Looking for gay expats living in Panama

There are quite a few gay people in Chiriquí who seem to be doing just fine. You might be interested in this Facebook group (Chiriquí Rainbow Community if the link doesn't work) https://www.facebook.com/groups/chiriqu … community/

Hi there, thank you very much. I'll check it out.

For an allegedly Catholic country, a surprising number of people are gay or bisexual.  At one point in time, there was once a joke circulating in the capital that becoming President was a function of who you were having sex with that year.

That having been said, there are fundamentalists of all flavors.  Discretion is important.  However, if you look at the number of 'love motels', commonly referred to as 'Pushbuttons' or simply a 'Push', you may deduce that infidelity is a national pastime.  One just doesn't advertise.  Lots of older people have 'housemates' for economic reasons, or simply to not be alone.

Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes.

Are you still looking for info on reporting to Panama. My husband (gay couple) and I retired here in August, 2019. Reply back and I'll give you all the info.

Very interested I living about half time in Panama and have just been trying to figure out where to love anfbifvtomreany or buy as I I am 70 and huaband is 61.  Both exploring anfbforeignntravel.  Both financially comfortable andbiwe both are passionate about birgd abd horticulture .  We lone in NC and in the mountains of Virginia in Winter.  Love entertaining and cooking.  Anyone havevantbsuggesrion?  Thanks. Scotty forbthrbtyoos!

If you're into horticulture and birds, you may like Boquete. They even have an annual Flower Festival (in January) that attracts people from all over the country. It's cooler than Panama City and has a great climate for growing things. There are also lots of expats living there.
In the mountains above Boquete you can find lots of interesting birds. We went to the top of Volcán Barú back in April last year and spotted quetzales in the trees above our hotel (Finca El Oasis).

Nice place to meet

me too,  the same thing as you.
I hope to know more gay friends and more information in panama.

thanks. expecting to your answer.
my whatsapp is *** pascal

Hi,

I, semi-retired gay male here and  thinking of moving part or whole of year to Boquete or Santa Fe. Looking for possible housemates? Any ideas? Saludos.

I'm thinking of moving there too next year. Please keep in touch. Thanks. Saludos.

me too, I want to move there.
how can I contact with u?

pascal
in Montreal

@Rotty209  facebook.com/groups/321848093459562/?ref=share_group_link

@Blatino Bae My husband and I moved to Panama three years ago. Happy to answer any questions you have.

@Rotty209 it was great and I had no issues with men. It's pretty laid back. Maybe I can get your personal email and talk more?

@kgilberg59

Hello, my name is James Moser I am a Disabled  Veteran  who had served 16 years in the Military.  My husband and I  have fell in love with Panama, we have also looked into the Panama Government we understand that same sex marriage isn't  legal there , we also know that it is a very strong  Catholic Community.  My husband and would love to buy a home with some land in the mountains  but we were told that it would be hard for us since we are a gay couple,  the other question  is by chance if I die or my spouse  how is our assets handled.  Also is it dangerous  for gay couples  to live there.

Thanks

Sincerely  Jim Moser

We are also looking at taking Jackie's Relocation Tour

@jflowers409  Jackie is a wealth of info about pretty much everything. Gay people I know here get along just fine. No, same sex marriage isn't legal, but people also stay out of your personal business and choices. I don't anything about legalities but Jackie can refer you to a lawyer.

If we retire to panama and my wife has a military pension. She can get residency?

How does myself apply and would I have to leave the country to renew visas every year, etc.  We live on her income only?

@kgilberg59   Thanks for the offer.  My husband and I are seriously considering moving to Panama, most likely one of the higher, more mountainous areas, such as Boquette.  We are not really heavy into the bar scene but do like to meet and socialize with other gay men.  Any info or suggestions on where to research the issue or for that matter what area of the country we should be looking into.  (We really do not see us moving to a metropolitan area, so Panama City is probably out.

Thanks  for any info.

John and Shawn

@bayguy55 I saw your posting and thought I would ask if you have made any decision about Boquette since that is the town/area that we feel, so far at least, would meet our checklist.

We are wondering about the gay community and how hard it may be to make contacts within it and make contact with like-minded men.  We have never been much for the "bar scene" in the US and are not terribly social in general I guess but enjoy meeting others at play, events, walks, classes and such.  Will we be able to introduce each other as "my husband" or "my partner" without raising eyebrows, being shunned, or worse?  We do understand that there is no law against gay sex in Panama but also that there is no recognition by the government of our marriage may years ago here i the US.

Thanks for any info and suggestions regarding destinations or related matters of any kind.

John and Shawn

@medicparken We're not really bar people either but we're definitely city folk. We lived in Chicago for over thirty years before moving to Panama. I think Boquete would be a good choice. It's very international but still a small town. I've been there quite a few times and never sought out other gay couples but frankly would be shocked if there weren't a decent gay life there. There are plenty of tourists and I know gay people who have traveled there and that's usually a good sign. If you're looking for even more small town than Boquete, look into Volcán. It's a little further afield but has it's charm. You might also want to look at Altos de María or Cerro Azul, which are much closer to Panama City. Altos de Maria is about a half hour from Coronado up in the hills. The weather is cool but you're not so far away from civilization that you'll go crazy. Cerro Azul is very close to Panama city, also up in the hills but I think it's more of a weekend getaway than a place to live full time.

@jflowers409 You can form a Fundación (a family trust) and buy your property though the trust. Getting a mortgage might be another issue though. Try Scotiabank. They're a Canadian bank and I've heard they don't have issues financing mortgages for same sex couples.

@jflowers409

No one cares, just don't make it a central them to get push back.

Put it in a corporate format or a foundation the attorneys will know how to handle it.

@medicparken   My husband and I are a gay couple (in our 50's) looking at Panama as well and plan to travel there this month to explore several different areas looking for a place to move.  We are particularly interested in Boquete & Volcan.  We are not into the bar scene either, but would also love to get to know other gay couples to socialize with wherever we end up.  We've talked with a lawyer, and know that if we decide on Panama, that we will have to apply for residency as individuals.  But it sounds like a wonderful place, so we think it's worth checking it out.  I'm sure there are ways to make it work. 

@kgilberg59

I saw your response to Rotty2 ... and thought I would contact you, since you were willing to help him (no good deed goes unpunished!?).

Anyway, his description of himself and his partner sounds just like my husband and me.  While we have been legally married here in the US for almost 10 years and been partners since mid 1990's, we do understand and are OK with Panama's refusal to recognize same-sex marriage.  That said, the POSSIBLE implication of that reluctance to follow the pretty clear mandate of the Treaty, does give us pause and feeling that we need to do a bit more 'due diligence' on just how we, as a pretty obvious gay couple, after all we will be traveling together, renting/leasing/buying a house, and generally living together as a couple.  And, we hear that Panama is definitely and historically very Catholic. 

Being less than welcomed by some is understandable and tolerable but being frequently shunned or discriminated against would be something that would be a deal breaker, especially if we were not prepared in advance.

We will be taking one of the Panama Relocation Group tours in May or June this year and are probably more interested in the cooler climates (e.g., Bouquete) than the beach areas and I do not see us being happy in metro-PC.  Thus, the possibility of gay-concern seems more likely.

Any thoughts, knowledge, opinions, or anything you can offer would be greatly appreciated.  The Facebook Chiriqui Rainbow Group does not seem to be the sort of information that we are hoping to find.

Thank you very much, I know such inquires take a lot of time but be assured that we will appreciate anything you can provide.  John

@jflowers409

Hello and thanks for your service!  One of my greatest disagreements with US politics is how poorly overall our veterans (and especially our DV's) are treated. 

The type of property that your post describes sounds a lot like what my husband and I also hope to find in Panama.  We understand that our US marriage is not recognized officially in Panama and are OK with that.  We do feel the need to do some real due diligence and try to find out how we can reasonably expect to be received / treated as a gay couple.  We are both near retirement age (I'm a few years older and he has a few to go).  Like you, we do not want the metro-PC area and are most interested in the cooler climates.

Any info or thoughts that you can share with us will be helpful and very much appreciated and we thank you in advance for your time involved in any response.  Best wishes for a great 2024! 

John

@medicparken  We've lived in Panama since 2019 and are both retired. We're city boys (lived in Chicago for decades) and call Panama City home. My husband and I were one of the four couples with marriage equality cases before the Panamanian Supreme Court of Justice. The court decided against us last year, but the case has been filed with the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights in Washington, which will decide if the case goes before the Interamerican Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica. This may take years. I tell you this because we have been relatively high profile on social media and on TV because of that. We have faced online hate, but have never faced discrimination or verbal abuse in person. We had no issues looking at any apartments and had no trouble buying, other than we believe that the bank we looked at for a mortgage dragged their feet because we were a gay couple. We eventually told them to pound sand and we paid cash.

Here are a few thoughts:

Attitudes in Panama have improved quite a bit in the past few years, with support increasing for guarantees of equal rights and marriage equality. Among young people, being gay or lesbian is no longer a big deal. It's always tougher for trans people, sadly. Since Boquete (and to a lesser extent Volcán) have large expat communities, you will probably not face much discrimination there, as they tend to somewhat more cosmopolitan than a small town in the middle of nowhere.

You should look into forming a "fundación." It's essentially a family trust and the law that enabled it is based on US trust law. It will allow you much more freedom in buying property as two unmarried, unrelated people may have trouble buying property together, but a fundación solves that issue. You can also put other assets in the trust and it protects you, especially if one of you dies. For example, if you are both founders of the trust and its beneficiaries if one of you dies, the other automatically controls the assets held in the trust. If you don't have a trust and one of you owns property only in his name, then you may need to go through a long, painful legal process to legally gain control of those assets. The only drawback is that US citizens are required to file paperwork with the IRS declaring the existence of the trust and the value of assets held in the trust. It's a pain in the butt every year. Holding real estate in a trust does NOT increase your tax liability, because owning property, except if you rent it out, does not generate any taxable income. So, you don't have to pay any taxes on the property to the IRS, but if you sell the property and have not declared it as an asset held in trust, you can be open for a $10,000 penalty from the IRS. By the way, the US is the only major country in the world that requires its overseas citizens to pay taxes.

Because your marriage will not be recognized here, you will also need to look into having a local lawyer draw up powers of attorney for financial transactions and a living will/power of attorney for health care. You will not be able to get health insurance as a family, but will need to get individual policies.

Healthcare here, especially if you're talking about the private healthcare system is very good. Many of the doctors speak English and have trained in the US. Hospital Pacifica Salud is rated as the seventh best hospital in all of Latin America. That's amazing considering this country only has four million people. I recently had an experience there and have nothing but praise for the excellent care I received. Given the large expat community in Boquete, I'd be surprised if there weren't some excellent doctors there.

Let me know if I can answer any more questions.

Thank you very much.  That is helpful information.  Thanks for all your efforts on everyone's behalf.

/s/ John