Young Expats Discover Panama
(offshorewave.com) Over the last five years Panama has become a very popular place for U.S. and European retirees. Retirement villages and real estate projects are constantly being advertised in Panama’s national newspapers and magazines as a way of enticing foreigners to live out their “golden years” in Panama. Panama’s attractive retirement benefits are also very popular with potential retirees. And towns like Boquete, Coronado, Volcan and El Valle offer beautiful scenery and fresh air for retirees who are looking for a better quality of life in Panama. On the streets and in the shops of Panama you see lots of foreign faces – that wasn’t the case just eight years ago. But what is not as well known is the amount of young expats that have decided to put down roots in Panama. The typical young expat in Panama is in their early 20s, recently graduated from college and looking for something different from what they find at home.
Nick, a young Greek/Panamanian who moved out of Panama when he was ten has decided to return to Panama after living in Greece, Italy, New York and most recently Los Angeles. “I came back because I wanted somewhere more relaxing than Los Angeles and I wanted to open a business”. Nick is now running a food business selling tacos and hot dogs to university students at FSU-Panama. Nick has an art degree from NYU and is looking into teaching art at the national university. He says he’s happy to be back in the country he was born in. “Things are different now than when I was ten: the country seems politically a lot calmer and the economy is stronger.” Nick has decided to settle down in an apartment in the old U.S. Canal Zone. “I grew up in the Canal Zone so it’s like coming back home after all these years.”
Dave is a paramedic who came to Panama from Oklahoma by way of Alaska. His mother retired to Volcan, Panama a couple of years ago and he decided to join her. “I didn’t want to stay in the States because there was little down time in the U.S.” “Panama is much more relaxing than living in Midwest America.” Dave has based himself out of Panama while looking for offshore work as a paramedic. He recently returned from a stint in Africa; he hopes to find work in Iraq.
“I work offshore and return to Panama for R&R; there are lots of young people like me working out of Panama; we are an expat community within an expat community”, says Dave. He plans to stay in Panama where he doesn’t have to pay local taxes; he rents an apartment with a bunch of friends. “I need to keep my income under $80,000 and stay out of the U.S. for 11 months of the year; if I can do both, I don’t have to pay income tax to the U.S. government, though I still need to file a Federal income tax form with the U.S. government.”
Walter is a former soldier who is half Panamanian half American. “When I got out of the U.S. military I decided to return to Panama.” Walter recently returned to Panama after a two year stretch in South Korea teaching English. He saved his money in South Korea and is now operating a demolition company in Panama. “My money goes farther in Panama than in the States”, says Walter. “You also have one season in Panama – summer – so I don’t need to heat my home or buy clothes for different seasons.” “I decided to go into the demolition business because I knew a lot of young guys who needed work in Panama and they were willing to help me start my demolition company.” Walter explains that with the construction boom there has been a lot of work for demolition companies; he’s looking to expand his business next year.
Nick, Dave and Walter are part of a growing group of young expats who have decided to make Panama their home. Most young expats in Panama are living in the El Cangrejo district of Panama City, Dave tells me, “El Cangrejo is really the starting place for most young expats in Panama.” “The El Cangrejo District is filled with transients and expats so if you want to meet people from other places that is the place to live in Panama City.”
Other neighborhoods such as Mar Bella have also become popular with younger expats in Panama. Cheap apartments are hard to come by so Dave has a bunch of roommates in his small two bedroom apartment. “It doesn’t matter to me because I’m often out of the country on assignment, and when I come back it’s nice to have friends living in the apartment.”
Most of the younger expats I talk with tell me they are in Panama as tourists; they don’t have papers to live in the country permanently; the process of getting a resident visa is difficult and expensive. But not having residency means that it is very hard to find legal work, so most are working outside of Panama and coming back into the country as tourists; or they are working in jobs that don’t require papers, like website development or translating jobs. None of the young expats that I spoke to were getting rich by living in Panama; most have decided to relocate because they like the pace of life in Panama and are discouraged with life in the U.S.
What do you do for fun in Panama, I ask some of the young expats. “We like to go to the casinos”; this seems to be a favorite among the group. “You can get tons of free drinks at the casinos and the Colombian hostesses are nice.” Young expats can drink in Panama and nightlife is open to anyone at anytime. Nightlife was a major reason why Panama was so popular with young U.S. military personnel during the days when the U.S. Southern Command was based in the Canal Zone – young men from small town America experiencing legal gambling, drinking and prostitution for the first time.
Other young expats told me they weren’t at all interested in Panamanian nightlife; they liked Panama for the surfing, for the beaches and scuba diving - Panama’s tropical natural beauty appealed to them.
None of the expats I met were married. Most weren’t sure just how long they planned to stay in Panama; some thought that after a few years they would move back home or onto another country. Others were going to try to stay in Panama for the long term. In the end, all the young expats I talked with told me that for now Panama provided enough relaxation and excitement that they were in no hurry to head back home.
