When people ask why I wanted to move to Panama, I can sum it up in one phrase... the beach. I grew up in California, where a beach was no more than a few hours away. Later, I went to college in Santa Barbara and was at the beach almost every day. 

Being landlocked in Dallas, Texas, for 15 years, I ached to see the water. Although the days are typically bright and sparkling, my favorite time is sunrise and sunset. There is nothing better than watching the sun rise or dip off of the water, as the sky burns through reds and pinks and grays. 

Most of the people in Panama inhabit the Pacific Ocean side of Panama. Although it's not as blue and clear as the Caribbean side, creature comforts are at my fingertips.

Living in a beach community of Panama, I start my day with a cup of coffee on my balcony as the sun comes up.  I never tire of watching the sun as it reflects off the water.  Then my choice of activities run the gamut from shopping to gambling to trekking through the rain forest. I can have lunch at a trendy 5-star restaurant and drink French champagne with imported goose liver pate, or I can eat at a local empanada stand for just a dollar or two. I can spend the afternoon shopping at couture shops such as Chanel or Louis Vuitton,  or I can stuff my SUV full of fresh produce at the wholesale food market where $20 will buy enough produce to eat for a week. At sunset, I like to end my day with a leisurely walk on the beach, or perhaps a glass of wine by the pool as I watch the ships wait their turn to enter the Panama Canal.

If you miss the beach and think you could never afford to live within walking distance, it's time you visit Panama. Contact me... I'd love to show you around.

Panama is known as “The Hub of the Americas,” both because of the Panama Canal and Panama City’s Tocumen Airport (PTY). 

Panama’s infrastructure has also seen dramatic improvements. With easy flights available from most major cities in the world, Panama is becoming even more attractive as a haven for snowbirds and Baby Boomers wanting a tropical home.

Three major airport projects are increasing the ability for foreigners to easily reach their destinations. 

1. Tocumen International Airport (Panama City): Panama’s main airport is currently undergoing an expansion estimated to cost $679 million. The expansion includes a new 30-gate terminal, new facilities for migration and customs, parking, commercial operational facilities, and hotel infrastructure. The expansion should be complete in 2014. 
   
2. Enrique Malek International (David): The recent $27 million expansion allows for more flights and larger aircraft from international destinations.
   
3. Rio Hato International Airport (Rio Hato): A new $115 million international airport is underway to serve the Pacific Coast beach region, such as Coronado, and the center portion of Panama’s interior. It is expected to be functional in late 2013.
   

With so much investment in infrastructure, Panama is expected to continue to top the lists of “best places to live, invest and retire” for years to come.

Panama is full of beautiful beachfront resorts. My current favorite beachfront condo in Gorgona is the Bahia Beachfront Tower. Imagine a high-end resort in Hawaii with a breezeway reception, ground-level infinity pool, and and poolside drinks. That captures the essence of living in Panama at Bahia. 

Bahia hosted a happy hour on Sunday afternoon. The bartender, George, has been behind one bar or another for over three decades and understands the nuances of tropical drinks. I started with a Splenda-sweetened mojito, and then transitioned to the best pina colada I've ever tasted. His trick? He uses fresh... everything! My friends said his real-lime margarita was worthy of ballads, and I saw him make a banana daquiri with a ripe banana and so many other goodies that it gave me goosebumps. Perhaps next time I'll skip lunch and have that instead.

Happy hour isn't just for lucky residents, though. It's a great time for friends (and wanna-be friends) to check out this amazing property. Aside from Sunday happy hour, there is a beach volleyball game every Thursday afternoon, followed by a special happy hour for thirsty "athletes."

You'll come for the drinks, but you'll definitely want to stay for the lifestyle.

When I first saw a sloth in Panama, I didn't have a clue what it was. Five cops had stopped traffic and were helping the little guy across the road. It didn't take me long to figure out what it was, though. These little guys are famous in Panama.

Sloths are part of the anteater family. They're called sloths because they are slow and lazy. They live in trees in tropical climates and typically only come down to the ground about once a week to urinate and defecate. Hmm. I couldn't imagine holding it that long.

Sloths are folivores who eat leaves from the trees where they live. (I had to look up what a folivore was. It's a herbivore that eats mainly mature, hard-to-digest leaves.) Because of their diet, they have very complicated stomachs that digest the leaves slowly, which results in an extremely slow metabolism. In fact, as much as two-thirds of a sloth's weight is made of of the contents of its stomach. 

They have curved claws called "toes" that they can use to swipe against predators. But because  they move so slowly and blend in with trees, their main form of defense is not attracting the attention of predators in the first place. 

Sloths are Koala-bear cute and harmless to humans. If you see one crossing the road, you'll need to stop traffic and take a coffee break, though. At their fastest, they only travel about 6.5 feet per minute. 

This photo was taken by a friend outside of my condo building. Some sloths live in the rain forest which borders our property at Playa Bonita, just outside of Panama City.

If the term "disposable phone" brings to mind untraceable calls between drug dealers, throw your TV-mind away. This is Panama. Disposable phones are used by the masses here because they are so affordable. For about $20 you can get a decent phone made by Nokia or Samsung or another brand you recognize. You then pre-pay for cell phone service in any amount you want and your usage is deducted on a per-minute basis. The rates for pay-as-you-go service varies by provider but will range from five to fifteen cents per minute. You can even make calls to the U.S. for just a few pennies more per minute.

If you're coming to Panama for a visit, it's cheaper to buy a disposable phone in Panama and put $10-$20 of credit on the phone than to use your foreign-based service.

If you run out of credit, no need to hunt down a cell phone office. Just go to your nearest grocery store, mini mart or Chino and you can buy cell phone credit and then input the credit on your phone via a simple code. (By the way,  a Chino is a local's mini mart that typically has a person's name attached to it, like Jonathan or Melissa or Isabella. These are often owned by Panamanians with Chinese heritage and are therefore called Chinos. It's not a derogatory term but rather a term the Panamanians use to describe something, similar to calling a blonde woman "a blonde.")

The main cell phone providers in Panama are Claro, Digicel and Movistar. Expats who move here typically invest in a nicer phone as their main phone, but keep a disposable phone from a different provider as a backup to make sure cell phone service is always available.

To get a phone, you simply need to provide a copy of your passport and choose a prepayment amount. You will get a phone and a phone number. Nothing could be easier. Just charge the phone and you'll be ready to chat away. 

One of the services offered by Panama Relocation Concierge is to provide clients with a complimentary cell phone while you are visiting Panama and looking at property.