The cool but never freezing mountain climate, local people who appreciate the economic benefits derived from the influx of foreign tourists and retirees, laid back lifestyle and lower cost of living than in the wealthier countries have meant a building boom for Boquete. It has driven real estate prices up, but has also given people in the orange, coffee and vegetable growing region economic alternatives to farm employment.

The newcomers include a lot of folks from the United States, Canada and the Netherlands, who provide a customer base for the many new pensiones, hotels, restaurants, tour services and Internet cafes. There is an impressive building boom, with some of the relatively affluent folks who are moving into town buying homes at Valle Escondido, a coffee farm that has been turned into an upscale new residential community by American developer Sam Taliaferro. The photos at the top and bottom of this page are of Valle Escondido.