You say you are located right outside the city. Is that Panama City? What is the weather like there? How hot does it get?
I'd like to see what your $2,800 budget looks like, as I know others would also. if you wouldn't mind giving us a break down. How proficient in Spanish are you? Are there many ex-pates where you are living? Did you spend much time there before deciding to locate there?
Many on this board would love to hear more about it.
Yeah, we are located 5 minutes outside of Panama city called Condado del Rey. There are many different subdivisions in the area with houses for rent. Most folks that have moved here suggest renting for awhile before you decide to buy. Never know if you will hate it and then want to move back home. One realtor said she sold a house to an American online and the lady had never seen the house in person. She decided she didn't like the area because it was too far away from the amenities of Panama city.
The house that we are renting costs $140k brand new and they are still building.
Here is the budget although it is not complete due to being here only 3 weeks and not all the bills are in yet:
Rent $1100
Water $0 (landlord pays but I think it is $5-10)
Gas $20 (hot water and stove)
Cable $50 (130 channels...some in english)
Internet $50 (we chose a higher speed to use our internet phone)
Telephone $10 (basic)
Telephone $25 (internet phone to call the states...unlimited)
Health Ins. $150 (still researching which coverage we want to go with)
Car Ins. $75
Mailbox etc. $15 (uses a Florida address for mail)
Food $300 (another estimate but should be on the high end)
Maid $120 (about 4 hours per day)
Total $1915 (The other $900 is for allowance, tuition, and one cc pmt)
I did not include auto fuel costs as they are not existant until we get our car delivered from the US. For some these figures could be reduced further if TV isn't important, a lower speed int. connection, building or just buying a house would be cheaper as a profit is built into our rent.
It's not as humid as I thought but we are nearing the beginning of summer and it should heat up. It's averaged 85 degrees the last 2.5 weeks with rain every other day. Panama has two seasons rainy and summer. The rain lasts for maybe 5-10 minutes then it is gone and it looks like it never rained. Repeat 2 or 3 times a day and you get the idea. They say April is the hottest month of the year so we will see. The beach areas which are about an hour a way gets less rain and are a lot cooler as are the mountains where most expats live.
If you have kids then that kinds of limits you on how far away from the city you'll live (if you aren't homeschooling).
Although I was born in Panama I speak little Spanish. You can get around without speaking it but it is a good idea to learn. People here appreciate the effort of trying and will try to understand and help you. For practice my wife orders the cab in Spanish, I just got my video card and did the entire transaction in Spanish. For me it is easier to learn a language when I am immersed in it. Just don't take yourself too seriously because you will make a fool of yourself once in awhile. For proof read the above message where I asked the produce lady for gallina de verde instead of ginero de verde. Three years of Spanish in school didn't do it for me either.
There are other expats in our neighborhood but mostly rich Panamanians live here. BTW an income of over $1500 per month is considered rich here.
We visited twice in the last two years for about 2-3 weeks each visit. Actually it was my wife who is from Detroit that brought up the idea of moving here to live because she loved it so much. The country is truly beautiful and it allowed us to do something we both really wanted to do...semi retire.
What about the costs of going to Panama? Would it be cheaper to sell out everything in the states and start fresh? What kind of documentation to you need to get started in Panama, e.g., birth certificate, passport, copy of pension check?
Let us know. Also--helpful websites.
The costs are relatively minor. The airfare was $400 per person, the legal work (visa) for my wife and to register my son is $1200. There is no way I would do the legal part on my own. The money for a lawyer is well spent. There is a crap load of documents that is required and you must know someone to get your paperwork moving at a decent clip. My wife is in the process of getting her visa and need an "appostillo" (stamp certifying they are real) on our marriage license, birth certificate, and police background check from the secretary of state in Michigan. This is easier if you do it BEFORE you leave the states. My wife is sending the documents to her family to get it done for her. The Embassy here will not do it for you. From there the lawyer will take care of processing the paperwork in Panama. For those with pensions I think the process is similar other than showing proof that you have a pension of atleast $600 per month. BTW- unitl my wife gets her visa she will have to carry her Passport around with her as proof of ID and to show she is not in the country illegally.
As far as selling everything and starting over it depends on what you have. Obviously it would be easier to get rid of everything and just buy a plane ticket. This might help....if your household goods and whatever you can put in a 20 or 40ft container is worth more than $2500 to $3300 then you might want to consider bringing it. It costs us $3300 to rent a 40ft container and have it shipped to Panama. That does not include the cost to pack (hard labor) or load ($400). The Army paid for part of the move so it was an easier decision for us.
The yahoo board at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/viviendo_en_panama/ has a lot of good information. We used the "files" and "links" sections to get an idea of what was needed then called around other agencies to fill in the gaps of information.
Other than that we've been running around getting my son in school, turning on the utilities and getting my wife "legal." We made the mistake of leaving our dog outside and it rained three times while we were gone that day. Needless to say she didn't smell all that great. We called the vet and they came and picked her up, gave her a bath, cut her nails, and cleaned her ears, and returned her home for $15. The minimum wage here is 1.22 per hour and a fulltime maid costs $150 per month. I think I am going to enjoy it here 
