Everything We Know About Moving to Panama

Start here

Panama Residency Options for U.S. Citizens

Pensionado, Friendly Nations, and Qualified Investor visas compared — what each requires and who each is right for.

Visa Series

The Panama Pensionado Visa, Start to Finish

Our complete series on the Pensionado process — income requirements, the attorney, every document, filing day, and what changes for same-sex couples — built from Brian’s own real timeline, dates included.

LGBTQ+ & Legal

Estate Planning for Gay Couples in Panama

Panama doesn’t recognize our marriage — here’s exactly what that means for property, medical decisions, and inheritance, and the documents that close the gap. Includes our follow-up piece on using a foundation to protect a partner’s inheritance.

Money Series

Finance & Money in Panama: The Complete Series

Taxes, banking, insurance, retirement accounts, and the financial moves that actually matter when you relocate — built from our own accounts, our own numbers.

Cost of Living

What Does It Actually Cost to Live in Panama City?

Three real monthly budgets — lean, mid-range, and comfortable — with the arithmetic actually checked, not a single vague number that means nothing without the specifics behind it.

Housing

Neighborhoods in Panama City

Where gay expats actually live — walkability, safety, rent ranges, and our honest take on each area.

Buying Property Series

Buying Property in Panama, Start to Finish

No MLS, no title insurance, no buyer’s agent the way you know them. Our complete series on titled land vs. Rights of Possession, finding an agent, due diligence, closing, and buying as a gay couple.

Home & Renovation Series

Complete Guide to Remodeling in Panama

Contractors, materials, pricing, permits, and the specific mistakes expats make when renovating in Panama.

Electricity Series

The Complete Electricity Guide to Panama

Rates, billing tiers, voltage, wiring hazards in older homes, mini splits, solar, and backup power — everything that determines whether your electric bill is $80 or $500.

Daily Life

Panama Has No Home Mail Delivery — Here’s What Expats Do Instead

No street addresses, no home delivery, an unreliable national postal service. Here’s how mail, packages, and directions to your front door actually work.

Daily Life

Can Men Wear Shorts in Panama? Yes. Here’s the Actual Rule.

Every blog post says long pants are required. We spent a full day sweating through khakis on the Metro before we figured out what’s actually true — and what isn’t.

Daily Life

Smoking & Vaping in Panama: What’s Legal, What’s Not, and Where

Panama’s tobacco laws are stricter than most expats expect. Where you can smoke, where you can’t, and what the vaping rules actually say.

Overview

Healthcare in Panama: The Good & The Bad

Private clinics, specialists, insurance options, the Pensionado health certificate, and where the system genuinely falls short.

Costs

Healthcare Costs in Panama: An Honest Financial Guide

What routine care, insurance, and a serious hospital event actually cost — and the age windows that close earlier than most people expect.

Medicare

Does Medicare Cover You in Panama?

What Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medigap actually do once you’re living here full-time — including the federal regulation most guides get wrong.

Emergency Planning

If Something Goes Wrong: Medical Emergencies and What Every Expat Needs to Plan

What to have in place before you need it — insurance, documentation, and the decisions that are much harder to make in the moment than in advance.

By Region

Healthcare by Location in Panama: A Region-by-Region Guide

Panama City’s hospitals would not embarrass Miami. Bocas del Toro’s would. An honest map of what’s available — and how far you are from what you might actually need.

Aging Well

Aging Well in Panama: Assisted Living Options for Expats

The question nobody wants to ask — but everyone planning a real retirement abroad eventually has to face. Facility types, costs, and what to look for.

Aging Well

Assisted Care in Panama by Location: A Region-by-Region Guide and Hiring Checklist

You’ve decided Panama is where you’re aging. Now the practical question: where, and with whom? Options by region plus a full checklist for hiring in-home care.

Hard Questions

When Do You Go Back? The U.S. vs. Panama Healthcare Decision Every Expat Will Eventually Face

What triggers the conversation, when Panama’s hospitals are genuinely enough, when they aren’t, and the discussion every couple should have before they need to have it.