Boquete, Panama, was once a quiet town home to rainforests and coffee farms. Then came the retirees.

20.08.2024 - 10:19 / insider.com

Stepping inside TapOut Sports Zone Bar and Grill in Boquete, Panama, is like stepping inside suburban America.

The menu features American staples like cheeseburgers, barbecue chicken sandwiches, and Philly cheesesteaks. Flat-screen TVs sit above the bar, airing the latest game. On Friday nights, you might catch a band performing hits like "Take It Easy" by the Eagles. On Mondays, locals stop by for karaoke and $1 beers.

I visited TapOut in April — not for the bacon-wrapped shrimp but to see the Boquete Community Players, a theater group that hosts shows in the back room of the restaurant. On a Saturday afternoon, the small room was bustling with a dozen Americans preparing for an upcoming performance.

As they debated curtain colors and stage lighting, a waiter dropped off a round of piña coladas. Another passed by with two bottles of Panama Light beer. Since arriving at TapOut, it was the first reminder that I was far from the heart of America.

Seeing Americans — especially those around retirement age — is standard in Boquete. The town's year-round cool temperatures and the affordable cost of living have earned it recognition for being one of the best places to retire.

While some people moved because retiring in the US was too expensive — if not impossible — others told me they came to avoid America's divisive political climate. Regardless of why they ended up in Boquete, the town has changed drastically in the past two decades because of retirees, and the influx doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Founded in 1911, Boquete remained a quiet town for decades. The region was known for its coffee plantations and an annual flower festival. Beyond beans and blooms, Panamanians were lured to Boquete for its comfortable weather.

Situated about 4,000 feet above sea level, Boquete's temperatures hover around 70 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. The town has long been a weekend escape for Panamanians living in nearby cities like David, where temperatures can reach the 90s.

Thalia Velasquez, who grew up in David, remembers begging her mom to take her to Boquete every weekend.

"Boquete, at the time, was a very, very simple, little town," Velasquez told me about her childhood visits there. "The stores would close by 4 p.m. The bakery would close by 5 or 6 p.m., maybe even earlier. There were very few cars in town. A lot of people still rode their horses."

Landreth Laws, who owns Iwanna Boquete Tours, has similar memories from growing up in Boquete.

The 42-year-old said the town's busiest time was during an annual flower festival. He remembers his family home teeming with people. There weren't enough hotels in town to accommodate visitors in the '80s and '90s. Back then, there were few tourists and even fewer