Why we wrote this — Not a pretty-beaches top-10. Not a “top 10 restaurants” guide. A raw editorial account, two months after landing. What surprised, irritated, delighted. What we learned to avoid. What we’d do again without hesitation.
Context
We arrived end of March 2026 in Panama City — two sisters, 20 and 24, two dogs, from Paris. (Air France story here for the detail). Today, day 60, we write what we wish we’d read before coming.
60 days is short. It’s also enough to have lived: a month in a Marbella Airbnb, a move to Bella Vista, opening a Panamanian SA with Kraemer & Kraemer, filing the Friendly Nations Visa, opening bank accounts (SA then personal), 12 apartment viewings, 30+ Uber rides, 4 vet visits, 2 dentist appointments, 6 Spanish schools contacted, and roughly 80 Cuban sandwiches.
Here’s what we keep.
What surprises (the good kind)
USD fluidity
Panama uses the US dollar as national currency since 1904. The official “balboa” exists in coins (centavos) but no printed bills. Coming from the eurozone, this is strangely freeing: no airport currency exchange, your USD Wise card works instantly, prices show in USD everywhere.
Funny side effect: you quickly realise how much Panama tourism targets Americans, not Europeans. Menus and prices follow US logic (tip culture, portions, naming).
The metro
We didn’t expect much. Panama City metro opened in 2014 (Line 1) and 2019 (Line 2). It’s excellent: air-conditioned, clean, on time every 4-5 minutes at rush hour, $0.35 a trip with the Metro card. Among the best public transport networks in Central America. For north-south axes, it’s the solution.
The digital nomad ecosystem
We didn’t realise. Casco Viejo, El Cangrejo and Marbella are saturated with digital nomads — mostly American, Canadian, Mexican, Argentinian, but also plenty of French and Belgian. Coworkings (Surco, Selina, WeWork), laptop-friendly cafés, meetup events — community exists. Pro: you meet quickly. Con: Casco Viejo is gentrifying fast, prices climbing.
Biodiversity inside the city
Panama City isn’t a jungle-city, but it’s embedded in tropical forest. Metropolitan Park (15 min by Uber from centre) hosts sloths, toucans, capuchin monkeys. Ancón Hill offers panoramic canal + skyline view with wildlife 5 min walk from downtown. Unique — no other LATAM capital has this.
What surprises (less good)
Traffic
It’s the real #1 nuisance. Panama City has 1.5M people but the road network is undersized. Rush hours (7-9am, 5-7pm) turn 8 km into a 45-min Uber. Metro saves on north-south axes, but Bella Vista ↔ Costa del Este (east-west) has no alternative to vehicle. Practical consequence: we plan appointments to dodge those slots.
Humidity
We were warned. But 70-90% humidity, you live it in your body before you understand intellectually. Cotton clothes come out damp from the closet, leather molds, walls develop black spots if you cut the AC. AC becomes essential, not a luxury. Our EDEMET (electricity) bill runs $110-150/month for a 2BR — almost entirely AC.
Conserje culture
In any residential building, the conserje (doorman) is near-omnipotent: filters visitors, signs for packages, watches the dogs, reports to the condo board. Cross him and your life turns sour. Learning to nurture this relationship (greeting every morning, small gestures — soda, holiday tip) is part of the “living in Panama” package. Different from Parisian anonymity.
Administrative slowness
Bank, immigration, electricity, internet, furniture delivery — everything takes 2-4× longer than in France. Not catastrophic, but you must plan widely. Our +Movil Hogar fiber took 8 days from appointment to activation, vs 24-48h in France.
What really irritates
“Ahorita”
The Panamanian “ahorita” means “right away” — except in practice it means “between 30 minutes and 3 hours”. The waiter answering “ahorita” to your bill request. The technician saying “ahorita llego”. The Rappi rider announcing “ahorita”. Living with “ahorita” requires doubling all timelines you’re given. Learn to let things breathe, arrive 15 min late, stop forcing European timing.
Restricted breeds in rentals
We discovered this painfully through 12 apartment viewings (details here). Most condo bylaws (RPH) limit dogs to 15-25 kg max, and some breeds (pitbull, rottweiler, doberman) are banned. Our younger sister has a 26 kg shepherd mix — refused 4 times out of 12. If planning to come with a big dog: filter listings on RPH before viewing, not after.
Ambiguous tipping
15% service is auto-added to restaurant bills (line “10% servicio + 7% ITBMS”). Many US expats still tip on top, creating expectations Europeans don’t follow. Our rule: if service is on the bill, we don’t add anything unless exceptional. Not adding extra is not a cultural fault.
What we love
Living outside year-round
No “shutter month”. You can dine on a Casco Viejo rooftop in January, walk the dogs at Parque Urracá in March, surf Playa Venao in July. Tropical climate erases life’s seasonal dimension, more restful than we imagined.
Fusion cuisine
Panama City has underrated cuisine. Caribbean + LATAM + Asian (Chinese community among the oldest in the Americas). Maito (chef Mario Castrellón) is in World’s 50 Best LATAM. Fonda Lo Que Hay for modern Panamanian. Donde José for fine dining. And the $4 Cuban sandwich at the seafood market that rivals a $14 Miami spot.
Weekend trips at 1-2h
Leaving Panama City is easy: Coronado beach 1h30, El Valle de Antón (volcano, jungle) 2h, Boquete (mountain, coffee) 1h regional flight, Bocas del Toro 1h regional flight, San Blas 2h30 in 4×4 + boat. We’ve done all (except San Blas, planned July) in 60 days. It’s addictive.
Political peace
Not a triviality. Panama is among the few LATAM countries in stable democracy for 35 years, no army, no recent coup, no narco escalation. Protests exist (Cobre 2023, wage adjustments) but stay framed. Living in a politically calm country after the European/French jolts is a comfort we under-measured.
5 decisions we’d repeat without hesitation
- Direct Air France flight — 11h vs 16h+ with connection, dog deserves it.
- First month Airbnb before long-term — viewing neighborhoods live changes everything.
- Kraemer & Kraemer firm — trilingual, transparent, responsive.
- Bella Vista as neighborhood — price/walkability/dog-friendly compromise fits us.
- Documenting in real-time — Inside Panama exists because we write while we live. More useful than imagined.
3 decisions we’d change
- Hague apostille: done 5 weeks before departure, we sweated. 8 weeks minimum.
- IATA crate: bought 3 weeks before. 6-8 weeks minimum to acclimate dog.
- Panamanian accountant: found in May, after the SA was already active. Find before the SA.
What we’d tell ourselves in March
“Panama isn’t an exotic bubble. It’s a normal country — with its administrative drag, traffic jams, and capricious landlords — but a country where the quality-of-life / cost-of-entry ratio actually holds up. Prepare papers ahead, pick the right neighborhood, learn to live with ‘ahorita’, and the rest comes.”
To ourselves at day 60, we also say: keep writing. The most useful for others is lived detail, not generality.
If you’re prepping your move and have a precise question, write us: hello@insidepanama.com. We reply within 48h.