Navigating friendships as an expat in Panama

I've found it to be very easy to meet people and make friends in Panama, much more easily than when I was in the Dominican Republic.

Because I am still struggling to learn Spanish, most of my friends so far are Expats. My neighborhood is mostly expats, and the organizations I volunteer with are also largely staffed with expat volunteers

Hello ddmcghee,

Thanks for sharing your experience! 😊

I found it interesting that even though most of your friends are fellow expats, you still found it much easier to make friends in Panama than you did in the Dominican Republic. 

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

@ddmcghee

Interesting. My wife is from the Dominican Republic and I have made quite a few trips there. However I have lived in Panama for almost 27 years now. I am quite fluent in Spanish as my family doesn't speak English and many of my friends only speak Spanish. I find people in the Dominican Republic friendly the same as here in Panama. Once you live in a place long enough it becomes home to you. You no longer feel you are an expat. You are a Panamanian. I have also spent a lot of time in Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia. I find that people anywhere in Latin America are very friendly. It is all pretty much the same culture.

@Cheryl

I think it was because, even though the area I was in was full of expats, most were French, Italian, German, and French-Canadian. Not many English speakers!