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I've given up on my quest to move to Hawaii and became interested in Panama. Is there anyone that can give me any info on Panama City, Panama? I've read and heard that it's cheaper to live in Panama than in the States but the problem is finding a decent paying job. I've read that getting into real estate is a possibility as an American speaker catering to foreigners there. Any other suggestions? I'd appreciate any info you may have. Thanks!
My dad is from panama city panama.my mom is from colon panama.panama=best place in the world!cost of living is very cheap as well as food and beer :-D(6 pack for under 2.50).i was actually debating moving up there myself.real estate seems like it would be a good thing to get into,they are constantly building new resorts and homes everywhere and plenty of americans as well as other foreigners flock there.jobs are hard to come by even with the american companies,it would be a lot cheaper to pay a panamanian lower wages as opposed to an american to do the same job.what about becoming a english teacher?or even a translator if you speak english and spanish.when i went to get my dual citizenship there was a list of people who translate birth certificates and other documents for a decent amount of money.this lady that did mine didnt even speak english but made a quick buck from me.
Anyways theres also plenty of malls and overall lots to do.few parts to stay away from but overall its pretty nice.have you ever been?im going back on march 3rd
I've been to Panama 3 times now, for about a week each time. I think it's a wonderful country. It's obviously still developing but it's not entirely undeveloped. Panama City has some great new buildings, a beautiful skyline situated along the ocean, and Metropolitan Park is really cool. The people there are very friendly and accepting of Americans and tourists. Most of the people I met seemed to enjoy their lives even if they didn't have much by our standards. It was very easy to make friends. The country has strong ties with the US, accepts US dollars as currency everywhere with no exchange rate, and many people speak at least some English and are eager to practice it or help you out with your Spanish if you give it a try.
My single favorite thing about Panama is probably its location. It's pretty much perfect IMO. Its proximity to the equator means that it stays around 85 - 95 pretty much all year long. There is a rainy season for a couple months but the rest of the time the rainfall is not bad. One could live in Panama City in a modern high-rise situated on the Pacific coast overlooking the ocean and be within minutes of one of the wonders of the modern world, pristine beaches on the Pacific ocean, mountainous rain-forests, and maybe a couple hours from the Caribbean Sea. I read on a Snapple bottle-cap once that it is the only country in the world where you can actually watch the sun rise in the Pacific and set in the Atlantic!
On top of this, Panama City has a major international airport that offers flights daily to the US, most South American countries, and even Europe and Africa (don't necessarily confuse major with large). Flights to and from the US can be had for cheap. Every flight I've taken has been less than $400 round trip after taxes.
Panama is one of the more stable countries and has a reasonable economy for Latin America. This is due largely to their ties to the US and their large, renown banking system. I read somewhere that they're considered the central bank for Latin America, probably due to their general neutrality and ties to the US. However, it will be difficult to get a decent job, especially if you don't have a higher-education style skill. As with most developing countries there is an abundance of unskilled labor available. I also think that there's some law that states that if the employer can find a Panamanian citizen that is capable of doing the job then they must hire the Panamanian citizen. As such, your best bet is probably to start your own business. You'll probably want to parley your fluent English and knowledge of American culture and sensibilities into something that caters to American tourists and retirees.
I like the real-estate idea. I think that this could work well in an area that has just recently been "discovered" and is starting to feel the influx of tourism and older people looking for cheaper vacation and retirement homes in "paradise." I think that Panama will relatively quickly go the way of the other Caribbean countries which now have relatively expensive property values. Costa Rica has been on a sharp rise in recent years and Panama will follow shortly after since it is the next country in line geographically and has some additional benefits over Costa Rica. Keep in mind that you will probably be self-employed and not guaranteed income or benefits.
If you do decide to go this route, please let me know. I've been thinking about possibly buying a place and/or moving there for a while now!
BTW, while you're down there, definitely try some Ron Abuelo Anejo! This is most likely the best rum for your money that you can buy anywhere. It's my favorite rum to date and I've tried some good ones from Jamaica, Nicaragua, etc.. It also gets rated very highly on most rum rating sites I've seen and it only costs about $10 / liter in Panama! This is usually less than 1/4 the price of most of the other rums it gets compared to.
Just returned from Panama City after spending a few weeks there.
I will give you my opinion from an American perspective, as I feel pretty informed because I lived with a Panamanian family while staying there:
The city itself: Panama City is absolutely beautiful. It's right on the Pacific end of the Panama Canal. The skyline is beautiful and most of the buildings are new. It's as if there was never a recession there. The architecture of many of the buildings are also magnificent. There's a particular high-rise under construction that curves upwards like a DNA chain that's breathtaking.
Jobs: The above poster is right in regards to hiring Panamanians first. If you're a citizen you get first priority, and not knowing Spanish bumps you back even further. Panama has a high English retention rate compared to other Latin American countries, but it's nowhere near Europe or other industrialized nations. Panama doesn't cater to English speakers outside of road signs and sometimes store signs. You will have to learn Spanish to communicate with service workers, police, ordinary citizens, and customers. I agree that the only position that an American who doesn't know Spanish can hold is to teach English.
Cost of living: In terms of commodities its pretty much equivalent to the US. Gas is about $3.30/gallon (like it is here), a decent meal at a restaurant costs about $10/person (like it does here). The only difference is that alcohol is MUCH cheaper. And I mean shockingly cheap.
Real estate is also significantly cheaper. There were high rises being built downtown in the heart of the city that had rooms starting at the high $200's. That's pretty cheap considering Panama City is the biggest city in the country. However, since there's a boom going on, I'd be curious to see where the prices will be at in a year or two.
Just returned from Panama City after spending a few weeks there.
I will give you my opinion from an American perspective, as I feel pretty informed because I lived with a Panamanian family while staying there:
The city itself: Panama City is absolutely beautiful. It's right on the Pacific end of the Panama Canal. The skyline is beautiful and most of the buildings are new. It's as if there was never a recession there. The architecture of many of the buildings are also magnificent. There's a particular high-rise under construction that curves upwards like a DNA chain that's breathtaking.
Jobs: The above poster is right in regards to hiring Panamanians first. If you're a citizen you get first priority, and not knowing Spanish bumps you back even further. Panama has a high English retention rate compared to other Latin American countries, but it's nowhere near Europe or other industrialized nations. Panama doesn't cater to English speakers outside of road signs and sometimes store signs. You will have to learn Spanish to communicate with service workers, police, ordinary citizens, and customers. I agree that the only position that an American who doesn't know Spanish can hold is to teach English.
Cost of living: In terms of commodities its pretty much equivalent to the US. Gas is about $3.30/gallon (like it is here), a decent meal at a restaurant costs about $10/person (like it does here). The only difference is that alcohol is MUCH cheaper. And I mean shockingly cheap.
Real estate is also significantly cheaper. There were high rises being built downtown in the heart of the city that had rooms starting at the high $200's. That's pretty cheap considering Panama City is the biggest city in the country. However, since there's a boom going on, I'd be curious to see where the prices will be at in a year or two.
I've given up on my quest to move to Hawaii and became interested in Panama. Is there anyone that can give me any info on Panama City, Panama? I've read and heard that it's cheaper to live in Panama than in the States but the problem is finding a decent paying job. I've read that getting into real estate is a possibility as an American speaker catering to foreigners there. Any other suggestions? I'd appreciate any info you may have. Thanks!
Hopefully I will be going there in April and hopefully it won't be a daunting task like my goal to move to Hawaii was.
In what way was moving to Hawaii daunting? I'm not saying that derogatorily, but I could see there being some similar issues between the 2. There's probably some new ones Panama adds and some that it takes away.
Hopefully I will be going there in April and hopefully it won't be a daunting task like my goal to move to Hawaii was.
If Hawaii seemed daunting, than Panama will be a nightmare.
I say that because Hawaii is about the easiest place ever to move to - everything is in English and there is only an ever slight difference of one state to another state in doing things.
Whenever you move out of the country, absolutely everything will be completely different on every level - than you add the language barrier on top of that.
(Panama is not hard to move to, if you know what you're doing - but if Hawaii seemed daunting, than I think you'd struggle immensly with out-of-country).
That's why I asked in what way it was daunting. Hawaii is an extremely expensive place to live. The cost of housing & many groceries are through the roof. If you read her About Me section you'll see that she's an Admin Professional. While that's a pretty flexible job that offers lots of options, it may not pay well enough to support a reasonable quality of life in Hawaii. If that was the most daunting portion then Panama may well be easier for her. Housing is ridiculously cheap compared to Hawaii, and even where she is living now. Groceries are comparable to the majority of the US and slightly less expensive than where she's currently at, which means far cheaper than Hawaii. Of course, getting a job as an admin professional in Panama is rather unlikely since it's not a job that relies on unique skills. That's why she'd have to go another route like teaching English or starting her own real estate company...
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