Living in Panama

Living in Panama is at once different and the same as living in the U.S. Due to the tremendous influence of the many American families who lived in Panama to work on the Panama Canal, you’ll find all the amenities and guilty pleasures most U.S. citizens are familiar with and used to.

Ninety years of having Americans living in your cities will gentrify them like no other way. You feel like you’re in a foreign country, but the language, currency and modern-styled cities tell you otherwise. Where once lived 50,000 U.S. families, only 19,000 remain. Those who left refer to Panama as their own lost Paradise. That Paradise could be yours.

Panama has a rich, laid-back Caribbean-Latin culture. Her people are a blend of Europeans, Indians, Africans, Chinese, Hindu and Jews who share a love of fun and a friendly, easy-going lifestyle. The “mestizo” influence spices up the ever-present U.S. influences found in her cities.

Panama City has all the trappings of a high-energy American city like Miami. Restaurants are diverse and abundant. Even the water is safe to drink--not always the case in Latin-American countries. On the business end, there are 90 banks, including Citibank for handling any type of commerce. Not only do the banks speak English, the U.S. dollar is the currency of Panama. That prevents costly currency exchanges.

Panama has an extremely low crime rate, especially in comparison to other Latin-American countries. Even the capital, Panama City, has remarkably little of the type of street crime found in large cities anywhere. Three-month foreign visitors and those who stay for half the year agree to feeling safe in Panama by day or night.

Panama City is convenient to everything—the beaches, the shopping, the historical attractions and the ever-present rain forest. Transportation is easily accessible--cab rides across town usually cost less than $5.