Relative Outlier

Category: Panamà

  • Panamà Pride

    Panamà Pride

    We’re still trying to get plugged into everything here in Panamà, so we were delighted to learn that Panamà has a Pride Festival, and that this year is the 10th anniversary!

    Details were provided on the official Instagram announcing a muster point and a parade route. The Parade and Festival were both taking place in Casco Viejo, also known as Casco Antiguo, a part of the city that’s known for historic buildings and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Parade route finished in at the Festival site, the Plaza V Centenario on the shoreline. Attendees were asked to wear red for two reasons: The theme of the festival was “Red Tide for Pride”, but also Panamà was scheduled to play their last game in the World Cup that same afternoon.

    Due to the temperature, we timed our arrival in Casco Viejo to happen around the time the parade should be getting to Plaza V Centenario. We got there, and saw the vendors setting up and some attendees, but no parade. Then we remembered: we’re on Panamà time! The Parade was surely on its way.

    So, we decided to wander around Casco Viejo a bit, and came across a quinceanara photo shoot.

    A short time later, we didn’t have to find the parade – the parade found us!

    This was another example of resetting our North American expectations. At home, a parade route would have permits, the roads would be blocked off, there would be a police escort. There were none of the things here. The parade just came through and took up the roads (note the parked cars still on the side of the roads). If you were driving in Casco Viejo during that time, you just had to wait.

    There was just as much joy here as we’ve seen in Pride celebrations elsewhere. Local businesses had floats (and some had bands), there were

    It was really heartening to see so many local businesses have representation at the parade. We did have to laugh – one of the floats were handing out small packages, and made sure that we got one.

    We retired to one of the local bars to watch the first half of the Panamà game, and then went back to the Plaza V Centario to finish our Pride experience.

    All in all, an enjoyable afternoon, and one we’ll definitely go back for next year.

  • Walking in Panamà City

    Walking in Panamà City

    One of the things we love about Panamà City is how walkable it is! We’ve had the good fortune of being based in two separate neighbourhoods so far, and both have been great for being close to restaurants, grocery shopping, malls and more.

    During our first two months here, we didn’t have a car, so we relied on Uber (another entry for another time) and walking.

    Walking – it sounds so straightforward! It turns out that walking in Panamà City is a little different. There are sidewalks….mostly. However, the sidewalks are a little different than in the U.S., where I’m used to consistent paving everywhere. In Panamà, it seems like every building is responsible for the sidewalk, so you get a patchwork within in a single block. And no, they’re not even.

    Then there are the random patches, like this.

    You will learn early to avoid any metal plates on the sidewalk, as the original assumption you have that they are fixed in place is quite faulty.

    Or, there are random holes in the sidewalk that don’t have a cover at all.

    However, the biggest adjustment to walking in Panamà is learning that Google Map is not infallible. When deciding when to walk or take an Uber, we generally go by distance – will it take less than 30 minutes walking? We check Google, and will say the route is “mostly flat”.

    Google is wrong. Panamà City is filled with small hills and valleys. You will get a workout whether you like it or not, especially with the humidity here.

    Walking in Panamà is great! As long as you know what you’re getting into.

  • Why Panamà?

    Why Panamà?

    It’s always the third question.

    “You’re retiring??” Yes.

    “Where are you going to live – are you staying here, or moving?” We’re headed to Panamà.

    “Why Panamà?”

    Why, indeed.

    First, the practical reasons:

    1. Weather. We wanted somewhere with warmer weather. A friend of mine put it succinctly when discussing location: “I don’t want to be old in the cold.” That resonates, and with being close to the equator, Panamà checked that box. Plus, no threat from hurricanes.
    2. Stable government. With so much uncertainty in the world, we wanted somewhere where things weren’t volatile. With a key location and an economy driven by the Panamà Canal, that box was checked.
    3. First world healthcare. None of us is getting any younger. We wanted to be someplace where we could get the standard of healthcare that we could receive in the U.S. Panamà has a burgeoning medical tourism industry and has hospitals that are affiliated with Johns Hopkins.

    There were other reasons, of course – cost of living, currency, Panamà’s pensionado visa program (all topics to be discussed at length later), but those were the three reason I would provide.

    The personal answer goes a little deeper.

    We are fortunate to take retirement early. Our corporate careers were fulfilling, but we both wanted to give back to a community. We’ve both had the opportunity to live for extended periods of time outside of the U.S., and we wanted to experience that again. We both felt that living outside of the U.S. makes us feel more like part of the global community.

    In Panamà, we think we’ll be able to do that, as well as give back to country where we’ve chosen to migrate for much of the year.

    What form will that take? At this point we don’t know, but we’re looking forward to finding out.