Latest Expat Stories

Tuesday Market in Boquete, Panama is a busy place. Vendors, crafts-people, artist, services, produce, coffee makers, cosmetics, oils, soaps, candles, baskets, bread, meats and more fill every free inch of space! Therapy such as chiropractic and massage seem to do a good business in this busy place as well. 

 

The market opens at ten on Tuesday each week and closes at noon. In the early morning, vendors arrive to set up their display tables, have coffee...

As told to Best Places:

 

Hi, I’m Jackie Lange. I have lived in Boquete, Panama for almost 6 years now. I moved after deciding I was just sick and tired of the heat in Texas.  One summer we had 90 days straight of 100˚ weather. I lived on a private 500 acre lake. It was too hot to get out on my boat, so it was just too hot to stay in Texas.

I spent two years exploring about ten countries other than Panama, including Mexico, Belize, Uruguay,...

This has been our second Christmas living in Panama… and whilst I cannot deny that spending Christmas day on the beach and by a gorgeous pool in glorious sunshine is a huge plus point, for us and many people we know there is that severe lack of ‘chrismassy feeling’

 

That is not because Christmas is not celebrated here… Christmas decorations have been up everywhere, stores have dedicated floors of Christmas paraphernalia and the shops are crammed...

• Firstly, you must have your original driving license with you every time you drive, whether this is your Panamanian driving license or whatever original driver’s license for whatever country you are from. 
• If you are driving on your original license...

After years of visiting Belize, since 2006, we decided to leave the family, friends and acquaintances behind and start a whole new life in a new country. As per my family a Third world country at that. Needless to say we started making friends almost immediately. Belizeans are so friendly and open their homes to you with no restraints, even without knowing you at all. Expats also were so heartwarming and friendly, eager to meet the new kids on the block. We found there are local hangouts...

My wife and I bought our first home in Chelem, Yucatan, Mexico in 2002.  Our plans when we bought our house were to use it for our retirement, which at that time, was still years down the road. The more we visited our home, however, the more we fell in love with the Yucatan, so by the end of 2003 we moved to Mexico full-time.  We worked and traveled throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, including Playa Del Carmen, Cozumel and Mahahual (in the state of Quintana Roo), and while they...

My husband recently purchased  me a new camera to replace the one stolen on our last trip to Tocumen Airport in Panama City. I haven't had much chance to use it because I had been sick with bronchitis. I love the Nikon Coolpix P600, it is brand new but he got it cheap because it is a discontinued model. It is fabulous, a very easy point and shoot with 60X zoom and audio-video at 1080p.

 

Today Mary, my housekeeper, brought her sweet seven-year-old son. He...

Americans like the fastest route from point A to Point B. I find that truly boring.   Unless there is some schedule to be kept I much prefer the back roads to get around. My reasons are simple; I like to be on the less traveled road. I enjoy less traffic, fewer potholes, no hurry. I love taking pictures and seeing real people doing what they do best, being themselves!

 

Another reason at this time to take a scenic drive is to miss the massive...

Flash back to 8 years ago, when I visited Panama (from Mexico where I was living) to attend an International Living Conference. Panama was on my radar big time, as an international investor. The prices, cost of living, ease of doing business, resident visa programs... every box was checked. While I didn’t plan on living in Panama, I was keen to add to my investment portfolio, purchase and furnish a property and set it up for short-term vacation rentals as I do with all my properties. I...