You hear a lot about Costa Rica because CR has promoted itself as a tourist destination for a long time, while Panama is just starting to. However Panama is by far
more advanced in most of the areas (financial, technological, etc),
safer and cheaper.
A lot of companies are moving their operations to Panama
INCLUDING adult businesses.
Lifestyle - I LOVE IT. LOVE IT. LOVE IT. Every other weekend I go to a beach - Atlantic or Pacific... depends on my mood
.. wanna explore jungles, go rafting, scuba diving, surfing?... or any kind of other outdoor activity (appropriate for the climate, of course) - we got it. Oh yes, climate... let me tell you, I don't miss winter AT ALL! Summer all year round.
A lot of foreigners are buying land and properties here. New condos are built through out Panama city that are bought mostly by foreigners. And watch out for Donald Trump's condo development - that's going to be one of the biggest and most beautiful project in Latin American. I guess he believes it's worth investing in Panama....
Bottom line is that there must be a reason why so many expats leave CR for Panama. Do a search and you'll find their stories and their reasons. Join yahoo newsgroups (panamaforum, americansinpanama, etc) and ask questions and you can always PM me