Is Jessica Ramesch the Next American Idol?

Our Panama expert's favorite suburban Panama City area, just 10 minutes from the Bridge of the Americas.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Learn more about Panama in this video and in International Living Postcards—your daily escape

I always knew Jessica Ramesch had star quality, and now I have proof.

Our resident Panama expert and editor of our Panama Insider service captured the limelight in a recent video on Panama produced by Today’s Financial News, a premier video source for business news and stock market and investment research.

When I saw it, I noticed that Jessica and the TFN crew covered several Panama City neighborhoods—Punta Paitilla and Clayton—very well. But Jessica tells me that lack of time caused them to pass up a couple of her favorite neighborhoods.

“We didn’t have enough time to cover Howard,” Jessica told me, “but I would have liked to. It’s my favorite suburban Panama City area and the subject of the Panama Insider feature article this month. Howard is several thousand acres of green, manicured lawns just outside the city, about a 10-minute drive from the Bridge of the Americas. It has great mountain views, hiking trails, patches of jungle here and there, very pleasant.

“Howard was declared a special economic zone and free-trade zone in 2004, but the master plan for developing the area wasn’t finalized and approved until December 2007, so right now Howard is still pretty much a blank slate...now’s a great time to think about starting any business here. Property prices are sure to go up by first quarter 2009 when the master developer begins building new residences ‘to the highest international standards’...so if you can buy now, go for it.”

Jessica told me she also would have liked to show the crew some middle-class neighborhoods in the city, like Bethania, where you can still get great property values in what is essentially a local real estate market.

“Bethania is right in the city,” Jessica said, “and you can still buy a cute apartment here for $80,000. It’s centrally located and easy to get to, even during rush hour. It was a very fashionable spot once, though it looks a little drab now next to all the new neighborhoods being developed. I live in Bethania, though, as I like the residential feel and central location…not to mention the low rents. You can get a newly refurbished apartment here for just $550 per month.”

Even though they couldn’t cover all of Jessica’s favorite places, the TFN crew did a great job in Panama City, and Jessica did a great job of showing them around. Take a look at the video and see if you don’t agree.

Dan Prescher
Publisher, International Living

P.S. Jessica may have had a time constraint filming the TFN video, but she’ll have plenty of time to cover every aspect of Panama at our upcoming Live and Invest in Panama Seminar, July 31–Aug. 2. In fact, Jessica will be co-hosting the event with me, and she’s told me that nobody will go home without knowing every nook, cranny, and hidden gem that Panama has to offer. Register soon...spots are filling up fast!

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