In Boquete, where there is such a disparity of wealth, you can feel a bit privileged by attending.
To help ameliorate that privilege guilt, part of the proceeds go to help a really excellent music program for kids. One of the days, the kids come and put on a show.
With or without, feeling privileged, I really enjoy myself there. I delight in dancing to live Blues music.
If you will be in the Chiriqui Province in late February, you should consider attending.
To find out more about the Boquete Jazz and Blues Festival, click here.
Their website is greatly improved. It has a lot of easily accessible information about the events and the line ups.
The Festival runs from Feb. 22nd - Feb. 25th, 2018
This year I will have to miss the first 2 days of it.
When I said yes to speak at Live & Invest Panama conference, I didn't realize it overlapped with the Boquete event.
But I can make it to both.
By the way, if you are still in the information gathering stage about Panama, you may want to check out the Live & Invest Panama (LIOS) conference.
I would never have thought of going to such an event, but now that I have attended one, I understand its value. I wrote about the 2018 LIOS Panama event (Feb 21 - 23rd) here.
Maybe I will see you at both events.
We have written about 2 of the Boquete music festivals we have attended.
You may enjoy checking them out as well.
Our wonderfully generous guest contributor lives in the charming beach town of Puerto Armuelles, Panama.
Over the last 5 years, the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables has remained fairly stable.
Although some prices have increased. Shallots (green onions) have soared in price. Ironically, bananas, which grow here, have also gone up in price. But are still reasonable.
The price of carrots, potatoes, onions, beets, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, chayote and regional root vegetables (i.e. yucca) have remained the same.
I spent $7 for
Enough fruits and vegetables for the week. If I had added a papaya and a pineapple it would have boost the price to $10.
The Panama government keeps price controls over what it calls a “basic food basket". So those prices have remained steady.
[Editors note: Panama's Basic Food Basket contains 22 foods, which includes, chicken, beef sausage, rice, onions, yams, potatoes, bread, beans, lentils, canned tuna, eggs, cassava, and more.]
During recent shopping trips, I have seen the following prices:
I recently paid $4.33 for 6 leg/thighs, which is enough for a week. I use the chicken in soup and other dishes. (Not all stores pass on the Government food basket "savings". These stores charge higher prices regardless of the price controls, which is why you will see a range of prices.)
[Editor's note: it is even cheaper - and more fun - to buy fish right off the boat. Check out this video of our buying fresh fish adventure.]
My water bill has remained stable. It is the same flat rate, whether you use one drop or fill an Olympic pool with tap water.
You get a 10% discount if you pay for a full year in advance. That is the price, with or without a pensionada visa.
Electricity remains basically the same, and is based on usage.
[Editor's note: Our family's electricity is typically in the $30 - $40/mo range. If you use an air conditioner, your electric bill can be in the $100 to $300 range. For more on the cost of utilities.]
Internet service cost remains high. If you are lucky enough to be in an area Cable Onda is able to provide service, then you will see very favorable pricing ($30 -$37/mo).
Cable Onda is adding more towers to service the more remote areas of where I live, but that is a slow process.
Also fiber optic cables are currently being strung/laid. That should also improve service and pricing. Again, a work in progress.
Prescriptions vary in price depending on what you require. Generally they are cheaper here than in the States.
Rents are all over the map, just like always. Location is a huge factor in pricing.
Routine preventive maintenance of air conditioners, water pumps, cars, etc. will prevent costly & inopportune repairs due to a breakdown.
Prices for land purchases range, depending on the area, from reasonable to outrageous.
The key here is to find someone who is fair and honest in the approach to real estate transactions.
In January 2018, President Varela announced a 4.5% - 6.5% increase in salaries, depending on the area of the country.
Domestic help – maids, gardeners, etc. – are charging more per day than in the past. Expect to pay about,
Generally speaking set a realistic budget for yourself.
If you must buy organic food, then significantly increase the costs noted in this post. You will also need to travel to buy organic food. It takes 3 to 4 hours - round trip - to drive to Boquete or Volcan from Puerto Armuelles to purchase organic foods.
[Editor's note: If you don't want to drive, you can request weekly deliveries from the organic farm, Finca Santa Marta. I believe they deliver to Puerto Armuelles on Thursdays, David on Tuesdays, etc. And, yes, it will cost more than buying non-organic]
I am still able to manage comfortably with the budget I created for myself 5 years ago – not using organic foods.
Happy New Year!!!
I must admit that before we attended the conference, we would never have considered going to an event like this.
But now that we went. I definitely see the value in it.
We always encourage people to make sure that Panama is right for them BEFORE moving down. Which means you must do 2 critical things:
1) Visit Panama
2) Discover the good and the bad of life in Panama
Attending this conference allows you to quickly discover if Panama is right for you.
Many people waste so much time researching Panama online. Then when they finally come down to visit they discover it doesn't feel right or the facts they found on the Internet were not true.
Also attending the conference keeps you from procrastinating.
Buying tickets to this conference means you really will go to Panama. Instead of saying you will visit Panama "some day", you can say "I'm going to Panama in February 2018".
Then you can have fun mapping out your trip so you can explore your favorite spots in Panama while you are in the country.
The Live & Invest Panama Conference is an information smorgasbord on Panama.
There are presentations by bankers, attorneys, visa specialists, insurance folks, property experts, and tax advisors, shippers, property managers, experienced and successful investors and business owners. As well as people like Reyn & me. People who have lived in Panama and can share their experience and advice.
I was especially relieved by the fact that they didn't ask us to sugar coat any of our Panama advice & insights. We could say anything we wanted. And we did. And we will.
Even after 10+ years living in Panama I learned things at the conference.
Find out more about this Panama conference. Including a detailed program of events and more.
In my opinion, one of the most valuable parts of the conference were the social gatherings.
Come armed with all your questions. Some you will come down to Panama with, and some will be prompted by that day's presentations.
A great time to ask those questions is during one of the twice daily snack breaks or at one of the evening events.
Most of the speakers also attend these events. So you can ask your insurance, cost of living, or any other question you may have. Of course, you can also ask questions at the end of each speaker's presentation, but I find you solicit different types of information at these more informal social gatherings.
Also, you will get to mingle and get to know others who are also considering a move to Panama. You can learn a lot from these fellow travelers, and even become friends.
Of course, it is not like you won't get products marketed to you.
The snack food table is surrounded by vendors marketing a range of Panama-related items.
And of course, many of the speakers have their own products they'd like you to consider. Furthermore, the owners of Live & Invest Overseas, Lief Simon and Kathleen Peddicord, market their own real estate development on the Azuero Peninsula during the conference.
But none of it seems like a hard sell.
LIOS markets this conference much more strongly than what you will experience at the conference itself.
Check out what LIOS says about why you should attend this conference.
We really liked the hotel where the conference was held last time. It had amazing customer service.
But this year's hotel seems even better. It is in Casco Viejo (Old Town). It is Panama's first hotel. It opened it's doors in 1874. President Teddy Roosevelt stayed there.
It doesn't have an imaginative name: Central Hotel Panama. But its French-influenced design was recognized by UNESCO.
Check out its website, and you will see that it is pretty luxurious. I am looking forward to staying there.
When I spoke with the attendees at the last conference, it seemed there were all sorts of discounts available for the conference.
For instance, if you are a reader or member of one of LIOS's divisions, you can save $50 or $100 or even attend the conference for free.
Find out if you qualify for a conference discount on this page.
LIOS has kindly given my readers a special discount of an additional $50 off the cost of registration.
Simply use the coupon code PANAMA50 when signing up, and you'll save an additional US$50 off the cost of registration.
In addition, the Early Bird Discount is still in effect, saving you $250 per person when you register now. That is in addition to the $50 off from using the PANAMA50 code and any other discounts you may be eligible for.
Go here to see all available discounts or to register online. If you want to get the $250/person Early Bird Dicount, I recommend doing it soon.
If you come to the conference, please let me know. Maybe we could find time to grab a beer or a cup of coffee together. It is 3 days long, so I think we could make it work.
I'd also like to know what questions you have about Panama. I am sure others have the same questions. I will try to cover them in my presentation.
I look forward to meeting you there.
Disclaimer: It won't cost you anything, but if you use one of the links above to register for the conference, I may earn a few extra bucks. So if you will be going to the conference, I would appreciate you using one of my links to register. Thank you.
If you want help setting up a tour of Panama, LIOS recommends Barefoot in Panama. A good tour organization. They are also one of the venders at the event.
However, if you want to concentrate on the Chiriqui Province, I can recommend Local Travel Excursions. (The Chiriqui Province includes theses towns: Boquete, Volcan, Boca Chica, David & Puerto Armuelles.)
It will not be as luxurious an experience as you'd have with Barefoot in Panama. However, I think it will give you a better sense of what it would be like to live in the Chiriqui Province. Karen, of Local Travel Excursions, offers a wide variety of services to people moving to or considering a move to Panama.
(FYI: Karen and I both live in the Chiriqui Province. Karen in David. My family in Puerto Armuelles.
I don't benefit financially at all if you book a tour with Karen.)
You can read what we wrote about our experience at last year's LIOS Panama conference.
The location is now in a more central spot.
It will be at the downtown waterfront park.
The park is located between the bus station and the pier.
The market no longer occurs on the 1st Saturday of the month.
Now it is coordinated with the typical twice monthly payday (on the 15th and 30th).
There will be 2 markets in December
Most everyone seems to agree that the 8am start time is just too damn early.
Now the Market will be held from 10am - 2pm.
Most likely, the dates and time will continue to be tweaked. So check back toward the end of December.
The market will continue to solicit donations for Los Animales of Puerto Armuelles.
There will be a donation can at each vendor's table.
Please give generously.
Learn more about Los Animales of Puerto Armuelles.
Buy and/or sell items at the market.
You can buy or sell plants, fruit, handicrafts, used and new items, and much more.
If you are selling, don't forget to bring your own table.
Watch a video of the 1st Puerto Armuelles Market here.
[leadplayer_vid id="5A1B50EA933E7"]
Video created by cienxcientoportenos.com. I simply added the English voiceover.
The Parade: On the streets of downtown Puerto ArmuellesParade in Downtown Puerto.
Folk Dances: in Municipal Gym in Downtown Puerto Armuelles.
The Gym is across the street from the dollar store.
There will be people from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico & more performing their folk dances.
The parade starts at 11am. Followed by the dances.
For more information on Puerto Armuelles
Puerto Armuelles, land of hardworking men and women.
We, the people of Baru, are proud to invite you to our first cultural exposition.
This will take place on the 27th of November at 11AM.
There will be a folk parade [through the streets of Puerto Armuelles].
This will be followed by folk dance performances in the municipal gymnasium in downtown Puerto Armuelles.
This first ever international culture/folklore expo will feature performers from all over Central America.
[leadplayer_vid id="59FCDFB7F410D"]
Hi everyone. Check out this titled ocean view property for sale in the charming beach town of Puerto Armuelles.
Stay tuned for more, right after this: I'm Betsy from Living in Panama, the place for information and advice on being an expat in Panama. Interested? Click subscribe and hit the bell so you don't miss a video.
The highest part of this property dominates the brow of the hill and the views.
My drone makes it seem like the ocean is much further away than what you actually experience when you're standing on the property.
Here's a photo I took with a regular camera, no zoom lens, to give you a better idea the ocean views from this property.
If you were higher up, say in a house, the view would be even better.
I added a Google map view to give you a better idea of the property and its distance from the ocean and downtown.
Here's the property and here's Tsunami Inn. This is Big Daddy's Beach Club & Hotel (Formerly Heavenly's Hotel).
I'll show you how far away the ocean view is.
The property to the beach by Big Daddy's is 1.3 kilometers or about three-quarters of a mile away.
Also to show how convenient it is to downtown Puerto.
From the property to the downtown waterfront park is 2 kilometers or 1-1/4 mile.
Now back to the property. (Note: At this point, the video shows an aerial view of the property with it's property lines indicated with a blue line.)
From this property and in the neighborhood, you can hear howler monkeys, parrots, and the surf, when it is up, especially in the early mornings.
Right now, you're looking at the property right behind this one. An expat couple lives in it.
The property line going goes behind these trees and includes this flat area
The property also includes this 50 foot wide access road.
This property is large: 60,000 sq. feet.
You could subdivide it into 3 lots or just luxuriate in all that space.
We are selling it for an amazingly low price of $54,500.
We live in this neighborhood and one thing we enjoy is that every day, at dawn and then again at dusk, flocks of parrots fly out of the neighborhood and then return in the evening.
It really gives a wonderful rhythm to your day.
This photo shows the view of the property from the road.
To give you a sense of Las Palmas, I included 2 video clips I had on hand.
In this one, you can see the Las Palmas neighborhood is made up of large lots and tropical wooden houses on stilts.
We love seeing horses, in this case a mule, wandering in the neighborhood.
For more information and to contact us, click the link below this video.
Thanks for watching
When we arrived in Puerto there was lots of property available to buy. We chose only what we thought was the most appealing.
We singled out the properties where we would be happy to live. Reyn, as a designer, was always thinking of the end user. The person who would ultimately live on the property.
While the price was a factor, it was not our main determining criteria.
We looked for property where we would have liked to live ourselves. Locations that made us feel joy and that we were glad to be alive.
Only then, did we start our careful evaluation of the property as a potential purchase.
We looked at:
If the property had any significant issue, no matter how much we liked the property, we did not buy it.
When we bought property, we took our responsibility as owners seriously.
As the years go by, we are always trying to make the property more attractive, livable, valuable, and secure. Over time we have become pretty good at this. At least, we think so. We welcome your thoughts on the matter.
We have thoroughly vetted and researched all of our investment properties.
Many we have owned for up to 10 years. There are no outstanding ownership issues.
All properties have been well-maintained and improved over the course of our ownership.
We have all of the original property documents. Even the old yellowed originals, some dating back all the way back to the very first issuance of Right of Possession of the property, on up to the present year. (These are kept in a safe deposit box in the US.) All property transactions have been witnessed by the notary and by relevant neighbors, ex-wives, children, etc. Of course, we also have the official engineers’ drawings for all the properties.
Very importantly here in Panama, we have gotten to know all of the neighbors of the properties. We have met all, or at least most, of the siblings and children of the sellers. In many cases, Reyn even knows the neighbors' dogs by name.
All the neighbors recognize us as the sole owners of our properties. Because of our good relations with these neighbors, they would inform us of any suspicious behavior or encroachment. (Thankfully, it is very rare to have such issues in Puerto.)
As we have said elsewhere, most issues, especially ownership issue surface in the first few weeks of a new purchase.
Our goal is to have the best prices in town. If you find a similar property at a better price, please let us know.
Please do your research. You will find that our prices, for what you get, is lower than other expat-owned property for sale in the area. When evaluating a property given its price, you should look at the quality of location, view, size, aesthetic appeal and other critical factors of a quality living experience.
We appreciate your feedback. We'd love to hear what you found. We want to continue to deliver the best quality at the best price.
We love the beach. So we chose properties that would easily allow a beach lifestyle.
Much of our property is beach front. And if it is not at the beach, it is less than 100 yards from the beach.
We only have 2 properties that are not considered beach properties, but even those have views of the ocean.
Puerto Armuelles is a wonderful place to live in. It isn't a tourist destination yet, but it is an ideal place to enjoy a relaxing beach lifestyle.
Puerto Armuelles is a unique town. It has a real sense of place. We loved Puerto from the moment we set eyes on it.
Location is key.
After 3+ months of traveling all over Panama. We decided to buy in Puerto Armuelles.
We wanted to live in a real beach town. We didn't want to live in a resort community, or somewhere which would require a lot of driving to accomplish our daily errands.
Puerto Armuelles was the only place that fit all of our "happy living" requirements. Simply put, Puerto felt right. And it still does.
More and more expats who move here each year agree with our assessment.
I have written about Puerto Armuelles extensively in other parts of our site, so I will just give you a summary of Puerto's features below.
Puerto Armuelles - a Summary
Although it is not yet a tourist destination, Puerto has features that are beginning to attract recreational visitors, as well as retirees.
Puerto Armuelles is a place where you can easily build a happy and relaxed life. Come visit and see if you agree with us.
Everyone in Panama could be a happy recipient of this advantage. Starting in January 2019, if your property is valued at less than $120K, it will be exempt from property taxes. In Panama, the value of the property is assumed to be the purchase price.
Fortunately, all our properties are under $120,000 - many are well under $120,000.
Currently, there is no system in Panama that reassesses a property's value.
Which means that if you build a house on the property, your property value, for tax purposes, will not increase. Or if property prices increase in your area, the value of your property, again for tax purposes, will not increase. It will still be taxed, or be exempt, based on the purchase price.
Of course, this lack of up-to-date assessments may change, but for the foreseeable future, that is the situation. A good situation for property owners in Panama.
Learn more about the Panama property tax reform here.
If you buy one of our properties during your visit, we will pay the airfare you spent to get here.
Our "Welcome to Puerto Armuelles" gift to you. A happy perk to celebrate your new life in Puerto Armuelles. (Note: We cover the airfare of one person only.)
We have been asked about reserving property in the past. And we always said no. We really want people to visit Puerto first. But we have been convinced to change our mind. So now we have the option.
You can now reserve a property for 60 days for only $1,000.
Discover all the details about reserving a property, Click here.
We offer to finance.
This is a great advantage to you since it can be time-consuming and difficult to get bank financing in Panama.
And, if you are interested in ROP property, bank financing is non-existent. You can only obtain bank financing for titled property.
We carefully determined our terms by considering both what our clients have been asking for and looking at other owner-financing options available in the area.
We feel that our terms are fair and competitive. We think that you will agree.
Find out more about our financing.
You can rely on us to provide you with good advice and critical information necessary for success in Panama.
As you can easily see by browsing our website, LivinginPanama.com, we have a wealth of information about moving to Panama, setting up house, understanding the culture, and creating a happy life here in Puerto Armuelles.
We are happy to share this information with you throughout the purchase process and beyond.
Of course, no matter how compelling you find these 10 reasons, you must find a property that suits you.
One of our properties may be perfect for you. Or maybe none of them will call to you. Regardless, we are happy to help and answer your questions.
The main focus of our website is to help expats be successful and happy in Panama.
Of course, we would be thrilled if you bought one of our fabulous properties.
We'd have even more reason to celebrate your decision to join us down in Puerto Armuelles, Panama. The first round is on us!
Thanks for reading.
Betsy & Reyn
Updated Nov. 1, 2017
If this is what drinking is like for you, then you should probably keep on drinking.
However, if you are one of us who has discovered through personal experience that drinking hasn’t looked this good for a long, long time, then you might be ready to give “not drinking” a try.
Have already tried “not-drinking” on your own, and found that it is a harder habit to develop than drinking was. Then you might consider joining an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) group.
AA is a great way to meet others who have discovered that the road to a happy, spiritually satisfying life is much easier to achieve when you are not drinking.
Getting support from others who are making the same choice to not drink, on a daily basis, is a great way to live a happier, healthier, and longer life.
In an earlier article, I wrote about AA meetings around Panama, including Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in Chiriqui.
At the time of this writing, there is a good expat AA meeting in Boquete. There are now also English-speaking AA meetings in David and Volcan.
To get the details of those English-speaking AA meetings in the Chiriqui Province, visit the AA site here.
I am aware of several other AA members who live in Puerto Armuelles.
One of these folks attends the meeting in Boquete only occasionally since it is an hour and a half drive each way.
Each of these has commented to me,
“Wouldn’t it be great if we had an English-speaking AA meeting right here in Puerto Armuelles?”
No doubt, if a meeting were to start up here in Puerto, we would soon discover that there are far more folks interested in attending than meets the eye.
Where ever there are people, you will find AA members.
What’s more, there are clearly plenty of alcoholic drinkers among the expats here in Puerto. Having a good AA meeting to attend might just be the opportunity that some of these “still drinking but wish I could quit” folks need to help them to get sober.
If you have any interest in participating in an AA group here in Puerto Armuelles, please let us know via our contact page or email.
We will be discrete and simply let all the responders know how many folks are looking for a meeting in Puerto Armuelles.
We will be sure to announce the first AA meeting. So if you set one up, please let us know about it.
Thanks for reading,
Reyn
However, a supplemental electric motor offers an extra boost for getting up to cruising speed after stopping at red lights, or providing horse power for getting up steep hills. (Seattle is a famously “steep” city.)
Watching our neighbor Henry’s business literally explode, over the past couple of years has been exciting. In addition to converting standard bikes to electrical assistance, Henry also sells a line of top quality factory built ebikes.
When we’re in Seattle, I sometimes stop by his shop to chat and to check out the latest ebike technology. The equipment is evolving fast in this new/old eco-friendly form of transportation.
So far, I have been reluctant to consider an electric bike myself.
I still see myself as a relatively “young” 56 year old. At some level, I guess we are all reluctant to admit that we’re getting old. (Luckily I have children who aren't reluctant to say, “Dad, admit it, you’re old”.)
Aside from the fact that I love to ride my human powered street bike, I worry that if I start to accept electrical assistance on my bicycle, would I soon find myself requiring assistance to do everything?
I already have an electric toothbrush. Would riding an ebike be a slippery slope to riding around everywhere. Would an electric powered wheelchair then be in my near future? Would it be a short cut to that final ebike commute?
Recently, however, I have begun to reconsider using an electric bike.
There are plenty of errands that I don’t do on my regular bike, because I am in too much of a hurry, or I have to carry too much, or I have already gotten a lot of exercise that day. Or more often, I just don’t want to get all sweaty. (See appendix for a complete list of my excuses.)
Maybe an electrically assisted bike would reduce the number of car trips that I take. Perhaps owning an electric bike would reduce the number of our car trips, and thus our environmental impact.
Maybe we would end up riding our "regular" bikes more, rather than less, and stay in better shape. Perhaps we would keep the bike riding “habit” alive, by having a way to ride, even when we don’t really feel like bike riding.
Another advantage of biking more (ebike or regular), is that when I do bike I feel more connected with the community. Definitely more than when I am hidden behind the tinted windows of my car.
In Puerto Armuelles, I notice that I ride my bike much more in the rainy season than I do in the dry season.
The 10 degree cooler temperature, plus the overcast skies makes the rainy season perfect for cycling.
I find I am more reluctant to hop on my bike in the hot dry season. I definitely don’t do it as much.
For instance, our family always seems to forget to buy some critical item at the grocery store. Which then requires someone shlep back downtown to Romero’s. And it is usually I who does that trip.
In the hot season, I usually make that 2nd trip to Romero by car.
There are other trip I could take by ebike too. As a home builder, I find myself taking frequent runs to the hardware store for small miscellaneous fasteners, adhesives, wire, blades, etc… for the construction crew.
Sometimes I take these trips by bike. If I really crank, I can probably get from our house in Las Palmas, to Casa Cheong (about 3/4 a mile, slightly downhill) in under 2 minutes. However, by the time I arrive back home, I am usually pretty sweaty.
I love to ride fast, and I love to exercise. But, sometimes I just don’t feel like getting all “pitted out”.
Observing some of the other expat in Puerto Armuelles, I notice that not too many are bike riders. There are a few, but not many.
I imagine, like me they also don't want to get over-tired or too sweaty.
Puerto Armuelles is laid out along the ocean, so generally, it is flat as a pancake. Our house in Las Palmas is up a slight hill, perhaps 10 or 12 feet above downtown.
This is an ideal topography for even a very modestly powered ebike.
Perhaps expats in Puerto Armuelles (and the tropics in general) is the ideal market for electric bikes.
The electric bike just might bring a whole new level of fun and convenience to retirement life in Puerto.
In my own case, as I get older, I anticipate that I will still enjoy feeling the breeze in my (thinning) hair. I will still enjoy the freedom and the exercise of riding a bike.
However, I can foresee a time, not too distant, when I will happily opt for the ease of an electric bike. I think that I will ride more often, if I know that I don’t have to pedal the whole time.
With an electric bike, I’ll be able to exercise, without overdoing it.
I am going to be giving electric bikes a test ride in the near future. I will report my findings.
However, in the meantime, there is lots of information available about ebikes online. You can convert a bike you already own, or buy a new or used electric bike. (Maybe we should add it to our post about "Packing for your move to Panama".)
If you would like to check out our friend Henry’s shop, visit BikeSwift.com.
If you have any information to share with our readers about electric bikes, or other alternative transportation methods, please let us know.
If you are interested in living green, I wrote about using taxis in Panama - a green and affordable alternative.
Thanks!
Reyn
Want more insights on Life in Panama? Sign up for our monthly newsletter.
