We are arriving in Panama from the USA for our first time on 5/26 and will be in Boquete on 5/27 for 9 days. We are hoping to find and purchase a retirement home. We need guidance in understanding the various areas or neighborhoods and which ones are the most desirable. We are seeking an open floor plan style, 3 bedroom, 2 or more baths, some yard or grounds. Gated or Not? We want to become fully involved in the local community. What do you suggest. We are prepared to use the entire trip to search for a home but if we find one sooner than later where can we go to "vacation" at the beach or otherwise? We need to make our overnight accommodations. Where do you suggest we stay that can serve as a home base for traveling throughout the Boquete district? Hotels in the gated communities of Los Molinas ( LCasa del RIsco) or Valle Escondido Resort, or maybe the Boquete Garden Inn, Riverside Inn, La Montana Coffee Estate Inn? One location or a few nights at different ones? We want to get acquainted with as much of the Boquete region as possible.
Does anyone have a referral of a Real estate agent that can show us properties? How about a good lawyer?
Any advice is welcomed. Thank you for your anticipated guidance.
Joseph
Replies
Bob,
great Map! Thanks. Are there areas of Boquete that are too "crowded" or over developed. We do not want to move into a "cookie cutter" development unless the lots are of decent size. Are there any areas that are adjacent to wooded or natural areas. Maybe where the birds and wildlife are abundant or at least visible? We'd rather buy a house than build. Any advice.
Joseph & Dona
Juan,
Thank you for the information. That helps clear up and provide us with a better understanding of the municipal make up of the Boquete District.
Let me see if I understand the governmental and geographic make-up correctly. Please correct me or fill in the blanks where necessary as I want to gain an accurate and correct understanding and appreciation of the local region.
So if I understand it; Panama is the Country, of which Panama City is the Capital, and is made up of 9 Provinces and three large Comarcas or the equivalent of a Province and two smaller Comarcas, similar to Corregimientos. Chiriqui is one of the Provinces, of which David is the Capital, and Chiriqui is made up of 13 Districts. Boquete is one the Districts of which Bajo Boquete is the Capital. Boquete is divided into 6 administrative governmental subdivisions known as Corregimientos: Bajo Boquete, Caldera, Palmira, Alto Boquete, Jaramillo and Los Naranjos.
Alto Boqueto and Bajo Boquete are listed as Corregimientos; vocancito is not given that same status as such a sub-district. Volcan is listed as a town. How would one describe Valcancito, Los Molinos, Valle Escondido, Esmerald Drive, Montanes de Caldera, Brisas Boquetenas, El Salto? Are they Towns, villages or the equivalent of neighborhoods? (More curious and interested than necessity.)
Juan you are correct when you compare the District of Boquete to the equivalent of a County just as the Provinces can be compared to our States. Thank you for that analogy, it made it easy to comprehend.
Joseph
Juan
Sounds like you are describing the United States! English is quickly becoming a foreign language in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
We put up with all that crap here plus a whole lot more.
How about getting a letter every month from the IRS telling you to pay more taxes ....so they can hand out money to dead beats. When you call to tell them you already paid your taxes, they say oops, we made a mistake. They are hoping most people will just write a check.
Thank You for the information. Being open minded, we want to make sure we consider all options. We prefer a single family detached house but we would be foolish not to take a look at the townhouses offered for rent also. Thanks for helping us broaden our perspective. Is Volcancito a development or is it an area like a town or village?
Have a great day.
Joseph
Good morning Joseph and Dona, ¡buenos días!
You must be excited, and I'm sure your research is begining to pay off with a wealth of information.
If I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion, I believe you will find a day trip to "the other side of the volcano",
wryawry
Buenos Dias wryawry,
Thank you for continuing to offer your advice and assistance. Your are most kind and helpful. I do not consider your suggestion to be bold, however, if that is what it is, by all means, be bold, as we welcome all your suggestions openly. We will definitely include a visit to "elotro lado del volcan" in our itinerary. It sounds like something we will enjoy. We appreciate the beauty of God's natural creations.
"Largess", now there is a term that one does not find used very often. What is the customary amount of a donation? Any other suggestions for items of interest that will, at the same time, help us get acquainted with the region?
regards,
Joseph
May I suggest that you online-search for additional info pertaining to Barriles -- fascinating! FYI, last time I visited, the owner's son was still recovering from terribly debilitating neurological injury sustained in an auto accident, and I hope that his recovery has continued. His very survival bordered upon the miraculous ...
When you visit, I'm sure that your own impressions will guide any inclination that you may have to support continuing access to this important archeological site. Be sure to inquire about the ultimate fate of many of the artifacts which had been discovered there ....
wry
Wryawry,
Our daily prayers will include the son of the owner of Barriles. Our son, at the age of 28 years, was involved in a horrific motor vehicle accident. His Ford Mustang, at the passanger door, struck a utility pole with such force that the front and rear bumpers folded around the pole to within 2 feet of each other. He was transported by medi-copter to a trauma hospital where he was in a coma for 3 months. He was transfered to a hospital that specialized in traumatic brain injuries still in his coma. Seven months after the accident he was released and we were told that he would need 24 hour care for every bodily function for the rest of his life.
Our whole lives had been irrevocably changed. We accepted this "new lifestyle" with the hope that we would some day see God's hand in this tragedy. Our grandson was only 4 at the time. We only have 1 child and 1 grandchild so this was that much more difficult to accept and understand. (not to say that having more children would have made this any easier to accept)
My law practice had to be put on hold. We began to realize how one's priorities can be so drastically altered when something of this magnitude is introduced into your life. What was of importance to us over the past 20 years carried so little concern now. After the insurance money was depleted we then went through almost every dollar of saving and retirement funds we had accumulated. The island vacations every six months were a thing of the past. Our lives now included a stricter budget as our income was reduced due to less time being spent on business. The desire and need for material possessions disappeared and was not even missed. What once was of great importance was now seen as the true frivilious luxuries that they always were. It was remarkable how easy it was for my wife, Dona, and I to make the necessary adjustment.
We are a people of faith. Through the power of the prayers on many our son began to make small steps on the path of recovery. It is now a little over twelve years later and we are so pleased and thankful to report that our son, joe, has regained full use and control of every bodliy function, he is totally self sufficient, he is fully ambulatory, and has as a residual from his brain injury, reduced short term memory, reduced cognitive ability and requires a regiment of medications to keep the brain functioning within normal (whatever normal is as I know lots of people who have not had such an injury act much less normal) parameters.
So please pass on our wonderful experience of God's healing powers which when coupled with the "love" of family, can sustain us through the most difficult and painful times. Let this young man know that he is in our prayers as is his parents and family.
Have a blessed day.
Joseph & Dona
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