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| Destinations >> Panama >> Preferred Living Destinations in Panama |
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By Ursula Kiener Ford, Ursula Kiener Ford, Panama, ThePanamaNetwork, Panama Real Estate, Panama Destinations, Panam City, David City, El Valle de Anton, Boquete, Volcan, Chame, Gorgoba, Punta Baroco, Playa Blanca, Pearl Islands, Bocas del Toro,
CITY LIFE Panama City Panama City is an affordable cosmopolitan location for those who prefer city life. With a skyline reminiscent of Miami, the high rise buildings tower above the ocean or rain forest. Panama is one of the least expensive places in the world to live in a First World City. High class restaurants, first class hotels and fast food outlets, are here for all tastes and expense.
David City Located in the province of Chiriqui, the City of David is the third largest city in Panama. A tranquil city life, unlike the rush of the metropolitan Panama City. A city that has much potential to grow, especially when the international airport is built.
The weather in David is similar to that of Panama City for people who prefer more tropical climates, but still allows you quick escapes since it is only 45 minutes away from Boquete, 1 hour and 15 minutes from Volcan, and 2 hours away from Boca Chica Beach.
MOUNTAIN AREAS El Valle de Anton A picturesque mountain town just two hours from Panama City, El Valle is a preferred second home destination for Panamanians and for foreigners who want to be in the mountains, but close enough to the city.
Pamanainfo.com describes it as “El Valle de Anton, known simply as El Valle has a geologically unique setting, it’s nestled in the second largest volcano crater in the world. A five by three mile crater created when a volcano blew its top off five million years ago. The result was a lovely steep valley surrounded by jagged mountain peaks and rich volcanic soil that gives way to flowers and verdant forest as a result. El Valle also boasts a near perfect year round spring climate.”
The area is growing with new boutique hotels, gourmet restaurants, and a complete eco-tourism feel with activities such as river rafting, canopy tours, bicycle and hiking tours. Famous for its crafts, El Valle’s market is a place where Panamanians and foreigners who live in El Valle and the nearby beach areas go to spend the day shopping for plants and crafts.
Boquete Boquete has a perfect spring-like climate at an elevation of about 3,500 ft., with clean air, clear water, unspoiled nature and a welcoming community. Boquete offers much for the avid bird watcher, the elusive Quetzal is relatively easy to spot.
The valley of Boquete is filled with flowers and gourmet coffee plantations on its hills and at times the smell of roasting coffee sends wonderful aromas through the town. The town harbors quaint café’s and restaurants, as well as shops and antique stores. Boquete offers an amazing gastronomical offer, including the Small Leading Hotel of the World, the Panamonte, whose chef Charlie Collins is renown in Panama.
As of 2008, the town of Boquete had a population of 600 American retirees. Dozens of Americans live in the new- real estate development, Valle Escondido, an enclosed residential area which has a nine-hole golf course, convenience store, high speed internet, and many other amenities.
Volcan Volcan’s temperature and scenery is similar to that of Boquete, but there is a smaller community and the prices for real estate are more affordable than Boquete. There is visibly a lot more breathing space in this location. It is very close to the magnificent Baru Volcano and many houses have a view of the dormant volcano.
Volcan has a lush green, rolling mountain scenery that reminds you of Switzerland. In fact there is an area called Nueva Suiza (new Switzerland) on the road to Cerro Punta. In the setting sun, the evening clouds are tinged with reds and pinks, contrasting the deep emerald greens on the pine covered slopes of the surrounding hills. Anybody with a love for life and beauty would have to conclude that Volcan is truly one of the world’s special places.
Volcan will surprise you. The town is small with a population of just 10,200 (2000 census), but the facilities are amazing. On the main street alone, there are four large supermarkets, four gas stations, five hardware stores, three bakeries and more than twenty places to eat.
BEACH AREAS Pacific Beaches – Chame, Gorgona, Coronado, Punta Barco, Rio Mar, and Playa Blanca Only 45 minutes away from Panama City, we can find Chame, which is the first of many small beach towns in Panama’s Pacific Coast. Stretching out all the way to Juan Hombron, this area is being known as the “Gold Coast” because of the white sand you find in the beaches.
The epicenter of this area is Coronado, where there are several strip malls, with all the modern city commodities, such as a supermarket, banks, restaurants, and construction stores. This area is rapidly growing because it offers you the possibility of living in the beach and yet being less than one hour away from Panama City.
Housing in this area varies from single residency houses, to very modern condos with all the facilities, to private gated communities. There are plans very soon to built an international airport in Rio Hato, which is a landing strip the Americans built in Panama, when they still had the military bases.
Pearl Islands The Pearl Islands have managed to remain unspoiled, beautiful and virtually untouched over the years. Its water’s abound with wildlife such as: sea turtles, whales, dolphins, a huge array of game fish such as marlin, tuna, wahoo and sailfish to name a few. In the jungles of the Pearl Islands you can find such wildlife as, parrots, toucans, deer, iguanas, monkeys, agouties, and anteaters.
The Pearl Islands, was also home of two seasons of the Reality TV Show “Survivor”.
Bocas del Toro This isolated region of Panama has only recently been discovered by international travelers. It is for this reason that much of the island chain remains in untouched splendor.
Located on Isla Colon is the province’s capital city, Bocas Del Toro. This was the headquarters for United Fruit Company at the turn of the century and was an important shipping and receiving port.
Over the last few years the entire province has seen the beginnings of a tourist boom, with a number of middle range hotels and restaurants being opened in and around Bocas town. The town now boasts of three different PADI dive shops, many different styles of restaurants, a deep sea fishing outfit, numerous sailboat and catamaran cruises, mountain bike and moped rentals and a lot of fabulous seafood
Pedasi Pedasi, a small quite town in the peninsula de Azuero, known as the ‘cradle’ of Panamanian folklore, is the ideal place for a retiree seeking to experience the joys of small town Panama. Women sowing polleras- Panama’s national dress, men working on rustic pottery, the remnants of Panama’s colonial past are quite visible in this small town major historical national monuments are close by such as: The Cabildo Hous, the Santa Librada Church and the San Atanasio Church.
A small community of foreigners live in this area still, but many have plans to develop the area and a foundation was recently created Pedasi.org to promote positive growth. Pedasi has amazing beaches, with a turtle watching season in September and is a well known for its fishing, surfing and diving. Great place for any water fan.
For more information on these and other destintions in Panama, conact Ursula Kiener Ford at; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text64236 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Ursula Kiener Ford, Panama, ThePanamaNetwork, Panama Real Estate, Panama Destinations, Panam City, David City, El Valle de Anton, Boquete, Volcan, Chame, Gorgoba, Punta Baroco, Playa Blanca, Pearl Islands, Bocas del Toro, Pedasi, |
