Just an hour from Panama City lies a place that challenges everything you might assume about Central American beach towns.
Coronado, in Panama’s western province, has quietly transformed from a wealthy Panamanian weekend retreat into something far more interesting. It’s now a thriving hub for international professionals seeking the perfect blend of work life and lifestyle.
The traditional expat narrative often pushes you toward established destinations overrun with tourists. But the smarter play lies just beyond.
The Strategic Location of Panama’s Pacific Coast
Coronado’s strategic position — just 65 miles from Panama City — means you maintain proximity to international flights, world-class banking, and sophisticated business services while living in what locals call the Arco Seco (“dry arc”), a microclimate that receives significantly less rainfall than most of the country.
What’s happened in Coronado represents an evolution from a vacation retreat for residents of Panama City to a sustainable community. Over the past decade, Coronado has transformed. What once was a sleepy weekend destination is now a city with robust infrastructure supporting year-round living.
Plus, as Jess Ramesch notes in International Living, “Unlike in some other countries, Panama allows foreigners to own beach property outright, rather than requiring them to own via trusts or foundations.” This legal framework creates immediate advantages for expats looking to establish a home base with clear asset protection.
The clincher? Ramesch points out that “the beach — a mix of bright white and glittering black volcanic sand — is clean and uncrowded. Most of the time, you can have big stretches of it all to yourself.”
This combination of solitude and connectivity creates the perfect environment for deep work, punctuated by rejuvenating breaks. In other words, the best of both worlds.
The Infrastructure Reality Test
Too many “digital nomad paradises” fail the basic infrastructure test. No one loves the frustration of inadequate internet, limited healthcare, or the absence of essential services that make sustained, productive work impossible.
This is where Coronado pulls ahead of typical contenders.
The opening of the San Fernando Clinic in 2008 marked a turning point, offering everything from X-rays and CT scans, to lab tests and dental work, without requiring trips to Panama City. For the 50+ expat, healthcare accessibility isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a non-negotiable factor in location decisions.
Beyond healthcare, Coronado boasts four major grocery stores, multiple shopping plazas, a championship golf course designed by Tom Fazio, Olympic-size pools, and an equestrian club. Believe it or not, there’s more to life than the beach.
The community aspect proves equally crucial.
At Picasso, a local restaurant and bar that functions as the de facto community center, you’ll find everything from trivia nights to Spanish classes for newcomers. This hub exemplifies the often-overlooked truth about successful location independence: Community connection remains vital to long-term satisfaction.
When Claire [the original owner] first moved in, there was nowhere to hang out and meet people if you were single or new in town,” writes Ramesch. “With a clear vision in mind, she set about finding a spacious locale and setting up the business.
This entrepreneurial spirit permeates Coronado. It’s a community of self-starters who understand both business and balanced living.
Real Estate: Opportunity Beyond the Gates
If you’re looking to establish a new and sustainable home base, real estate represents both opportunity and potential pitfalls. Coronado’s approach to property offers instructive lessons.
The main residential area functions essentially as a private gated community, with varying levels of enhanced security throughout its sub-communities. This creates a tiered approach to privacy and security that sophisticated business owners will appreciate.
The real insight comes from understanding the options beyond Coronado proper.
Ramesch suggests exploring “posh Ensenada, Vista Mar, Santa Clara, Farallon, Punta Barco, and beyond,” all within 15 minutes of Coronado’s amenities yet offering “vast stretches of white sands that are never crowded with sun-worshippers.”
This exemplifies the smart approach to international property. Positioning your lifestyle purchase near infrastructure hubs while potentially securing better value with room for price appreciation.
The Human Factor: Community and Context
The technical aspects of a location — internet speed, healthcare access, property rights — tell only half the story. The human element completes the picture.
Jim Pierson, a Toronto native and former engineer profiled by Ramesch, explains his move to Panama with revealing clarity:
Panama enticed us with its warm climate, same time zone as Canada, and good infrastructure. Plus, it uses the US dollar, which we’d become comfortable with.
The proximity factor deserves emphasis. Panama is on Eastern Standard Time all year long and is only a four-hour flight from many U.S. cities, making it significantly more accessible than Asian or European alternatives for maintaining friends and family visits.
Perhaps most telling is Jim’s observation about the cultural environment:
Panama is filled with warm, wonderful, and engaging people who know how to enjoy life and family better than us North Americans. Panamanians only work enough to live, not the other way around. We can probably learn a thing or two from them.
This cultural contrast offers precisely the perspective shift many entrepreneurs seek, which means maintaining productivity while recalibrating the work-life relationship. You’ll find that the most sustainable international bases aren’t necessarily those with the fastest internet or lowest taxes, but those that foster this fundamental reorientation toward balanced living.
Make a Strategic Escape
The truth about international relocation isn’t just about escaping the United States, it’s about strategic positioning. Coronado represents a smart play: proximity to major infrastructure, established expatriate networks, healthcare access, and legal stability, all while providing the lifestyle benefits that drove your location independence in the first place.
A monthly budget of around $3,000 (Jim Pierson’s figure) delivers what would cost significantly more in most North American or European cities, and without the beach. This cost differential also creates immediate financial leverage for the bootstrapping entrepreneur or established location-independent business owner alike.
Are you ready to position your business and lifestyle in a location that optimizes for both productivity and well-being? Because ultimately, that’s what location independence is all about.
