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As a region, Boquete is known for its coffee. It is one of the bigger coffee regions in Panama. The different elevations, the different towns surrounding the Boquete region are mainly coffee-producing farms. Depending on the location, it is normally the elevation that produces the different varieties of coffee. There are 11 different micro-climates in Boquete. One area could have a couple more inches of rain than the other or an area may be a little bit colder than the other. Overall, the differences between the regions of Boquete are the different elevations and the different micro-climates.
Right outside of Boquete, there is a small community called Jaramillo. It is a farming community. It is smaller than Boquete and there is only one road in and out of it. It is located in the mountains right above Boquete so the views are breath-taking. You will get a whole view of the valley and you can have ocean views up there. Jaramillo has a small school there and there is also a small clinic there. There are small supermarkets within the small town. Jaramillo has a cooler climate and it has a lot of green. Being that there is only one road in and out of Jaramillo, there has not been a lot of development in that area. There are a lot more open spaces, virgin land, and a lot of wildlife.
Just north of Boquete, there is an area called Los Naranjos, which is a bigger citrus area where the oranges are grown because of the climate. There are more open fields there and there is a bit more traffic because of all the harvesting of oranges. At the same time, Los Naranjos has a nice cool climate and beautiful views and it is still only a 10-minute drive away from Boquete, so it is not really out of the way if you need to go and get supplies or if you want to go to a restaurant.
These are very small pueblos dotted throughout the region of the Boquete area. Which you prefer all depends on what kind of lifestyle you are looking for and what type of amenities you want. Choosing where to live in Boquete depends on whether you want to be closer to the city of Boquete for the shopping or whether you would want to be in a small town where you may not have the amenities but where it would be a little more quiet or a bit more secluded from the actual town.
The town of Boquete is a tourist town so there is a lot of movement daily. People come in and out and you do have a lot amenities there. There are restaurants, a large supermarket, banks, and even a central park. Living in the town of Boquete will give you an easy lifestyle to get around but at the same time, you have to deal with a little bit more noise and a little bit more traffic just because of the daily in and out of people traveling. There are about 70,000 people living in the town of Boquete.
Some of the gated communities in Boquete are Valle Escondido, Lucero, and Los Molinos. They differ on the amenities that they offer. Each project is different. Valle Escondido has a little 9-hole executive golf course, a hotel, a spa, and a tennis court. They have different kinds of amenities within the community. They have condominiums, duplexes, villas, and the estate homes.
Lucero has a true championship 18-hole golf course within the project. Tennis is also another amenity, but it is still a young development so there are some full time residents there but it is not as established yet. They do not have a hotel although they are working on that. They don’t have any in-house amenities, restaurants, or shopping, so Lucero is going to be further down the road as far as development.
Los Molinos is a smaller gated community project. The amenities include a spa, a restaurant, a hotel, and tennis courts. That community seems to be a more mixed bag community with both Panamanians and expats as its residents because of the level of homes that are available and the type of real estate there. There are a lot of entry level properties for the Panamanian buyers.
There are a couple of communities in Boquete that are non-gated and have mixed residents; both Panamanians and expats. It all depends on the lifestyle that you are looking for. Those types of communities seem to attract Panamanians because the entry level price seems to be a lot less than the true gated communities. Even for a lot of expats that do not want to live in a gated community, they prefer to be closer to the Panamanian culture and don’t mind mixing the two together.
(House in Los Molinos, Boquete, Panama, pictured.)