Essentials to live in Panama

Don't bring a container full of stuff unless you don't care about money. You can buy just about anything you need here. If not very easy to ship here small items here from Amazon.
For the cost of a container you can easily furnish a 3 bedroom homes very nicely.

There are more " moving back to the States/Canada must sell all our stuff sales" here every week.

We came down with 6 large duffle bags. Half the cloths we could of left or sold. You don't need a lot of cloths here.
Down size and get rid of your stuff before you move here. Save your money and see the world!!

Bring your favorite sleeping pillow...Underware  your favorite brand...
prescription for your medicines

By the way City Bank was bought by Scotia Bank

DO NOT BRING ANYTHING BUT YOUR UNDERWARE, SEX TOYS, BONG OR PIPE, MEAT FROM RESTAURANT DEPOT OR EQUAL, YOUR MEDS, MOST IMPORTANT "WATER", WE DON'T HAVE ANY NOW. YOUR FAVORITE WOMAN OR 2 ALTHOUGH THE LATINAS ARE SMOKIN HOT HERE, GPS AND UNLOCKED CELL FON AND YOUR FAVORITE LAPTOP. MOST EVERYTHING ELSE YOU CAN GET HERE. THINGS ARE NOT CHEAP ANYMORE SO YOU WILL NEED A TON OF CASH!!! FOOD IS VERY EXPENSIVE NOW AND CANED OR IMPORTED STUFF FROM THE STATES ARE OUTRAGEOUS. ESPECIALLY DOG/CAT FOODS N TREATS. WE HAVE 5 DOGS N 2 CATS SO WE SPEND ABOUT $60-$75/MONTH ON THE LITTLE CRITTERS. OH, IF YOU PLAN ON LIVING OUTSIDE OF THE BIG CITIES, ADOPT 2 OR 3 DOGS FOR SECURITY OF YOUR HOME AND YOUR SELF. WE HAVE 3 PIT/CHOW MIXED, A PANAMA STREET DOG AND A GOLDEN RETRIEVER. ALL ARE VERY GOOD PROTECTION...NOBODY COMES PAST OUR GATES/FENCES EVER!!!!YOU WILL NEED WARNING SIGNS ON YOUR FENCES ABOUT YOUR DOGS. THEY ALSO KEEP THE RIFF RAFT AWAY. THE LATINOS ARE SCARED TO DEATH OF MOST DOGS, SO TRY FOR THE 50-80 POUND RANGE OF YOUR DOGS. PIT BULLS ARE GREAT FAMILY PETS AND SECURITY DOGS.

GOOD LUCK.
JIM

Bring enough credit/debit cards so if something happens with one, you will have other options.
Otherwise, bring as little as possible. You won't know what you need until you experience your new life here, and things bought here are probably better suited to this climate also.

Hello all

@invader609 : Thanks for your input, however please do not write with your caps lock on, as it makes reading very difficult.

On any forum, writing in Capital means Shouting and seems rude!

Regards
Kenjee
Expat.com

Sorry bout that but it was from a KODI site that locked my CAPS on. I tried everything b4 finally I had to restart my system.  Again sorry.

for people with vision problems caps is preferred as it is easier to see.

Hi Christine.  I am married to a Panamanian/American and we've been living in Panama for 4 yrs now.  Most important to bring with you here are your laptop and tablet.  They are more expensive here.  You have to be careful about buying electronics and electrical appliances here.  The stores do not have return or refund policy here.  There is no customer protection here.  Bed sheets, comforters and pillows are good here.  There is a warehouse store here like Costco and pay membership for $35-37 yearly.  It's called Pricemart.

Panama has many imports and popular brands here, so, no problem looking for personal needs and food products.  They maybe a little more expensive than in the U S or Canada. Imported cosmetics definitely are more expensive here.  They do have a bit of inflation, to be honest.

** Good luck!

Lyn

I brought down 4 suit cases and do not regret it ! Yes, when I was leaving the states I did have to make some tough choices on what to leave behind. ( Sold or gave away lots of things )

Most places are furnished ... Hot Water is actually a Choice down here ( ASK )  ... Don't forget ( LOTS OF MONEY TOO) Check your budget per month.. $1,000.00 is really not enough ... but you can do.  The magic number is $3,000.00 when Living North American Style ... Good Car, Nice House, Nice Furnishings, Views and you can travel & use Panama as a Base. 

In the last Five years everything has gone UP ( 25 - 40% ... Gas price have come back down however ).

The less you bring is the better.  I shipped 19 U-Haul boxes and in retrospect it was a waste of money since I ended up spending a lot more than the value of my stuff. I bought an apt. here and had lots of choices of furniture, buying most of it at Ancon store, a big chain of furniture stores.  The hardware chain stores (Do-it-Center, Movey, ACE) have all that you will need. Do not bring a car! Buy a Japanese or Korean car or small, crossover SUV here.  Toyota RAV-4, Hyundai Tucson are good choices. Good ground clearance, ease of getting parts and finding mechanics are what I am getting at. There is a wide choice of brands here and you can buy new  or near- new from the car rental companies. I did the latter  and have no regrets after almost 4 years.

The talk about expenses is rather scary...what I read from International Living is that living in Panama is SO cheap. Are they lying or what? I can live on $3000 a month in the USA!  Ok, I'm frugal.  Comments? Von

Cheap compared to where?  A lot depends on where and how you live. Panama City is expensive. Places with lots of expats like Boquete or Coronado tend to be more expensive. Rural Panamanian towns in the interior can be very cheap. If you live like a Panamanian (local food, public transportation, etc) you can live in very little.

My husband and I live in David, and our basic budget is around $1100-1200/mo and we have everything we want and need. http://blog.thepanamaadventure.com/3-th … in-panama/ Whole families here live on less than that.

VonKarin wrote:

The talk about expenses is rather scary...what I read from International Living is that living in Panama is SO cheap. Are they lying or what? I can live on $3000 a month in the USA!  Ok, I'm frugal.  Comments? Von

And, for heaven's sake, don't believe everything you read in International Living or any of the other outfits who are in the business to make a profit. Talk to regular people living here, read blogs of expats, etc.

Cost of living has increased in the past year. It is not a good reason to move to Panama because you think it is a cheap place. You can live cheaply but then your customary lifesyle may be diminished. Take a vacation first and see if you like it. The cost of housing is considerably lower in the interior of the country. First decide where you would like to live. $500 - 1000 per month ( family of 2) plus housing cost is a reasonable estimate for a good middle class lifestyle. You have to decide the level of lifestyle that makes you comfortable. Panama living has a lot of available choices. If you have a sense of adventure and would like to learn some Spanish, living here is a nice experience. Try not to keep comparing everything to what exists in the USA.

Check www.encuentra24.com for housing and car ads.

I'm an exception. We brought everything except a car. Even a 20' container was too small for a household full, so we had to get rid of all but the most important. It was a DIY move where the container was dropped off and we hired local movers to pack it. I think the total cost was around $4K. We have never regretted it. It isn't that we didn't think we could get what we needed, it's just that we have traveled the world and collected pieces and we both have family things we didn't want to part with. We've lived here ten years (Chiriqui). So, my answer is that you don't need to bring anything. But from my point of view, my house (rented) is truly my home. There is no way we could have replaced the contents of that container with a $4K budget. Yes, you probably could furnish a home for $4K, but there's furniture and then there's furniture. Go to Furniture City and see how far $4K goes.

Now, on to living on $3K a month. You can certainly do that in my part of the country. Frankly, it's hard to fritter away $$ when the restaurants are reasonable and there are no $100 sports or art events tempting you. However, be aware that houses that meet what we would consider North American standards are few and far between. Kitchens and bathrooms tend to be especially bleak. I've lived in both 'local' type housing and now I am in a gated community which has top standards and it has made a huge difference in my quality of life. It's quiet (no horns, loud music, jake brakes, etc.), there are no street dogs and it is as secure as is possible in Panama. It is twice the house we need (and twice the rent) but it's ten times more comfortable than the place we had before.

It's fine to say 'live like the locals' and I admire those who can be content doing so. It just wasn't for us. It was the noise level that stressed me out the most. Before you commit to any rental, visit at different times of day. Find out what is around you. One house we rented turned out to be next door to an unlicensed delivery service of some kind that conducted most of its business at night. We lived in a perpetual cloud of diesel fumes. Another was next to a pineapple business (only there was a family there when we moved in) with lots of activity, had bats galore in the roofing and every piece of wood in it was riddled with termites. Toilets required multiple flushings and there was no hot water except for suicide showers that we purchased ourselves. Typically, these become 'your' problems when you move in. Landlords here take a very hands-off approach. At least from my experience, there's no such thing as an enforced zoning code. The house you move into with that nice family and their cute little dog next door may suddenly become a thriving business with several vocal guard dogs.

So when you do start looking, check everything! Flush those toilets, run that water, open and close all the cabinets and drawers, check the screens, flip all the light switches. If you find an issue, get it resolved before you commit. Even then, you may find yourself staring at a brand new ten foot wall your neighbor has erected (sans permit, of course) that turns your view from woods to moldy concrete and cuts off your breeze and you can't do jack about it. Fortunately, renting is flexible. You can always try another place.