What are the best and worst things about living and retiring in Coronado, Panama?

The Best things about living in Coronado, Panama can be summed up:

The Best things about living in Coronado, Panama can be summed up:

The worst things about living in Coronado, Panama:

Reasons to retire in Coronado:

 

Here are the highlights: all conveniences, amenities, medical facilities, shopping (affordable), recreational opportunities, good dining and socializing, well maintained, gated, 24 hour security system, AND beautiful beaches, palms, fruit trees and grand mountain views. ENJOY!

 

Living and retiring in Coronado, Panamá is a real challenge.

 

The worst thing  you will face will be your everyday problem: "Where will we go today"...?  "What are we gonna do and with who"?

 

Being one of the most advanced country communities in the Isthmus of Panamá, at 1.5 hours from the city of Panamá, along the Pacific Ocean  coast, Coronado offers a...

Living and retiring in Coronado, Panamá is a real challenge.

 

The worst thing  you will face will be your everyday problem: "Where will we go today"...?  "What are we gonna do and with who"?

 

Being one of the most advanced country communities in the Isthmus of Panamá, at 1.5 hours from the city of Panamá, along the Pacific Ocean  coast, Coronado offers a variety of things to do.  And with nice scenery, beach, golf and equestrian clubs right on premises, it is difficult  not to be occupied all day long.

 

The best thing in Panamá?... by all means, your retiree discounts on all sorts of things including airline tickets, restaurants, movies, transportation, and medical items and services of all kinds.  Another big benefit is your ability to enjoy fresh vegetables and seasonal fruits all ear round, from your yard, to your dinner table.  More than that?....Impossible.  Just exceptional sunrises and sunsets every day, viewed from your hammock.

 

The best things about living and retiring in Coronado is that you are in a beach town, so there is no traffic, there are not traffic lights, and you know pretty much everybody because it is such a small community so you can make friends very quickly. We all have a common bond no matter what background we come from. We call came to Panama and that is our common bond, so we tend to make friends with expats really quickly.
 
We have nice restaurants here in Coronado and there are...

The best things about living and retiring in Coronado is that you are in a beach town, so there is no traffic, there are not traffic lights, and you know pretty much everybody because it is such a small community so you can make friends very quickly. We all have a common bond no matter what background we come from. We call came to Panama and that is our common bond, so we tend to make friends with expats really quickly.
 
We have nice restaurants here in Coronado and there are lots of nice things to do. Coronado is situated in an area where it is only an hour away from Panama City and half an hour from the mountains. We are also just a few hours away from the Caribbean, so it’s easy to go sightseeing, and it’s easy to travel.
 
The worst thing about living in Coronado is it is a beach community and the culture of Panama is that on the weekends, everybody closes shop in Panama City and goes to the beach here. If you are not into a lifestyle where the community around you celebrates holidays and parties and sets out fireworks, then you may not like it. Panamanians have a very vibrant lifestyle. They really enjoy life and they enjoy being with their family and friends. They have big extended families and get together and have fun on the weekends. If you are looking for a lifestyle that is very quiet and secluded, Coronado is not the place for you because on holidays and some weekends, there are a lot of people who go to the beaches, which personally, I think is great, but judging from some feedback of some of my clients, it is not perhaps what they are looking for. Having an open mind in the sense that you are moving into a culture that has a zest for life and enjoying it can be seen either way.
 
Coronado has a completely different culture than in the US or Canada and if you want where you are moving into to be like the US or Canada but just be on the beach, then you are coming to the wrong place, because Panama has its own way of doing things. It has its own ways and cultures. People here have been educated differently and they have different life experiences. This becomes apparent in the service you receive and in the way things are done here. If you are not going to open your mind, you will have a hard time here because you will struggle.
 
Also, if you don’t want warm weather, then Panama is not the place for you.

 

(Coronado Beach, Panama festivities, pictured.)

​The best things about living and retiring in Coronado, Panama are the natural beauty, the year-round great weather, the proximity to the ocean, and the ease of making new friends. The hardest thing would be having to go back to the country that they’ve come from.
 
One of the best things about Panama is that the weather is amazing almost every day of the year. There are two seasons here. There’s summer, which is December through April. Then there’s the rainy...

​The best things about living and retiring in Coronado, Panama are the natural beauty, the year-round great weather, the proximity to the ocean, and the ease of making new friends. The hardest thing would be having to go back to the country that they’ve come from.
 
One of the best things about Panama is that the weather is amazing almost every day of the year. There are two seasons here. There’s summer, which is December through April. Then there’s the rainy season. 
 
During the Panamanian summer, it’s hot during the day with a very bright sun, but it doesn’t rain very much, which means there’s very low humidity and a constant breeze. Even if you’re outside in the heat of the day, the breeze will keep you cool.
 
During the rainy season, the temperature can be 10 degrees lower. It does rain so there’s more humidity, but you’re also going to get the breeze from the rain. I prefer the rainy season more than summer just because I love the rain. I love the smell of the rain. I love the way everything is so green, the temperature, and of course, the natural beauty.
 
Panama has the ocean, the jungle, and the mountains. It really has the best of all worlds. If you’re tired of the weather, you can go to a different microclimate by driving 30 minutes. Coming from Texas, I would have to drive 10 hours to change my microclimate.
 
There are two different places in Coronado you could go to change your microclimate. First would be El Valle, which is a darling community that’s built inside the mouth of an inactive volcano. Because it’s volcanic soil, it’s so lush. Orchids grow wild. Bougainvillea is everywhere. The foliage is very thick and very wooded and covered. It’s typically 10 to 15 degrees cooler in El Valle than it is at the beach.
 
You can also go to Altos del Maria, which is one of the prominent mountain areas within about 30 minutes. It is going to have very low humidity. The temperatures can be as much as 20 degrees cooler. There you can hike, relax, see different flora and fauna, and be in an area that is cooler, but can also get the tiniest bit cold.  

 

(Bridge over a stream in secluded Altos del Maria, Panama, pictured.)

The standard of living in Coronado is different from where I am from in Canada. If you live in Coronado, your internet is not going to be as good as it is in Canada or the States but you can have the option to pay for a better quality internet, which we do. The Internet connection that we have is called Three Up / Three Down Internet. It is very expensive, at $160 a month. If you need good Internet then that is what you are going to be forced to pay. The other kind of Internet, which is...

The standard of living in Coronado is different from where I am from in Canada. If you live in Coronado, your internet is not going to be as good as it is in Canada or the States but you can have the option to pay for a better quality internet, which we do. The Internet connection that we have is called Three Up / Three Down Internet. It is very expensive, at $160 a month. If you need good Internet then that is what you are going to be forced to pay. The other kind of Internet, which is quite slow, is around $30 a month. 
 
The other thing that you would look at is water quality or if you have water. Water in the dry season is a big concern because it doesn’t rain for about 5 months, so many houses in Coronado actually run out of water for a few hours every day or your water will just be a trickle at some points of the day. People usually install water tanks, which is important to have. You can also have your own well in Coronado. If I were buying a house or if I would be renting, I would always make sure that they have their own well. If they don’t have their own well, you need to make sure that you have tanks where you could store water at all times.
 
There is one condo in Coronado called The Golf that went four days without water. So you could just imagine living up on the 30th floor of the building and you have no water for four days! They had to go and get buckets from the pool to flush their toilets. This is not a common occurrence but it does happen and it did happen. The problem was that the developer of that building did not put wells for the building and it is the only building in Coronado that does not have wells. However, they are now going to be putting wells so they will have their own water supply so it shouldn’t be a concern anymore. That is something that would never happen in Canada.
 
We were lucky that we never had that problem but when we built our house here and when we built the bed and breakfast we had water issues in the first year and did not know how important it was to have your own well. Now we do have our own well so there is no problem.
 
Overall, if you are moving to Coronado and you are purchasing a property, you really need to be aware of the situation. If you are buying a condo, ask if there is a well and ask how the water is. If you are buying a house, also check if there is a well. If you are making an awesome house, you are probably going to dig your own well and so you have to factor in the cost for that. The cost for building a well is not that expensive. It is only $32 a foot to go down so the total cost would depend on how many feet you have to go. If you are on the beach, you are probably looking at around 50 feet.
 
The other worst thing about living in Coronado is that when they planned the community, they forgot to designate any land for commercial development on the ocean such as restaurants, coffee shops, and other commercial and retail locations.  In Coronado, the oceanfront is filled with houses and condo buildings. There is no commercial development at all. If you want to go to a restaurant, you’re going to be on the road, as opposed to on the beach. The beach is filled just with houses.
 
The roads in Coronado are awful, so bumpy that they are some of the worst roads in Panama, in my opinion. You have a $16 million mansion and the road is un-passable with a small Toyota Yaris or some other small car. It would be really hard to get on the road with small cars. There is a bit of an argument that the people of Coronado do not want to pay to have the roads fixed. They think the state should do it. On the other hand, the government says that it is a gated community so the community is responsible for fixing those roads.
 
The best thing about living in Coronado is the people who live here. We have a really great expat community.  There are people who are educated and successful, who just act like average people. 
 
I find that some of the expat communities that I have seen in Costa Rica, Mexico, and other places that sometimes the people are escaping from something back home. For me, that is a little bit sketchy. Those communities have a lot of partying and Coronado is not like that at all. Coronado is a suburb of Panama City. It has people who are still working, it has families with kids that are still going to school, it has a retired community, and they are all great people. 
 
it is fairly easy to make friends in Coronado. You will be going to barbecues and pool parties and having fun with a group of friends. It is also an active community. You can go to zumba classes, yoga classes, or jiu-jitsu classes right in the community. So you are going to meet people and they are going to be nice, good people. There are people of all ages and families moving into Coronado; people who are in their 30s all the way up to their 70s who are living here and enjoying life in Coronado. 
 
The other best thing about living in Coronado is that if you need to go and see a doctor, it’s here. If you are a young family, there are three international schools here so you can have a choice of what school you want your child to attend.

 

(Houses on beach in Coronado, Panama, pictured.)

The best thing about living and retiring in Coronado is that you have everything from banks, hotels, restaurants, the biggest supermarket, clubs, bars, and even casinos. Coronado has all the facilities that you would look for.
 
The worst thing about living in Coronado could be that if you are American, there is no Costco or Sam’s Club here. You have to drive all the way over to Panama City for that, which is a little more than an hour by car. Also, as regards access to...

The best thing about living and retiring in Coronado is that you have everything from banks, hotels, restaurants, the biggest supermarket, clubs, bars, and even casinos. Coronado has all the facilities that you would look for.
 
The worst thing about living in Coronado could be that if you are American, there is no Costco or Sam’s Club here. You have to drive all the way over to Panama City for that, which is a little more than an hour by car. Also, as regards access to high quality healthcare, the largest clinic in the area, which is the San Fernando Clinic, is in Coronado, but compared to other places, it is still a small clinic and there are not a lot of specialists there that many retirees need. Again, you need to go to Panama City if you need to see specialist. If you are a person who doesn’t like the crazy summers like the ones that we have where the heat can be up to 40 degrees Celsius (100 or so Fahrenheit), you wouldn’t feel comfortable. But these things that I’ve mentioned could be the worse things.
 
Some of the good things about living in Coronado is that you don’t experience traffic here. You can take the bus or you can drive and not get stuck in traffic either way. A high volume of vehicles only occur here during the weekends or on the holidays. But if you live in Coronado on a day to day basis, there is zero traffic.
 
If you get tired of the beach in Coronado then you can go to the mountains, where the temperature is not very cold but it is more pleasant. You can go to El Valle de Anton or Altos del Maria. You can have a change of scenery very easily if you live in Coronado. And of course living on the beach is the best.  

 

(White sand beaches near Coronado, Panama, pictured.)