Thread: List of expenses living in England - anyone know what the costs would be in Panama?

Hello everyone, My wife and I worked out our outgoings in England last night and it shocked us badly. If anyone could let us know what we would be looking to pay in Panama that would be amazing. I guess it would vary depending on where in Panama you moved to. I so badly want to stop surviving in England and start living in Panama. Job is not a problem as we have a business that could be run online and money comes from US. We have 2 children, 11 months and 6 years, boy and girl.

Monthly Bills:
Mortgage: £1000
Loan: £350
Food: £400
Private School: £582
Sky: £100
Council Tax: £157
Electric and Gas: £ 74
TV License: £12.37
Home Insurance: £20
Boiler Cover: £16.50
Petrol: £100 - £150
Credit Card: £59
Broadband: £50
Mobile Bills: £100

Total comes to just over £3000 a month and we are scraping by every month with no luxuries, crap old cars etc etc.


Thanks for reading and looking forward to hearing from you

James

There has been a lot of good discussion in the yahoo Panama forums recently.
check out panamaforum and viviendo_en_panama

Mortgage: £1000 depends what u buy here
Food: £400 will be same or more.
Private School: £582 not sure but i heard they charge an insane entrance fee of abt $10k
Sky: £100 tv, net and phone is about $120
Electric and Gas: £ 74 here $200-250
Home Insurance: £20 not sure if that even exists here
Petrol: £100 - £150 here $3,80 - 4,40 a gallon diesel - 95
Mobile Bills: £100 depends on calls but overall cellphone use is pretty reasonable here

If i were you i would pick another country. Theres a lot of places that are nicer and especially cheaper.

Hello Mate, Panama use to be a cheap country however it has gone up over the last 10 years or so if you live outside of the citys yes things will be cheaper but quality of living will be much lower. Panama can be a very frustrating country to be in for various reasons its appeal is no longer cheap cost of living, Belize is cheaper and they speak English smaller country not as much action as Panama. Asia still offers great value for money

I agree totally with the above posts. Let me add that if you want big city amenities you must live in Panama City which is expensive and not the nicest place in the world to live. The interior (outside the city) is much cheaper but will only have basic amenities and lack in specialty items. You won't find true gourmet food or ethnic cuisine outside of the city. And if you do it will probably be sub par quality.

As for me, I live on the cheap in the interior. People think I'm crazy coming from the high roller lifestyle to a vagabond way of life. But it's not all that bad to give up your material possessions in exchange for not being a slave anymore. To me it was worth it. Any item that you own that feeds your ego, give it up and you will be left with only the things that truly matter to you.

Originally Posted by Jake

I agree totally with the above posts. Let me add that if you want big city amenities you must live in Panama City which is expensive and not the nicest place in the world to live. The interior (outside the city) is much cheaper but will only have basic amenities and lack in specialty items. You won't find true gourmet food or ethnic cuisine outside of the city. And if you do it will probably be sub par quality.

As for me, I live on the cheap in the interior. People think I'm crazy coming from the high roller lifestyle to a vagabond way of life. But it's not all that bad to give up your material possessions in exchange for not being a slave anymore. To me it was worth it. Any item that you own that feeds your ego, give it up and you will be left with only the things that truly matter to you.

i also changed my life to what you are saying after i started visiting Cuba . some people finally learn that you can not really buy happiness with money , others do not .

Forget Belize. God's armpit to live in.

Thanks for all your replies to my question. I am so shocked that Panama would be as expensive as the UK, seems that every country is out pricing it's people. I thought that with everything being in dollars it would be a lot cheaper than in English pounds.

I just wanted a better quality of life for my family and to ensure our businesses's future by not putting so much financial strain on it for basic living costs.

Panama looks so amazing, such a shame it is not what it looks like. Had the vision of living on the beach in Bocas for little to nothing and having a stress free luxurious life.

Thanks again and hope things get better there,

James

Originally Posted by jamesf121

Thanks for all your replies to my question. I am so shocked that Panama would be as expensive as the UK, seems that every country is out pricing it's people. I thought that with everything being in dollars it would be a lot cheaper than in English pounds.

Just a prompter James... If you are running an online business and living in Panama, there will be no taxation due on revenue from Internet activity. This may be meaningful in respect of your costs/budget.

running offshore businesses at a flat rate of $300 per year (takes about 20-30 mins to pay each year, check one of ed's threads) is what panama is all about. no bookkeeping, no taxes, nothing, just whatever comes into the business is cash in your pocket. only problem is getting over the hump and living here.

The offshore business factor is a big one, would save a lot of money.

Where in Panama would you say is the nicest to live?