Seven years ago I traveled to Panama with my husband and young son. It was a vacation destination that changed our lives…for the better. I was born in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and love to travel. After years in business in Canada, I chose to change my lifestyle and started a new life and business in Curacao, where I met my husband. Then we moved to Japan and lived there for eight years, but we wanted to find a tropical country to eventually retire to and start a small business.
Our criteria for our new country included: tropical climate without hurricanes, thriving business atmosphere, support groups in place for North Americans, a large metropolitan area to serve as a base, good bilingual private schools (for our son), beaches, a low cost of living, reasonable property prices, and last but not least, safety. Panama ticked all the boxes.
What we encountered when we stepped off the plane surprised us all. A beautiful, diverse country at the beginning of a boom, which even as newbies to Panama we could sense. We felt that this country was destined to be discovered by tourists and retirees alike. We explored the country making major decisions that would change our lives. We looked at property all over; some areas we felt were not for us.
During our second week we had planned a day trip to Taboga—a small tropical beach island less than one hour off the Pacific coast from Panama City. We loved Taboga from the first moment. It was like stepping onto an island from the past. Nothing was modernized. The island had one quaint fishing village running up the emerald green mountain and the streets were lined with flowering bushes and coconut palms. Restinga Beach had colorful umbrellas with a few swimmers in the water and the other beach (Playa Honda) had simple fishing boats (called pangas) rocking in the waves. The tired old hotel (since demolished) by Restinga Beach offered an overgrown garden complete with peacocks roaming free. Friendly locals were hanging about the village plaza deep in conversation and drinking beer, while kids were kicking around a soccer ball. There were no cars on the tiny streets. We could find only a couple of tiny shops and restaurants. Since then, not much has changed.
My husband speaks Spanish and made friends with a gardener who guided us to a property for sale from a local Tabogan. It was a lot with an old house, which we’ve since demolished and rebuilt. We had it thoroughly checked out by our lawyer before we bought it. That set us on the exciting and at times difficult path to eventually becoming residents and business owners in Panama. Our property on Tabogo is now a thriving B&B business called Cerrito Tropical.
The road toward moving to Panama was not always easy, but once we accepted and understood the systems here, our life became much more relaxed. One important thing I discovered over the years of moving to different countries is that once you make the decision to move, don’t give up on your dream. Develop a strong, trustworthy support group with lawyers, doctors, accountants, and a good housekeeper (who can be invaluable to your life here).
We now live weekdays in Panama City in the condo that we also bought and renovated. I specifically looked for an older building with a large social area and pool. It’s located in the Paitilla area of Panama City, which has a great neighborhood feel, situated in the center of the city, with large shady trees along Via Italia.
Health care in Panama
We have been happy with the medical care we’ve received so for in Panama and find the doctors and nurses to be well-trained (doctors are often trained in the U.S.). There are hundreds of doctors and many speak excellent English. I have found the best doctors by asking for recommendations from friends. Prices are well below those in the U.S. We have been to general/family doctors whose rates range from $10 in a simple clinic to $45 for a specialist in a medical center.
I have recently switched from a U.S. insurance company to a Panamanian company for two reasons—I wanted local support, and I am so happy with the level of medical care here I feel I will not need to leave for care anywhere else. An excellent plan for both our son and me (my husband is covered through his work) is $150 a month.
We knew from the beginning that we needed to live in the city at least during the week because our son, who is now 12 years old, needed a bilingual private school. There is one school on Taboga but it is public and goes only to grade seven. I also found that running our B&B only from Taboga would have been close to impossible, because several times a week I need to buy supplies, go to the bank, and market our business (there are no banks or ATMs on the island). We are happy with this decision and I love our condo. Including our complete renovations, we spent about $125,000 two years ago. I still hear of older condos selling in the city for bargain prices. I heard of a two-bedroom apartment in a good area within the city center, which sold just last week for $95,000.
Our city condo serves as my administrative office for our B&B on Taboga Island. At weekends we get out of the city and back to nature on the island, where I have a tropical garden (with our caretaker) and also grow various herbs and fruit for our own and our guests’ enjoyment.
Schooling your children in Panama
For our 12-year-old son, the adjustment from a Japanese/American to a Panamanian/British school took a while, but I found Panamanian teachers in his school to be understanding and helpful. He attends the Oxford school, which offers a mainly British curriculum, and he has friends from Panama as well as Canada, the U.S., Russia, and the U.K. I am pleased with the level of the curriculum, and have been told from parents and kids who have made the switch that it is higher than many U.S. public schools. We found extra tutoring for Spanish, so not only will he be fluent, but he will also be able to read and write as well as a native speaker. He also studies Japanese to maintain his Japanese conversational skills. There are plenty of sports and music opportunities outside of school for his extracurricular activities (his school does not offer many after-school clubs). During the past 3.5 years, my son has made several good friends, has often excelled in school, and enjoys his pre-teen life in Panama.
For us, life in Panama is different from that of most expats moving here (mostly retired), because we have a school-age son as well as a business. Along with those points, my husband is not in Panama full-time as he works on a contract in Japan on a six-weeks-on, two-weeks-off schedule, when he returns home. I run the home and the business, which keeps me busy. Through this I meet terrific local families in school events, youth groups, and our own hospitality business. Because of my expat connections, I have been invited on a number of occasions to speak at the International Living conferences, sharing our story with conference attendees.
Because we have a B&B, I often meet interesting travelers from all over the world, plus, we regularly receive guests who are professionals in Panama City looking to escape the city stress for the weekend. We have hosted government officials from France, people working with UNICEF, United Nations, Red Cross, and embassies. We even recently hosted a beachside wedding. Our B&B is involved with local events on Taboga and supports fundraising for both the Taboga church (the second oldest in the Western Hemisphere), health center, the children, and the community.
In Panama City we love to attend the movie theater, which costs less than $7. There are a number of social groups for foreigners, which meet at least once a month. There is an English-language theater, music concerts, charity events, hiking excursions, and a variety other activities available. Our son enjoys soccer three times a week, which costs $40 per month. He recently heard of a fencing program that he is anxious to join, which is $5 a week.
As for the cost of living, I have just returned from Canada where I shopped for groceries; food is certainly cheaper in Panama. It can be much cheaper if you go to the local markets or if you live outside Panama City. For example, I recently bought eight pounds of Italian tomatoes and eight heads of iceberg lettuce at the local market for $11. If you must have American or Canadian brands, they will cost you more. I find the local brands to be delicious and often much more economical.
Eating out is cheap here too—we enjoyed a delicious Italian bistro meal in Panama City recently for $25 per person (wine not included). There are a number of good restaurants with something for almost every budget and taste.
Blog Cynthia
Cynthia has created an English blog to help newcomers to Panama with any questions they may have. Her Destination Panama blog now helps the English-speaking community more easily find the information it needs.
When we moved to Panama, we chose to look for a part-time maid, who comes about three days a week. We recently gave her a raise to $15 per day, since basic food and transportation costs have risen across the country. I have neighbors who pay their live-in maid $200 a month for six days a week.
Even though prices have risen in the past few years, Panama is still reasonable and offers a large variety of activities and benefits that it’s difficult to put a price tag on. In one day you can visit the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. You can drive from cool mountains to sunny beaches, and visit lush rainforest and historic city sites—all within a few hours. More and more people are moving here, not primarily because it is cheaper, but because it is the lifestyle they dream of.
While I can think of a few things we could have done financially to make our move cheaper and other things that would have made our move easier, this is hindsight. Everyone has a learning curve when they encounter a new situation…and we had ours. I love our life in Panama, and while it is not perfect for everyone, it is great for our family. If I could rewind the clock, I would still move to Panama.