Of Panama - Traveling Through The Mountains And Beaches Of Panama
Up On The Contential Divide And Down In The Desert ~ Hiking And Discovering Panama's Beauty
Playa Grande - The Beauty Of A Remote Panamanian Beach
Italy In Winter - From Rome To Venice
Panama And Costa Rica - Thoughts On Both
The Panama Railroad ~ Panama City To Colon
The Chiriqui Highlands - R&R