Coronado was a place we always frequented when I lived in Panama. It was set up as weekend homes for the wealthy or people who could afford it. It was never gated when we lived there, nor the several times I went back. I’m sure they gated it to keep it nice. It used to be regular access to the black sand beach which is your view from the Air B&B condo. In fact, I think the ExPat bar/restaurant you showed use to be my friend’s place back in the ‘90’s. I’ll have to pull my pictures out. If so, it was called Don Peru’s & I still have the sign he gave me before we moved. He was retiring & selling it. Coronado was always really nice is should be quite more pricey than other locations. I’m glad they’ve kept it spiffy. It’s not far from Rio Mar beach, further south.
Very informative video. I am planning my first “boots on the ground trip” early next year. Would appreciate if you could please share the air b&b person contact. Would love to stay and explore the area. $500 a week isn’t that bad. Longer stay could be lesser 🤞
We put a link below the video. It's: www.airbnb.ca/rooms/12461924?source_impression_id=p3_1701789966_i%2FYrM7EeM4U740Ig. It's almost a year ago when we stayed there. Inflation and all now, the price may be higher....or, given the protests, lower. I'd put in some dates and see.
Thank you for the video. Quick question: where do you live now in Panama? For some reason I thought you are in Coronado. Considering that you guys travelled lot, with all that experience where would you settle now? Thanks again and keep the videos coming.
We live all over the place really. Unfortunately not typical. FL, Canada, Panama basically with long jaunts to other places to see what they're like. Mostly, if it's not warm, we're not there. : ). Since we're still pretty healthy despite our ages, we keep bouncing. But at some point we'll make that big decision and narrow it all down to one ending place. Our love of wadding into the unknown, keeps us bouncing. But having Panama and Canada residences in our pocket for the long haul makes it easier to handle.
A question I have about condos in Panama. Being from Florida I am sure you are aware of whats happening to the cost of HOA's, between insurance and inflation as well as maintenance requirements. It is pricing many people out of their units and may create a firestorm next year as the pain goes on. What are the costs of HOA's in Panama? How are they billed? Are reserves required? A building of this magnitude is clearly going to have very large maintenance costs going into the future (if anyone even does them). As a side note. I have a friend from Bulgaria who recently acquired his parents old home. I ask him wouldnt a condo be a better choice being so far away and the home empty so long. He said in Bulgaria there are no HOA fees, zero. So you can walk into a condo building and everything is falling apart, lights hanging, doors broken, old paint etc etc. Nothing ever gets fixed unless it affects living there, ie broken pipe, electrical etc. He was in fact unsure if residents had to get together all the money to do emergency repairs before they were made or not. Either way it is untenable. Kinda crazy really. The units inside may be nice but the structures are totally neglected. Also not safe by any stretch.
EXCELLENT questions. Quick answer, we're not sure. HOA type fees are low. But that may kick in all the other stuff that you're writing about. On the other hand, not much inflation or insurance worries in Panama (compared to FL). I'll see if we can get some info from that AirBnB owner. The building was in excellent shape and it was not newish...so, clearly there's some mechanism to keep it fixed up. Labor is low priced in Panama so that may help in all this.
I wonder when you made that video? Why? Because the main road to Coronado has more potholes than a Swiss cheese 🧀! Every time my girlfriend likes to go there, I am getting worried about my car. And I don’t drive there in the late evening. If you hit one big pothole, your front axle is history! Living in Gorgona, I am surprised that ALL roads going to the very expensive development areas around Coronado have the absolute worst roads. Like Malibu Beach in Gorgona. Thousands of potholes. Close to the Bikini beach area is a 20 by 20 ft “potholes” you could lose your car in it.
We've mentioned a few times that AirBnB's in Panama are pretty expensive compared to other places. Mainly where ExPats go--Coronado and Boquete. This one was actually reasonable in comparison for what it was. Go figure.
I love your concept of driving/showing real life in Panama, yet I had to unsubscribe because listening to the wife is like riding with my parents! Wife constantly correcting, bickering, complaining, back seat driving, arguing. We can still hear you arguing in the background!
LOL....I'll have to cut those out going forward. It's really not a big deal to me. We do that all the time when driving. I bug her, she bugs back. Otherwise, it's a boring ride. Hope you resubscribe again.
