Relocating to Panama City, Panamá - a slow travels review
If you are considering relocating to Panama - as it appears many Americans are right now - here are some helpful things to consider and some tips that will make your transition a bit easier. **disclaimer, this is for living in Panama City - so prices will be higher than smaller towns and all reported costs likely have a bit of gringo pricing, so even though my Spanish has improved, both my husband and I are very Northern European looking.
We have spent 3 full months in Panama City (August through December - with a couple week break in the middle), so below I will list some of the things I think are helpful with links to some of my other posts that may help (grocery prices, housing, healthcare).
Some key links for stuff to do, help from other expats, and general info:
Expats facebook group: very responsive group - you will get a ton of posts asking about prices for: housing, utilities, groceries, and medications - along with ‘where to live on $X budget. They are a helpful group, but I wouldn’t turn on notifications.
Pharmacy: Farma Value - this seems to be the best prices. Note that the majority of medications are over-the-counter in Panama, so no need for prescriptions or insurance. I note this because prices may be higher for you due to not needing insurance to access these - I don’t have any experience with medicare plans (that are accepted at some locations here, but they do a ton of advertising and ‘open house’ type situations, so I’d recommend attending one of those!).
Grocery and/or food delivery: Uber eats or PedidosYa - you can sign up with whatever phone number (including U.S. numbers) for the service. PedidosYa has more options than Uber eats. Another one I’ve seen less frequently is ASAP.
I did a long post about grocery and prices here.
Events: this is one of the hardest things to find and took me a while as not much is posted on the various facebook groups. Instagram appears to be the place to go for event notices. I follow: adondeirpty and istarpty.
For charity runs and events, I wrote a post here.
Reasons you will love Panama
Hot and humid conditions - if you love waking up to a low of between 24C/75F to 30C/85F - this is the place for you! Air conditioning is essential and running fairly non-stop in all places. I haven’t felt the need for a jacket like I do in offices in the U.S., but it IS something to consider as it will increase costs.
Every day is around 30C+ with 80%+ humidity - low temps are around 25C…so keep that in mind.
I grew up in Missouri and lived in Arizona for 5 years - this heat has worn on me more, but that could also be largely due to be going through menopause…so your milage may vary.
We do laundry almost daily - so key tip is to get a place with a washer and dryer!
2. You enjoy travel by car more than walking. Traffic is intense in the city and pretty much lasts all day and well into the night - Ubers are cheap and easy to get. This is good, because the city is not built for walkers. While there are some walkable parts (Cinta Costera and causeway) - these are more areas for exercise along the bay than to get from point a to point b. Even using Cinta to try and get to Casca Viejo, you have to cross an extremely busy divided road (with no light) or travel dramatically out of your way. The rest of the city is a patchwork of broken sidewalks mixed in with a few redone blocks here and there. If you have mobility concerns, this city is not the place for you.
Vegetarian and vegans will struggle. There are a few restaurants, but generally we have found them overpriced and low quality. I’m sure there are some great ones out there - we have just given up after multiple disappointments.
You can find some decent pizza, but I have yet to find any good veg options at indian places.
There are a couple vegan ‘burger’ joints that are good - but we don’t do much fried foods.
Internet is generally fast and reliable, but rentals rarely have real desk/chair set ups. If this is your norm, you will enjoy it. If this will annoy you, you can find cheap outdoor furniture that can fill in as a computer desk - this has been my solution for the last two rentals.
Rainy season…vs dry? season - I honestly can’t tell the difference and I’ve heard this same sentiment from Panamanians. You will have downpours and they rarely last all day, but some do last multiple hours.
My favorite days are fully overcast and breezy - you would think you would have more wind being right on the ocean, but those days seem to be fairly rare, unfortunately.
Will we return to Panama, unlikely. Will we explore more of central and South America - absolutely! Panama is a beautiful country and the people are very nice! An added bonus is that you won’t be hounded to buy things or go into shops. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t quite hit all the boxes we are looking for in a location to travel to again.
