Hi my name is James. I live in the US. I am a retiree. I just spent one month in Costa Rica. Can you tell us about the cost of rental in Panama City ? For example: one bedroom, two bedrooms in a very nice and safe area ? We would appreciate it. Thank you
@@jamesparnell1131 Hi James! Unfurnished, figure a one bedroom starting around $1,000, two bedrooms around $1,200. This would be in a nice area such as Balboa Avenue, El Cangrejo or Punta Pacifica. It would be on or near the water, in a newer building with some amenities such as a pool and gym. Add ~ 10% for furnished options.
We speak Spanish and English and the weather is similar to Florida. It will be the perfect place for is I think. All I got to do ia convince my wife. That's the real challenge
Panama City is nice and very centric for traveling around LATAM but since the video focuses on things you may not like I will add a few. - It is not so much the heat but the humidity. - People are friendly but that doesn’t translate into good customer service. - Costs comments are spot on. - No professional sports like USA/Mexico. - People drive horribly. - Police protection is not very good (although the country is safer than Mexico, Colombia or Venezuela) - Some US foods are extremely expensive or very hard to find. - Expensive import fees for US online shopping - The finishing in properties is not very good. - Long rainy season - Panama City is beautiful bot not easy to walk around. Sidewalks are nonexistent or broken. - Really heavy traffic - Lacks a really good concert venue,
I mean...I kind of want to defend each one of these, line by line because I would disagree with a few or at least put them in context compared to other countries in the region. Standing by if anyone would like me to do that :)
I just returned from my first visit to Panama and found that the language barrier was not that bad…most service people had some basic English knowledge and if not, the use of Google translate is widely used. If I moved there, I would definitely learn Spanish to make it easier. Panama City was fairly modern…didn’t have great cell service outside the city and goes from affluent to “developing” pretty quickly. Went to Bocas Del Toro and it reminded me of Belize a lot.
Exactly, right on...I wish more of the expat Panama reviews would talking about the things the person misses from their home country and the cons of living there.
Thank you for the video! Is it true that there are no street names or physical addresses in Panama? If this is true, how does one go about getting a shipment from the US? Does everyone have a post office box?
Love your videos Kent! I’ll be in Panama for a couple of weeks in March to work on my FNV, and will head over to Pedasi as that’s an area that looks like a good fit for me. What’s wifi like there?
Hi Edie, Jonathan Clay here from our Pedasi office. Thanks for your comment and looking forward to your Pedasi visit! Wifi is great here with 500MB packages available in certain parts of town, and up to 20/30MB available just about anywhere else.
One of the many problems no one addresses is the Panamanian currency. Although Panama has its own currency (the Balboa), however, Panama also uses the U.S. dollar. The Balboa to U.S. dollar exchange rate is 1-to-1, which doesn't make since when it comes to GDP. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Panama was worth 52.94 billion US dollars in 2020. Compare that to the U.S. GDP in 2020 at l$20.93 trillion. So how did the 1-to-1 exchange rate balance off? Someone with subject matter expertise in economy explain this...
Hi 👋 Thanks for the vids! Question... a US cit. Can come for 6 months. If one was to leave and come back for a certain amount of time, does your time start over?
@@PanamaequityRealEstate I appreciate your response. Are you able to ship personal home goods during this time? I have a pallet of things I would like to bring with me. How does shipping work there? Do you need a visa to ship. If they allow someone to be there for one year and drive for 90 days while there, you think thy would let you ship...
I lived in Panama during the Noriega years (1987-1991). I had the top floor of the Perla Mar apartment building near the corner of Ave Balboa and Federico Boyd. Are Bella Vista and Marbella still desirable areas and what are the average rents for a nice apartment, furnished or unfurnished?
Hey Mike, for sure! So rental prices are generally about 10% higher furnished. These days, for ocean views in a newer building, you'd be looking at between $10 - $14 per meter per month. So figure a small two bedroom, 100 meter apartment would rent for between $1,000 - $1,400 per month. That would get you amenities like a pool and a gym, plus walk on access to the Cinta Costera along the water. Hope to see you back down here soon...you wouldn't recognize the place!!
@@PanamaequityRealEstate I live in Florida and can rent places near beach towns for similar prices. Clean beach, good solid infrastructure. I prefer Thailand for all my holidays so now as I coast into retirement I am still open to other places but really don't see it. Portugal, Spain, Panama get mentioned. Some parts of Mexico still being relatively easy to get back to the USA for any medical needs, etc.
Hey Victor, usually movies run from $6-$10 then you jump up to VIP for around $16. They are almost always English with Spanish subtitles and vice versa for kids movies
I enjoy the movies and I understand why the theaters here and elsewhere show the superhero/Marvel releases. That’s where the money is. However I miss going to adult themed movies and many are never shown here.
It depends on the teacher. Especially in the morning shift. But the kid can just be silent if he doesn't want to participate. On the other hand religion is a subject in school and is focused in catholicism. In my personal experience is a useless subject.
@@ACS2 I have had classmates who are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhists, Hindu and Native American in Panama and they were not forced to take religion classes. Even in the actual catholic parochial schools which I attended.
@Tedd Tennis Should language be a barrier, you can get an head start using a very low-effort method which truly accelerates your language-learning, even if you don;pt think you have an aptitude for languages. It;'s called the Pimsleur Language Method. Look it up. It's very inexpensive and it is extremely effective so you will be speaking in no time.
Depends on what you are looking for. If you want a woman half your age then it will be all about money. If you want a woman 40 and over then your options open up. From an attractive standpoint women in Panama are not that attractive. You need to understand you are coming to a Spanish-speaking country so it will be mandatory to have a decent grasp of Spanish and… be willing to constantly improve your speaking ability if you really want to find someone. From my experience most people over 50 are either too lazy or are not interested to learn. If you are going to live in an ex-pat area it will be very tough.
Panamá sounds great but I'm concerned about the garbage litter and lack of environmental awareness that I've heard about. It's such a beautiful place, why not maintain it? Are any changes/policies being made for clean up efforts?
Morning Val! Youre right, especially in the city the trash pickup and trash culture is not anything like the US or Europe. Folks just dont think about it, which is sad. The hope is that Panama will continue to try and educate folks and be as organized/progressive as possible with waste disposal. Our current mayor of Panama is generally considered ineffective
I think it's like anywhere. The cost of anything depends on how resourceful you are. What are your expectations? Where I live in SoCal it's very, very expensive. I have a beautiful apartment in a highly desirable location for a small fraction of the local housing cost. It didn't come easy, I was determined. I'd found gems before and believed that I could do it again even though I didn't know how. I needed not wanted and when I found it I didn't hesitate. Being a senior it was one of the best moves I've ever made. I live well and save a lot of money every month that I can invest.
@@Ken10001 Hey Ken, we've got videos galore on the property market. I was trying to stay away from that subject on this particular video. Pop over to the site or perhaps brose our youtube videos a bit more.
Be sure to let us know if you have any questions about retiring in Panama or finding real estate here. Happy to help!
Hi my name is James. I live in the US. I am a retiree. I just spent one month in Costa Rica.
Can you tell us about the cost of rental in Panama City ? For example: one bedroom, two bedrooms in a very nice and safe area ?
We would appreciate it.
Thank you
@@jamesparnell1131 Hi James! Unfurnished, figure a one bedroom starting around $1,000, two bedrooms around $1,200. This would be in a nice area such as Balboa Avenue, El Cangrejo or Punta Pacifica. It would be on or near the water, in a newer building with some amenities such as a pool and gym. Add ~ 10% for furnished options.
We speak Spanish and English and the weather is similar to Florida. It will be the perfect place for is I think. All I got to do ia convince my wife. That's the real challenge
Straight up honest video. Thank you!
You're welcome Luis :)
Panama City is nice and very centric for traveling around LATAM but since the video focuses on things you may not like I will add a few.
- It is not so much the heat but the humidity.
- People are friendly but that doesn’t translate into good customer service.
- Costs comments are spot on.
- No professional sports like USA/Mexico.
- People drive horribly.
- Police protection is not very good (although the country is safer than Mexico, Colombia or Venezuela)
- Some US foods are extremely expensive or very hard to find.
- Expensive import fees for US online shopping
- The finishing in properties is not very good.
- Long rainy season
- Panama City is beautiful bot not easy to walk around. Sidewalks are nonexistent or broken.
- Really heavy traffic
- Lacks a really good concert venue,
Fair comments!
I mean...I kind of want to defend each one of these, line by line because I would disagree with a few or at least put them in context compared to other countries in the region. Standing by if anyone would like me to do that :)
Good to know, was looking at this due to a video by Nomad Capitalist.
I just returned from my first visit to Panama and found that the language barrier was not that bad…most service people had some basic English knowledge and if not, the use of Google translate is widely used. If I moved there, I would definitely learn Spanish to make it easier. Panama City was fairly modern…didn’t have great cell service outside the city and goes from affluent to “developing” pretty quickly. Went to Bocas Del Toro and it reminded me of Belize a lot.
Agreed Doug!
Very interesting. Thank you
Exactly, right on...I wish more of the expat Panama reviews would talking about the things the person misses from their home country and the cons of living there.
Thanks fore the video !
Glad you liked it!
is it true that the American dollar is the norm, because like in Mexico where you have to convert to the peso?
Yes, we are on the Dollar here in Panama
no convalescent homes...in Panama. what does that say
Thank you for the video! Is it true that there are no street names or physical addresses in Panama? If this is true, how does one go about getting a shipment from the US? Does everyone have a post office box?
Hi, yes but packages arrive directly to the buildings and some people do opt for PO boxes with providers such as Mailboxes Etc
I think to move and I not have problem with the language because my first language is Spanish.
Very informative!
Glad you liked it
Bravo Ken La verite Merci beaucoup from Montreal
Love your videos Kent! I’ll be in Panama for a couple of weeks in March to work on my FNV, and will head over to Pedasi as that’s an area that looks like a good fit for me. What’s wifi like there?
Hi Edie, Jonathan Clay here from our Pedasi office. Thanks for your comment and looking forward to your Pedasi visit! Wifi is great here with 500MB packages available in certain parts of town, and up to 20/30MB available just about anywhere else.
One of the many problems no one addresses is the Panamanian currency. Although Panama has its own currency (the Balboa), however, Panama also uses the U.S. dollar. The Balboa to U.S. dollar exchange rate is 1-to-1, which doesn't make since when it comes to GDP. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Panama was worth 52.94 billion US dollars in 2020. Compare that to the U.S. GDP in 2020 at l$20.93 trillion. So how did the 1-to-1 exchange rate balance off? Someone with subject matter expertise in economy explain this...
Hi 👋
Thanks for the vids!
Question... a US cit. Can come for 6 months. If one was to leave and come back for a certain amount of time, does your time start over?
Hi there, yes! But the last time we checked, you need to be out of the country for a certain amount of time
@@PanamaequityRealEstate
I appreciate your response. Are you able to ship personal home goods during this time? I have a pallet of things I would like to bring with me. How does shipping work there? Do you need a visa to ship. If they allow someone to be there for one year and drive for 90 days while there, you think thy would let you ship...
I lived in Panama during the Noriega years (1987-1991). I had the top floor of the Perla Mar apartment building near the corner of Ave Balboa and Federico Boyd. Are Bella Vista and Marbella still desirable areas and what are the average rents for a nice apartment, furnished or unfurnished?
Hey Mike, for sure! So rental prices are generally about 10% higher furnished. These days, for ocean views in a newer building, you'd be looking at between $10 - $14 per meter per month. So figure a small two bedroom, 100 meter apartment would rent for between $1,000 - $1,400 per month. That would get you amenities like a pool and a gym, plus walk on access to the Cinta Costera along the water. Hope to see you back down here soon...you wouldn't recognize the place!!
@@PanamaequityRealEstate I live in Florida and can rent places near beach towns for similar prices. Clean beach, good solid infrastructure. I prefer Thailand for all my holidays so now as I coast into retirement I am still open to other places but really don't see it. Portugal, Spain, Panama get mentioned. Some parts of Mexico still being relatively easy to get back to the USA for any medical needs, etc.
Thanks Kent!
Hey you're welcome :)
@@PanamaequityRealEstate What about Airbnb option Condos or Housing are the Realtors/Owners ok with renting your place out to guests??? Any laws???
Centigrade or Celsius?
You say tomato, yo digo tomate ;)
How much does it cost to go to the movies and are they in English with subtitles in Spanish or vice versa?
Hey Victor, usually movies run from $6-$10 then you jump up to VIP for around $16. They are almost always English with Spanish subtitles and vice versa for kids movies
@@kentdavis9271 Thanks very much for the reply Kent.
@@victortoombs4754 Also, if you are of retirement age you can get deep discounts on top of that.
I enjoy the movies and I understand why the theaters here and elsewhere show the superhero/Marvel releases. That’s where the money is. However I miss going to adult themed movies and many are never shown here.
Is it even possible to live in Panama with a low European pension of around 1200 dollar ? After buying a small house ?
is beef expensive in panama? It seems panama is years behind USA? that is a good thing. i hear they pray in schools?
It depends on the teacher. Especially in the morning shift. But the kid can just be silent if he doesn't want to participate. On the other hand religion is a subject in school and is focused in catholicism. In my personal experience is a useless subject.
@@ACS2 I have had classmates who are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhists, Hindu and Native American in Panama and they were not forced to take religion classes. Even in the actual catholic parochial schools which I attended.
What's dating like for a 60 single white American man in Pedasi or
2nd choice Las Tablas?
@Tedd Tennis Should language be a barrier, you can get an head start using a very low-effort method which truly accelerates your language-learning, even if you don;pt think you have an aptitude for languages. It;'s called the Pimsleur Language Method. Look it up. It's very inexpensive and it is extremely effective so you will be speaking in no time.
Depends on what you are looking for.
If you want a woman half your age then it will be all about money. If you want a woman 40 and over then your options open up. From an attractive standpoint women in Panama are not that attractive.
You need to understand you are coming to a Spanish-speaking country so it will be mandatory to have a decent grasp of Spanish and… be willing to constantly improve your speaking ability if you really want to find someone. From my experience most people over 50 are either too lazy or are not interested to learn. If you are going to live in an ex-pat area it will be very tough.
$30 American
Panamá sounds great but I'm concerned about the garbage litter and lack of environmental awareness that I've heard about. It's such a beautiful place, why not maintain it? Are any changes/policies being made for clean up efforts?
Morning Val! Youre right, especially in the city the trash pickup and trash culture is not anything like the US or Europe. Folks just dont think about it, which is sad. The hope is that Panama will continue to try and educate folks and be as organized/progressive as possible with waste disposal. Our current mayor of Panama is generally considered ineffective
It didn't occur to you to discuss rent/home prices, really?
I think it's like anywhere. The cost of anything depends on how resourceful you are. What are your expectations? Where I live in SoCal it's very, very expensive. I have a beautiful apartment in a highly desirable location for a small fraction of the local housing cost. It didn't come easy, I was determined. I'd found gems before and believed that I could do it again even though I didn't know how. I needed not wanted and when I found it I didn't hesitate. Being a senior it was one of the best moves I've ever made. I live well and save a lot of money every month that I can invest.
@@beverlyb6391 I give up but thanks for taking the time to reply
@@Ken10001 I should've been more diplomatic.
@@Ken10001 Hey Ken, we've got videos galore on the property market. I was trying to stay away from that subject on this particular video. Pop over to the site or perhaps brose our youtube videos a bit more.
👌🏼
I just couldn’t handle having to quarantine my pets.