Life Living Abroad
We´re often asked by those back in the States as well as expats living in Panama City "How do you LIVE in the middle of nowhere?" and "Don't you get BORED?" and "How long do you plan on STAYING there?"
I've answered these questions so many times that I can acutally sum it up in about 5 seconds. "We like living here. We have hobbies and plenty of things to do. No idea."
The more accurate answer is much more complicated than that.
How do we live in the middle of nowhere?
I think like anywhere you live, you settle into your daily life and it becomes normal life. My husband and I have had the fortune to travel and live in many different countries. Our favorite ones have always been the 3rd world countries. But living with kids in the 3rd world would be difficult. That's part of the reason we love Panama. It's not 3rd world no matter what anyone tells you. But it has that good feeling of being a developing country. It's got the excitement of growth mixed with the strong feeling of authenticity. Living here definitely isn't for everyone and even less so for families who really like and enjoy the luxuries of the States. While our daily life is significantly different than a similar family in the States, it's become normal life for us.
Don't you get bored?
Of course we get bored! Doesn't everybody? I remember some of the most boring weekends in one of the most fast-paced cities in the world...Washington DC. Oh wow, those long, boring, rainy, cold weekends would kill us. Ok, we'd say, another trip to the Smithsonian museums. When we get bored here, we can easily spend 2 hours at the beach, I can take my kids to go run around the Equestrian Center and ride the horses, we can feed the animals at the zoo, pick fruit from the tree, give the kids their swimming lessons at one of 3 pools around here, bbq on the beach, go fishing at the lakes, tube down one of the rivers at low tide, check out the sting ray that washed up on shore. That's just to name a few things within 5 minutes of our front door. Expand that to watching the sea turtles come in at night, go to the zoo at El Valle, take weekend trips to the mountains, islands or other getaways...in reality there's not enough time to do everything we want to do!
How long do you plan on staying there?
Oh how I wish I knew that answer. I guess we'll stay until we feel like moving on. That's the great part about having the freedom to live how and where you want to…