Finding Your Ideal Home In Panama

If you’re thinking about moving to Panama, the question isn’t really whether Panama works for you, it’s which Panama works for you. So today I’m going to look at some of the top expat havens in Panama and compare each one to another so that you can see where in Panama might make sense for you, because this country does have several established expat and retirement destinations despite its small size, but each couldn’t be more different from the next. And then there are those off the beaten path destinations that aren’t in the guidebooks or the expat forums yet.

You could live, for example, in a tropical capital with skyscrapers and world-class hospitals, or wake up to spring-like weather in the mountains, or spend your days at the beach in a laid-back expat community or golf club perhaps. So let’s look at the main options and the trade-offs that you’ll have to compromise for each.

Number one, the capital, Panama City.

This is retirement or expat living with everything at your door. If you want the easiest access to healthcare, international restaurants, great shopping, the only international airport in the country, and just general city life and convenience, this is the place to look. Panama City is by far the most cosmopolitan option in Panama and also in the region really.

You’ve got modern apartment towers, walkable neighborhoods like Casco Viejo with its French architecture and style, and then areas like El Congrejo and Punta Pacifica, which have a neighborhood feeling and can be walkable in little pockets. Plus, as I said, some of the best private medical facilities in the entire region. So the pros are the best healthcare and access to specialists right on your doorstep.

The international airport, as I say, it’s the only one in the country. So if you’re not in the city, you might have to hike a little bit. It might be a long car ride to get to the airport for your flights.

The restaurant’s culture and shopping is of an international standard and it improves and gets more diverse every year. Walkable neighborhoods and pockets. I’m not going to say that the whole city is walkable, but there are definitely walkable parts.

And if you want to base yourself in one of them, then it is very easy to live an outdoor active lifestyle. You won’t have to give up any of the city conveniences that you might want or be used to and take for granted right now. And this is also the hub for the expat community.

So it’s the largest and the most diverse set of expats from retirees to people raising families to digital nomads. This is the place where everybody connects. The cons, on the other hand, this is for sure the hottest and most humid part of the country.

And the traffic, the traffic is probably the number one complaints. It was my number one complaint when I lived in Panama for many years. And that’s usually what most people living in the city say bothers them the most.

But keep in mind, if you’re not commuting, if you’re not in the rush in the morning or the evening, then you can avoid all that traffic altogether. You know, your lifestyle will change in Panama. So unless you’re trying to get to an office for business hours, the traffic might never affect you, or at least you can organize your life so it won’t affect you.

It is for sure more expensive than pretty much any other location in the country. And this isn’t your typical tropical lifestyle. You will see the palm trees, the pretty colorful parrots and birds.

You’ll see the lizards, geckos up your walls. But it’s all a little bit further away. You know, you’ll see the rainforest in the background from your window, but you’re not living in the middle of the jungle.

You’re not living right on the beach. You’re not living next to a hammock and a beach bar. That’s not the vibe of the city.

And so naturally, you’ve got a little less access to nature and beaches. They’re not immediately outside your front door. You’re not going to walk out your door and have your toes in the sand.

But you know, there are plenty of beaches right nearby. Probably within 30 minutes, I would say, would be the closest swimmable beaches. Also the islands.

You can get a ferry to the islands that are right offshore in less than an hour. You could be on a little island with your toes in the sand. Again, this is the most expensive option when it comes to cost.

So a comfortable budget here would start around $2,800. And it could go up pretty much indefinitely from there. But I would say a comfortable upper limit would be about $4,200 a month.

This all depends on housing and how you’re living. So if you’re living in a high rise with two pools and a gym, a screening room, balconies, doorman, all of these great amenities, your cost of housing will be higher than it would be in a more local apartment building or in a small house, for example. So if you are looking to Panama and you want that lifestyle and all of the benefits that a life in Panama can bring, but you don’t want to give up your modern conveniences and your city life, Panama City is the place to look.

Number two is probably the most classic traditional expat haven in Panama, Boquete.

This is your go-to cool weather alternative. It’s the favorite pick for interior living for many expats.

It’s in the mountains of Chiriqui and it’s a very recognizable destination. You probably heard of it already, especially for retirees and for good reason. It’s about 1,200 meters above sea level and that means it’s got a hugely different climate than lower altitudes.

It’s much, much cooler than living on the coast. This is where they grow the coffee, so that’s most of what you’re seeing all around you. Coffee farms, flowers grow abundantly here.

They have festivals for all the flowers and the town itself looks almost like it’s kitted out for a flower festival every day of the year. There are these beautiful sections of landscaping and it really is a beautiful place to walk around. The mountains are right there.

You’re living on one, but you can also hike all around and this is the place in Panama to go if you don’t want to use air conditioning, so that’s another plus of living here. The pros are that mild spring-like climate that is all year consistent, the beautiful mountain scenery, the fresh clean air, no pollution up here. There’s a very strong established expat community, mostly of retirees, but increasingly people who are opening little restaurants or yoga studios or other businesses up there, so increasingly a little bit more diverse in age.

This is a great place to embrace an outdoor lifestyle, whereas it’s not so much of an option, feasible option, at ground level because of the heat and the humidity. You can’t spend that much time outside. Up here you can spend all of every day outside.

The coffee, the restaurants, the cafes, this is probably one of the more developed expat havens outside of Panama City, and it is generally less expensive than Panama City. The downsides of Boquete are that this is a much smaller town, so you don’t have all the amenities of living in a city. Healthcare is much more limited here.

You do have the local clinic, but to get to a real medical center, you would have to travel to nearby David, which isn’t necessarily a short drive, and you know, if you need a specialist, you’re going to have to travel to the specialist. There aren’t going to be any specialized hospitals or caregivers here in the mountains. The rainy season is much wetter up here than it is at ground level, and the rainy season doesn’t necessarily matter as much up here because it’s always rainy.

It’s always a little misty. You know, you’re living in the clouds, so it can be a little bit more wet, and if you’re not up for rain at any time of year, this might not be a good choice. Of course, because this is a smaller mountain town, there is much less nightlife and urban variety, so if you’re looking for lots of entertainment, this might not be your best option.

Your budget here would be much less than in Panama City, though. I would say a comfortable starting point would be about $1,800 a month, and probably a comfortable upper limit would be around $3,000 a month, and of course, you could spend much more than that if you live absolutely locally. You could spend even less than that, so it’s all in how you live.

It’s, you know, budgets are very subjective, but generally speaking, this is a much more affordable lifestyle than that of Panama City. Boquete is really perfect for somebody who wants a community of both expats and even locals, easy access to nature, greenery, flowers, and cool weather more than somebody looking for nightlife or beach life. So if you’ve always imagined retirement or expat living in Panama as hot and tropical, Boquete is definitely a surprise.

Number three is Coronado

Which was really the starting point of what has now become a much larger expat community. We refer to them as the city beaches.

This is about an hour away from Panama City, and as I say, Coronado was the starting point, and everything kind of blossomed from there, but this stretch of coastline has become very developed and is a huge community of expats. So if your fantasy is morning walks on the beach, golf in the afternoon, a nice restaurant occasionally, some yoga with expats, a karaoke night, for example, and a house or a condo in a gated community or a nice residential gated area, Coronado and these surrounding areas are probably the best fit for you. So we are talking on the Pacific coast, and this is about an hour west of Panama City, depending on traffic, and it is one of the most established expat communities.

I say that Boquete was probably number one, and Coronado is probably number two. The pros of living here is that you are right on the beach. You could wake up and be right in the water if you wanted to be.

There’s a very established North American expat community here with lots of activities. It’s a very active community. There’s plenty of golf and other leisure activities to take advantage of, lots of restaurants, shops, and everyday services that are increasing every year.

If I were talking 10 years ago, I wouldn’t be able to say it’s quite so developed, but these days you can get pretty much every convenience that you would have in the city right here in Coronado, including pretty good medical care, a little clinic right nearby, really nice grocery stores, hardware stores, and generally everything that you would expect from city living, but it’s more spread out along the coastline. Plus you’re right there next to Panama City. It’s close enough for trips whenever you would like to go into the city.

It is just as hot and humid here as it would be anywhere else in the coast. It’s a little bit less so than in the city because of course the density of the city and the population there make it a little bit hotter and more humid, but here on the coast pretty much it’s the same no matter where you go. There’s less cultural and urban variety than Panama City and you’re more isolated for major health care.

As I say, there is a clinic here, but if you needed specialist care or a serious emergency happened, you would want to go to a bigger facility. It can feel very quiet as well in the rainy season. This is one of those locations in Panama that’s pretty popular with part-timers, snowbirds as they often are referred to.

So people might leave in the rainy season. They might come down for a few months a year as opposed to fully for the whole year. So there is a seasonality to living here.

The price point for your budget here is definitely more than Boquete. I would say you would want to start at around $2,200 a month and probably a comfortable range would be up to $3,400 a month and this is because of the rentals, there’s a housing demand here and the standard of housing is two expat standards. So that’s what they’re priced for, for attracting expats.

If you wanted to live in more of a local house or apartment building that is possible, but it will come with some compromises that you might not be willing to make. So the big distinction here is Panama City is a city with beaches nearby. Coronado and its surrounding areas are the beach lifestyle with the capital nearby.

So depending on your priorities, both could make sense.

Next is El Valle de Hontón

Which is not too far from the Coronado area. And this is another great nature escape in the mountains for somebody looking for a more temperate climate year round and mountains that are a little bit closer to the city, a little bit closer to convenience than Boquete.

It’s also less established as an expat haven. So there are expats here, but it’s a much smaller community. It’s much less developed.

It feels much more traditionally Panamanian than Boquete does these days. So what it is basically is a little tiny town that’s tucked into a volcanic crater at the top of a mountain. And so for that reason, of course, it has the same cooler, greener, rainier climate that Boquete enjoys.

Here, the emphasis on your lifestyle would be on nature. And there is some weekend tourism, but it’s not a huge tourism destination where people might stay for more than overnight. The pros here are that it’s much cooler than in the lowlands, of course, beautiful, gorgeous scenery.

Hiking and other outdoor activities are a huge draw for this. There are some thermal springs nearby, great hiking trails. It is smaller and quieter than Boquete and more local, though there are some expats, as I say.

You’re right there within reach of Panama City when you want it. And it’s really attractive for people who want more of a village feel. The cons, on the other hand, is that it has many fewer services, so much smaller selection.

Health care is even more limited here, a very small expat community, and it can feel very quiet. This is not a hub. You know, this isn’t a place where lots of people come on the weekends.

It’s a place where Panamanians might have a family country home and they might go for a relaxing weekend, not necessarily a place where tourists come. And if tourists do come, they’re ecotourists. They’re there for the hiking and the thermal springs and enjoying the nature.

A rental of a one bedroom house here would start around eight hundred and fifty dollars. So this is a much lower price point than the other places we were talking about. A full budget could start as low as two thousand and run up to three thousand living very comfortably.

And here it might actually be hard to spend much more than that. So, you know, there’s not a lot to spend money on here. This is best for somebody who’s looking for green mountains, a slower pace of life, but doesn’t necessarily want that Boquete big expat ecosystem, not quite so established, a little bit less of an obvious choice, a little bit more off the beaten path, a little bit more of an adventure and a discovery.

And finally, number five, Petasi.

This one’s kind of a wild card. I love the Azuero Peninsula, where Petasi is located, but it is very much less developed than the rest of the country.

Totally different experience from anywhere else we’re talking about. Smaller, more traditional, less polished, gritty. And that’s exactly what draws people to it.

If you’re into the Petasi lifestyle, you’ll know right away. The highlight here is the beaches, especially for surfing, fishing, seeing wildlife, birding, for example, whale watching. And there’s also agriculture and strong local traditions here.

This is also called the Arco Seco, which is kind of the dry arch. So it’s much drier and sunnier than many other parts of Panama. So if you don’t love the rainy season, this might be a good option.

The pros are that this is a much smaller town, much more village, but on the beach atmosphere. The beaches and outdoor life are a huge draw. That’s what brought people here in the first place.

This is a very strongly local place. So you’ll see traditions. Everything will feel much more authentic than in the more expat heavy locations.

It’s got the drier climate. It’s got much lower housing costs and a growing arts and tourism scene. I know some chefs that have gone down there.

They love the fresh fish, the local agriculture, everything at their fingertips. So there is a bit of a incoming trend. However, this trend has been going for more than 10 years already.

It’s not like this place is going to blow up anytime soon. It’s going to take some time. On the other hand, there is much less infrastructure here.

It’s rustic to say the least. There is no health care beyond local clinics. So it’s several hours to any kind of major center for health care or anything else you might need.

Very small expat community and mostly made up of surfers. So not a big retiree haven yet. And it’s very far from Panama City or any other real big town or city.

So if you’re looking for convenience, this might not be the place for you. If you’re looking to ditch civilization and strike out on your own, this is the place to go. A one bedroom here might start around $550, which is, you know, very, very affordable and makes Pedese the most affordable option on this list.

This is for somebody who doesn’t want to recreate America in the tropics. They actually want to live somewhere that feels like Panama. So think of it this way.

Choose Panama City if you want convenience, health care and culture. Boquete if you want mountains, mild weather and an expat community. Coronado if you want beach, golf and established expat activities and community.

El Valle if you want nature, cooler weather and a quiet atmosphere. Pedese if you want beach, small town life and a more local feel. The most expensive option is Panama City.

In the middle, you’ve got Coronado and Boquete and on the lower end, El Valle and Pedese. Another thing to avoid is assuming that the cheapest place is the best value because a haven that is cheaper overall can mean more driving, more vehicle maintenance, longer drives for health care, fewer restaurants, fewer services. There is a trade off.

So you have to prioritize what you’re looking for. If you’re paying more to live in Panama City, it might be worthwhile being just five or 10 minutes from a local hospital if that matters more to you than having a garden or a beach on your doorstep. The real question is not asking yourself where is the best place for an expat in Panama.

It’s what do you want your life in Panama to look like? Do you want to wake up to skyscrapers, mountains or ocean? Do you want restaurants and specialists nearby or a hammock and a garden? Do you want a large expat community or somewhere where you’re more likely to know your Panamanian neighbors? Panama gives you all of these options. The trick is figuring out which version of Panama you actually want to live in.