Panama. That’s where I was for most of the last month, as several people astutely guessed. I went because it’s freezing here and warm there. That was nice. I went to recharge my batteries, as Kevin Wilmeth put it. I went to play tourist. I went … just to go.
And I went to answer the question, “Can I be more free outside the U.S.?”
A lot of Americans have expatriated or retired to Panama, including a few I know. Some have urged me to head down that way and have a look, saying they found the place much freer, much more sane, than the growing Police State U.S.A. I was dubious.
I still have no answer to that question about freedom — and perhaps shouldn’t expect to after so short a stay.
In some ways, Panama is undeniably more free than the United States. Medical freedom so outstrips ours that the two countries might as well be on different planets.
On the other hand, being stopped for ID checks isn’t exactly a hallmark of any Land of the Free.
Gun laws there require jumping through all sorts of hoops to be “allowed” to obtain a weapon. On the other hand, once you’ve made all those leaps, I’m told that you’re more free to carry and use firearms than you are in most parts of the U.S. (On the other, other hand, I don’t live in “most parts of the U.S.” I live where firearms freedoms are already exceptionally good.)
So I guess it’s as one of my ex-pat friends says, “There are no free countries in the world. (That’s because they are countries.) However, different places offer different aspects of freedom, so it is a matter of picking one (or more) that are congruent with your personal needs.”
I’d like to open a discussion via the comments section of this blog entry. If you have any questions about my trip, or if you have experiences of Panama or Central America you’d like to share, please go for it. If you’re interested in learning more about Panama from an ex-pat’s point of view, I can put you in touch with a knowledgeable American who has lived and done business in the country for a decade. (I’m sure he’d be glad to hear from anybody; he might charge a fee if it gets down to being a real consultation.)
Questions:
1) How stable is the government (if any govt IS stable!)?
2) And what is its relationship to neighboring countries — Costa Rica, if one wanted to travel back and forth across that border frequently, and Columbia, which I don’t think I’d want to enter anyway? Is Panama as TSA-ish with those countries as it is with the U.S.?
3) What feeling of friendship is there for the U.S. beyond what you’ve already recorded? Did any group or area seem to resent Americans, or were they all generally glad to see and to deal with Americans everywhere?
4) And conversely, is there any “ugly American” atmosphere down there, or do most Americans try to blend in with or reach out to the Panama way of life? (I’m speaking of ex-pats as well as tourists now.)
5) I got the impression they were patient about your trying to communicate with them. Is this true? And how different is their “Spanish” from the classic Spanish language (which is all I know)?
Good questions, Pat. Some are beyond my ability to answer, but I’ll give it a shot.
1. Every description of Panama you’ll ever read refers to its “stable democratic government” and I certainly never saw any sign of serious unrest. Most complaints about the government were of the “why aren’t they filling the potholes?” variety. On the other hand, 21 years ago, the U.S. felt the need to invade and arrest Panama’s president (primarily because after 30 years as a trained and paid U.S. agent, Manuel Noreiga had ceased to be the C.I.A.’s man). And before that, they had another dictator, Omar Torrijos. So judge for yourself …
My biggest fear about Panama is that it’s so strategically important and yet so small. If some superpower wanted the Panama Canal, they could probably just walk in and take it — and perhaps the whole country at the same time. OR Panama could end up being the site of a protracted war between superpowers. Scary, that.
2. I know you can easily travel back and forth to Costa Rica (in fact, some foreigners do that every three months to keep their tourist status in Panama legal). Columbia … yes, that’s another thing. You can go there easily enough by air. By land, it’s a different story. Darien province (the one between Panama City and Columbia) is largely remote, trackless, and known to be a haven of drug traffickers. Since I didn’t go to either of those countries, I’m only passing along info I got from other sources. But I can tell you that when we came back from Kuna Yala (San Blas Islands), our plane made an unscheduled stop near Columbia, and when we returned to the (allegedly domestic-only) airport, we had to show passports, go through customs, and even have our bags vetted by — of all things — a drug-sniffing cocker spaniel. (I don’t know whether that was because of the unscheduled stop or is standard for any flight returning from the islands; Kuna Yala is in Panama, but not exactly of Panama.)
3. I saw NO resentment of North Americans anywhere. As I had been told beforehand, Panamanians genuinely seem to like us. (And, unlike some other folks from South or Central America, they don’t mind that we call ourselves “Americans” rather than “North Americans.”) They were generally happy to see us and deal with us. But in a lot of places, even fairly touristy ones, they spoke about as much English as I spoke Spanish, which at times got dicey.
4. As to Ugly Americans … that’s mixed, I think. Just about all the Americans we met down there were experienced travelers and adventurous people (e.g. boat dwellers) and didn’t have the kind of insularity you’re thinking of. On the other hand, in one city known as being a big American retirement spot, there were very definite “colonies” of English speakers living in ghastly McMansions and gradually transforming a humble farming town into something more suited to prosperous U.S. types. Some of the English speakers were blending in, some clearly keeping to themselves. Oddly, the locals didn’t seem to resent it. But surely there must be some tension underneath.
5. Very patient. Lots of laughing on both sides as we failed to understand each other. I don’t know classic Spanish first hand (my only second language is Italian, and I remember only feeble bits of that), but from everything I’ve been told, it’s different enough to stand out but close enough to be well understood. I took a private Spanish lesson while I was there, and it was great. The instructor and I both laughed a lot.
I could swear that I saw you mention Panama in one of your early travel posts (like the one about being stranded at MIA), which was disconcerting because subsequent posts didn’t specify your location and made it look like you didn’t want anyone to know where you were. Of course, now I can’t find that post so I maybe you edited it.
I don’t have any questions or comments about Panama, just wanted to say I’m glad you had a good time and made it back o.k.
Thanks; that gives me an idea of the situation and the people.
Many, many years ago — when a Carmen Miranda doll was still being made — I did an extensive report in Geography class on Central and South America, from Guatamala, past the Panama Canal (which I always wanted to sail through), and down to the tip of Argentina and Chile. I learned a lot (and forgot a lot more), and fell in love with all of it.
I know it’s changed now, but I still like to learn about it — though I bemoan the political machinations which I think helped pollute many Central and South American countries before they could bring their individual cultures and integrity solidly into the 20th Century. And I think U.S. policies had much to do with that after WW’s I and II.
You know one country that I stumble on and know nothing about
is Transylvania. The only thing that I have gather is that it is
very beautiful and very third world. Beautiful like Montana where
I live. But I don’t know about the government polices. I think
that I am going to draw the line in the sand if they pass the National I.D. I heard rumor that, that might be back on the
table in Congress.
Transylvinia is part of the old Hungrian Empire.
Blessings
Debby
I can’t help but think that some people can be perfectly “free” in prison, while others wouldn’t be free in Hardyville. Make the best of where you are, while keeping an eye out for something obviously more suitable. It’s what I try to do.
Joe, you are (I blush to admit) 100 percent right. That night in the Miami airport, when I was so tired and cold, I unthinkingly dropped Panama into one of my posts. I had a naggy feeling at the time that I had done something I really didn’t want to do. But it took me a week to realize my goof and edit it out. I was wondering how many people would notice — and in fact that’s why, when I asked people to tell me where I’d been, I asked for the tribe I’d visited, or that tribe’s region.
I had already (gulp) given away the country …
Keen observation, Kent.
Hi Claire.
Glad you had fun. Yeah, I caught the early Panama reference, but then later it sounded as if maybe that was just a waypoint, so your mystery wasn’t completely pierced — at least not for me.
I think I’m too much a gun nut to go ex-pat. And I’d definitely have to steer clear of the dueling stereos places. And the crowded buses too. The older I get, the less tolerance I have for either, to say nothing of the papers checks.
Since you mentioned Darien province, and travel to Colombia, perhaps some folks might be interested in the Darien Gap. If not for the various thugs, sounds like a fascinating place to explore.
Welcome home, sis. 🙂
Morning, Claire.
Here are a couple of posts which pertain to the question can one be more free outside the U.S.?, which may be interest to you and your readers.
First, a post from the blog Let A Thousand Nations Bloom titled Exit From the Road to Fiscal Serfdom.
Second, my response to their post which I titled Running Away is No Solution.
I would agree with your ex-pat friend who stated,
which is exactly why I think running away is no solution. Individuals, I think, should be doing all they can, at whatever level of resistance they are comfortable with, in returning real freedom to America.
Sorry to reply so late, but I have had a similar thought/desire to give up on the US of A and head for Central America. I have focused my attention on the country of Belize. I compared all of Central America and actually found gun laws to be best (translation probably about like owning a gun in MA/CA/NY outside the city…not good, but possible). If it were not for the gun laws I would probably be living in Belize today.
One thing you may consider with the anti-gun stance in Central America is a different approach. It is hard for citizens to carry guns and get the permits. I did notice that at most banks and resorts you see armed guards “keeping the peace”. I looked into what it would take to setup aa small security firm there. The answer is not much. Its actually fairly inexpensive and easy to setup say the Hardyville Security Group. It can just be you with your $25 internet security certificate, but then you can import or buy guns and carry them. It is not a perfect solution, but one step you can take to legally protect youself in an anti-gun country.
As to why anyone would give up and put up with such a hassle, some of the reasons are:
1.) There is an old native saying that nobody has ever starved in Belize. There is fantastic fishing (both freash and salt water anyhwhere you go), anything not requiring a “chill period” grows there. You will not grow apple or pear trees, but coconuts, cashews, banana, papaya, pineapple, all citrus, every vegitable you want.
2.) A little more than half the landmass of the country is protected national forest. It has the largest percentage of protected wild lands of any county on earth. The air will always be fresh and smog free.
3.) Land is very cheap. You can buy land for $500-$1000 US per acre.
4.) I have lived in FL and loved that climate (70’s in January/February….how can you not love that), but I did miss mountains. The Maya Mountains run through the country of Belize so in some areas you can spend the morning on a white sandy beach and in a 20 minute drive be in the mountains. Plus the views of mountains at your back and clear Carribean waters at your feet is just priceless.
5.) The government is stable. It was the only country in Central America that the British defended (they wanted to protect their supply of Mahogony) so it never fell under Spain’s control. It is the only CA country that had English as its language. They are now free (since the late 70’s) of British rule, but the law is based on British Common Law like the US law before US law became the corrupt mess it is today.
6.) The rich supply of Mahogany and Teak that grow everywhere make building a home affordable. For less than you would spend in the US on pine 2X4’s at Home Depot you can get Teak or Mahogany in Belize. Labor is very cheap, and there are other groups like the Menonites that have migrated there and build fantastic homes at about 1/3 what you’d spend in US. Build without worrying about zoning or local inspectors!
7.) The people are some of the nicest I have seen anywhere in the world. Everyone is moving at a slow pace and lives on a budget (it is a poor country), but people always make due and are happy and fun to be around.
8.) No capital gains tax. You can invest and keep 100% of your earnings. They have a sales tax and recently added a nasty VAT, but other taxes are low. Propery taxes run about 1.5%, but you typically see the appraised value about 50% the actual value.
9.) No Obama, Pelosi, or Reid!
further to G.W.F. s post point 10 would have to be that it is also well defended as we Brits still have base there. we may not be as well equipped as the US army but our reputation is well earned.It helps to keep its more aggressive neighbour in check as they have repeatedly threatened to invade. i was stationed there in the late 80`s and unless it has changed the people are some of the friendliest in the world.
Guns are fairly easy to get there but i am not sure on the legal side any more but to be quite honest if you a living rurally the people are very relaxed though open carry might make them a bit nervous(of you) as people really don`t see the need.
As you say the fishing is fanatastic, at the base we used to grow most of our own veg too. The only problem we had was there is a bush which grows rapidly like a vine. we called it the b*&^%rd tree as it has spines even in the leaves which cut through even thick gloves causing you to say `AH B$%^&rd!`Once estalished it is extremely hard to eradicate.
Oh and can you amend point 9 to no Obama ,Pelosi, Reid or Gordon Brown! as belive me you wouldn`t want him either.
roger, consider Gordon Brown duly added to the list! And you can keep Alistair Darling, and the-man-whose-career-wouldn’t-die Peter Mandelson, too!
I would like to ask you to think seriously about how great Panama will be to live when all hell soon starts breaking.
As beautiful as it is and with all of its advantages that you tell of, I now believe that Panama is no longer a place to consider living.
Because of her strategic location and superior banking, the empire will have Panama on its ¨A-list¨ scope when aiming to control things in this part of the world, before it goes on to control the remainder of it.
At one time I considered Panama, to live in relative piece, during my last years.
I have lived as a next-door neighbor in Costa Rica for seven years after leaving the States. Now I have found a better place, and am leaving soon to finish out my last years there.
Neither do I any longer recommend Costa Rica. There is absolutely nothing in CR to get excited about except the physical beauty. It is now very expensive to live here. It too is becoming very repressive. Its government is absolutely corrupt and butt-stupid. And now, after kicking out the Taiwanese and opening her doors to the Chinese communists, they are flooding in. This will also enter into how safe Panama is.
No place will be totally safe from the things that are soon coming, but I think there are other places in this hemisphere that have it far and away over Panama and Central America.
For years I have been a huge fan of yours and have read almost everything you have writen, but I ask you to reconsider your recommendations of Panama when suggesting to your American followers where to go. They have enough against them now when they are trying to escape a hellish nightmare. Moving to another place full of trouble, will just heap more hell on them.
Keep up the many good things you are doing for me and your other American friends and followers.
I´ll continue to read everything that you give us that I can lay my hands on. We need your ideas now more than ever.
Thanks, and good luck to you (and to us all)
JAY B jbjayb74@gmail.com
Jay B., thank you for your first-hand information.
But don’t worry — I have NOT recommended Pamana. I’m not sure where you got the idea that I had done so. My impression of it is that there are some very nice plusses and some very serious minuses (which I’ve expressed earlier in this comments thread, I believe). I went there to see what it was like. I left without any particular opinion about it as a freedom haven. Only thing I’d say for sure about Panama is that it’s warm, friendly, beautiful , and still (in some places) relatively inexpensive. I’d go back there as a snow-birder, for sure. But live there? Dunno. I share your reservations about the danger it could be in due to its strategic location and the rapaciousness of world powers.
Anyhow, I don’t have and don’t want followers. If anybody would even think about moving someplace just because I thought it might be a good idea, then they’re people I wouldn’t want anywhere near me.
I’ve heard that Costa Rica has become very expensive. It’s a pity but not so surprising. Anyhow, even if you have only sad news about Central America, thanks for sharing it here.
And indeed — good luck to us all.
CLAIRE
Oops, sorry
Opened my mouth without thinking of how the word followers might be construed/interpreted by many people today
Really meant followers of your writings, ideas, and way of thinking
Again, sorry
No problem, Jay B. I admit, I’m sensitive about that word. But please keep you voice-of-experience coming. I don’t want to discourage you. You have valuable things to say.
BTW, I keep hearing many good things about Uruguay. Do you (or does anybody hereabouts) have any personal experience there?
Claire
About my first blog to you. Got to thinking about how I mistakenly thought you had recommended Panama for retirement.
I hadn´t done my homework (and had just gotten into my cocktail hour), after readíng several other things that had riled me up, as most things do in my old age these days, and thought I´d rattle off a note to you. Since then I´ve been scratching around in my old stuff from a few years ago and found a blurb on a short book called ´Panama In A Nutshell´ that somehow got in with some of your stuff. Guess I believed you had written it. My apologies. I have to be more careful in the future.
I´d also like to add that when I mentioned (and trashed) Costa Rica, I missed telling you and your bloggers about her greatest asset of all, her people. I´ve found that they are some of the warmest, friendliest, kindest, most helpful people I´ve ever met. I´m crazy about my Ticos. After I move to my new digs in Colombia, I will be back to visit as often as I can, not just for the beauty, but to get my ¨Tico fix¨ with these great people. I will miss them mucho.
I haven´t yet been to Uruguay, but have heard good things about it. If I meet anyone who knows more, I´ll ask them to drop you some info.
One of the reasons that I chose Colombia for my new home is that many things are changing for the better there now. Still many problems, but I have friends there that tell me that things will continue to improve.
The Colombian government is reaching out to Gringos, Euros, and baby boomers with open arms. They realize what a plus we can be for them and their future. Living costs are much lower there than Costa Rica, and the system is set up to make things easier for us. Not nearly as many difficult hoops to jump through as CR and other places.
It seems to have almost all that you can imagine. The Caribbean, Pacific, the Amazon, the Andies, and also great people. And from the Caribbean area, still very close for a visit, to the States by air.
I understand that other than being Gringo-friendly, her greatest asset is that unless you break a major law or do something very stupid, the government isn´t interested in you. How does that sound for a change?
I have been to Panama, too. Panama City is crazy hot and humid. Boquete is already over priced. Everywhere we went the food was changed for the worse by the humidity. I was disappointed.
I am now considering Lake Chapala, Mexico, Uruguay, and Ecuador. All inexpensive with a more simple life style.
Keep up the good work Claire. Your voice is needed.
Panama is considered a safe cornuty if you compare it to its neighbors. Sure as everywhere there are spots to be avoided, but it’s very safe all around.The actual cost of living is at least 40% lower than in most of the US, so a lot of retired people are considering the move to save a considerable amount of money from their retirement.As for real estate values, well you can still get some good bargains if you have the time to look, and find something you actually like. However real estate in Panama City and the other hotspots (Boquete, Bocas del Toro, and the beaches) have risen too much in value. You can probably buy a condo on Miami Beach for just 20% more than you can get the same size condo in Panama City.