James Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 ...today. I was visiting my family in Naples and took a little exploration road trip on my way back to Panamá. Saw a lot of the destruction from the massive hurricane that hit the area this past September. They are building back fast though it is unrecognizable from what it used to be. But what hit me most was seeing so many American Flags hung and flown from so many of the buildings. Like the people are saying we will always stand and will not be defeated. A little moving, and it caused me to increase my bond rating on America´s chance to survive, at least parts of America. Viva Floridians! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie B Trask Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Is Panama your permanent residence? Do you ever stain the states for periods of time? What are the Pros and Cons of living in Panama! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 I visit the USA 3 or 4 times / year, my visits are only for 4 or so days, 2 of which I visit with my family, 2 of which I explore Florida and Ohio. Panamá is my permanent residence. I explored Fort Myers Beach on my way from Naples to Miami airport....took 2 days, also visited Homestead and parts of the interior of the state.Pros Panamá is great as the people (middle to lower classes) are wonderful, the upper classes not so much. I generalize as there are thousand of exceptions. Panamá is also great because you can live on the beach, in as good or better situation as anything you´ll find in Florida, for a fraction of the cost. Middle class Americans and Canadians will one day discover this jewel and realize they can live/or have a vacation place.....on the beautiful and calm Pacific Ocean without having to pay the extraordinary prices you pay in Florida for inferior (imho) beach front living. Panamá also has not been infested with woke etc. idealogy. Panamá does business in the dollar. I study history, and Panamá today reminds me of the USA in the 19th century, especially 19th century Chicago, at least with respect to the attitudes, and love of doing business of its citizens. Panamanians are resilient and never give up. Again, Panamanians LOVE to do business, and to work hard to improve their lives, against a government that does so much to keep the average citizen down. It´s my opinion that if Panamá had clean government, and the nation was truly free for all citizens, Panamá would surpass Europe and the USA re: economic dynamism. The USA has tons of entrepreneurial talent, but Panamá even more, and again they LOVE to do business here. So refreshing. The problem is the talent stays low, as when you try to exercise real economic ambition, the buracracy and thieves in high places will do you damage. So most of the talent stays below the radar. 365 days / year you may wear shorts and a t-shirt if you choose. The weather is consistent and pleasant. The sun is not as strong as it is in Florida for some reason. You meet many different types of people in Panamá, different ethnicities, nations of origin, etc etc. While Panamá had strict regs re: the pandemic (which I personally had no problem with), many from Europe came here to settle to get away from the draconian stuff put on them by their governments in Europe re: the pandemic. Same goes for Canadians, and to a lesser extent Americans. Many South African white people have settled here in the last couple years.....very high quality people....escaping the tyranny put on them by the ANC that the world press ignores. Great for Panamá, bad for South Africa. Panamá is laid back, and fun, you can joke about almost anything - as the people are not uptight like we have become in the USA. I have black and brown people working for me and with me, and we joke about race and gender all the time, in a way that brings us even closer together, at the same time in a way we´d probably be put in jail, or sued, in the USA for "hate speech". My employees and customers (we lend money for the purchase of cars and trucks to higher risk citizens and businesses and charge premium rates for the risk and service) are overall much better people than the avg American re: their sense of duty and responsibility. Panamanians believe in paying their debts,....at a similar level as Americans say in the 1950s believed in paying their debts. On the negative side: The government is uber corrupt and does not carry out its most basic functions to the degree we are used to via our upbringing during good times in the USA. Doing business here is very difficult because of the corruption and bureacracy. I have learned (and am learning still) how to cope and thrive, but I wouldn´t recommend anyone trying to do biz here unless they are a little loco like me and are willing to endure the learning process. I´ve been fortunate as I found the right people to work with/for me early on, and we´ve had success. There is at the same time that I say the people are wonderful (they are)....there is a strain of uber selfishness where people are vicious on the streets in their cars, some will cut in front of you in line say at a store if they think they can get away with it, ....the worse infractions are by the wealthier people who think the nation is their sand box and the rest of the citizens are there to serve them (I exaggerate to make a point, but not a lot). For immigrants that want to work at a job (I own my own company so this doesn´t apply to me) it´s tough. Many Venezuelans (these immigrants are hyper educated, hard working and are the best group of people I´ve met in my life) come here legally and are horribly restricted in the types of jobs they can hold,...this is because the government is corrupt and demogogic and panders to "el populismo" so they protect the Panamanians against comptetion. This is unfair to those who immigrate here legally, and it is even worse for the Panamanian professions (accounting, law etc.) as these professions do their jobs poorly and so badly need competition to raise their service levels. Panamanianas are uber intelligent re: the raw gift they´ve been granted by God, but the upper classes are lazy and corrupt, overall. IMO. Conclusion: I believe Panamá - for retirees especially - is an undiscovered jewel, and I´d recommend anyone to visit here to take a look for themselves. Many retirees (or even young people who work online from home) come here and travel the nation for some months to test it out, figure what areas they like best....in order to settle here. Try it !!, you may get the bug as I have. When I return here from the USA, as the plane approaches the Panamá City, my heart pumps a little faster as I love where I live. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew Bundles Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 James…congrats on finding your slice of Heaven, but it has changed you-and not necessarily for the better…Do you realize that it’s been about three days and you haven’t once asked Bernie about Dolly Parton’s knockers?…Bring back the old James… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 Dolly is over 19, I try to avoid thinking about things that will (necessarily) never be mine. Signed, James, The Buddhist 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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