What are the best and worst things about living and retiring in Volcan and Cerro Punta, Chiriqui Province?
James David Audlin - Editores Volcán Barú
The best things about living in the Volcán and Cerro Punta region of Panamá are the gorgeous scenery, the very friendly local residents, the fantastic food, and the healthy, clean air, water, and food.
The worst things (if this matters to you) about living in the Volcán and Cerro Punta region of Panamá are learning to get by without some of the services you take for granted from life in Canada, the States, or Western Europe. The...
The worst things (if this matters to you) about living in the Volcán and Cerro Punta region of Panamá are learning to get by without some of the services you take for granted from life in Canada, the States, or Western Europe. The...
The best things about living in the Volcán and Cerro Punta region of Panamá are the gorgeous scenery, the very friendly local residents, the fantastic food, and the healthy, clean air, water, and food.
The worst things (if this matters to you) about living in the Volcán and Cerro Punta region of Panamá are learning to get by without some of the services you take for granted from life in Canada, the States, or Western Europe. The electricity and water systems sometimes quit on you. There are no movie theatres or bookstores, and relatively little high-brow culture, though there is a lot of Panamanian dance and music. For me personally, the worst thing is some of the gringos in this region whose behavior, unfortunately, casts a shadow on the vast majority of gringos here, who are extremely nice people.
The worst things (if this matters to you) about living in the Volcán and Cerro Punta region of Panamá are learning to get by without some of the services you take for granted from life in Canada, the States, or Western Europe. The electricity and water systems sometimes quit on you. There are no movie theatres or bookstores, and relatively little high-brow culture, though there is a lot of Panamanian dance and music. For me personally, the worst thing is some of the gringos in this region whose behavior, unfortunately, casts a shadow on the vast majority of gringos here, who are extremely nice people.
Posted May 26, 2013
Tehany De La Guardia - Tehany Realty
The best things about living in Volcan and Cerro Punta:
- The weather. It's not too cold and not too hot in Volcan and Cerro Punta. It’s just great.
- There is no traffic, so you get everywhere very fast.
- It's very inexpensive in Volcan and Cerro Punta. Many of the things we use every day in other places just aren’t that much needed. For example, we don’t need air conditioning or heat, so the power bill is...
The best things about living in Volcan and Cerro Punta:
- The weather. It's not too cold and not too hot in Volcan and Cerro Punta. It’s just great.
- There is no traffic, so you get everywhere very fast.
- It's very inexpensive in Volcan and Cerro Punta. Many of the things we use every day in other places just aren’t that much needed. For example, we don’t need air conditioning or heat, so the power bill is very low. The city water is $5 per month, garbage pickup is approximately $8 per month, electricity approximately $25 per month. Also (just like in the rest of Panama), you get your retiree discount to make everything is even cheaper.
- The people in Volcan and Cerro Punta are very friendly and helpful.
- We have a lot of medicinal plants in the area, so if you like natural or alternative medicine, Volcan and Cerro Punta is your place
- Vegetables, eggs, pork, chicken, dairy are fresh right from the farms to your kitchen. (Sometimes the farmers have too much of one vegetable, so they just give them to you for free.)
Now, the bad things about living in Volcan and Cerro Punta:
- You may get bored. There are not many activities to do in any of the area towns. For some people this is great just to be just in contact with nature, but some others will find it very boring.
- Very few people speak English
- We don't have good service in almost any of the public companies. Some examples: To get your phone line it will take approximately a month and you have to call them every day. If you pay your cable TV at the company the same day your service expires they will cut the service off because the payment system doesn’t record it for 3 working days, and of course, nobody tells you that.
Posted July 4, 2014
John Gilbert - PanamaKeys
Let’s talk about the worst things about living and retiring in Volcán first. If you’re a person who wants a picture-perfect neighborhood, and if your idea of a picture-perfect neighborhood is driving in to a beautiful place where the sidewalks are always groomed, and the roads are perfectly straight with no potholes, Volcán is probably not for you. A lot of the side roads in Volcán still feature gravel roads, for example. ...
Let’s talk about the worst things about living and retiring in Volcán first. If you’re a person who wants a picture-perfect neighborhood, and if your idea of a picture-perfect neighborhood is driving in to a beautiful place where the sidewalks are always groomed, and the roads are perfectly straight with no potholes, Volcán is probably not for you. A lot of the side roads in Volcán still feature gravel roads, for example. For the best things about living and retiring n Volcán, if you’re somebody who wants to wake up to a beautiful, cool, and crisp morning with views of multiple mountain ranges, crystal blue skies, and gorgeous evenings full of the Milky Way and as many stars as you could possibly see, then Volcán is for you.
The best and worst things about living and retiring in Volcán depend on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for American-style infrastructure, it really doesn’t exist here in Volcán yet. Volcán is not a tourist town; Volcán is a real city in Panama. Infrastructure in Volcán is good, and better Infrastructure is on its way, but the beauty of creation in Volcán is unparalleled. Volcán is gorgeous. I won’t put it on a par with any other place I’ve been and I’ve been everywhere in the world.
(John Gilbert's daughter running along a road in Volcan, Panama, pictured.)
Posted February 16, 2017