Cheapest Places to Live

It's been a while since I updated this lens about Panama as one of the Cheapest Places to Live. Over the past seven years a lot has happened in Panama. When we arrived in 2003 you could buy a cold beer for 25 cents and lunch for two bucks. Then the 'boomers' starting arriving in droves! It was quite exciting for a time but also a bit disconcerting. We saw the price of just about everything start to climb - the good old laws of 'supply and demand' were kicking in. Then the price of steel, oil and even concrete went through the roof, seemingly overnight, plus the US housing market crashed and a lot of the action in Panama ground to a halt. The outer lying areas like Boquete have been hit hardest while Panama City has done a pretty good job of weathering the storm. Prices of most things have settled down although I have to admit Panama is certainly now not the Cheapest Place to Live in the world. That said it still offers one heck of a lifestyle for a lot less than you would pay in similar locales.

Panama one of the Cheapest Place to Travel

I still find Panama to be one of the Cheapest and Safest Places to travel. And I mean travel, not just sit on a beach somewhere or at an all-inclusive resort which could be just about anywhere in the world! It's easy and cheap to run all over the country and lots of fun too. When you get bored of surfing in Bocas del Toro you can easily hop on a plane or a bus and make your way to the cool Chiriqui highlands communities of Boquete or Volcan. Bird watching and hiking getting a little too quiet for you? Jump back on that bus or plane and make your way to Panama City for some fabulous fun including nightlife, shopping, gaming and fine dinning to name a few. Panama Hotels are numerous in almost every part of the country and it's pretty easy to find one that fits your budget.

Post 9/11 we were restless. The world was calling and we decided to see just how well we could live 'off-shore' on a bargain budget.

Our internet search took us around the globe but one country kept popping up again and again. The draw was strong enough that we spontaneously packed our bags and boarded a plane to see if all the hype about Panama was for real.

Now I have to pause and admit that although we are budget minded we really couldn't be classified as 'cheap'. Don't get me wrong - we love a bargain but other priorities certainly bumped price down the list when it came to finding what we considered to be a cheap place to live. With two kids safety was right at the top. Next was climate and then came comfort and a standard of living at least equivalent to our Canadian lifestyle.

Our first visit to Panama was such a pleasant experience that we moved there a short six weeks later! We felt very safe and welcome and the Panama Weather was wonderful. As for being the cheapest place to live I can honestly say it was by far the cheapest we have ever experienced. Housing was a fraction of what we paid back in Canada. Our grocery bill, including an abundance of fresh fruit, veggies, fish and meat came in at about 1/3 the price and one of the biggest costs of all didn't even exist - property taxes.

Well I don't have the space to share our entire journey here on this lens so if you're curious and interested in 'the rest of the story' and the journey we took to our Panama Retirement you can sign up for our free 'Letters from Panama' - here -
LearnAboutPanama.com
Hasta Luego! Mark