People
Since we began our investigation and
move to Panama, we have been really
fortunate to run across some great
people that have made our transition
much less stressful than it could have
been. If you are considering Panama, you
will need to get to know some of these
people. We don't hesitate in suggesting
you contact any fo the following people
as they would not be on our list if we
did not feel comfortable recommending
them to you. There are many others we
could list that we recommend you avoid
but we don't think that's prudent. In
each case of a professional listed,
unless it states otherwise, we went
through one or two or three of their
colleagues before we found one that
actually knew the words "customer
service" or that we felt were actually
competent. Before you hire someone, ask
someone if they have had any experience
with them -- like the lack of an MLS,
Panama lacks a good BBB for us "newbies".
If you are still unsure, email us and
we'll ask for you.
Important
People to Know
Eduardo Arango - Panamanian
Consulate General for the West Coast
of USA & Canada
-- we were so privileged to have met
Eduardo when when we were starting
the process of obtaining the visas
and documents necessary to move to
Panama. At the time he was the
Consulate General in Vancouver for
Western Canada. In hindsight I am
not sure we'd be in Panama without
his help. Depending on where you
reside before you move to Panama -
find the Consulate General or
Ambassador and get to know them. The
first thing it will do is introduce
you to someone that will help
you see the best side of the Panamanian
people
before you get here.
Lawyers
I've had a few lawyers in my 4
short years. What I was
looking for was a lawyer that could
listen to what I wanted to do, make
sure they understood what I was
trying to accomplish and then give
me some alternatives with the
positive and negative elements of
each. This seems to be the hardest
thing - there are lots of lawyers,
the ones I've used could perform
what I asked them to do but I got no
"advice" - maybe I need to add that
to my interview the next time.
Giovanna Avendano - when
we were looking at a property on the
Caribbean side of Panama we found it
to be a Right of Possession, not a
titled property. In spite of almost
everyone's warnings, we were
convinced we wanted to purchase the
property ROP or not. But we decided
we needed a lawyer comfortable with
ROP, and Marquelda's response was
she knew the laws, owned some
herself but did not want to do the
paperwork - sound like a warning --
well we went ahead. We again posted
our need on a Yahoo group and
through a lady from northern B.C.
Canada we met Giovanna. Giovanna is
very professional, understood our
desire and had worked with a number
of people buying ROP and did
everything in her power to ensure
the purchase was as solid as was
humanly possible.
email -
gavendano@avendanolaw.com
Rodrigo Julio Molina O. -
Rodrigo and Teresa were a great help
to me when I first moved to Panama.
They rented a desk to me when i did
not have an office and drew up some
contract labour agreements. If you
are looking for a lawyer who
specializes in ex-Pats, Rodrigo
would be a good place to start your
discussions.
email -
rjm@moliasoc.com
Jair Tuñon
and his partner Jair de Rozas
- Jair is a partner in Rodulfo,
de Rozas & Tuñon
- I met Jair Tuñon
when I first
arrived in Panama. He is currently
our personal and corporate lawyer.
He is attentive, responsive and
reasonable with his fees. I have
recommended him to numerous people
and have never heard any complaints.
You can reach him at
worco@cableonda.net
Accountants
Petra Pedilla -- and her
son Gerardo Harris - our
previous lawyer introduced us to
Petra as an accountant/bookkeeper
that could look after our payroll
and other government filings. If you
are going to have any kind of
business or any kind of employees,
you need someone to file the
paperwork for you. I sign it, and I
know I would not want to create it.
email -
petrapadilla@cwpanama.net
Professional Translator
In this respect we are very
blessed. We have on staff a
certified translator. Do not
venture into any agreements without
hiring one of these people to
translate the document for you.
Nothing is drawn up or signed in English, and
unless you are fluent in Spanish you
need someone to translate the
documents before you sign them so
you can ask intelligent questions
Real
Estate
this spot is intentionally
left empty at this time -- which
means if you can read between
the lines we haven't found anyone
we'd feel comfortable recommending.
That doesn't mean we haven't met
any. In fact we've had 4 we've
worked with in the 9 months.
Bankers/Mortgages
When we arrived in Panama almost
2 years ago, we were very fortunate
to meet a lady at the HSBC in Obario
but she has since moved from Panama
so we have no personal references
for mortgages. However, having said
that, we've heard several Expats say
how well they were treated at the
Scotia Bank, so it might be worth
your time checking with them if you
are in need of a mortgage. We have
now opened accounts with the CITI
Bank here in Costa del Este - Hector
and his team are very efficient and
have been taking great care of us. -
Update - we opened CITI and Scotia -
but use Banistmo for our main
banking - looking at Balboa Bank and
Trust for savings
Dentist
Dr. Lee
--
–
Dr. Lee runs his practice in El
Cangrejo with his wife and their
offices are as up to date as any we
used in Canada and his prices are
excellent - a fraction of the prices
in Canada for the same quality of
service - 507-269-3744
drlee@clinicadentallee.com
Massage therapy
Jamie, Dr. Lee;s wife is a
massage therapist and while we've
not availed ourselves of her
service, if our friends have and
they are all in agreement that she
is excellent.
Doctors
Dr. Jorge Paz
Rodríguez
--
Wellmed Clinic. - Dr. Rodriquez
practiced in New Mexico for years
before moving to Panama a few years
ago for all the same reasons we moved
here - quality of life. He is US
trained and very professional and is
building his clinic around serving
ex-Pats and dealing with "aging"
issues.
email -
wellmed@cwpanama.net
or
wellmed2@cwpanama.net
Dr. Cerrud - The first Dr. we
met in Panama who walked us through
the examinations for the Pensionado
visa. He has been very helpful with
prescription shots and pills. He
works out of the Santa Fe Hospital.
email -
carcerro@hotmail.com
Surgeons
Dr. Ariel Salaña
- Dr Saldaña
and his team of orthopedic
specialists are excellent. They may
not be the cheapest but if you want
your knee, hip, shoulder -
whatever - repaired professionally -
he is your man. His manners are
impeccable - courteous, prompt,
attentive - and best of all - his
surgery is spot on perfect. He can
be reached by email at
arielesaldana@yahoo.com - and he
does answer email :}
Medical
Clinics
Fernandez Medical
Clinic
--
Tom is a major chicken when it comes
to needles and when we went to the
clinic to get our 4th blood work we
met Sr. Fernandez and what a treat -
the needle was one of the easiest
Tom ever had.
Vets
Originally we used Animals & Pets - Costa del
Este -- Since our move to
Costa del Este in 2006 we have taken
Cricket to Animals & Pets just down
the street for all her needs from
clipping to shots to check ups. The
two vets on duty, Dr. Frank and Dr.
Ovlidio have huge hearts for
animals. On two occasions we seen
this first hand. Both vets have gone
out of their way to help us help a
couple of strays. Unfortunately both
vets have moved on and the
replacements have never been the
same so we began using Orion vet
above the Super 99 - he has since
closed - he was very good with
Cricket so that is sad - but our
friends Rita & Jordan take Bobby to
Vets4Pets in Punta Paitilla and we
have met her and she is really good
with Bobby
http://www.vet4pets.com.pa/
Travel
Agents
We had a travel agent for the first
year or two but she has since moved
on in her career to dealing with
travel insurance only so Donna has
gotten used to doing her booking
online with Continental then either
calling, emailing or visiting their
offices to finalize the ticket and
get her pensionado discount - you
have to love that discount.
Insurance
Vehicle, condo (contents and
building), business and health. We
have changed companies on each of
these a few times in the 5
years we've been here. We've
generally let the Ducruet agency
source the best vehicle, condo and
business insurance and they've done
pretty well. Our health we started
with Blue Cross but then we moved
to Bupa. Bupa as it offered what we wanted
- catastrophic health insurance - 1,
2, 5 million per year per person -
whatever you want. Any doctor
anywhere. Includes out of country.
The agent is Gonzalo de la Guardia -
gdelaguardia@gmail.com - Update
- since then we have moved to Cigna
http://www.cigna.com/ - less
costly and similar coverage - Donna
still takes travel insurance for her
tours
Designers
Renovating a new condo can be a
daunting business in Panama - this
is not Kansas anymore Toto :} -
small things you can do yourself but
gutting a condo and replacing
everything requires someone who
really knows what they are doing,
the best companies to work with and
what kind of budget is necessary. We
had the pleasure of working with
Rosa Soto with Projecto Casa
on Calle 50 in San Francisco - Rosa
is a treat to work with -
knowledgeable, a good eye for design
and fussy. All great traits. email
gerencia@projektocasa.com
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