Hola yet again Panama people; get ready for the latest and greatest from Ocean Ridge Estates. I know it’s only been two months since the last issue, but the neighborhood keeps expanding. Let me tell you all about it:

1)   The Dutch invasion.  Say hello to Pieter and Joka Hoogenboom, a really nice Dutch couple who have been living in northern British Columbia, Canada, for the last 25 years or so (photo). They’re a little tired of Canadian winters, so they bought lot 4 and they seem pretty excited about the place. In fact, Pieter called his brother Leo in Alberta, Canada, and Leo was so impressed that he bought lot 5 – looks like a Hoogenboom takeover to me! Pieter is in the gas and oil servicing industry, while Leo is a greenhouse consultant. That means that he can help us all build greenhouses to grow food year-round, which I think is pretty great. Feel free to contact Pieter and Joka (Peter@dutchcasing.com) and Leo and his wife Willy (hoogenboom@albertahighspeed.net) anytime you like.

2)   Just like winning the lottery – sort of.  I think that most of you are familiar with the Machetazo, the supermarket in Santiago where we buy most of our groceries. Unknown to us, they have a “Customer of the Day” program where the cash register randomly picks one customer per day to get all of their groceries for free. I knew something was up when the horns and sirens went off, the confetti came raining down, and all of the employees rushed over with balloons and cameras (photo). Panamanians don’t need much of an excuse to party, that’s for sure. Okay, it was only $60 in groceries, but it was still fun.

3)  The Great Chicken Experiment.  Some of you have expressed an interest in raising chickens when you make the move to Panama, so we thought we’d give it a try. We built a deluxe super-modern chicken coop (photo) and fifteen cute little chicks for 50 cents each. When they got big enough we had Jose the caretaker kill nine of them – turns out I’m a little squeamish about killing critters that I’ve been feeding. Patricia wasn’t squeamish at all about cleaning them (photo), and she cooks a good bird. However, when we did the math it came out to about $20 per chicken – now I know why the locals just let their chickens run around, and don’t feed them anything.

We turned loose the remaining six chickens, intending to have them more or less as pets, and hopefully get some eggs. However, a few nights ago something attacked and killed five of them – Jose says it was probably coyotes. I guess the moral of the story is to close your coop at night; we named the one surviving chicken Nervous Nellie, and the name certainly fits.

4)  New hotel. Okay, it’s not new, but the Heliconia Bed and Breakfast (hotelheliconiapanama.com) has established itself as the only decent place to stay on the entire coastline. Owned by Loes and Kees, a Dutch couple (I told you we were having a Dutch invasion), the hotel has a very eco-friendly theme, and they take customers on tours throughout the countryside. They even go into the Cerro Hoya National Park at the southern end of the peninsula. If you’re looking for a nice place to stay that is much closer than Santiago, I definitely recommend the Heliconia. No, I’m not getting any commission for telling you this, but I might want to talk to Loes and Kees about that!

That’s it for this issue – come on down to Paradise just as soon as you can.

Jay, Patrica and Loco

Panama is one of the fastest growing property and investment opportunities in the world. While the real estate in Panama offers tremendous value – it is the low cost of living that really attracts people to Panama.

The Panama Collection selected Ocean Ridge Estates for its pristine natural beauty and ideal location. Located just 1 hour from Santiago and 3 ½ hours from Panama City it is perfect for retirement and investment real estate.

Ocean Ridge Estates is picture perfect, bordered to the north by the Rio Negro (Black River), mountain views in all directions, and the Pacific Ocean four miles to the west.

Lots 4,5 and 6 are pretty similar. All are bordered by the Black River, the largest river in the region (see photo).

All of them are large parcels, around 7 acres, perfect for putting together your very own country estate. You can have up to three horses, fruit orchards, large gardens, walking trails, etc. About the only limitation is your imagination.

All three lots offer some ocean view, but the main visual appeal will be the vast mountain views (see photos). Monkeys, parrots and many other animals are common here on the project; it’s easy to see why the name of this area is actually Paradise !

Jay Stafford
www.thepanamacollection.com
954-309-2837 cell in Florida
507-6679-7540 cell in Panama

March 10, 2013 – By Jay Stafford

Hola future neighbors, and welcome to the latest edition of The Ocean Ridge Report.

We’re nearing the end of the dry season (verano) here in Panama – the hills are brown, the river is down, and the cows are skinny.  As usual, great things are happening in the area, so let’s jump right in:

1)  More neighbors.  Say hello to Richard, his girlfriend Cynthia, and their good friend and business partner Yvette. They hail from St Augustine, Florida, and they liked the project so much that they bought lots 15 and 16. Between the three of them they bring a lot to the table, including experience in building, woodworking, property management, growing plants, as well as starting several businesses, like a healthy “life foods” restaurant. They also enjoy wine, vodka and fine cigars (okay, Richard likes the cigars), so you know they’ll fit right in with this group. Feel free to contact Richard and Cynthia at panamasurfershark@yahoo.com, and Yvette at sailorsexchange@yahoo.com.

2)  Pool party anyone?  After interviewing at least 10 pool builders, we finally found the right guy for the job. He’s in Panama City, and has built hundreds of pools throughout the country. Check out the photos; he did a great job, and now we have a nice place for those all important sunset cocktails. For those of you who want pools to go with your dream house, we can definitely help.

3)  Airport update.  I’ve mentioned the new international airport being built in Rio Hato in a previous issue, but I thought you’d appreciate knowing that construction is coming right along; here’s the best link I could find; http://www.panama-guide.com/article.php/20121109150247625. It is scheduled to open later this year, which probably means sometime in 2014. It will be a true international airport, with flights coming in from the U.S. and all over the world. The site is about 2.5 hours from Mariato, which will be a big improvement over the current 4.5 hour journey from Panama City.

On a side note, there are still no commercial flights available into the Ruben Cantu airport in Santiago. Rumor has it that flights will be opened up within a couple of years; you know I’ll keep you posted.

4)  Dental care. Inexpensive healthcare has been a recurring theme in these newsletters, and dental care is no exception. Patricia has had problems with her lower wisdom teeth for the last couple of years, so she did some of the local research that she’s so good at and found a highly regarded female dentist in Santiago. The dentist took over two hours to remove both teeth, in a comfortable, modern facility.

Patricia was very impressed with the dentist’s skill, and had no problems afterwards. The bill was $120, probably 10% of what it would have cost in the states. For future reference, filling or redoing a cavity costs $40. You gotta love Panama!

That’s it for now. I know that several of you are planning on starting to build your home within the next year or so, and we’re excited about that. What’s the point in catching so many fish, when you don’t have neighbors to give ‘em to?

Jay and Patricia

Hola future neighbors, and welcome to the latest edition of The Ocean Ridge Report. After the lightest rainy season that anybody around here can remember, we’re all settling into the nice dry verano (summer).
The river is down, the watermelons are planted, and a couple trillion stars are out at night. As usual, great things are happening in the area, so let’s jump right in:

1) Let’s build another house. Even though Tom and Stephanie (lot 7) are probably 5 – 7 years away from a full time move to Panama, they’ve made the wise decision to build now while prices are still low. The foundation is coming right along , and the house should be more or less finished by next June. It’s going to be a beautiful two story beast – I just hope it’s big enough for two people!

By the way, they need to come up with a name for their place, if anybody has any ideas. I suggested “Tom’s House of Pleasure”, but I think Stephanie vetoed that one.

2) Santiago happenings. Santiago is steadily becoming one of the “in” cities in Panama, largely because of its central location in the country. The population has gone over 70,000, with new amenities coming in all the time. The new six story hospital is nearing completion, and will be the most modern medical facility in the whole interior of the country. It will have entire floors dedicated to cardiology and oncology, with state of the art diagnostic equipment throughout. The new supermall has been started, and should open within two years. The hotel Mykonos has just opened, and is one of the few four star hotels outside of Panama City. Not sure how much business they’ll get at $130/night, but it’s a nice option for you players out there. Supposedly Mel Gibson owns half the place, but we haven’t seen him hanging around.

3) Insurance matters. After our usual thorough and painstaking research, we’ve purchased insurance for the house. The cost is $378/year for $200,000 in coverage, less than one fourth the cost of a similar policy I have on one of my properties in Florida. We already submitted a claim for some roof damage, and they paid the full amount promptly, with none of the hassles that you have to go through in the states. I think I like Panama.

We also shopped extensively for car insurance, which is a little more expensive; about half as much as I pay for similar coverage in the states. When you make the move to Panama, I think we’ll have you covered for any insurance needs that you might have. We’re still researching health insurance; seems to be more complicated, so I’ll get back to you on that one.

Once again, we are the proud winners of the coveted “Best Decorated House in the Neighborhood” award. You guys are making it easy on us – maybe next year Tom and Stephanie will provide some competition.

Have a great Christmas, Hanukah, Ramadan, or whatever your persuasion is.

Jay and Patricia

–
Jay Stafford
www.thepanamacollection.com
954-309-2837 cell in Florida
507-6679-7540 cell in Panama

Hola everybody; yes, it’s time for the latest Ocean Ridge Report. We’re approaching the end of the summer in Panama, and things are dry, hot and dusty. The cows are skinny, the hillsides are brown, and a little rain doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. We have one business item to discuss, and then some fun stuff, so let’s get to it.

Credit unions, interest rates, etc.  Josh, Bob and Annie wanted some info, so I did a little research. Not to be too basic, but a credit union works pretty much the same as a bank, except you have to be a member and pay a monthly fee, usually around $10. They do pay a little better interest rate than a bank, and the money is considered to be very secure. One of the biggest credit unions in Panama is the Coopeve R.L. (their website is www.coopeve.com, but of course it’s in Spanish), which does have a branch in Santiago. The problem is that only Panamanian residents can be members, as is the case with most of the credit unions in Panama.Just for your info, HSBC Bank in Santiago (our bank) offers a 2.25% one year CD, for any deposit between $10K and $500K. Not a great way to get rich, that’s for sure.

The fruits of our labor.  After two years, we’re starting to see some results from our gardening efforts (when I say “our efforts”, I’m really giving Patricia 90% of the credit). So far we’ve been able to grow and consume pineapple, papaya, tomatoes, yucca, limes, cherries, peppers, watermelon, corn, beans, carrots, passion fruit, cashews, lettuce and plantains. We have high hopes that within the next 2-3 years we’ll be able to enjoy mango, coconuts, pears, avocado, zucchini, oranges, squash, bananas and several exotic fruits that I never heard of but Patricia assures me are delicious. Check out the gardening photos.

Top of the mountain.  For two years I’ve had my eye on the largest mountain behind the house – the locals call it Iguana Peak, and it’s the one with no trees except on the very tip. We happened to meet a guy whose family actually owns the mountain, and he took us on a guided tour. Only about a 2.5 hour hike; for you non-hikers, you can go the whole way on horseback. The views were pretty incredible – the photos don’t really do it justice. I did take a video from the top, and would be happy to send it out to anybody who wants to give it a look.  

Cracks in Paradise. Over the last several months, our house has developed some significant cracks on the outside (two photos). I was getting quite concerned, and had visions of the entire house sliding down the hill. However, we’ve had a couple of builders to the house recently, and they told us to relax. Apparently when you build a house in Panama you let it settle for a couple of years, then you fix the cracks. They said it’s a completely normal process when building with cement. Keep that in mind when you build down here.

Parents, again.  Some neighbors down the road brought us three parakeets that had fallen out of the nest, and of course Patricia couldn’t say no. The place is a madhouse of screaming birds once again, but we’re having a blast. We named them Big Boy, Silencia and Frisky, and the plan is to let them fly away when they’re ready. In the last photo, you can see that Loco is sitting on Patricia’s shoulder. He wants everybody to know that he’s still King of the Hill.

Over and out – as always, let us know if there is anything you want us to cover in the next issue.

Jay and Patricia

Hello everybody, and a belated Happy New Year to all. Patricia and I just wrapped up a month of entertaining my 82 and 77 year old father and mother in Panama. It was the first time I spent a month with them since I was 18 years old. We spent so much time bonding and sharing feelings, it would have brought tears to your eyes. Actually, it was quite fun – in spite of their rather advanced ages we managed to fit in fishing, horseback riding, waterfall exploring, shell collecting, and numerous other activities. Check out the photos of their visit.

It’s been a fairly quiet holiday season, but here are a few topics to cover:

1)   Mariato update.  The mayor, Angel Batista, says that the new hospital in Mariato will be started in 2013. He also is very proud of the new sidewalks that he had put in all along the main road (see photo). We told him that sidewalks are nice, but what we really need is asphalt on the main road around the project, and some good gravel on the side road. He promised that both of those things would be done this year, and you know that politicians never lie!

There is a holiday tradition around Mariato that I think you’ll find amusing. People dress up dummies and put them in the front yard, and they can be pretty creative. Here’s a pic of Patricia standing next to our favorite one; the sign says “Sugardaddy, take me to the beach.” Cute, huh?

One last sad note about Mariato; I think that most of you have had the pleasure of dining at Maria’s, the best little restaurant in the area. Maria had a stroke last month, and isn’t doing very well. She’s in rehab, trying to learn how to walk and talk again, and her restaurant is closed indefinitely. Luckily we still have Patricia’s Café on the Hill, my personal favorite.

2) Freedive spearfishing.  I understand that most of you probably don’t care about this, but hey – it’s my newsletter, and I think it’s pretty cool. In freedive spearfishing, there are no tanks involved. You simply snorkel around, dive down as deep as you dare, spear a fish, and try to get back to the surface before your air runs out. It’s loads of fun, and just dangerous enough to keep Patricia as nervous as a preacher at a Black Sabbath concert. Here are some pics of the unique and tasty fish that you can get this way.

3) Critter update.  Big news at Paradise Ranch – after three years I finally saw my first snake. He was around seven feet long, and rambled through the pool area last week. Never fear; it’s a nonvenomous Tiger Rat Snake (Spilotes pullatus, if you must be technical), and even though they can grow to 14 feet, they only eat rodents, birds, etc. A friend who was visiting wanted to kill it, but I wouldn’t let him. I like all of the critters out there, even snakes.

That’s about it for this edition of The Ocean Ridge Report. I’ll leave you with a photo of our house during the holidays. We’re very excited, because we won the “Best Decorated House in the Neighborhood” contest. Of course, until somebody comes down here and builds something, it’s a pretty good bet that we’ll win every year.

Here’s to a great 2012 for everybody.
Jay Stafford
www.thepanamacollection.com
954-309-2837 cell in Florida
507-6679-7540 cell in Panama
thepanamacollection@gmail.com

Hello out there, and welcome to The Ocean Ridge Report.

We’re finishing off a fun month, with Tom and Stephanie (lot 7) and Josh (lot 9) both coming in to stay at the house for a few days. The weather was pretty terrible, very rainy, but we still managed to get out on the lots with an architect and start the initial planning process. Stephanie conducted a yoga class every morning, and thanks to Tom and Josh the Mariato supermarket had to schedule an extra delivery from the beer truck! Here’s a photo of the happy campers.

Got a few things to cover, so here we go:

1)   Airport update. I told you last month that the government was evaluating the possibility of adding commercial flights from Panama City to Santiago. They finished their evaluation, and it was determined that there was not enough demand to justify adding any flights. Looks like we’re stuck with a long bus ride for awhile.

2)   Bank update. This will only affect you American gringos; Bob and Annie, you can relax. The United States, in it’s infinite wisdom, has just demanded that all banks in Panama disclose full financial details to the IRS for all U.S. citizens who have bank accounts in Panama. Our bank (Credicorp) refused to comply, so instead they will be closing every U.S. citizen account in the entire country. Patricia and I are looking for a new bank, and it looks like HSBC is the best bet. Even if you have an HSBC account in the states, you will still have to open a new account in Panama. We’ll have all the details worked by the time any of you get there, don’t you worry.

For what it’s worth, I already include all of my Panama banking details in my annual tax returns, so you don’t have to worry about us fleeing to Brazil to escape tax evasion charges!

3)   Lot 13 update. Lot 13 was purchased by a really nice 65 year old lady named Marcelina.She has had a 37 year old boyfriend (Chris) for awhile, and they recently became engaged. Chris told her that he’s a city boy, and would never live out in the country. Therefore, Marcelina has decided to buy a condo close to Panama City, and eventually sell lot 13. We wish her the best, and we hope that the boy toy situation works out for her!

4) Critter update.

Okay, I just missed actually missed seeing this one. Patricia and I were down by the river on our lot, talking to the well drillers. Suddenly they got excited, pointing across the river and saying “gato solo” (solitary cat). We jumped down in the river, but it ran up the other bank before either one of us could see it. I had the guys describe it, and it had to be a jaguarundi, a small relative of the jaguar. They often hunt during the day, and at 15 – 20 lbs the biggest animal they eat is the occasional chicken. I attached a photo, in case you’re ever lucky enough to see one.

I also attached a photo or two of the agoutis around our house. They hang around pretty much every day, and provided some quality entertainment for the group. Josh did some research, and apparently the mating ritual includes the male spraying urine all over the female, which send her into a frenzy of dancing and cavorting all over the place. Those agoutis are a wild bunch; maybe some day they’ll have an orgy just for us.

That’s about it for this month – hasta pronto,

Jay and Patricia

–

Jay Stafford
www.thepanamacollection.com
954-309-2837 cell in Florida
507-6679-7540 cell in Panama
thepanamacollection@gmail.com

Hello everybody, and welcome to this month’s edition of The Ocean Ridge Report (or TORR, as Stephy calls it).

Patricia has been in Panama with two sisters, her mom and a family friend for the past couple of weeks, which is why I’ve been here in Florida. If you think I’m going to spend two weeks in the same house with five wild Colombianas, you’re crazy! I have four items this month to discuss (including a bombshell), so here we go:

1) Questions from Josh. Josh wanted an update on airports in the area, so we got the latest info. The new international airport will be located in Rio Hato, about 45 minutes east of Penonome (probably within two hours of the project). They will start building it next year, and it should be completed by 2015. There is also a small regional airport going into Santa Catalina, an hour and a half SW of Santiago – probably won’t concern anybody in this group, as it’s pretty much out of the way.

Now, here’s the bombshell that Patricia discovered during her research – the Panamanian government has just granted approval for yet another international airport, to be based in Santiago (yes, Santiago!). They will expand the existing airport to accommodate larger jets, with a projected finish date of 2016. In the next couple of months they will be flying 20 passenger jets into the airport on some test runs, and will probably open it up to flights from Panama City by early next year. Don’t know what it will cost, but we’ll keep you posted.

By the way, Patricia obtained all of this information directly from the governor, Ernesto Gonzalez, who we happen to be pretty good friends with. I don’t know how tough it is to see the governor where you’re from, but if you want to sit down with him in Panama we can easily set it up for you. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

2) Hospital update. The governor wanted to be sure that you are aware of his plans to build a new hospital in Santiago, behind the old one on the Panamerican Highway. Construction has already begun on a six story state of the art facility that will practically eliminate the need to ever go to Panama City for medical care. The hospital will have a full staff of U.S. trained physicians, with entire floors dedicated to oncology and cardiology, among other disciplines. According to Patricia, Senor Gonzalez is enthusiastic about the future, and he’s excited to have more foreigners moving into the area. Like I said, if anybody wants to meet him when they’re in Panama, just let us know.

3) Oysters anyone?

Just when I thought Panama couldn’t get any better we discovered oystering. On certain beaches you can go out at low tide and find them in the rocks. The three in the attached photo I found in about 5 minutes. They’re huge and extremely tasty. If you don’t like oysters, well, too bad for you. I also threw in a couple of photos from my last fishing trip a couple of weeks ago with my friend Mike from California.

Check out the huge corvina – a shark bit a chunk out of his tail before we could get him in the boat. Sure wish we had some neighbors to give all this fish to.

4) Critter update. I’ve spotted two coatimundis in the area; one was running in to lot #7 (Tom and Stephy’s). A coatimundi is a member of the raccoon family, and looks just like the attached photo. They eat about anything they can get ahold of, and are especially fond of British tourists! Kidding of course, they can actually be somewhat friendly once they become totally accustomed to people.

That’s it for this issue. We definitely welcome suggestions, comments and even snide remarks. Next month we have Tom, Stephy and Josh all coming in for a visit, so it should be fun.

Nos Vemos,

Jay and Patricia

–
Ocean Ridge Estates – The Panama Collection
http://www.thepanamacollection.com
954-309-2837 cell in Florida
507-6679-7540 cell in Panama

Hola besinos, it seems like we’re just starting to get enough people that maybe it would be worth sending out a regular update on things that are happening in the area. Entonces (therefore), welcome to the very first issue of The Ocean Ridge Report. Once a month or so, we’ll send out stuff that we think you might find interesting regarding the project, things happening in Mariato and/or Santiago, etc. This could be huge – eventually I might send this out to all the gringos in the area, and charge big bucks, but don’t worry – you lucky people will always get this valuable information for free. I know, I’m a hell of a guy.
 
In this first issue I have four items that you might find interesting:
 

1. I’m writing this email from Rancho Paraiso (yes, we’ve named our place), using our new service, which is called Claro. Claro is a relatively new provider in Panama, with new technology. We have a 3.5G connection up here; so far it’s fast, reliable and pretty cheap at $38/month. It’s much better than anything that was available previously, so we should be in great shape by the time any of you move down here.
    
2. We’ve recently been notified that after two years of pounding away, the government has granted official approval to put asphalt on the hills bordering the project. This will only be on the main road for now – the side road will get a layer of tosca (high quality gravel), and the MOP (same thing as the Department of Transportation in the states) will maintain it. Apparently getting government approval is by far the most difficult step; it may take awhile, but now it will definitely happen.
    
3. President Martinelli has recently put a new program into place, called Seguro al Turista (insurance for tourists). When you get off the plane at Tocumen, they hand you a card that gives all tourists complete health insurance coverage for 30 days. It’s actually quite good – any sickness or injury that occurs while you’re in Panama is covered 100%, up to $7000. If you break a tooth, dental coverage kicks in, up to $500. There are lots of other provisions, which are explained in the brochure that is attached to the card. Patricia called the number, and it’s completely legit, which I think is a great thing. Unfortunately, if you get hurt while drunk you’re not covered – let’s face it, that could be a problem for this group!
    
4. Last but not least – I know that probably none of you are as nuts about wildlife as I am, but that’s too bad. You’ll just have to share my excitement at our first agouti sighting. The agouti is a very shy elusive critter that is sort of a cross between a rabbit and a pig. They mostly reside in the deeper rain forests of Panama, but we have one that likes to run through our back yard. He’s been too quick to get a photo, but he looks just like this:
   

   Panamanians like to eat them, but since that’s not allowed on the project I have high hopes that they’ll thrive and become Part of the community. You have to admit, they’re pretty cute.

 
That’s it for the first issue. what do y’all think?  (That y’all was just for Claudia)

Jay and Patricia

To learn more about Ocean Ridge Estates in Panama:
http://www.thepanamacollection.com/about-panama-collection/ocean-ridge-estates.html

When you think about living full or part time in Central America, Costa Rica seems to be the first country that comes to mind. Having spent a fair amount of time in both Costa Rica and Panama, I may be able to offer a somewhat unique perspective when comparing the two countries. While both countries are similar in many respects, there are some major differences that you should be aware of.

First of all, there are many similarities. Both Panama and Costa Rica have mountains, oceans, beaches, volcanoes, tropical rain forests, zip line and eco tours, hot springs and exotic wildlife. Both countries have more residents who speak English in the bigger cities, while very little English is spoken in the more remote areas. Both countries have similar temperate climates, and both are quite beautiful. I honestly can’t think of a single good thing about Costa Rica that you can’t also find in Panama.

Now let’s talk about the differences, and they are significant:

Retiree incentives:  Panama rolls out the red carpet for retirees, with one of the best benefit programs in the world (http://www.panamainfo.com/en/benefits-foreign-retirees). Retirees can enjoy steeps discounts of up to 50% on everything from hotels and airfare to entertainment and healthcare. Costa Rica has no such program – retirees are not offered a single benefit, discount, or incentive of any kind.

For this reason alone, it amazes me that anybody would retire to Costa Rica. I have to assume that the only people moving to Costa Rica are the ones who simply have not done their research.

Roads: Costa Rica is famous for its bad roads, and they are terrible. Some of the main roads are so bad that they are nearly impassable. Panama’s main roads are all paved and relatively pothole-free .President Martinelli has made a major road building commitment throughout the country, which has already resulted in an even better road system.

Cost of goods: Panama is a big winner here. Thanks to the Panama Canal and its huge port, manufactured goods are much less expensive in Panama. Household appliances, electronics, building materials, almost everything is more expensive in Costa Rica. I haven’t had any experience buying cars in Costa Rica, but I’ve heard from reliable sources that Costa Rica has a huge tax on automobiles that I know for a fact Panama doesn’t have. Apparently a $20,000 car in Panama would cost around $35,000 in Costa Rica.

Currency: Again, Panama comes out ahead. The official currency in Panama is the Balboa, which is tied directly to the U.S. dollar. The paper money (one dollar bill and up) is all U.S. currency, and there is no exchange rate. The currency in Costa Rica is the colon, and exchange rates fluctuate on a regular basis. You need to constantly change your U.S. money into colones, bring a calculator everywhere you go, and always be aware of locals trying to take advantage of you. Financial transactions of any kind are much easier in Panama.

Capital Cities: When you fly into San Jose, Costa Rica, it feels like you’ve landed in a third world ghetto, but when you fly into Panama City you feel like you’ve arrived to a modern, cosmopolitan metropolis. It’s really about that simple – the difference between the two cities is staggering. San Jose is a dirty, dangerous place with about four street signs in the entire city. Panama City has dozens of gleaming new skyscrapers and is in an obvious phase of progressive expansion. One reason that Panama City is light years ahead of San Jose is the fact that the U.S. was actively involved in the Canal until 1999, so the infrastructure is surprisingly modern. It’s not a coincidence that a Trump Tower is going up in Panama City, but not in San Jose.

On a side note, I have found the people in Panama City to be much friendlier and more helpful than those in San Jose.

Crime: No contest here; Costa Rica has a much higher rate of crime. Armed robberies, carjackings and other violent crimes occur far more frequently in Costa Rica. In 2007 the U.S. State Department designated Costa Rica as a “high crime rate country” for tourists ( http://www.caponcrime.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71:osac-costa-rica-2010-crime-report&catid=1:latest-news ). While these crimes do occur in Panama, the incidence is much lower and they occur primarily in the Canal Zone, between Panama City and Colon. I’ve been living part time in Santiago (three hours west of Panama City) for over two years, and nobody I’ve talked to has ever heard of a murder, armed robbery, or even a mugging. I’ve left tools and work boots outside of my house for weeks at a time, and I’ve never had anything stolen. This would be unheard of in Costa Rica, where theft is a common, everyday occurrence.

Real Estate: Let’s save the best for last; you can purchase land in Panama for a fraction of what it would cost you in Costa Rica. For example, the same five acre mini ranch with ocean views and riverfront that I’m selling in Panama for around $90,000 would cost more than $500,000 in Costa Rica. Land in Costa Rica is roughly five times more expensive than comparable land in Panama.

Another big difference between the countries involves squatters. In Costa Rica if you buy land and squatters move onto it, in three months they actually have legal rights to your property, and protracted legal action is required to get rid of them. Incredible, but true. In Panama, squatters have no legal rights of any kind. If you buy land in Panama, leave it alone for ten years, and upon your return people are living on it, you can have them removed immediately.

Having spent about half of my time in Panama over the last two years, I was initially puzzled by the fact that the interior of the country is so far behind Costa Rica in terms of real estate development. It is a vastly superior country to Costa Rica (for the aforementioned reasons), and when I started inquiring as why this was the case I kept getting back a one word response – “Noriega.” Up until 1990, when he was forcefully removed from power, Noriega had a stranglehold on the country, and he allowed very little development from outside investors. That was only 20 years ago, and Panama has been catching up ever since.

There are some popular, well developed places in Panama. Panama City itself (as well as the entire Canal Zone), Valle de Anton, and Boquete are probably the better known areas. They all have large “gringo” communities, and prime land is often well in excess of $100/meter squared (the way land is measured in Panama).

In my opinion, by far the best area in Panama in terms of future growth potential is the western slope of the Azuero peninsula. Located on the Pacific side of Panama about three hours from Panama City, there is a new (completed four years ago) paved road that runs the entire length of the coastline, ending at the Cerro Hoya National Park. The land is beautiful, the views are outstanding, and it is very early in the development cycle. At present there are no large projects in the area, but there will be. I believe that marinas, hotels, large housing projects, etc will all happen in the next several years.

One can look at Ocean Ridge Estates to get a feel for the low prices that are available in the area. I have 16 mini ranches between 3 and 12 acres, most of which have riverfront and ocean views. The purchase price of $5.00/meter squared includes water, electric, a road to each lot, and full title, as well as any assistance needed in the building of a house. This is one of the best values in Panama, if not the best.

I think the facts speak for themselves. If you visit both countries you’ll find out for yourself that Panama is far superior to Costa Rica for many reasons. Do your research, and you should come to the conclusion that Ocean Ridge Estates on the Azuero peninsula is one of the best values in the entire country of Panama. Visit www.thepanamacollection.com to find out more.