Panama

[play2win]

I have not heard much about moving here.  I guess i have my usual questions for people who have experience with the place

01) Is it safe?
02) Is it warm (no winter)
03) Does it have nice beaches?
04) Is it expensive (one of the downsides of costa rica is I hear it is very expensive now, comparable to certain parts of the US)
05) Are there things to do?

[robert angel]

This really doesn't answer your questions specifically, but it seems the US Military guys I know really like it a lot down there in Panama, although the big bases and USA specific friendly infrastructure aren't near what they once were.

A lot of the single military guys actually end up bringing wives home from Panama and it seems the success rate is pretty good from what I gather. And the ladies they bring back are usually quite pretty.

[mudd]

i know the property prices really dropped a lot in the last year, due to the economy and overbuilding. you can get a pretty good deal on a nice condo, lots are for sale. my friend bought one there 3 years ago for roughly 180,000 usd, and put about $ 20,000 in nice furniture in it, and is now trying to sell it at $ 130,000 with furniture. and its a nice place, on of the nicest building on the beach, over looking the ocean, really nice view.

[Jeff S]

01) Is it safe?
02) Is it warm (no winter)
03) Does it have nice beaches?
04) Is it expensive (one of the downsides of costa rica is I hear it is very expensive now, comparable to certain parts of the US)
05) Are there things to do?

1) Not too bad
2) Yes - no winter
3) Yes
4) No - still cheap
5) Depends what you like to do. Not much skiing, lots of fishing. Pretty poor choice of classical music concerts, lots of local band music. Forget about museums, say yes to street food. You can even make some money sailing back and forth on the canal as a freelancer: http://www.escapeartist.com/efam20/line_handling.html

I realize you have a "thing" about winter - and so did I after growing up in St. Paul and outside Chicago, but believe me, spending the entire year in the oppressively hot, humid, buggy tropics isn't exactly paradise either. Give me a dry climate any old day, and some cool winter days.

[braziliangirl]

but believe me, spending the entire year in the oppressively hot, humid, buggy tropics isn't exactly paradise either.

The girl that lives by the Ecuador line totally agrees. You might want to try a place with a mild winter, like South of Brazil.

[play2win]

1) Not too bad
2) Yes - no winter
3) Yes
4) No - still cheap
5) Depends what you like to do. Not much skiing, lots of fishing. Pretty poor choice of classical music concerts, lots of local band music. Forget about museums, say yes to street food. You can even make some money sailing back and forth on the canal as a freelancer: http://www.escapeartist.com/efam20/line_handling.html

I realize you have a "thing" about winter - and so did I after growing up in St. Paul and outside Chicago, but believe me, spending the entire year in the oppressively hot, humid, buggy tropics isn't exactly paradise either. Give me a dry climate any old day, and some cool winter days.

I hate it.  I get sick very easy from winter.  Cost rica seemed ideal but it turns out, from what i have heard, that it is expensive.  I am not looking for Miami humidity either mind you but I rather take oppressive heat over cold anyday of the week

[play2win]

The girl that lives by the Ecuador line totally agrees. You might want to try a place with a mild winter, like South of Brazil.

What country would that be?  I really would like to avoid moving to brazil simply for the fact that I am learning spanish and brazil can be pricey but other if I run out of options i will have no choice

[JimD]

There is no country in South or Central America that will seem as safe as the US of A when you first arrive but as time passes and nothing happens to you the concept of safety will become relative. One of the biggest fears in Cali for example is not what a street hoodlum will do but rather what another driver will do.

[play2win]

There is no country in South or Central America that will seem as safe as the US of A when you first arrive but as time passes and nothing happens to you the concept of safety will become relative. One of the biggest fears in Cali for example is not what a street hoodlum will do but rather what another driver will do.

I live in manhattan and I think we can agree that Missouri or Detroit are way more dangerous then say iowa.  I don't need to be in Iowa but at the same time I dont need to be selling perico on the corner of melledin (that's obviously an example using outrageous humor to illustrated a point).

I hear Panama is up & coming right now might have missed teh boat for costa rica

[robert angel]

Re:

>>I live in manhattan and I think we can agree that Missouri or Detroit are way more dangerous then say iowa<<

I was born in Manhattan, lived in Detroit for years, (including when they about burned 'Motown' down in race riots) and I seem to recall from a visit to Davenport Iowa, that there are even places there (the proverbial 'wrong side of the tracks') where it was very unwise for me to venture.

I think most American cities have some really bad sections. I thought about the concocted movie and college spring break versions of Fort Lauderdale Florida and ate it up, only to find out you can get robbed, knifed or shot there in certain places quite easily.

I'm heading back to Key West soon and I know better than to go into the Bahama and Cuban area of free--low rent public housing there at night--they'll take you for your car, clothes--everything and leave you buck ass naked, hoping a cop happens to cruise by, to throw you a towel.

[play2win]

Re:

>>I live in manhattan and I think we can agree that Missouri or Detroit are way more dangerous then say iowa<<

I was born in Manhattan, lived in Detroit for years, (including when they about burned 'Motown' down in race riots) and I seem to recall from a visit to Davenport Iowa, that there are even places there (the proverbial 'wrong side of the tracks') where it was very unwise for me to venture.

I think most American cities have some really bad sections. I thought about the concocted movie and college spring break versions of Fort Lauderdale Florida and ate it up, only to find out you can get robbed, knifed or shot there in certain places quite easily.

I'm heading back to Key West soon and I know better than to go into the Bahama and Cuban area of free--low rent public housing there at night--they'll take you for your car, clothes--everything and leave you buck ass naked, hoping a cop happens to cruise by, to throw you a towel.

You're kind of bending what I am saying.  What I meant was I do not need to be in a place as safe as a Buddhist monastery but at the same time I dont need to be walking around iran covered in bacon giving out flyers encouraging to women to vote.

Know what I mean?

[Jeff S]

What country would that be?  I really would like to avoid moving to brazil simply for the fact that I am learning spanish and brazil can be pricey but other if I run out of options i will have no choice

She from the North end of Brazil. Like most places there are more expensive parts and less expensive parts. Shreveport LA is a whole lot less expensive than Manhattan, and small coastal cities in Brazil are a whole lot less expensive than Rio. Knowing Spanish, you'll be able to pick up Portuguese easily enough and get by.

[Dan Las Vegas]

you live in manhattan and you are worried about being safe in another country?  I feel much safer in Medellin than I do in parts of Los Angeles, New York or Washington DC. yes, there is some risk no matter where you go, but in my humble opinion, the potential  reward far outweighs the risk

[robert angel]

I was just reviewing different state and city gun laws and NY state is really tough and NYC is unbelievably restrictive. I would imagine that other than cops, 98% of the people with guns there are the 'bad guys'.

By comparison, in Kennesaw, Georgia, they have a LAW:

>>KENNESAW, Ga - Several Kennesaw officials attribute a drop in crime in the city over the past two decades to a law that requires residents to have a gun in the house.
 
In 1982, the Kennesaw City Council unanimously passed a law requiring heads of households to own at least one firearm with ammunition.
 
The ordinance states the gun law is needed to "protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants."
Kennesaw Historical Society president Robert Jones said following the law's passage, the crime rate dropped 89 percent in the city, compared to the modest 10 percent drop statewide.
 
"It did drop after it was passed," he said. "After it initially dropped, it has stayed at the same low level for the past 16 years."
 
Mayor Leonard Church was not in office when the law was passed, but he said he is a staunch supporter of it.
 
"You can't argue with the fact that Kennesaw has the lowest crime rate of any city our size in the country," said Church, who owns a denture-making company in Kennesaw.<<

Hmmm....

[play2win]

I have never looked into the gun laws because I don't carry a gun and I have lived here all my life and never had a problem.  It kind of freaks me out when I goto a place like tuscon arizona and you haev 18 year olds carrying guns.  Not really a fan of guns.  When I move I do not plan on moving to a place where carrying a gun is neccesity.  Maybe that is why people think a place like melledin is safe...because they plan on walking around carried concealed weapons & are always on the lookout for a shootout?  Not sure.  My Colombian friends off the boat from Melledin tell me it's not safe.  Going back to the safe point there is a difference between wanting to carry a gun (nyc) & needing to carry a gun because everyone is armed (tuscon arizona)