LIVING ON THE CARIBBEAN COAST OF PANAMA

[CHERIE WOLFE]

I’m curious as to why I rarely, if ever, hear of people living on the Caribbean coast of Panama. Except for Bocas Del Toro, which seems primarily tourist oriented and is apparently nearly impossible to buy a home/land there, I don’t hear of any other towns/locations on the Caribbean coast. I’ve always much preferred the Caribbean coast to the Pacific. I live 30″ from the Pacific coast in Northern California and have travelled from Washington state to as far south as Mexico on the Pacific coast. I have travelled extensively over 20+ years throughout the Caribbean from Mexico to as far south and east as Barbados and as far north as the Bahamas (not strictly the Caribbean I know). I would be interested in hearing about any areas to live on the Caribbean coast of Panama.

Also, is there an expat living in the Pedasi area who would be willing to answer some questions I have about living in that area?

Thank you!

[COUNTRY EXPERT – LINDA CARD]

Hi Cherie, and thanks for your inquiry. It’s a good question! The Caribbean coast of Panama is beautiful- white sand beaches, clear turquoise water and lots of marine life. The thing is, much of it is inaccessible or unavailable.

You mention Bocas del Toro, which is probably the most popular and desirable Caribbean destination in Panama. From there heading eastward, the coastline is completely undeveloped until you get near Colon. Part of the land is in the Comarca of the Ngobe-Bugle indigenous tribes, and off-limits to foreign ownership or development. There are no roads or land access points to the coast from Chiriquí Grande to Donoso, west of Colon.

We generally do not recommend the Colon area to our readers because it is not considered a safe or attractive environment for expats or retirees. There is a new initiative to rejuvenate Colon, so that may change in the future, but for now we just don’t recommend it with the confidence we have in other parts of Panama.

East of Colon the area around Portobelo and Isla Grande has potential for growth, but lacks reliable infrastructure at this time.
Beyond that the Guna Yala Comarca runs all the way to the border with Colombia, and this region is also off-limits to foreigners.

So, you see, despite having many miles of Caribbean coastline, very little of it is actually available or accessible as a place for foreigners to live. The best places for you to explore, should you come to Panama, would be the area around Bocas del Toro and the regions just west (Shelter Bay area) and just east of Colon.

I hope this answers your question and that you’ll hear from a reader in Pedasi. You may also post your questions about that area here as a new topic.

Thanks, Linda

[Nicolaas Botha]

How much of a problem is the rain on Caribian side or not ?.When I check the average rainfall it seems to be quite high.

[COUNTRY EXPERT- JESSICA RAMESCH]

Hi Nicolaas,

Many people live on Panama’s Caribbean coast and don’t see it as a huge problem, but it’s usually between 120-130 inches of rain a year so we are talking a lot of rain (about double what we get on the Pacific side of Panama). That said there are no hurricanes here ever as Panama is outside the hurricane belt.

Read more about the Caribbean versus the Pacific in Panama right here, on your Panama Insider website. Here is the link: http://internationalliving.com/country_clubs/panama/where-to-live/pacific-coast/#pac.

Best,

IL Panama Editor Jessica Ramesch

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