03 Jul Living On The Outside
By Lorna Culnane
When people arrive here looking for a new home, often one of the ‘must haves’ on their list is they have to be in a gated community… Funny, but my husband and I never even considered living within a gated community. I guess the reason for that is in the UK it is not the norm. We don’t really have gated communities. In fact, I didn’t even know what one was! OK, I’m joking!
On our first visit to Panama, a little over four years ago. We did what many people do when they come here looking to relocate. We drove across Panama to check out other areas, not necessarily gated communities, just houses and land in normal Panamanian communities. We met some great expats and noticed how they mingled with the locals. We liked that.
On our exploration, we drove all over the place and attempted to get into a few gated communities just to be nosey. Most times it was a definite no go! When we got to Coronado we were quite grateful that the main security gate was a simple affair (certainly if you are gringos), and we had a good look around. We quickly realized the fences and security were just not for us!
Coronado has prided itself on the fact that it is a gated community, which in turn has helped push up the cost of living and real estate prices. It is popular with both expats and Panamanians alike. It is quite the status symbol if you have a property within the gates! There are also various other gated communities and resorts within the main Coronado gate. So there are plenty of choices if you really want to be within a gated community and plenty of reasons why you may want to be!
We decided to not only live outside of a gated community, but outside of Coronado too! We wanted to be part of Panama. We wanted to be more integrated with the community. We wanted to live more affordably, and we felt completely safe here in Panama.
We liked the many quiet and gentle communities of mainly Panamanians, that you can easily find on either side of the highway. They all have their own schools, corregiduria (Justice of the Peace) An open-air community gathering place, a sports or playing field and local supermarkets. We decided to not only live outside of a gated community, but outside of Coronado too! We found a piece of titled land and built a house (not something I would necessarily recommend here in Panama or for the faint hearted!)
What we discovered was that just outside the Coronado gates was a whole different world… stumble upon fiestas, parades and marching bands on any given day (who knows why, but a delight to come across), church parties, and garden parties pop up most weekends. You get to feel and experience the family and community spirit that each small pueblo (town) has. We found waterfalls and canyons and unspeakable beauty. I love the beach; but wow, I love living surrounded by nature more!
Our nearest beach is a little known gem called Playa Los Panama. You can drive all the way down to the beach front where there is parking. On weekends a little kiosk for cold drinks and food pops up! The tropical trees line the beach, and you often have the entire beach to yourself or the odd local fishermen! Christmas Day we found ourselves playing ball games on the beach with the locals!
On a practical note, just 15 minutes beyond Coronado, we found our food shopping was at least 10% cheaper than the Coronado area. Not just buying from street vendors, but we live half way between Coronado and the huge new mall at Playa Blanca. So, that is our go-to grocery shopping destination!
We enjoy the fact that it was not the ‘norm’ to have a fence around your property or have bars on windows. We have no monthly HOA fees to pay. It is now more normal for us to chase chickens up the driveway or beware of cows crossing! We love being treated like a local at the nearest fonda or mini super, and when we tell Panamanians where we live they ‘ooh & ahh’ and say, “Tranquilo.” Because it is… peace and tranquility…
For us, given we had travelled halfway ’round the world to really live and experience Central America, where better to do that, we thought, than on the outside?!
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