
In order to determine the worst place to live or retire in Panama for any individual, and for people who have not been to Panama yet, they have to find out first if they are beach people, mountain people, or city people because Panama is different all over. There are nice areas everywhere. (The picture to the right is of El Valle. In addition, they are building many new developments up and down the coast.)
You would want to avoid certain communities that are nearly 100% Panamanian, not because they are bad people (we love Panamanian people and we have hundreds of Panamanian friends), but if you would move into a typical Panamanian community, the homes are very close to each other, and they like things loud. So, if you lived in an area that is 100% Panamanian, you could be surrounded by people who turn up the volume until the wee hours of the night.
The similar pattern is also existent in some newly-developed beach areas. The areas with 100% Panamanians homes near the beach tend, by North American standards, to be too close together, which you could think is because you are near the beach. Then, when your neighbor moves in near your house or next to you, all you hear is loud music. So if you don’t like a lot of loud music, I would avoid these places.
Gated communities are of course preferred because of the security, just like in the US. Generally, I would avoid a place that is not a gated community out in the middle of a country, which we call “the interior.” Security can be an issue and there are other issues relative to ownership and maybe culture, where if you leave your house unattended for long periods in a non-gated community, when you come back, you may find people who used your things. This only usually happens in non-gated communities.
But again, the worst places will all depend on one’s preferences so when you decide to retire in Panama, you have to determine what you really want and not want in a certain place.