The Press: What They’re Saying about Panama
THE PRESS...WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT PANAMA
Content to Watch Bananas Grow, More Retirees Relocate to Panama
With low housing and living costs, a stable political environment, relatively safe streets and that tropical climate, people in their 50’s and early 60’s are flocking to the Central American nation, rather than working for a few more years to scrape together enough money for a condo on the Florida coast. “We’re seeing a significant number of Americans coming here to retire,” said William Ostick, a spokesman for the united States Embassy in Panama City. Mr. Ostick said the embassy did not keep statistics on Americans who have moved to Panama to retire, but he said there were 25,000 to 30,000 Americans living there.
New York Times, April 2006
Middle Ground: Panama May Be Central America’s Hottest real Estate Market
For anyone who envisions Panama as a sleepy bucolic country, the first view of the capital city may come as a shock. The skyline of Panama City bristles with high rise business towers and residential condominiums…The countries’ reputation as a hot new destination is based as much on its capital’s high-energy urban lifestyle as on the beautiful beaches of its coasts and its lush mountainous interior.
Robb Report, Winter 2006
Paradise Found: Where to Retire Abroad
Panama-Selected as one of the top 5 places in the world for retirement living.
Fortune Magazine Retirement Guide 2005
Retiring in Panama
“The country has several things going for it that mesh with modern-day retirement plans. Panama has a reputation for being friendly and welcoming, and Americans are not new to Panama…Retirees can choose among quiet beach communities on the Pacific Ocean, the urban and modern Panama City, tropical Carribean islands, or Panama’s highlands where year around spring makes sweaters comfortable in the evenings. ‘The best thing about living in Panama is that I feel relaxed and stress free here-beautiful scenery, climate and the people are so friendly’ says Randy Moscorella formerly of Ojai, California. The frosting on the cake is an affordable cost of living and inexpensive real estate.”
Where to Retire Magazine, July 2005
In Panama, American Retirees finding More Paradise for Less.
Boquete, Panama
“Golf course manager John Sutton had enough of lawyers, telemarketers, and the US government. So the San Diegan and his wife took early retirement, sold everything they owned, and moved to Panama. The Suttons, who bought a house here last summer, exemplify the wave of American retirees who want to get away from it all-far, far away. Each month, about 20 new ones turn up in this remote coffee-growing town in the mountains of western Panama, buying houses and starting new lives. It is the latest hot spot in Central America. ‘Boquete gave us the opportunity to have a great, comfortable lifestyle,’ said Sutton, 50. Other US retirees are making similar moves, attracted by Panama’s favorable tax treatment of foreigners, the relatively low cost of living, the lush surroundings, and the eternally mild climate.”
Los Angeles Times, February 2005
Beauty and Tax Breaks Lure Buyers to Panama
“ Little wonder that Panama is increasingly lighting up the radar screens of those searching for an affordable alternative to more traditional south-of-the-border retreats…Touted as the next Costa Rica’ by travel magazines and newsletters like International Living, Panama is undergoing a land rush as its Tocumen Airport fills with planeloads of eager foreigners with cash in hand.” The opportunities are appealing not only for those seeking a place to retire but also for entrepreneurs.”
New York Times, February 2005
How To Retire Abroad
“Americans are retiring in other countries where the prices are low and the living is easy. Hot spots like Costa Rica, Panama and Belize look like Florida circa 1970.”
Newsweek, March 2005
Your Piece of Paradise-The Boom in Second Homes-Where to Buy Now-
“ Panama is the new Central American bargain where the US dollar-the market currency-goes a long way.
Conde Nast Traveler, October 2004
Lock in a Visit to Panama for a Few Days or the Rest of Your Retired Life
It’s no surprise that travelers to Panama are going back in search of second homes, plots of land and much longer stays. Panama, small and manageable, is a vacationers paradise with a little bit of everything. From bird watchers to engineers wanting to marvel at the Panama Canal’s mechanical wonders to beach lovers looking to take advantage of the country’s three coastlines (Pacific, Caribbean and the Gulf of Panama), the country is much more than just the place that connects two important bodies of the world via a crucial man-made trade route.
Frommers Guide 2006
“ ‘ The quality of life, the cost of living is a lot better than the U.S.’ says Mr. LaFoley, 56 years old, who owns a shopping center in Massachusetts and has retired in Panama. Countries like these are rolling out the welcome mat to Americans with a variety of financial incentives.”
The Wall Street Journal, June 2004
Continental Divide
When you get off the plane in Panama city, you have to decide just what it is you’re looking for, because Panama is full of possibilities. Panama is really three countries: glitzy, supermodern Panama City; the cool, inscrutable, slow-moving interior (including jungle and cloud forest); and the varied, surfable, fishable coasts-backpacker-land. Like so many places that are at the center of their geographical area, Panama is a dream factory. It is not a dull place of sure bets; it is not a superproduced place, as Costa Rica has become. Many drams have been made in Panama, and many shattered, but it is a country that has always offered infinite potential. Panama is an opening gambit, and it opens the traveler up.
Travel and Leisure, November 2005
Panama Naturally-Part Wild, Part urban, and Chock-full of Life
“The trip proved better than I ever imagined. On my hike in Metropolitan Park (rainforest park in Panama City) which was spectacular despite my skittishness, I met a Florida family at the top of Cerro Mono Titi who helped change the course of my week. As I took in the summit’s weeping views of the city and jungle, I said to no one in particular, ‘there’s so much more here than rain forest…’ the teenage boy replied, ‘You just figured that out?’ Panama is Central America’s southernmost country…Its nine provinces offer a diversity of landscapes, from banana plantations to coffee fincas, coral reefs to mountainous highlands. Unlike Costa Rica, Panama has not yet become a price-inflated eco-circus with billboards targeting tourists.”
Boston Globe, October 2005
Hot Times in Panama-16 Beautiful untouched Islands and the most Beautiful Woman in the World
“Panama is one of the world’s rare places where in a matter of hours you can go from the wild untamed nature of the Pacific Coast to the laid-back influence of the Caribbean…The two coasts of Panama are different types of Paradise…The country is now considered “hot” from both and investment standpoint and for recreation. Retiring Americans are snapping up land and investment is taking place. From what I saw Panama stands poised to be the next Costa Rica.”
Islands magazine-Cover Story, June 2005
Panama City, Panama
“Panamanians joke that the Mcdonald’s franchises and glass skyscrapers make Panama City the “Miami of the South,” except that more English is spoken here. But….about six years after United States troops pulled out of the country and ceded control of the Panama Canal, the city is asserting itself as a tourist destination, not just a scenic overpass for an engineered waterway. Fashionable hotels now dot the cosmopolitan skyline. Crumbling colonial homes are being polished into bohemian gems. Emerald rain forests woo eco-tourists. For now, anyway, Panama City hasn’t been overrun by tourists…”
New York Times, September 2005
Spirit of the Isthmus
“ Panama has one of the richest ecosystems on the planet. ‘It is a Mecca for tropical research,’ says Hector Guzman, a scientist stationed here with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute at Naos Marine Laboratory. ‘All the theories of tropical evolution originate here.’ He tells me how three million years ago, North and South America were not attached by Central America. The Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean were one body. Panama used to be hundreds of tiny islands that came together through a geological process. ‘It all happened right here,’ Guzman says. For tourists, this means more birds than Costa Rica, more sharks, more whales, more coral reefs. The place is such an important ecological site that Frank Gehry, has designed a museum to celebrate its biodiversity.”
New York Times, November 2005
“And then I discovered Panama…The thin synapse between North and South America with its five million acres of nature preserves has untamed wilderness like nowhere else on the Planet. The country is a virtual airport lounge for every bird shuttling between contintents…at last count 946 feathered have been spotted more than in America and Canada combined. Panama has world class beaches, excellent fishing, surfing, rafting and its cities are connected by the best roads in Central America…”
Departures, April 2004
Hot Times in Panama-16 Beautiful Untouched Islands and the most Beautiful Woman in the World
“Panama is one of the world’s rare places where in matter of hours you can go from the wild untamed nature of the Pacific Coast to laid-back influence of the Caribbean….The two coasts of Panama are different types of Paradise…The country is now considered “hot” from both an investment standpoint and for recreation. Retiring Americans are snapping up land and investment is taking place. From what I saw Panama stands poised to be the next Costa Rica."
Islands Magazine-Cover Story
June 2005
Where the High Life Comes Naturally
An article on upscale ecolodges- Panama has two of the four featured ecolodges: Islas Secas and Punta Caracol.
New York Times
May 2005
An Eco-Mission in Pristine Panama
“Panama is calling to Preserve Its Edens”
Story about members of New York’s cultural elite who are relocating to Panama to work with Yale University and the Smithsonian Institute for Tropical Reseach to restore native vegetation to its original state.
The New York Times
April 2005
Panama Seeks Miami's HeatLatin American Nation Lures Banks &
Travelers in Post-Sept. 11 Era
"Using places like Panama City's TocumenInternational
Airport as a regional hub instead of Miami…
It is just one way in which Panama is taking advantage of the
post-Sept. 11 environment to help itself -- usually at the expense of Miami. The small isthmus nation, normally off the radar of international travelers and
investors, also is luring banks that want to protect back-office
operations from terrorist attack and is pitching itself as a safe but friendly
port-of-call for businesses as diverse as cruise ships and call centers.
Panama's historical ties to the U.S. and its relatively large number of
English speakers -- 14% of the population -- also make it an
attractive alternative to Miami."
The Wall Street Journal
March 2005
Travel and Leisure, January 2003
Panama- Ranked one of the “Top Ten Winter Destinations"
National Geographic Traveler, 2003
Panama- One of the top 5 Caribbean Destinations
National Geographic Traveler December 2004 "Panama is now where Costa Rica was 10 years ago and getting ready to explode."
Travel and Leisure July 2003
In an article listing the top 25 ecolodges in the world, Panama was the only country with two on the list: Canopy Tower and Al Natural.
Lonely Planet Panama Guide
"Panama has somehow evaded the tourist's radar screen despite having much more to offer than other popular Central American destinations…some of the finest diving, snorkeling, birding, most accessible rainforest in the world and scores of picturesque islands with hardly a human on them."
Global Mail 2003
"Panama has long been called the crossroads of the world. Now the country itself is at a crossroads. With its natural beauty less of a secret each day, Panama is gaining recognition as more than just that country with the canal and is poised to become one of the darlings of the travel world..it's being touted among travelers in Central America as the next Costa Rica-only cheaper and less crowded."
Victor Emmanuel, Birdletter, 2002
"My first trip to Panama was in 1979. I quickly developed a tremendous affection for this tiny country. I had never been to a place as birdy as Panama. It was so lush, so tropical, and yet because of the extensive American presence, good roads, safe food and water, and proximity to the US, it felt like home".
Boston Globe 2002
"Known mostly for its Canal, Panama is, in fact, an undiscovered tourist paradise."
Travel and Leisure, July 2003
Canopy Tower, Panama- Ranked #10 on Travel and Leisure's list of the World's Top 25 Ecolodges
Text from Travel and Leisure:
THE SETTING: Up among the howler monkeys and sloths on a verdant hill 630 feet above the Panama Canal.
GREEN FACTOR: The geotangent dome emerges from the jungle canopy like a single-scoop ice cream cone on an endless summer lawn. The view is the cherry on top, as birds of every beak and bill (an astonishing 380 species, more than half of what's found in all of North America) perch in the nearby fig and palm trees. Of the 12 simple rooms down below, the best nest is the Blue Cotinga Suite, with its diaphanous canopy bed, plantation wood furniture, and outdoor veranda swing. Almost makes you forget that the showers are water-saving.
Gamboa, 25 miles north of Panama City; 800/854-2597 or 011-507/264-5720; www.canopytower.com; doubles from $250, including all meals and forest tours.
Nobody Here But the Birds- New York Times , April 2002
On Canopy Tower and birding in the Panama Canal Rainforest: "This unlikely setting (Achiote Road) is the prime birding site in Panama, where more than 340 species are counted during the annual 24-hour Atlantic Christmas Bird Count. Ken got out of the bus saying he wanted to see the spot-crowned barbet, which would be a first for him, and within minutes one obediently flew into a tree across the road. There were mealy parrots, orange-chinned parakeets, a flock of more than 100 swallowtail kites, two white hawks fighting overhead, a whole family of howler monkeys — a constantly changing show."
A Budding Affection for Boquete, Los Angeles Times, November 2002
On the mountain town of Boquete: "Far from the monotony of the historic canal, this endearing and little-known town in the cool, lush Panamanian highlands boasts a wild bounty of colorful flora, fauna and scenery. A contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle, my hometown newspaper, wrote about a Panamanian Shangri-La in the cool highlands of Chiriquí where there were rushing trout-filled streams, a lush mountain rain forest, abundant orange groves and coffee plantations, and a picture-postcard town chockablock with flower gardens. This idyllic place, the writer went on to say, was known only to the well-to-do of Panama ... we too had become smitten with the place.
Harper's Bazaar 2001
"Panama is the most beautiful retreat in the world and almost undiscovered."
Panama's Devil Island Aims to be New Galapagos, Reuters, May 2002
On Coiba Island National Marine Park: "The largest island in Central America, 85% of Coiba is virgin tropical forest, making it the biggest virgin forest in the Americas. About 80% of the 1,053 square mile park is oceanic, filled with whales and rare tropical fish. Coiba is perhaps best known among conservationists for Panama's last cluster of scarlet macaws, its bottle-nosed dolphins and the brown and white Coiba spinetail bird, the only bird of its kind in the world...The Spanish government has invested about $5 million to help uncover Coiba's biodiversity since 1997 and has a team of scientists working on the island...thus far just 20% of Coiba's plant life has been identified.
In the Treetops-The Denver Post, March 2002
"Panama offers some of the richest and most accessible rain forest and wildlife in all of the Americas. Jaguars, sloths, marmosets and four types of monkeys roam the Canal Zone, along with blizzards of exotic birds and butterflies. As the land bridge between North and South America, Panama is home to wildlife species from both continents and has more bird species than all of North America. Repeatedly, the Pipeline Road alongside the canal sets the world record for the Christmas Audubon bird count, recording more species in a 24-hour period than anywhere - last count 954 species. Best of all, these natural riches are only a 45-minute drive from the international airport."
International Living Newsletter , September 2002
"The safest and most stable place in Central or South America with some of the world's most beautiful mountain, beachfront and island property. The country also has the number-one retiree incentive program in the world."
Modern Maturity-Magazine of the American Association of Retired Persons, June 2001
Boquete, Panama ranked as the fourth best place in the world to establish a second home - a rating based on safety, beauty, infrastructure, weather, health care and low cost of living.
Exploring Panama's Beaches and Forests, New York Times, February 2002
"Panama's latest attraction is the Gamboa Rainforest Resort, a stunning $30 million hotel on the banks of the Chagres River that offers eco-tourism with 24-hour room service, a very 21st-century mix of self-indulgence with nature-friendly touch. In the heart of what was once the Panama Canal Zone, where the River Chagres flows into Lake Gatún, this 110-room hotel provided both total luxury and total quiet. The main building has gigantic three-story windows that look over an exotic landscape that could be out of Africa, with a savanna like park set against a river bounded by tropical forests. Besides a marina with its waterfront restaurant and its own spa, the resort offers a number of excursions that justify its eco-status. They include a sunrise birding tour, an evening wildlife boat tour, a ride on an aerial tram that provides a treetop view of the rain forest, a hike up a trail used by the conquistadors, sports fishing on Lake Gatún and kayaking on the Chagres."
THE ECONOMY
A Report on the Economies of Central America, The Economist, 2001
"Panama has stood apart, sustained by its Canal, its banks and its free-trade zone."
See also: The Press:What They're Saying about Panama as a Second Home and Retirement Destination
