What are the best and worst things about living and retiring in San Francisco, Panama City?
Chris Frochaux - Chris Frochaux - SERVMOR REALTY
After moving back to Panama about 6 years ago and selecting San Francisco as my place of residence, I have a good idea about the best and worst things about living and retiring in San Francisco, a neighborhood of Panama City, Panama. It's all a matter of perspective. If you are looking for a reasonably-priced house, if your idea of retiring is centered around night life and cultural activities, then there are more suitable areas. Houses are expensive in San Francisco, where they are...After moving back to Panama about 6 years ago and selecting San Francisco as my place of residence, I have a good idea about the best and worst things about living and retiring in San Francisco, a neighborhood of Panama City, Panama. It's all a matter of perspective. If you are looking for a reasonably-priced house, if your idea of retiring is centered around night life and cultural activities, then there are more suitable areas. Houses are expensive in San Francisco, where they are being snatched by chefs eager to convert them into top restaurants (case in point, the excellent Maito). Night entertainment is to be found in Bella Vista's neighborhood, on Calle Uruguay (intersecting Balboa Avenue where the Méridien Hotel is located). The trendy Casco Viejo (which they are trying to re-brand as Casco Antiguo (old town versus antique town) is bristling with cultural activities and a picturesque night life. Compared to these locations, San Francisco might appear a bit dull. That's all the negative aspects I managed to summon. On the other hand, if you're looking to purchase or rent an apartment, San Francisco offers an excellent value. It's also very centrally located, literally close to everything... plenty of top restaurants, the best supermarkets, drugstores and the famous Multiplaza Mall (Hermès, Cartier, Vuitton, Ferragamo, Brioni, Tiffany anyone?) as well as the best hospital in town (Punta Pacifica, affiliated to Johns Hopkins). Do you own a dog, do you like to walk, run or exercise in a safe environment? Then, San Francisco's Parque Omar, the local version of NYC's Central Park is just what you need.
(Luxe apartment in Punta Pacifica San Francisco, Panama City, Panama, pictured.)
Posted May 20, 2013
Denise Patrick - Panama Roadrunner Secure Transport
The best things about living and retiring in the San Francisco area of Panama City, Panama are the proximity to shopping and you are right in the heart of the city so you are very close to all kinds of entertainment, shopping and supplies. San Francisco has a lot of condos and towers. There are not a lot of green spaces, but you are close to the Pacific Ocean. You are also close to Corregidor Sur, which is the main highway going to the city of Panama and to the airport. ...
The best things about living and retiring in the San Francisco area of Panama City, Panama are the proximity to shopping and you are right in the heart of the city so you are very close to all kinds of entertainment, shopping and supplies. San Francisco has a lot of condos and towers. There are not a lot of green spaces, but you are close to the Pacific Ocean. You are also close to Corregidor Sur, which is the main highway going to the city of Panama and to the airport. The worst things about living in San Francisco are the incessant noise - horns, taxi cabs never stop beeping their horns, etc. I guess you can get used to it, but it is like living near an airport. There is also congestion. The traffic in that area from 5 AM to 9 AM and from about 4 PM to 8 PM is very congested, so it is really hard to get around.
(Iconic Trump Ocean Tower in the San Francisco district of Panama City, Panama, pictured.)
Posted May 4, 2015
Kevin Garcia
The San Francisco area of Panama City is located in the central part. The worst thing about retiring in the San Francisco area of Panama City is the traffic, and it can be very crowded at certain times of the day.The best thing about retiring in San Francisco area of Panama City is that there are lots of things to do. There are restaurants and clubs. San Francisco is also near the Metro. If you want to go to other parts of the city, you do not have to drive your car...
The San Francisco area of Panama City is located in the central part. The worst thing about retiring in the San Francisco area of Panama City is the traffic, and it can be very crowded at certain times of the day.The best thing about retiring in San Francisco area of Panama City is that there are lots of things to do. There are restaurants and clubs. San Francisco is also near the Metro. If you want to go to other parts of the city, you do not have to drive your car there. You can just take a taxi and it will take you less than 10 minutes to get to the Metro.
The people in San Francisco area of Panama City are more upper class compared to the other places in Panama City. The more expensive areas are Costa del Mar and Costa del Este.
A popular tourist spot in San Francisco Area of Panama City is Parque Omar, which is located 5 to 15 minutes away from wherever you are in San Francisco. It’s beautiful. You can walk your dog, or go there with your family or significant other. You can bring snacks and eat ice cream. You can also enjoy the beautiful weather. There are no gang members plotting to steal your phone, because there are lots of policemen. The area is clean. You can jog. There are restaurants and lots of things to do in Parque Omar.
(Baseball clinic in Parque Omar, San Francisco, Panama City, Panama, pictured.)
Posted October 23, 2015
David Bayliss - KW PACIFICA
San Francisco has a PriceMart. If you are from the United States and you’re addicted to Costco, you will be glad to know that it is the same thing. San Francisco is on the edge of the nicest mall in Panama. It has Calle 50 going through a part of it so it has nice shops and nice stores. Calle 50 is a 6-lane street that has the Riu Hotel, the Mercedes dealership, the Ferrari dealership, etc. It is a big boulevard where everything that one could want...
San Francisco has a PriceMart. If you are from the United States and you’re addicted to Costco, you will be glad to know that it is the same thing. San Francisco is on the edge of the nicest mall in Panama. It has Calle 50 going through a part of it so it has nice shops and nice stores. Calle 50 is a 6-lane street that has the Riu Hotel, the Mercedes dealership, the Ferrari dealership, etc. It is a big boulevard where everything that one could want is located. Panama is not known in this area for large, wide streets, so Calle 50 sticks out.
San Francisco also has an old section that backs up to the original Panama, which was pre-1647. There are parts of San Francisco where the ruins are part of the new buildings, which is cool. There are some high-rise buildings there where the front of the building is still the front of the old building that used to stand there; something like a 15-foot stone wall that has been preserved.
San Francisco goes from the higher end all the way to the very lowest and is a larger area than most people realize, going from the area that the expats would be interested in all the way to the area with the ruins.
San Francisco has a lovely park called Parque Omar, which is named after one of the former presidents of Panama. Panama has a lot of parks where they didn’t put anything in but Parque Omar, they did. Many typical Panamanian parks are just parks where you can go and sit but Parque Omar has tennis courts, roller blading, it is where the hold 5k and 10k runs, it has children areas, etc. You could take a kid to Parque Omar and they could be there all day.
Punta Pacifica, which has a lot of high-rise buildings, including the Trump Tower, is adjacent to San Francisco. The dividing line between Punta Pacifica and San Francisco is the Multi Plaza Mall. Multi Plaza is one of the two biggest malls in Panama. They have Gucci, Prada, and many other luxury brands. They also have PF Chang’s, which has a check out process like many of the higher places in the US where they have the checkout credit card machine on their hip. There is no waiting for a check, which otherwise is normal in Panama. So we are getting technology; thanks to PF Chang’s!.
Right through San Francisco is a regular highway that, on Sundays, becomes a bicycle route. It goes right through San Francisco and by the mall where it is closed to cars during Sunday mornings. The bikes could go almost 30 miles on the main roads. That highway goes through San Francisco and past the ruins area. One of the nice things about San Francisco is seeing this parade of bikes every Sunday morning. You can just hop on a bike and ride. They close numerous streets. Via Israel is the name of the street that goes through San Francisco. Avenida Balboa is the part that is right along the ocean. Corredor Sur is closed, too. So it is a large commitment that they do to allow bikes, runners, and rollerbladers to experience the best parts of Panama City every Sunday morning.
The bad thing about living in San Francisco is being close to a mall because you could spend too much money! San Francisco does have quite a bit of traffic and so it is a relatively congested area to some extent but then there are people who want to be there and are wanting to be in that type of area so I guess they are okay with the traffic situation. They have made several improvements over the last year by constructing overpasses and making the lanes one way or the other but it is still a lot of traffic.
(Avenida Balboa at night, Panama City, Panama, pictured.)
Posted May 17, 2016