Immigration and Panama

I am a lucky man. Three of my four children are visiting Boquete this year.  The fourth would come also if he was not embroiled in a job search. The trip to Panama is long and expensive, but they enjoy being here.

Occasionally I wonder if they come to see me or just to enjoy Boquete. Each year there is more for young people to do in Boquete. Instead of being a hideaway for a few hundred retirees in a sea of locals, Boquete Panama is becoming a haven for people of all ages. Each time they visit, my children ponder finding a way to stay. There are increasing numbers of thirty something ex-pats moving here, building futures and raising families. They earn far less than they would in the US, but they appear to be willing to sacrifice the income for the lifestyle.

Today Sebastian jumped on a horse for the first time in ten years. My younger son is Biology graduate, like his father and like his father needed to find a different career path for survival. Survival in the US for people entering the job market is not easy. Survival for many people who planned to retire on the appreciation of their homes is not even a dream any more.

There is a change coming in the world, driven by economic realities and the inability to sustain the “American Dream” patterns of immigration are changing. As thousands of people enter the US looking for opportunity, an expanding trickle of US citizens are leaving for the same reason. I wonder if the fence on the US Mexican border will soon need revolving doors?

Panama is ripe with opportunity for entrepreneurial people. There are hurdles but there is also opportunity. In my three years here I have seen many of my peers start new careers. What is now exciting is watching their children arrive to do the same thing.