the cost of living in panama
cojito – I’ve researched Panama as well as I know how and what you’ve said here in your pages is mostly truth with a lot of bullshit and sex mixed in (no insult intended). Thru the internet I began writing a sexy woman who’s involved with the study for the widening of the canal. We wrote back and forth for awhile and she decided to take it to another level .
She tells me Panama’s an expensive place to live. I get $785 per month give or take a buck or two. Is that enough for me to live modestly there? I don’t need a big apartment, and I don’t intend to have a car. I’m asking you because you don’t seem to be the type to add or subtract from the truth.
dear esteemed reader,
i have one rule for living. never never trust any woman who wants to widen the panama canal. my friend, bigger isn’t always better. you dodged a bullet on that one. there’s just no living with a size queen.
yeah – i write about sex. the women of panama are passionate and beautiful. any site not talking about sex in panama is not giving you the full story. this is no news site. and i’m no journalist.
but, let me assure everyone, i’m not posting bullshit. the articles and stories on this site are true. they really happen. oh sure, names get changed to protect privacy. yes, for the sake of a laugh, things get wildly exaggerated. but beneath the veneer there’s an effort to be honest about life in panama.
so, can you live on $785 a month? if you’ve read the hype on other sites, you might think that $785 is enough to pay for food, rent, rum, a maid, viagra, and still have enough left over for hookers. you know what? you might be able to pull it off.
really, it depends on how, and where you want to live. do you want to live like a gringo or a native? i spend much less living in panama than i did in the U.S. not only is panama cheaper than the u.s, it’s cheaper than Costa Rica. but if you really want cheap, go to nicaragua.
if i remember correctly, Eric Jackson, writer/editor of the panama news, wrote (in the panama forum) that he was living in Panama City on about $800 a month. i’m in Panama City too. my budget’s about $1000 – $1200 a month.
my monthly expenses include: maintenance fee $100 (trash, water, gas, insurance), electric bill $45, cable and high speed wireless $80, groceries $600 (my girlfriend has a family that visits). health insurance starts at about $150 pp, cell phone $30 – $40.
these cost of living expenses do not include flying to the U.S. every year, or road trips to Costa Rica to renew my visa*, the money i’m spending on my girlfriend’s medical problems, or the cost of stocking my bar with good rum.
in panama food’s cheap. gringo food’s more expensive. you can find rentals for $100 a month. you can find rentals for $1200 a month. just depends on what part of panama you want to live in. i live in middle class el cangrejo. i don’t have a car. although i’d like to have the use of a car to explore the interior. i walk, take the bus, or ride the taxi. they’re all cheap.
if i was living alone, i could live on less. but i didn’t come all this way to live alone. the women of panama are amazing. alex and i live cheaper together in panama city than i could alone and divorced back in the states. and what price do you put on happiness?
outside panama city, the cost of living is even cheaper. you could live on $785 a month easy. especially if you were living with a family. many live on much less. that’s crazy money for some.
just remember, these natives are living very simply. they eat plantains and milk monkeys. they’re living out in the middle of nowhere. they have outhouses, cold showers, no air conditioning, fridge, or cable/internet. most don’t have a car. they ride a chiva into town for shopping. and if they have grave medical problems they’re not likely to get help fast.
i prefer the city. i’m a sucker for a good high speed internet connection. but it’s more of a challenge to live cheaply here. still, i’d be thrilled if i had an automatic $785 rolling in every month. because i know i can make another $500 – $1000 a month playing poker online.
i think the biggest challenge is making money in a country where you’re not allowed to work. in that regard you’re off to a good start. if i were you i’d look for ways to add to that income. sure, you can live on it. but a few hundred dollars more a month would be better.
i was going to suggest you become a man-whore. but teaching’s another way to go. people tell me the most profitable way to teach english is from your own home or apartment. put an ad in the paper and teach a few students at a time. you could easily add another $500 to your income doing that part time.
if you have medical issues you should be sure your medical coverage extends to Panama. this is the third world. social services are lacking. you’ll need to have some savings to get you started, or better, have enough savings to buy a modest flat. and be honest with yourself, how do you want to live, what kind of services you need? and will you really need all that viagra?
*sounds like you’d qualify for a pensionado visa. so you wouldn’t need to flee the country to costa rica every four and a half months.
Written by: Cojito Copyright © 2012 · All Rights Reserved · Panama After Dark
Esteemed reader – What Cojito says re: costs certainly coincides with what I've read elsewhere.
Cojito – Gracias por más argumentos que puedo usar para convencer mi esposa que panamá es el lugar para jubilar. Un brindis de Abuelo para Ud.
de nada lakesdiver.
I have managed to get by on $400. a month here in Panama, not counting a few extra dollars I make doing odd jobs (no, not that kind) here and there. I had already moved here, gotten residency, had a lot of friends and knew my way around. If I had not, I never would have made it.
$400? wow, that's impressive. lol you must catch your own monkeys. is that rent included? or did you buy?
i'm sure i could live on a lot less. my needs are minimal. but when it comes to alex and her family – accommodations must be made.
Cojito,
Very thoughful article. Yes, $800/month is doable, not so sure about $400.
vieja — $400 ??? I though you said you were fat! :) where do you live? a cardboard box?
seriously, i think a lot of us would like to see your itmeized expenses to see how you do it. $400 isn't much.
thanks patriccio.
patriccio or vieja – should my opening line read "never trust any woman that wants … or "never trust any woman who wants …" or are both correct?
Marco – lol vieja said she had a lot of boyfriends. maybe she makes them pick up the tab.
maybe she stays at a different guy's house every night — hence no rent ??? she gets more mysterious every time she writes.
vieja–
I'm coming back on the 28th — how about a drink?
or do i have to pay your rent…:)
No one pays my rent or anything else. If I ever meet any of you I will tell my story. I did not choose to live this way really. Just found myself with nothing but a suitcase one day. It has not been easy.
vieja; $ounds like your $tory could have value.
vieja — Fastfreddie has an excellent point. Sounds like you have a very interesting story. Can we meet in may? or are you going to continue to ignore my invitations? cojito knows me personally, he'll testify that i am totally worthless and untrustworthy…what more could you want?
cojito is a writer and i am a photographer — maybe we can make you (in)famous??
I plan on writing it all up one day. If… I can figure out where it started and when it has an ending. Cojito know who I am now and can contact me. Just let me know when you are in Panama.
vieja – see you in may…
Cojito,
Hmmm, good question. I think "who wants" is more correct than "that wants", but both are acceptable.
I would seriously dissuade anyone moving to Panama JUST BECAUSE IT'S CHEAP!
You'll inevitably run into snags that'll cost you unexpected dollars–see flights out of the country until you get a visa, increasing land and real estate prices, the traditional costs associated with moving to a new country (ID, bank account, healthcare…etc). It's really not fair to you or to Panama to move here solely because it's cheap. Especially if, like most gringos moving down here, you're going to expect to live really well—this ain't candyland. I agree with whoever said it: go live like a KING in Nicaragua if that's really waht you want. My advice: 1) Move to the interior of Panama to a small rural village and live like a campesino and you'll be fine if that's your cup of tea. Or, in most gringos cases, 2) Stay where you are. Don't come down here, but rather find some small cheap housing or trailer in the states.
While it may have been true a few years ago, this country and specifically PTY is not CHEAPER THAN CHEAP anymore. Hell, I can barely find PTY $1 beers nowadays.
alan – agreed. i tried to point that out. cheap's not a sufficient reason to move to panama. there are much more affordable places to live if that's your only criterion.
that said, coupon clipping retirees have transformed sun city az and the surrounding areas.
If anyone wants to see what I make for extra money I can send a photo. I need all the exposure I can get. Or visit Panamacentric.com and look at the classified ads. My identity is revealed now………….
vieja — send me the photo — marcopolo214@yahoo.com
Photo sent. Feed a starving old gringa…. buy a tee shirt.
Native, third world, bro, i have hotwater, a/c pumping in my room, Fullhd LCD, DTS home theater, it tenderloin once a week, and dress well . . . and I'm a so called "Native", 100% panamanian, not rich, but middle class, who the fuck a re you reffering to, not every "Native" lives like shit down here, and thirdworld, go to Haiti if you want to see real poverty, and the Public hospitals down here are better then in the Fucking US, so fuck off with your Aglo Arrogance, it fucking blinds you . . . fucking cracker
I have an advice for you all, go back to the states, and just pay you credit cards, and suck it up . . . the third world is not for you, it's to hot down here, to many Spicks, well there is a plane connecting to every main city in the us from tocumen . . . and by the way Fock Off
!00% – I think you've misinterpreted the use of the term "native." Look it up. It just means indigenous.
The site operator did not mention the cost of his "shelter", I mean his home.
The other letters are mildly humourous but very helpful to an old geezer like me who's coming to Panama with son and daughter-in-law, to live, at tyhe end of Jan.2010, although we still have to go through whatever process neccessary.
We'd appreciate any help that any of you guys want to offer.
I've been thinking about Panama for years and years, and wish I'd arrived there, say, 10 years sooner.
The problems that some are writing in about, are common to almost everywhere, not just in 3rd world countries, and compare to the Middle East, where I spent about 14 years.
We hope to arrive at the end of January.
Why don't some of you guys organize a
"help-the-new-immigrant-to "find-his feet" Society???
I was impressed by the discourse on grammatical correctness, and would like to add my opinion, that "who" is correct, and that "that" is not correct.
The subject is human……I think.
By the way, about the guy with $785 a month, I thought that people needed $1000 a month before being allowed to stay- or is that just for the Pensionado people??
One last thing…… I intend to apply for the Pensionado plan, and my son wants to be able to work, so how do we do that?? We don't want to leave every 3 months, and are planning for a permanent stay.
Thank you in advance, whoever you are..
Sorry about the "anonymous", just forgot.
i posted this article in '07. at the time the cost of my shelter was minimal. i owned my own flat. which i later rehabbed and sold for a modest profit.
"the guy with $785 a month" to spend is now living in Nicaragua where the cost of living is MUCH cheaper.
it's neither legal, nor (in my opinion) fair, to come to Panama looking for work. let the locals have the jobs. except for a handful of douche-bags like Ary ( his comments are above), the natives here are very kind, decent, and desperately poor.
you're OK with the pensionado deal. but your son might have to leave every 3 months. or not. depends. is he investing big money in Panama? is he getting married to a local? does he have some special skill they're looking for? does he have money for a fat bribe?
and as for his living expenses; i imagine your son could telecommute, teach English, invest in a business, flip properties, pimp out a few local girls, or just mooch off you.
cojito, first off all i might be a douch-bag, but rabi-blanco i'm not, i geg up every morning a suck the traffic like every other "nice native" down here… I think you and I should meet face to face, and i would like you to call me rabiblanco doychebag to my face…by the way i can't stand rabiblancos
fair enough. i'll redact the rabiblaco slur.
you´re a funny man…
I have to say I have been amused by all the ranting that goes on here. I am much younger than all of you so I am not as jaded as the regular person who reads this site. I am very glad that people like you move to Panama. Never mind talent or skills, I highly doubt the progress of Panama is being helped by you, but that does not mean that I don't welcome you. I think that your stories and personalities bring lots of new "blood" to the culture. Panama is a place of inmigration and mixing of cultures and people. I celebrate it and unlike the bitter compatriot of mine who commented with insults and obscenities I would like to tell you, Welcome to Panama.
On another note, if you truly want to find a job in Panama, you can, and it may not be fair to take a job from a local but colombians, venezuelans, and so many others are doing so in such large numbers that an occasional gringo or european does not ruin the place. I think it is better for the country that young gringos move to Panama than older ones. I am not trying to send you back! Just stating the obvious. Anyone can find a job in Panama. You just have to show up sharp and with a smile and knock on enough doors and you will get one. Companies in Panama are using international head hunters to bring talent from abroad because it is missing locally. If you are already there you may save them money by them not having to hire someone through those services and they will get away with paying you local pay rates rather than international ones.
I hope my words were useful.
BTW, you are getting lots more pussy than I am. Congratulations!
To all Blog readers,
I apologize if back in 2008 i wast insulting or hurtful in any matter, I was in a different state of mind at the time, however, i will stick up for my country if anyone, foreign or domestic, talks bad about it… I'm just expecting of visitors, to respect Panama and it's people, be reciprocal. just like i did when i lived in the states. right now is no easy anywhere, the world is suffering a huge economical social political transition, some say is for worst some for better, so don't take fore granted this land, it has a lot to offer, give it chance, since it's one of the only places in the world that people are so welcoming. And like my paisano "Pana" said i welcome you to visit, to stay, and to love this beautiful Country . . .
Ary
P.S.
Pana i couldn't have stated it better, or anyone for that matter . . .
Dear Ary,
Thanks to you for your last posting above and for Don Pana's as well.
I have been reading extensively on Panama and almost every USA visitors and resident in Panama express sincere respect for the country.
Wishing you success in all you purse,
Robert, A Native Texan.
Dear Gerald,
How has your relocation to Panama gone?
Cojito, thank you with much sincerity for your website.
Roberto in Texas
I am 28 yrs old as is my fiance and I have an 8yr old son. We are looking to move to South America within the next year. We are all American born. Can anyone give us a run down of the process or guidelines for immigrating to Panama. Also what is this about not being allowed to work?
Hi, my son and I moved to the Boquete area from Canada. Some people seem nice. Most are after your pocket book and will go to great lengths to get it. Natives and American alike.
We have a chance to stay and work things out. But after spending time in Thailand, I realise that these people in general are greedy and lazy.
Watck your back for every little thing. Trust no one and completely check everything that you buy before you pay.