Living in David:
David is located just 45 minutes east of the Panama/Costa Rican border and about six hours west
of Panama City; or by air, 50 minutes from Panama City to David. The city is one half hour from
beaches to the south or the mountains to the north, and ten minutes from Pedrigal where you can
moor your boat.
One great feature of David is that it’s a very safe place to live. People who know have made
Panama a top rated retirement spot for the past six years. David is quiet, peaceful and close to
nature, as well as a bustling agricultural center renowned for fresh fruit and vegetables sold at
numerous outdoor markets around the city. Pineapples, bananas, melons, papayas, mangoes,
oranges and delectable avocados are all locally grown. Chiriquí province is also well known for its
rice, sugar, livestock, poultry, dairy products, seafood and mountain grown coffee.
For consumers this translates into a cornucopia of choices at local markets and ‘Supers’ located throughout the city. David is also a major government, commercial and distribution hub
creating Panama’s second most important economy after Panama City.
David is probably the best smaller city in Central America to live in. The local retail businesses
and new construction in David are booming! David has always offered everything you need to live
a comfortable lifestyle, and is just getting better. There is a wide selection of consumer goods from
clothing to electronics to automobiles. You will find virtually everything at below the cost of similar
goods in the USA or other Central American countries.
For example, you can still buy a pop in David for 30 cents or ice cream cone for 50 cents.
A beer is 50 and a bar drink is 60 to 75 cents. Bananas are 2 for a nickel and papaya 20 cents
a pound. A good lunch will cost you $1.00 to $2.50 or a nice evening meal is $4.00 to $7.00. A
10% tip is considered huge and the bag-boy at the Supermarket will carry out your groceries for
a 25 cent tip. Monthly cost of living in David is about 50% lower than Panama City and you might
spend $200 on food.
Construction sites are blossoming all over David. Work is underway on three hotels, several
commercial centers, two shopping malls, two banks and numerous residential projects including
the Cuesta del Sol Condominiums.
In the past year we have seen development in many new and old businesses. Along with David,
neighboring communities like Boquete, Vulcan and others have all had a surge in retail, tourism, commercial activity and housing.
Foreign residents to Panama are arriving by the thousands each year, drawn by the pleasing
climate, low cost of living and low cost medical care, which is a fraction of the cost in the USA.
New growth also includes hospitals, restaurants, tourism ventures and various other new North
American services. The boom in activity and infusion of foreign capital can be seen in almost every
sector of the Provincial economy.
Another step in development has been the improvements to transportation systems and access
to David via land and air. The Panamericana is being upgraded to a modern four lane highway
from Panama City to the Costa Rica border. David Bus Terminal, providing low cost transportation
to every part of the country including hourly service to Panama City was renovated last year. And
currently an airport expansion program is underway to renovate the terminal, lengthen runways
and upgrade instrumentation to enable handling of greater passenger volumes.
Even children are benefiting from this growth with new and modern schools, whether public,
private or new day-care centers. David has educational facilities that satisfy every need, including
six universities.
 
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