Thread: What is the minimum to really LIVE in Panama?

Yes, as a general trend. But they did not get to be the biggest from being careless. Only the US did.

Originally Posted by fleeted

Another dead canary in the coal mine. Move along nothing to see here.......
Should We Be Alarmed That The Biggest Bond Fund In The World Has Dumped All Of Their U.S. Treasury Bonds?

If you live in David or Boquete you have to make two trips to PC. By plane-$180 round trip per person or drive or take the bus. The last 2 might well add a night in a hotel or at least a real long trip. That may push that $1500 up by 3-400 dollars.

It depends where you are.
In PC, you can find long term rentals , nice 1-2bd in caledonia or elcarmen/betania for 5-650/month. Then add all the bills. I'd say 1250 for the city for 2 people gets you by just fine with the breathing room.
In David or the interior, you're looking at a house rental due to the lack of apartments. That'll run you about 250 for a 2-3 bedroom place, panamanian style. Add bills and food. If you ate out every day for lunch in David that's $75 a month. This assumes you don't have to leave the country for visa reasons, add whatever to that depending on your choices. It's about half the price in the country. I wouldn't want to do it on 700/month because it's nice to have extra leeway but it's perfectly doable.

Originally Posted by Gwilson

It depends where you are.
In PC, you can find long term rentals , nice 1-2bd in caledonia or elcarmen/betania for 5-650/month. Then add all the bills. I'd say 1250 for the city for 2 people gets you by just fine with the breathing room.
In David or the interior, you're looking at a house rental due to the lack of apartments. That'll run you about 250 for a 2-3 bedroom place, panamanian style. Add bills and food. If you ate out every day for lunch in David that's $75 a month. This assumes you don't have to leave the country for visa reasons, add whatever to that depending on your choices. It's about half the price in the country. I wouldn't want to do it on 700/month because it's nice to have extra leeway but it's perfectly doable.

$1250 in the city as total living expenses for 2 ppl? i think thats a very sober life then. i spend about half of that just in the supermarket alone.. cigarettes included tho but still.

Originally Posted by EdBowers

You need a pension of at least $1,020 so you can show $1,000 coming in per month after banking fees. Also, expect to spend about $1,500 for the pensionado visa (including everything, such as apostille, FedEx and more).

Hi everyone, new here also but have been reading the posts for days. I too want to move to Panama on a pension of $1154 a month (what banking fees Ed?--can't I just keep my direct deposit going to my US bank and use credit/debit cards ?) but I want to buy a house in the mountains if possible. I have 60k to put down but with horrible credit and my income could I get a loan there? Also, like OP, I would have to buy food. I don't get food stamps but I am one of those extreme coupon people and haven't bought food for years (what I can't buy I get from food banks) so how much would food be for the average person a month? I am a single woman coming alone with no idea what to do so anything you can tell me would help also. (I am still making my way through the years of forum posts and learning a lot and probably should have started a new thread with this?)

thanks and hi everyone!

In a rural area you can rent a small concrete house and live on $700/mo - better than most of the locals. Even better if you have $60K to buy a house. Might be a 1 hour bus ride to buy groceries. I wouldn't count on any loans.

If you wish to live in the interior you can do very well on 1154/month. And, you can live right in a town near the stores you need. Start out renting. You can find a furnished rental if you are lucky for a very reasonable price. You should try and travel light for the first year, until you become acclimated and find out what you want to do with your life.