Page 20 - Panama Review

Impressions of Panama City
As I mentioned earlier, the reason we ended up in Panama was exploratory of a
potential place to live and a vacation. My wife and I are looking to retire as expatriates
for a few years and we had narrowed our choices to Europe, Central America and
South America. Although Panama City is an attractive city for tourist, all indications
lead me to believe it may not the ideal place for us to live. As stated previously, there
is a lot of construction taking place, particularly with regards to transportation of new
highways and bridges, presumably to alleviate the heavy traffic that permeates the
entire city from one end of the city to another. There are reconstructions of old and
dilapidated structures in the Old Town section of the city, a major tourist attraction,
and where the Pope is reportedly making a visit in 2019. Intertwined with all the
construction and the chic high-rise hotels and financial institutions are high-rise slums
and brothels. Everyone that I spoke to who worked in Panama City, did not live in
Panama City. They lived on the outskirts of the city, some with a commute two-hours
away from Panama City. This probably explains the heavy traffic conditions and the
need for better accessibility.
I spoke with an expatriate who says she only comes to Panama City for business. The
retiree lives some five hours outside of Panama City and says she absolutely loves it.
She suggests that one take several trips to explore different locales of Panama. She
does not advocate living in Panama City. This was a common refrain I heard from the
hotel staff, restaurant owners, and merchants I would engage in conversation
regarding living in Panama.
Speaking of conversations, please know that Panama is not an English-friendly
speaking country. If you plan to live in Panama, you must learn to speak Spanish. If
you arrive as that entitled, ugly American with expectations of having the Panamanian
culture cater to your needs, then you do not understand the contentious relationship
between Panama and the United States; primarily centered around the Panama Canal.
Without going too much into it, suffice to say, I would encourage you to brush up on
the history of the Panama Canal as an excellent point of reference. Click the following
link for a brief synopsis of Panama.
file://localhost/(http/::news.bbc.co.uk:2:hi:americas:country_profiles:1229333.stm)
The historical perspective will also provide you with an explanation for probably some
of the most beautiful looking people I have ever seen. There is such a wonderful
mixture of multiculturalism here in Panama. Much of the assortments of cultures have
its genesis with the building of the Panama Canal. There is a fusion of European,
African, Caribbean, Asian, and Hispanic cultures that laid the foundation for a
beautiful amalgamation of people to behold. I also found them to be very warm and
19