Why People Leave Boquete

When I was a Pastor in growing churches we had two concerns: the front door and the back door.  The concern with the front door was that it be open and welcoming to everyone, churched and unchurched.  The front door involved publicity, promotion, greeting, welcoming, making people feel at home, getting them involved, having them attend membership classes and become active and involved members of the church.  But a church can take hordes of people in the front door, and not grow if other people are going out the back door.  People tend to leave churches when they don’t feel a meaningful part of the church family and when their needs are not being met, be it day care, spiritual nurture, parking, whatever.  So to build a growing church you needed to keep the front door open and the back door closed as much as possible.

Lots of people are deciding to pick up and move to Panama, and specifically to Boquete.  But, just like church, not all of these people stay.  While many are coming in the front door, some are leaving out the back door.  So it has always interested me to know not only what brings folks to Boquete, but why they leave.  I wish someone would do a study on this!  But here are some of my own pondering . . . 

There are the Perpetual Adventurers- Let’s face it, picking up and moving to a foreign country requires a certain sense of adventure!  Some folks we know have left Boquete and moved elsewhere because that’s just the kind of people they are.  They are always looking for another place . . . maybe another spot of the world that hasn’t yet been “discovered” and where property is still ridiculously low priced.  There are some folks who the moment they move to Boquete are already scouring International Living and the Net and looking for the next “hot” place to move.

There are those whose relationship is already on the rocks – Moving is always a high stress event, and moving to a new country with a new language, new customs, new mores is even more high stress.  Folks who thought that making a new start in a new country might “fix” things soon find out it doesn’t work that way.  The stress is greater so, like a tiny crack in the windshield, the cracks in the relationship are soon going in multiple directions.  Plus, for a lot of folks, moving to Panama is breaking out of the mold, or rut if you will, of the traditional commute, 9 to 5 job, social obligations, family expectations – whatever.  Suddenly feeling free, and frequently knowing that this is the last big adventure of life . . . folks break loose . . . one stays, one heads back to the states, or they both move on in elsewhere in different directions.

There are those who didn’t do their homework in the first place- If you came to Panama looking to shop every other day at the Galleria, or expect museums, openings, Broadway, and symphonies in Boquete, or want a tennis club, US-style country club, shopping at Pavillions or Bristol Farms, or a 30-screen cineplex  . . . well you ain’t going to find it in Boquete!  So why are you surprised?  Didn’t you do your homework? 

There are those for whom the novelty wears off- Let’s face it: you chuck off everything in the States and move to Panama!  It has a certain excitement and novelty to live in a new country where everything seems different.  But after two, or three, or four years the novelty wears off, and you begin to miss the familiar and the comfortable feel of wherever “home” used to be.  You get homesick for Home Depot, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Wal Mart and even the bureaucracy of the DMV where at least they – usually – speak English.

There are those who came to make a killing . . . and don’t – For some Panama was seen as an opportunity to get rich quick as the world’s attention focused here and real estate and condo speculation was manic.  Everyone saw the opportunity for instant cash: just buy a farm cheap, throw in a road and sell lots to unsuspecting foreigners like yourself.  Well things rarely work out that way.  There is still great opportunity in Panama, but the day of the “fast buck” is disappearing quickly.  Scam artists are gradually being sent back home, either by being rooted out by Panamanian authorities or being extradited back to authorities in their own countries.

There are those who don’t like the weather- Some folks never bothered to check the weather.  Living in a rain forest is incredibly beautiful, but, guess what?  It rains!  A lot!  Particularly at certain times of the year.  And that isn’t for everyone.  There have been a lot of friends for whom Boquete is too cool and too wet and so they have left, not to go back to the States, but for beach areas where its a lot hotter and there is a lot less rain.

Panama isn’t the “tax haven” people thought it was – Yes, Panama, like every place in the world has taxes!  The taxes may come in different forms, like fees, etc., but they are there none-the-less.  Almost everything from the states is MORE expensive here because it has to be shipped in and is charged duty and tax (on the value of the item plus the cost of shipping).  As Panama moves from being a second world country to a first world country the government is becoming more computerized making it harder for those who would seek to avoid taxes illegally.  But, as anywhere, there are ways to legally minimize your taxes, but there are taxes.  Panama does not tax on income earned outside Panama. But, guess what, the long arm of the IRS reaches into Panama.  US citizens are taxed on everything, anywhere in the world.  But, if your permanent residence is outside the US, and your income is earned outside the US, and presumably outside Panama if you want to avoid Panamanian tax, the IRS does give you a generous break.

“I’m not ready to retire . . . what I really needed was a Sabbatical”- My wife helped me define this after talking with a friend who was returning to Atlanta saying, “I still have ten years that I could be working!”  Nikki has sometimes said, “I feel guilty . . . like I should be doing something . . . like I should be contributing.”  I find myself scouring potential cruise jobs, not that I want to leave Boquete, but I sometimes want to be back in “the action” for a few months of the year.  This isn’t anything unique to living in Boquete, it’s just a challenge of retirement.  Perhaps more of a challenge to boomers than it was to past generations.

“S*** Happens!”  Life changes- Some people’s lives change dramatically.  Aging parents back in the states suddenly require more direct attention and involvement.  Properties back home don’t sell as expected.  Businesses you thought you left in good hands suddenly need direct involvement.  Spouses die and what was once your dream of a life together in Panama now rings hollow.  One or another partner develops a medical condition best faced in the company of family and familiar medical resources and/or Medicare assistance. 

When our new house in Palmira is finished (”Please God!), we will be living on the road to the tiny cemetary in Palmira.  My wife has informed me that she is “not moving again!”  She has made it clear that her next move will be in a pine box, where she doesn’t have to pack anything, to the cemetery down the road.  Well, that’s our plan . . . now.  But, as Heraclitus pointed out, “We are living in a world of constant change.”  Things do change.  People change.  Plans change.  And because of that, not everybody will stay in Boquete.