All the best,

Mahmad Daud
Panama

I first became interested in Uruguay after reading various writings of yours on the Internet, purchased your Ebook, and then came down for an exploratory trip in Sept 2007. I spent most of my time in Montevideo (I was at a couple of your Thursday parties — we even met), but also checked out Colonia & Punta del Este on daytrips.

I’m a younger man and although I liked Montevideo, it might be a bit too slow-paced and quiet for me personally. I found Buenos Aires quite neat (it was my first time in South America, so I made sure to explore the big city, as well). I guess I’m more of an urbanite. I like the choice of activities and services available, although I recognize the downsides, as well..

I’m actually going to Panama in the middle of June. As an “urbanite”, Panama City will be my main focus, although I’ll probably check out the smaller cities of David & Boquete in the west too.

Panama has a dollarized economy, so I expect that to interest more & more Americans as the USD continues down (as well as those of us with US investment dollars).

I guess I’ll see what I think about the heat & humidity while I’m down. There really is only a week or two of hot/humid weather per year in native country (Canada).

Another “pro” in my mind is if I lived in Panama, it’s so central that it’s a good base for further travel in South America and really not too far for the yearly trip home.

I’ve been doing just the opposite of you over the last 3 weeks — I’ve been travelling extensively throughout Uruguay, with an eye to moving here. (The jury is still out on this.)

However, in your article you mentioned that Panama was more expensive and I couldn’t DISAGREE with you more!

The only thing I found in Uruguay to be cheaper than Panama is real estate — which is what I’m looking at buying in Uruguay.

The day-to-day cost of living, however, is MUCH cheaper in Panama than it is here. I’m originally from Canada, and I’ve even found products here that are even more expensive than what I’d pay in Canada — one example … gasoline.

Try finding this deal in Uruguay: 5 golf shirts, 1 genuine leather belt, 1 khaki pair of pants all for under US$20!!! (These sorts of deals are everywhere in Panama.)

Shopping is also more convenient. For example, grocery stores open 24/7.

Internet is a main focus of my business (day trading) and I’ve become increasing frustrated by both the speed of the internet in Uruguay along with the frequent drop-outs I get here (using both Wi-Fi AND Ethernet!!!). In Panama it’s highly reliable and, as you found out yourself, extremely fast!

Panama is crowded??? Really?!? How come? Panama has the same population as Uruguay! Now, if you mean Panama City … OK, I’ll have to agree with you there. But, unlike the tourist, I rarely go downtown as most of the places I need are around where I live.

I find Montevideo much easier to navigate though — I love the 1-way street set-up! I’m sure that you must have noticed though that Panama City is much more wheelchair-friendly?!?

One benefit that Montevideo has over P.City … I find that Montevideo air isn’t as polluted as Panama City air.

As for the weather, it all depends on what you want. I’ve found my stay in Uruguay to be quite chilly — almost like Canada, which is the weather I’m trying to escape. Originally hailing from a country that sees snow for 5-6 months of the year, I welcomed the heat and humidity that Panama offered me with open arms.

The apartment I have there is on the 11th floor and, although I have AC, I rarely find a use for it even with the heat and humidity because 95% of the time I have a nice, cool and refreshing breeze running through the place.

Also, if you venture out into the interior, it’s not as hot and humid there as it is in Panama City.

These are all examples as to WHY I am having a tough choice deciding whether to remain in Panama or make the move to Uruguay.

Like I said, the jury is still out on that one.,,