Moving to Panama - Observations
(panamalady.com) Moving to Panama or any other country is definitely an adventure. Many people who move to Panama believe that they will be able to continue their lifestyles the same way as they did at home. And this is where problems start.
It has been my observation, not only in Panama but in other countries, that many people move from their native country and expect things to work the same way as home. They expect the legal system, the governmental system, the infrastructures, the utilities etc. to be all the same. Typically, those are the same people who become disgruntled and end up disliking the new country. My observation can only be that they came here unprepared.
It really baffles me that people believe they can just go on doing business, as they did at home. They buy houses or land without hiring reputable lawyers. They believe the legal system will be on their side, but they forget that the legal system isn’t at all like it is at home. Why would it be, it’s a different COUNTRY. In many countries, blatent “payola” or “mordida” happens from ground level to top dog. This corrupts every system so one should know to “watch your back at all times”.
There are others who talk of how bad the crime is. This is hilarious. There is no crime at home? When you live in a country or a place where there is an impoverished population, there is always going to be crime. It may not be big crime but people have to eat and so they will do whatever they have to survive. There are others who are obviously in need of vice-ridden substances and will do whatever they have to maintain their “habits”. The latter group tends to be the most dangerous as the drug trade is a complicated and dangerous one, leading to terrible crimes. But what country is without vice-ridden substances???
The other night, an inebriated expat was sitting at one of the local hangouts complaining of all the experiences she had been encumbered with since arriving in Panama. She was taken (robbed) for a large sum of money when she purchased her house and from what anyone could understand out of the conversation, it was because she “trusted” someone. She didn’t have anyone translate or read the small print in the contract, etc. Trusting people in business is like throwing your money to the wind. Especially in a place where you don’t really “know” anyone to begin with. My observations are that people try to save money and go the cheap route. They don’t hire the reputable lawyer (that may cost a lot of money). In the end, they lose much more than if they had hired that lawyer !
The same inebriated individual went on to tell some pretty wild stories about patients in hospitals giving doctors b.j.’s all while other patients were waiting to be tended to. I wasn’t sure if she was talking about Panama, Canada or the US. And insistent she was that the economic recession was caused by one individual from Boquete Panama…..way before Bush or in her words, Bushwacker, got involved. It was quite a difficult but entertaining conversation to follow, really !
Panama is a great place to live. But it all depends on what you are willing to take and accept. (If you haven’t read “Don’t Stop the Carnival, maybe you should pick it up first and read it…..I can personally say that I’ve experienced what this poor individual wrote about). So, from my observations, I urge anyone who is trying to move to another country or place, to do a lot of research first. Or if you are good at expecting nothing and accepting what comes your way, you’ve figured it out and have nothing to worry about. And don’t buy until you have traveled and lived in your new country for a while. Why? Maybe you will love it, maybe not.
