I humbly submit to you, dear reader, that I may be one of the most qualified people alive regarding these two topics:

1. The artistic genius of the film Rocky III vs. the political relevance of Rocky IV
2. Panama vs. Costa Rica

The first debate undoubtedly has more documentation as it reached a fever-pitch in the early 90s. The latter, however, is going to generate more discussion in the coming years.

I’ve written a bunch of posts in the past years regarding the comparisons between life, business, weather, etc. in Costa Rica and Panama. That’s back when nobody seemed to care. But now, as Panama is undergoing a real estate and investment boom that’s unprecedented in the region, a lot more people are starting to pay attention. Here’s a quick analysis that compares/contrasts the two countries. Be forewarned that these are all my very personal, highly biased opinions. I invite all to chime in. I have lived in Costa Rica since 1998 and have been dividing my time between the two neighboring nations since 2002. I have businesses, apartments, cars and (pathetic) social lives in both countries. I speak Spanish, I dance salsa, I eat local food; I’ve done my best to embrace and understand the cultures and nuances of both countries. I love them both, I loath them both. Neither is perfect and both are home.

So….here’s the list:

WEATHER

Costa Rica has a huge advantage here, at least when discussing the two capital cities (San Jose and Panama City). San Jose and the Central Valley of CR has some of the finest weather on earth. No heat, no A/C required. Panama City, on the other hand, is pretty friggin’ hot. Once you get outside the city center of both countries, the playing field is more level.

Advantage: Costa Rica

WORK

How you rate this depends heavily on your industry and if you are an employee or business owner. As the latter, I find both countries to be very challenging. Costa Rica is at a big disadvantage when it comes to supporting services that are not privatized (internet, phone, etc.) and imported supplies cost 2 or 3x more than in Panama. Employment laws in both countries are prohibitive, but Panama’s enforcement of archaic, Noriega-era socialism is more prevalent than in Costa Rica. There are currently more opportunities and fewer competitors in Panama than in Costa Rica and the speed of business and velocity of capital (read: loans) are faster in Panama, but talent is harder to find.

Advantage: tie…neither situation is easy

TAXES

Costa Rica has plenty of tax on the books but enforcement is poor. Panama WAS a tax haven but that all changed when they needed a few billion to dig the wider canal. Panama has better banking secrecy, but that’s changing.

Advantage: Costa Rica

TRAVEL

There’s a reason why Costa Rica is a world-class tourism destination and Panama is NOT. There are at least 20 great places to visit in Costa Rica that have a couple cool hotels, restaurants and nightlife. Panama is juuuust getting started in that realm. It would be difficult for me to make a “t0p 25 hotels” list in Costa Rica. There are at least 50 incredible ones. In Panama, by contrast, it would be difficult for me to NAME 25 hotels. This is changing rapidly in Panama and you can still go walk on beaches in Panama where no sunburned tourist has ever been before..which is need. Still…the nod goes to CR.

Advantage: hands down, Costa Rica

CULTURE

The drag of tourism that eventually the local culture starts to look more like the culture of the tourists who are visiting. This is definitely the case in Costa Rica, which is exacerbated by the fact the CR culture wasn’t all that great to begin with. Panama however has some really unique, authentic culture that’s definitely worth seeing. Multiple indigenous cultures, folkloric music, dance and food are all great reasons to visit Panama. The country is a strange ethnic mix of that multiple blood lines that came to dig the canal, serve at the U.S. military bases and do business in and around the canal. Far East, Caribbean and Middle Eastern last names are all common. This of course may change as more tourists discover Panama, but for now…it’s a gem.

Advantage: Panama

INFRASTRUCTURE

It certainly helps that the U.S. military has dumped billions into the Panama infrastructure over the last hundred years. It also helps that the “big ditch” is an enormous source of prosperity that has led to more investment. Panama simply crushes Costa Rica when comparing roads, electricity, cel phones, Internet access and banking. The downside? Because many of the non-private services are privatized monopolies in Panama, you PAY BIG for cel, electricity and other highway tolls.

Advantage: by a landslide, Panama

DINING & NIGHTLIFE

Both have good dining and nightlife. Costa Rica has far more at the beach and outlying areas to service tourists and also because a lot more people live in the countryside in CR. Panama City nightlife is more sophisticated and in some ways more fun. The dining in Panama City has an advantage, and will only get better as money pours into P. City, but beach dining in Costa Rica is waaay better.

Advantage: TIE

DAILY LIFE

It’s hard to beat ideal weather and teeny utility bills every month in San Jose, but crime and pollution here has gotten just terrible. Finding basic items and shopping for anything fashionable in San Jose sux, whereas you can find just about anything in Panama at the “real” price. Burning A/C all day long in P. City gets tiring on the wallet and the immune system, but for now life in P. City has most of the benefits of big city life without all the drawbacks (crime, pollution) that San Jose has. That might all change as the worldwide community of petty thieves (do they have a website) catches on to the fact that Panama is the new, new thing.

Advantage: Panama

PEOPLE

Totally different and I love them both (even if they drive me nuts) for totally different reasons. Ticos are sweet, genteel, great at customer service, speak lovely Spanish and take life slow. Panamanians are such a mutt mix it’s hard to typify them as being all the same, but generally they are surprisingly adept at high level biz thinking, are well educated and most of all…FUNNY. The downside of Ticos is that ‘maybe’ usually means ‘no’ as they hate to offend and ‘today’ probably means ‘next thursday’. The genteel, reserved element can sometimes also lead to downright sneakiness. Panamanians love to go on strike, are miserable at customer service, can be violent and like their Colombian neighbors…deceptive. While Ticos might be too laid back…Panamanians might covet the dollar a BIIIT too much.

Advantage: TIE (you gotta take the good w/ the bad)

Both are wonderful countries. I’m proud to call both home. I miss one while I’m in the other. If you all could have an apartment in each and take the 45 minute flight as often as I do…you might be as happy as I am Oh, and if my Panamanian girlfriend

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Filed under: Travel on September 28th, 2007