Click on the text to see the answer to each question.
Yes! And no… Like all countries there are good and bad areas and bad things can happen. But on the whole I feel safer here than many other countries I have visited.
You can get most of the well known franchise food in the bigger cities but the beauty of Panama are the small little eating places where you can find some very good cheap food and burgers better than McDonalds by far. No weird food so you don’t have to be afraid.
There are very large supermarkets in the big cities that will easily meet your needs. In the smaller towns smaller supermarkets have everything you need to get by. If you want the fancy stuff it can be found but not easily.
On the whole yes. some say insurance is needed others say its not. It depends on your age and predisposing conditions. might not be worth it. Emergency care is a problem and don’t expect to have a fully equipped ambulance in minutes if you call 911. Maybe in Panama City its different but in the smaller areas it is a problem.
It’s easy to get a pet in but beware of the requirements. Get help for this. Vets are good on the whole but for emergencies it may be difficult to find one.
It’s a jungle country mostly. Its equatorial. Even in the highlands there are lots of dangerous insects, snakes, spiders etc. Also lots of pesky but not dangerous bugs. You have to use insect repellent. If you live a sterile life Panama is not for you. Stay in your sealed apartment in your big city.
However, if you’re looking to get back in touch with nature.then this is the place to do it. Lots of flora and fauna to enjoy
Panamanians, as a whole, are very friendly and patient with the “gringos” (which is what the locals tend to call foreigners, no matter what country they’re from) that have decided to move to their country. Remember you are a guest in their country and behave as a guest should. If you have an entitled attitude you will soon feel unwelcome. The fellow expats have a commonality and we all get on really well here. People will most often greet you even if you don’t know each other.
People are very careful and strict, government-mandated rules are in force to protect people from infection.
There’s lots of those and many facebook groups can help you find the right place to go to. Beer is cheap unless you go to the micro breweries where you can pay 3 times more, even that’s not much at about 5 to 6 dollars.