Robert Hopkin

@Ameerah Arjanee Hi Ameerah, Not a major, fundamental suggestion but a small way to save money on day to day costs of food. It seems as though French legisation is very strict on respecting 'Sell By' dates on food and supermarkets seem to recognise ... Read More

Not sure if these are relevant to those questions but two points worth noting I think:-We needed work done on both our (new) house and garden in France. We took our time and gradually asked around the opinions of our neighbours - who they had ... Read More

We did exactly what SimCityAT suggested a couple of years ago. It is a bit of a hassle but in the end quite straitforward. There are various agencies in France that will 'walk' you through the VLS-TS visa application process at a cost (we used one ... Read More

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/oct/20/panama-canal-environment-water-drought-el-nino-farming?CMP=share_btn_url Read More

Just seen this news item about the water situation in Panama. You might like to try this link.https://1drv.ms/u/c/29f2ca3681d10598/IQCQo9PCEoU2T7yKiI5QhXgfAUUH7MBXEulb9IVOlsJjfYE?e=OKWIbT Read More

Hello Anthony,I will be brief as we shouldn't turn these posts into the Robert and Anthony show! A point we haven't mentioned is the earthquake risk as Panama sits on three intersecting tectonic plates and the recent bad one hit 7.7 on the Richter ... Read More

@tonymels Hi Anthony, We lived in Panama for four years and my views (sometimes disputed!) are shown above in posts Nos 17.19, and 27 above. My advice on moving to Panama would be, take care and don't be influenced (as we were) by first impressions. ... Read More

Hello Al,We lived in a gated community on the Caldera Road in Alto Boquete for four years and left about 3 years ago. Please take my comments as suggestions, not facts, as things may have changed (perhaps a lot) since we left, but we learned quite a ... Read More

I don't know about using cellphone numbers from overseas but I would like to share an experience from 2024 after arriving in France, buying a house and trying to get both cellphone numbers for myself and my wife and, most importantly, a fibre optic ... Read More

@wondering9 Good morning wondering9! Not steamed, just being honest about admitting our mistake and presenting FACTS not opinions nor adjectives about life in Panama so that others don't do the same. Rather than 'Grinning and bearing it' as some of ... Read More

@Julien Hello. We are English expats who lived in Panama from 2020 until 2024. We were encouraged to choose Panama as a home by an American-based organisation (who I will not name ) but most will know as the main, supposedly respected source of ... Read More

@murphkitty Hello Murphkitty,I don't know your motivation for wanting to come to live in France but, whilst we are very happy living here, my advice would be come and have a good look around before choosing where to live. France is a big and very ... Read More

@Cheryl Hello Cheryl, Thanks for the acknowledgement. I see that you reside in Mauritius where I have visited many times for my work in the 1980's and 1990's. Perhaps I can amuse you with a little story from one of those visits (that. as moderator ... Read More

@Cheryl Hello Cheryl,An interesting topic and, I think, very influenced by one's choice of career and the vagaries of modern life. The traditional concept of lifelong friends and neighbours has to a large extent been overtaken by worldly ... Read More

Thank you for your advice Champacs. I think we must plan to visit for 3 to 4 weeks early next year. Saint Joseph sounds nice but perhaps the climate not so good with the prevailing south easterly winds? Regarding population density, we used to like ... Read More