About Penonome
Penonome is a medium-sized town in Panama located about 90 minutes west of Panama City. Penonome is the first decent sized town you reach upon driving west from Panama City, after you pass all of the luxury beach resorts, golf courses, condo towers, and gated beach communities.
While living in a beach resort can be great for some people, most of these beach resort “communities” are completely isolated from the local atmosphere and culture that makes living in Panama so attractive. Most of the properties you’ll find are either condos, or small lots crammed in “suburb-style” with no room to really spread your wings.
That’s where Penonome, and La Pintada shine.
If you are looking for a few acres to build your ranch estate home, or to create an agricultural-based business, or to develop your own tropical organic garden, or to simply live peacefully and economically, keep reading because Penonome IS worth checking out. Penonome offers access to wide open landscapes yet with all of the amenities of a small city.
Penonome is one of the few towns near Panama’s beach resorts that offers a real connection with the Panamanian way of life, complete with open air markets, healthy and affordable dining, plentiful open landscapes, and yet close enough to access Panama City for a day trip if necessary. Beaches, mountains, and all of the other beautiful places to explore in Panama are within close range of Penonome, as its location is exactly the geographical center of Panama.
Penonome Special Characteristics
Here is a list of reasons why Penonome offers the most exceptional “value” lifestyle in Panama.
Convenient – Penonome is large enough to provide everything a modern person needs to live in comfort, yet small enough to eliminate big city annoyances. Penonome sustains six banks, a brand new 24 hour modern supermarket, open air produce and meat markets, well stocked pharmacies, auto mechanics, baseball field, university campus, hospital, clinic, restaurants, bars, casino, and many other town amenities.
Peaceful and Safe – Penonome is a peaceful town of mostly ranchers and farmers. Outside the town proper, Penonome is a ranchers dream, with open pastures, mountain vistas, rolling hills and running rivers. Penonome lacks the urban sprawl, poverty, and pollution found in large cities.
Close To Beaches – Penonome is an easy 25 minute drive to white sand beaches, and fishing villages with boat launch capabilities. Enjoy the benefits of being close to the beach without the expense of high beachfront land costs, taxes, maintenance and security issues.
Close To Golf and Resort Amenities – There are 3 golf courses within a 45 minute drive from Penonome. Several resorts dot the beaches between Penonome and Panama City. You can enjoy the amenities offered by these resorts and the development it brings without the condo fees, taxes and high real estate prices.
Close To Surfing and Fishing – Juan Hombron is a fishing village about 25 minutes from Penonome where you can go fishing with the locals or launch your own boat. There are several surf breaks all along the beaches within 45 minutes from Penonome – take your pick.
Super Affordable – Penonome is way more affordable than Boquete, El Valle, Volcan, Altos Del Maria or any other well known mountain community in Panama. Land is currently 50% – 75% cheaper in Penonome than in any of the aforementioned communities. New construction runs about $40 – $70 per square foot depending on the quality of finishes.
Modern – You can get high speed Internet ($50/month), and Direct TV Satellite service with all the TV channels from home ($50/month).
Plentiful Labor – One of the benefits of living near a larger town like Penonome is that labor is easier to come by. Day laborers like maids, landscapers, farm hands, and contractors can be hired for $10 to $15 per day. Contractors and service providers for any type of work you may need are readily available in Penonome.
Close To Panama City – Penonome is a comfortable 90 minute one-way commute on a double lane highway to Panama City. Being close to Panama City is beneficial for several reasons – first world hospitals, international airport, sport stadiums, and nightlife, just to name a few.
Excellent Climate – Penonome receives far less rain than Panama’s highland communities like Boquete, Volcan, Sora, El Valle or Cerro Azul, yet Penonome receives cool mountain breezes that flow down from the mountains just a few miles inland.
Economic Growth – Penonome is growing fast as more and more Panamanians are able to find work at the many nearby beach resorts and residential developments. A working community is a happy community. While land prices are affordable now, future growth is sure to raise prices over time.
Work and Business Opportunities – Penonome can serve as an excellent base for your Panama-related business ideas. From construction to tourism, from agriculture to restaurants and other services, local growth and development in Penonome has created a need for many skills and resources to assist with its growth.
Road Map To Penonome
Satellite Map of Penonome
Precipitation Map of Penonome
As you can see in the maps above, Penonome receives far less rain than the nearby highland communities of Altos Del Maria and El Valle.
Gastronomia Mar Del Sur, above, is one of the finest restaurants in Penonome, specializing in Peruvian cuisine. Tel. 507-997-9973 or 997-9952.
Sweet Tamarindo is another great dining selection in Penonome
Penonome is the folklore capital of Panama, and is known for its handmade hat and cigar production
More Background About The Area
When I first came to Panama nearly 10 years ago, I was drawn by the friendly people, the laid-back lifestyle, the variety of activities and exciting destinations to explore. Since then, many of Panama’s most attractive areas for lifestyle have become much more expensive, with housing and land prices rivaling or even exceeding the prices for similar properties in the U.S.
Rock Bottom Prices
There is one exception however, sitting right under everyone’s nose and minding its own business: Penonome. Penonome is the folklore capital of Panama and currently offers some of the most attractive real estate investment opportunities in the country. Penonome affords a peaceful country lifestyle at rock bottom prices. If you thought you missed the boat on Panama and can no longer afford a good life here, think again, Penonome might be your ticket.
Close To Everything Yet A World Away
Penonome is close to everything yet a world away. A medium sized city by Panamanian standards, Penonome is a comfortable 90 minute drive along the PanAmerican highway from Panama City. Penonome is about 25 minutes from the most exclusive white sand beach resorts in Panama, including Playa Blanca (with one of the world’s largest swimming pools), Decameron Resort (complete with an 18 hole golf course), Nikki Beach, Vista Mar, Buenaventura, and several more in various stages of planning and construction.
In Penonome and neighboring village La Pintada, you can enjoy open country views without sacrificing modern conveniences.
Some of Panama's finest beaches are a short 25 minute drive from Penonome, where you can drop in a boat or hire a local fisherman to take you out to sea.
Yet, if living in a high rise tower in a beach resort compound is not your thing, Penonome offers a quaint and affordable alternative. In Penonome, you can buy 40 acres of rolling hills with spectacular 360 degree mountain views for $80,000. A 25 acre river front estate with fixer upper house is currently on offer for $110,000, and a tastefully finished, centrally located four bedroom home is available for $100,000.
What I liked most about Penonome is the warmth of the people and the heritage and folkloric elements of the community. Hat salesmen are not pesky, and do not target tourists – they intend to sell their hats to the local farmers who need a new hat. The town is bustling with activity – shops, banks, supermarkets, and a hospital offer everything you need for a convenient and comfortable lifestyle without the tourist traps.
The foothills surrounding La Pintada and Penonome are full of mountain-fed rivers, which offer a crisp, cool alternative to nearby salty tropical beaches.
For an authentic folkloric experience we took the meandering paved road north of Penonome and in 10 minutes we arrived in La Pintada, a quaint village dotted with neatly landscaped country homes, proud shopkeepers, and homey restaurants. La Pintada feels like it belongs in a story book – we spotted a hand-made cigar factory, hand-made hats, and hand-made ice cream… just about everything in La Pintada is still hand-made it seems. Real people offering real services, just the way it used to be.
Farming is still the lifeblood of the communities surrounding Penonome.
Penonome is the place to actualize your gentleman’s ranch, your garden oasis, your organic farm project, or your river front spa. And you can do it economically. New construction in this area is still only about $40 – $50 per square foot complete with high quality marble, granite, and tropical hardwood finishes. A brand new 2000 square foot estate home with a pool on a couple of acres with fruit trees, mountain views, and river frontage will set you back less than $175,000 – home and land included.
But it gets even better. Daily expenses like water, electricity, property taxes, insurance, landscaping and domestic help are so cheap you won’t even notice they are there – any old social security or pension check will do. High speed internet is also available at reasonable rates.
To arrange a tour of Penonome and La Pintada with an English-speaking guide, please write to info@panamaatyourservice.com or call US Tel. 561-459-1903