Never Say Never

Before we moved to Panama, we spent 18 months to 2 years researching where in the world we wanted to relocate to, Panama was not even on our radar!

 

We, like most people who relocate, had a long list of criteria, This list included things like: The county must have a growing economy (we were coming here to work and sadly couldn't afford to retire yet!), a good infrastructure, good education (we have school age children), good healthcare, good weather, including safe weather (no hurricanes or tornados etc.), a cheaper cost of living (UK living is very expensive!), relatively close to the City/Airport (for work commuting & family visits), and the list went on.

 

The biggest and most important thing on our list at that time was we had to be on the beach.  It was our dream and coming to somewhere like Panama meant it could be a reality.

 

Our first visit to Panama in 2013 we traveled across Panama from Panama City, via numerous beaches to David and the gorgeous beach resort of Las Lajas (Chiriqui). That was a stunning beach, 20 kilometers of unspoilt beach, laced with palm trees, with lots of land at very affordable prices.  We loved it! The down side (of course there had to be at least one!) was It was too far away from the nearest International School, and the one that surprised us the most, It was too hot!

 

Whilst there, we actually stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast about 10 minutes from the beach, set in hills with amazing, breathtaking views, and the biggest discovery, it had a wonderful climate, cool breezes and a much more tolerable temperature for day to day living. It was all very well being on the beach for a vacation, but living and working in Panama's heat, we realized would be an entirely different matter altogether!

 

Wow, what a discovery.  In just 9 days our biggest dream had been completely turned upside down! We had never, ever, imagined in a million years, that we would chose hills and mountains over living on the beach!  

 

So, what I say to everyone who comes to Panama for the first time, especially looking to move here, is never say never, keep an open mind, what you think you want, will probably change completely!