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I’ve Noticed 5 Interesting Quirks About Living In Panama

Some Things You’ll Hate About Panama (And Some Things You’ll Love)

Kathleen Peddicord by Kathleen Peddicord
May 28, 2020
in Investing, Lifestyle, Panama
0
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Image Source: iStock/hanohiki

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Panama is…

Home to more than 940 species of birds as well as 250 mammals and 354 reptiles and amphibians… from howler monkeys to caimans, from coatimundi to turtles, from ocelots to crocodiles, and from pelicans and toucans to king crabs and iguanas… plus the Central American tapir, the American crocodile, the scarlet macaw, many species of eagle, humpback whales, dolphins, and hammerhead sharks…

Blessed with two long coasts and myriad sand-fringed islands, plus some of the best deep-sea fishing, surfing, snorkeling, and scuba diving anywhere. Around its Coiba island lies the largest coral reef on the Pacific side of the Americas…

A U.S.-dollar jurisdiction—that is to say, Panama has been using the U.S. dollar as its currency for about 100 years…

An established medical tourism destination and home to the Johns Hopkins-affiliated Punta Pacífica Hospital in Panama City…

Home to both World Heritage Sites (Casco Viejo, Old Panama, and the forts of San Lorenzo and Portobelo) and UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites (the province of Darién, Coiba National Park, and the La Amistad Reserve)…

Because of its unique geographical position, Panama harbors a greater diversity of wildlife than any other country in Central America. A natural land bridge connecting the two continents, Panama is home to both North and South American species of wildlife. About 34% of the country’s land area is protected in 14 national parks, more than a dozen forest reserves, and 10 wildlife refuges…

The biggest international banking center in the region…

Without question, the best place anywhere in the world today to start a business (that’s why we moved here from France in 2008)…

One of the few Latin markets where it’s possible for you, as a foreigner, to borrow locally to buy real estate…

Home to more than two-dozen international schools…
One of the world’s true tax havens, a place where you can live and do business tax-free.

Following are five more practical things to understand about this country where we’ve chosen to base ourselves for the past decade.

Panama has an awful lot to recommend it.

It also comes with peculiarities and quirks that some days will conspire to send you screaming into your pillow… including:

#1: Taxis

In Panama City taxis are plentiful but sometimes impossible to hail. When you give the driver your destination, it’s not uncommon for him to reply, “No voy,” or

“Nope, not going there.”

It is illegal for taxi drivers to refuse to take you to a destination, but that doesn’t stop most of them from doing just that.

The best way to find a taxi is in front of a hotel or in a corner where cars pass in numerous directions. Avoid enlisting the help of hotel staff, though, to hail a cab… or you’ll pay an inflated “hotel fare.”

When you do find a driver willing to take you where you want to go, don’t pay more than US$5 for a trip within the downtown area. A trip to Casco Viejo should cost about US$5 to US$6, a trip to the Causeway US$10. The fare to or from the airport should be US$30.

Taxis are also easy to come by in Panama’s interior towns. A ride anywhere within a town shouldn’t cost more than US$2.

Panama City taxi fares were formalized in 2008, when a fare chart was published. Officially, fares are now figured on a zone basis. Still, an unscrupulous taxi driver (there’s no shortage of them) will quickly realize when a fare is unfamiliar with the city and try to charge two or three times the going rate. Have an idea of what your ride should cost before you get in.

It is not uncommon for taxi drivers to pick up other fares while you are in the car. It is their way of getting the biggest bang for their miles. This can extend the duration of your drive and could present a safety issue, so if you are not comfortable with having someone else in the taxi, let the driver know before you set off.

#2: Directions

Decent road maps of Panama can be hard to come by, and some maps of this country are just plain wrong. Car rental agencies generally offer the most accurate maps of Panama City.

A GPS is a good idea in this country. Digital maps of Panama can be downloaded for car navigation units and handheld GPS devices for as little as US$29.
If you’ve got a smartphone, you can use a local SIM card to access Google Maps and the handy map app called Waze. Both are reliable in Panama.

#3: Entry Visa

The stamp in your passport serves as your tourist visa and is valid for 180 days. You no longer pay for it on arrival. Now the cost is wrapped up in your airline ticket.

It used to be possible to extend your stay as a tourist in Panama by making a border run to, say, Costa Rica. You’d hop the border and then return a day or two later to be granted a new tourist visa.

This was always technically illegal… but now it’s also nearly impossible to pull off. Nowadays, you won’t be allowed to enter the country without showing proof of onward travel within your visa period. Generally, airlines request a plane ticket, but a bus ticket can also work.

#4: Seasons

Panama has two seasons—rainy and dry… sometimes referred to as green and golden… or winter and summer.

Rainy season runs from May through November, while dry season is generally December through April. In recent years, though, these periods have been shifting. The best idea is to keep an umbrella handy all the time!

The Azuero Peninsula is considered one of the driest areas of the country. Even in rainy season, days go by without a sprinkle. The provinces of Bocas del Toro, Colón, and Darién receive the most annual rainfall.

#5: Mail Service

There isn’t any.

That is, Panama does not have door-to-door mail delivery service.

The best option for receiving mail in this country is with the help of a mail-forwarding service. These are typically based in Miami. We’ve had good experiences with Mail Boxes Etc., which has many locations across the country.

Kathleen Peddicord

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Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.

Her newest book, "How to Retire Overseas: Everything You Need to Know to Live Well (for Less) Abroad," published by Penguin Random House, is the culmination of decades of personal experience living and investing around the world.

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