Affordable Living in Panama

Posted By: Panama Expertos on 09.04.2007
Views: 730, Published in sections: Life in Panama ::

David is a city west of Panama, in the province of Chirque and has an international airport. It takes an hour’s drive from the airport of David to the town of Boquete which is at a height of 4,000 feet. Boquete has been a popular destination for retirees. In this article we are going to discuss about living in Boquete.

Panama is a democratic country and has a growing economy. The inflation is a modest 2% and the government provides statutory financial privacy and banking secrecy to investors. The income earned abroad is non-taxable. There are also special benefits for retirees like discounts while buying airplane tickets to groceries and more. The capital city of Panama is comparable in terms of facilities with big cities in the US, but offers goods at a lower rate. The German and Swedish immigrants who built the Panama Canal have settled down in the city of Boquete. The hills are covered with coffee plantation and fruit trees. One can find wild flowers near the banks of the rivers, at road sides and near the water falls. The weather in Boquete, is a pleasant 70 to 800F with sunshine throughout the day and occasional mist. The evenings are cool and the night temperature drops to 40 degrees.

The Boquete is a valley situated at the base of the Baru volcano. There is not much for sight seeing in Boquete. The wages are low in Panama e.g. the doctor charges only $10 for a visit to the clinic while the barber charges $8 for a hair cut and a live in maid is available for $120 a month. Most of the grocery items like eggs, pasta, wine etc. are cheap; less than in big cities of developed country. The town has a pizza joint named La valcino and the restaurant La mexicano serves Mexican food. Good meals are available seven minutes walk from downtown at Panomonte. There are 3 banks in Boquete and most essential items are available here. For the rest one has to drive to down to David which is 50 minute drive from the city.

The suburbs of Boquete are very pretty. The hills provide great view of the valley. The rivers flow through the hilly rocks with gurgling sound. This town is now becoming a tourist spot with newly opened tourist centre near the entrance of the town, but infrastructure is not developed yet. Tourist can enjoy white water rafting and a trip to the Quetzel National park, which has many rare birds and howler monkeys.

Most of the lands in Boquete are not for sale because they have been owned by people from many generations and they do not want to sell the land. Some of the coffee plantations are being converted to build residences. In Las Colinas de Jaramillo, a little away from the coffee plantations, luxury homes costing around $400,000 are for sale. Small houses are available for rents as low as $250 to $350 a month but big ones with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths are available for $1,000 a month.