Living In Panama Is A Life-Style Change
Panama is the Number #1 location in the world for Americans living outside the U.S. There are a lot of reasons for Panama's popularity with expats, reasons that often vary with the individuals involved. People searching for a place to relocate often consider a host of factors - climate, living expenses, modern conditions, national infrastucture, transportation systems, political stability, and proximity to the U.S. (read travel time). And any one of these factors may become a priority as people 'settle in' to life in a foreign country. And more often than not, travel magazines and publications oriented towards expats considering relocation tend to paint totally pretty pictures. They concentrate on the positive points and seldom even discuss the country's 'warts', even in passing.
But normally for an American to move to Panama (or an expat from almost any country for that matter), the move is much more than just a change of location. For most it is a change in life-style as well. And yes, there are a lot of folks who move here 'permanently' only to pack up after a couple of years and move back to the States. The stated reasons for returning back to the U.S. are most often health or family factors. I am convinced after watching these movements for the last five years that the underlying reason is often a failure, or a reluctance, to adapt to the life-style changes required to live here.
Let me give you some examples of what I mean. Don Winner, who publishes the popular and informative English-language web news site (Panama - Guide), recently conducted a survey of expats living in Panama. Don's goal was to try to quantify what expats were spending on a monthly basis to live in Panama - an average. Respondents were asked to provide information about their personal situation in enough detail to be able to account for differences in family and living situations. Where they lived, in what kind of accomodations, monthly rent/house payments, utility costs, automobile costs (to include insurance and gasoline expenditures), food and entertainment expenditures and family size were items of interests. Don even suggested that people who traveled regularly back to visit the U.S. factor those costs into their monthly expense figure.
As you might expect, peoples' life styles were as varied in Panama as they are back in the U.S. The contrast runs from retired well-to-do couples living in luxury high-rises in downtown Panama City to a single man living off of a small Social Security pension in a hostel in the rural countryside - and everything in between including entire families, beach-front home owners and mountain cabin hide-aways. And lifestyle is not the only thing that impacts monthly expenditures. A large number of folks have fairly low monthly costs because they came down here before the 'crash' in the U.S. (with cash in their pockets from the sale of the family home), and paid cash for both a home and an automobile. So their monthly expensive are, should we say, artificially low compared to their lifestyle. A lot of more recent arrivals do not share that advantage and spend more money on a monthly basis. But it seems to balance out statistically.
However, even given all the variables, the survey results were surprising - even to Winner who has been here a long time and is 'plugged in' to what is going on in Panama. Taken all the factors into consideration, the average monthly cost per person for expats living in Panama turns out to be less than $1,000 a month. Yes, you read that right! Including everything, the average is less than $1,000 - and yes, that means half the people are living on less than that.
What you have no way of knowing is that not everything across the board is cheaper in Panama. Yes some things are cheaper, but gasoline for instance is more expensive than in the U.S., as are a lot of food items. So the 'cheap living' can not be attributed solely to cheap prices. And that is where lifestyle comes in. Let me use my personal situation as an example to emphasize my point.
I moved into the Hotel Occidental on the town square in David when I first got here almost five years ago. (Click on the photos to enlarge) The hotel was ideally located, inexpensive and more than adequate. My plan was to stay there while I shopped around while I found an apartment here in the area. The monthly rate I paid worked out to about $13 a day ($400/month) and that was consideraly more than what a two-bedroom apartment rents for here in David. However, here I am years later, still in the hotel even though just a couple of months ago they raised my rate for the first time. I now pay $15 a day. So why am I still here? Re-evaluation and certain lifestyle changes, pure and simple. Let me explain.
As I shopped around David looking at different neighborhoods and a number of different living options (apartment buildings, duplexes, small houses, etc.) - and as I learned some of the practical considerations of living in David - I began to appreciate more and more the situation I had at the hotel. The first thing that sank in on me was a security consideration. No, David is not a dangerous place, but an American retiree to some degree is a 'visible target' in that certain people assume (and normally it is so) that you have in your house a computer, a modern TV, a stereo system of some type and a good camera - just for starters. And I am going to be living alone and going off twice a year for a month at a time to visit back in the U.S. Sound like you are just asking for trouble? There are a lot of places even in the U.S. where that could create problems.
On the flip side, unlike hotels in the U.S., access to hotels down here is strictly limited. Unless you are a paying guest in the hotel, you do not walk by the front desk and get on the elevator and go upstairs. You do not even bring in a 'visitor' in the evening unless they leave their ID at the front desk. So the chances of someone breaking in your room when you are gone is slim. The chance that someone is going to even try to 'cart' your valuables past the front desk on the way out the door is nil. First advantage to the Hotel Occidental!
While I was apartment shopping I was also shopping for a car. Gotta have a car, right,? Then one day a 'light dawned' on that subject as well. An expat friend who was helping me out revealed that he owned a car. Since he always spent the $1 and took cabs all over town, I was shocked to discover he had a car, I asked him why he never drove it. He explained that the majority of the Panamanians in David did not own a car - the primary reason there were so many taxis available everywhere all over town. And unlike the 'car society' in the U.S., David's infrastructure was therefore not car oriented. I realized he was correct when he noted that there were not public parking lots in downtown David. And most businesses do not have parking either. His apartment building had no parking lot, so he had to walk two blocks to the place that he paid to store his car, so he could then drive it across town to conduct business at an establishment that did not have any parking. So he would drive around and around the block until he found a parking place. For example even most of the big supermarkets here in town have very limited parking available. That is when I also started to realize that everything I needed on a regular basis - ATM machine, pharmacy, supermarket, restaurants, bars, etc. - where not only within two blocks of the hotel, I could see most of them from my balcony. And no, the hotel does not have parking either.
I have since learned some other 'problems' with driving in Panama that I have decided I do not need as long as I can go any place in town by taxi for next to nothing. Expats can only drive on their U.S. drivers licenses for 90 days and then they have the authorization renewed at the border to be good for another 90 days. This 90 day requiremnt used to 'line up' with the 90-day tourist visa, but when they changed the visa duration to 180 days, they did not change the driver's license. There is also now a form that must be carried in the car that you must fill out in case of a minor accident. The form is in Spanish and must be completed in Spanish.
Many of the expats who have been here a while also strongly recommend that you have a 'dash cam' installed in your car. For starters in the case of a traffic stop, policemen are less likely to 'play games' with the gringo if they can plainly see they are on camera. Even more important, it is pretty much a given that in case of a traffic accident, the gringo was at fault. A good dash cam has leveled that playing field and has saved a lot of expats a lot of grief and expense.
I should also note that gas is more expensive here than in the U.S. And there are some things about driving down here that take some getting use to. This picture is a good example of some of the surprises in store for the un-initiated. Click on the photo so you can play 'Find The Stop Sign'.
Keep in mind I am not trying to convince you to get rid of your car. Rather what we are discussing is life style changes involved in my move. Not changes I planned, they just evolved. A few years ago I could never have envisioned myself without a car. And early on, I almost bought one out of a knee-jerk reaction. I realize now that if I did have a car here, it would be a several hundred dollar a month expense that I don't need, and probably a car I would not drive that much.
The other conscious decision I made very early was to try and reduce the frustration level of my life. And that also drove me to consider even more the hotel as home. In simplest terms, all the utilities and other expenses are part of the hotel bill. No, utilities are not expensive here, but I don't have to mess with water, electricity, and TV cable bills. That may not sound like a big deal to you, but here you do not pay your utility bills by sending them a check or clicking on a button on your computer. Every month you trek over to the utility company's office and stand in line to pay your bill. And, based on what I read on all the gringo blogs, the utility companies are infamous for never seeming to get it right. What is this charge? I paid last month, why is that charge still on this month's bill? Oh, I'm in the wrong line? Does anyone here speak English? Come back tomorrow? Can you imagine going through something like that every month? No thanks!
So the bottom line is this. Relocating to Panama, or any other foreign country, is not just a change of location. It may entail lifestyle changes that you cannot anticipate and, quite candidly do not want. That is why I am still amazed to see people arrive down here 'fresh off the boat' looking for a house to buy. Wait a minute here - cart and horse time! And nothing is sadder to see than a couple 'taking a bath' on the house they just bought last year and returning to the U.S. Wiser? Maybe.
Larry Matthews
Till Next Time. Pura Vida