Girls, Booze and Taxis… Cost of Living: Panama

By far the most common question I receive from people (men) interested in moving to Panama or one of its Central American sisters is “What is the cost of living?” I´ve been in Panama for two months now and knowing that I would eventually do this piece for readers, I have paid careful attention to what it costs to operate.

I suppose I have had an advantage here because I’ve lived in several developing nations and it seems that once you can adjust to the financial aspects of one, it is that much easier in the next. People arriving here from Europe or the U.S. will immediately notice that this place is cheaper than home but it will take them some time to realize the available savings because the locals won’t necessarily give you accurate prices and will sometimes simply try to rip you off.

Whether its produce or prostitutes the two-tier pricing system is definitely in practice here for those bearing the mark of the Gringo. A good example would be a young man from Florida that came to the Miami Bar and had a few drinks with us. There were girls everywhere, all with services for sale. Eventually he took a stunning Colombian back to his room.

He caught up with us a few hours later and was quite pleased when he reported the experience had only cost him $250.00. He had been in country for only a day but even for the newly arrived, I found the extent to which he had been scalped incredible. A generous but knowledgeable guy could have easily done the same tango for less than half that.

I´m not an advocate for people who are trying to pinch pennies on everything and won’t go anywhere that isn’t cheap, but to me it’s simply a matter of principle to pay as close to what locals do for any given service or product. If however, you just have so much money that cost is immaterial, at least have some pity on those of us who don’t wipe our backsides with c-notes and try to remember that when you pay $10 for a 5 minute taxi ride you are making things more difficult for all of us and probably adding to the suspicion that we are just dumb foreigners.

If you are an elderly person, you can take all the following prices I give you and subtract between 10-50 % depending on the service. If you are not a senior but are able to prove a retirement income, and thus obtain a retirement visa, you can also make those deductions.

However even as a Pensionado, be prepared to remind wait staff or sometimes argue with hotel clerks to get them to honor it. I know a Septuagenarian attorney from Hawaii that is retired here and anytime someone will not alter his bill with the discount, he just whips out his phone and calls the tourist police. Works every time.

Taxis: Getting around is an essential part of your life here. Panama City is not a big place but you will often find yourself needing to go from one side of the city to the other several times in a day just to handle a simple business matter. My average taxi fair is between $2-6 and if you are going anywhere in the city where the airport is not your point of origin then you shouldn’t pay more than $8.

I´ve had drivers quote me ridiculous fares like $12 to go from the Marina to my hotel and I usually just tell them no thanks, and then get out of the car. At that point, they usually relent and ask you how much you are willing to pay. For that trip, it’s more like $4 and they will rarely refuse this amount. Always decide on the fare before you make the trip. I have not seen a meter in any taxi here.

Rental car agencies are numerous. It will cost about $40 a day for a Japanese job. Don’t get any extra insurance. It will NOT be honored. Importing a car is a good option for people with the retirement visa I mentioned because you pay zero taxes. As far as buying a vehicle here, I could probably get a better deal at home.

Hotels: Hotels are not cheap in this city. The primary reason being that they tend to stay full. $22 a night is about the cheapest you can manage in the city proper. Go for the rooms in the $22-$30 range because they tend to be of the exact same quality as the ones in the $40-50 area. You can get a very decent apartment here for $300 a month and this goes down as you get further from the city center. Get on the outskirts of the city and you can buy a house for $13,000.

Food and Drink: Having a beer in most bars throughout the city will run you a dollar a bottle. If you prefer the more popular nightclubs, they can go up to $4. Mixed drinks with anything other than Seko (local sugar cane liquor) will be $2 and up. Food can be cheap here, too.

The Panamanians eat rice with almost everything. I actually eat more rice here than I did in Thailand. Alot of the menus here resemble Popeye’s Chicken. Red beans and rice, fried chicken and Cole slaw. Fruit is good and cheap and so is seafood. There are morning markets that close early where you can get the best deals. My average lunch costs $3 with a drink and dinner $6. This is for average grub but if you prefer a more costly dining experience, you won’t have trouble finding it.

I ate at a place called Habibis on Via Espana two weeks ago with a couple of girls (twins actually, one of them is my lawyer) and the bill came out to $107.00.

Girls: Whenever I get the “how much does it cost to live there?” question, I can’t help but think that I’m actually being asked “how much do girls cost?” Like everything else, this depends on location and quality. You can go into San Miguelito and do the marathon with some sweet gal for $10 or you could do like our friend from Florida and spend the maximum that your ATM will allow you for one day on a single roll in the hay.

For the average hotel run with a working gal it should cost approximately $20-$25. If you plan on being here a while though it is in your best interest to just get a mobile phone and start exchanging numbers with women. They have absolutely no qualms about dating a foreigner and you will save yourself the seedy feeling of having to negotiate every encounter.

Note: Doing it the old-fashioned way is just as costly.


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