Living
Cost of living, healthcare, schools
Guides on living
Renting an Apartment in Panama City: A Practical Guide
How to rent an apartment in Panama City: what your lease covers, the deposit rules that protect you, and how to line a place up before you fly out.
9 min · August 2026
Panama's Best Beach Towns for Expats and Buyers
Which Panama beach town suits you: Coronado for access to the capital, Pedasí and Venao for quiet, Bocas for island life. And where you cannot buy at all.
8 min · August 2026
Best Places to Retire in Panama (2026): 8 Towns Compared
Boquete for spring weather, Coronado for the beach near the capital, Pedasí for quiet. Eight towns compared on climate, cost, healthcare and rental supply.
11 min · August 2026
Getting Around Panama City: Metro, Buses and Taxis
Panama City's metro costs 35 cents on Line 1 and 50 on Line 2, and your own bank card taps you in. How to get around the city, including from the airport.
8 min · August 2026
Panama Internet 2026: Tigo, +Móvil and Starlink Prices
Tigo and +Móvil cover most of Panama with fibre and Starlink fills the gaps. What the plans cost, what speeds to expect, and how to check your own address.
8 min · August 2026
Living in Panama: healthcare, schools and daily life
Living in Panama means a dollar economy, a Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospital, and a state health scheme foreigners can join. Here is how daily life works.
8 min · August 2026
Moving to Panama: Pets, Furniture and Your Licence
The errands that make a move to Panama real: landing your pets, shipping furniture duty-free up to B/.25,000, converting your licence, opening a bank account.
12 min · August 2026
Moving to Panama from Canada: Visas, CPP/OAS Tax, Flights
Copa flies nonstop from Toronto and Montreal, and Canadians qualify for Friendly Nations residency. What to plan for on CPP and OAS withholding before you go.
9 min · August 2026
Moving to Panama from Texas: Dollars, Flights and Visas
A dollar economy, the same time zone as home and an easy flight back. What a move from Texas actually involves, and what to expect from the IRS once you go.
6 min · August 2026
Moving to Panama from the UK: Visas, Costs, Pensions
Panama's Pensionado visa, territorial tax and dollar economy make this a clean move from the UK. What to plan for, including how your State Pension behaves.
6 min · August 2026
Moving to Panama with Pets 2026: Permits, Fees, Quarantine
Your dog or cat can fly into Panama and serve the 40-day quarantine at your own address. The paperwork, the February 2026 fees, and the steps on arrival day.
9 min · August 2026
Driving in Panama: Licences and How to Convert Yours
You can drive on your home licence for 90 days, then exchange it without sitting a road test once residency lands. What to bring, what it costs, and the timing.
6 min · August 2026
Food Costs in Panama: Groceries and Where to Shop
What food actually costs in Panama, from the government's monthly basket to what lands in your own trolley. Where to shop, and how to eat well for less.
6 min · August 2026
Panama Digital Nomad Visa: Requirements and Costs
Panama's remote worker visa lets you live here for nine months on $36,000 a year of foreign income. What Decreto 198 requires, what it costs, and how to apply.
7 min · August 2026
Healthcare in Panama for Expats: Costs, Insurance, Hospitals
Panama has a Johns Hopkins-affiliated hospital and a state health scheme foreigners can join from $110 a month. What care costs and what your visa requires.
11 min · August 2026
Panama SIM Cards: Carriers, Plans and Prices
Getting a Panama SIM takes a passport and about ten minutes. What Tigo and +Móvil charge, which covers where you are going, and how eSIM works on arrival.
7 min · August 2026
Panama vs Belize for Retirement: Visas, Costs, Healthcare
Panama's Pensionado asks $1,000 a month for life; Belize's QRP asks $2,000 from abroad. How the two retirement programmes compare, and which one suits you.
10 min · August 2026
Panama vs Colombia for Retirement: A Comparison
Panama's pension threshold is fixed in law, while Colombia's moves with the minimum wage. How the two compare on visas, tax, healthcare and buying property.
6 min · August 2026
Panama vs Costa Rica for Retirement: Which Fits You
Both ask around $1,000 a month for a retirement visa. They part company on health insurance, tax and property, and that is what decides which one suits you.
11 min · August 2026
Panama vs Mexico for Retirement: Visas, Costs, Taxes
Panama's Pensionado threshold is a fixed 2008 figure; Mexico's resets each February. How the two compare on residency, tax and owning property.
6 min · August 2026
Panama vs Portugal for Retirement: Which Fits You
Portugal closed its property golden visa and its NHR tax regime. Panama's Pensionado stayed open. Here is how the two now compare for a retiree deciding today.
6 min · August 2026
Panama vs Spain for Retirement: Visas and Costs
Spain repealed its golden visa in 2025, leaving the non-lucrative route. Panama's Pensionado is open to any retiree with a lifetime pension. How they compare.
8 min · August 2026
Panama Weather by Month: Rainy Season and Hurricane Risk
Panama's rainy season runs May to November, heaviest in September and October, and the country sits outside the hurricane belt: one landfall in 173 years.
8 min · August 2026
How to retire in Panama: the visa, health cover and costs
Retire in Panama on a lifetime pension of B/.1,000 a month, or B/.750 if you own property here. The visa, health cover and customs rules, each sourced.
8 min · August 2026
Is Panama Safe? What the Official Data Shows
Panama's violent crime is concentrated in specific districts, and the provinces where most foreigners settle look very different. What the official data shows.
9 min · August 2026
Things to Do in Panama: Six World Heritage Sites
Panama holds six UNESCO World Heritage properties. What to see across the country, what the park gate fees are, and how to plan a first trip around them.
11 min · August 2026
Why Some Expats Leave Panama, and Who Stays
What separates a move to Panama that sticks from one that does not: renting through a rainy season first, visiting in October, and the two-year rules to know.
9 min · August 2026
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