3.25/5
584 reviews
Photo by BETZY AROSEMENA via Unsplash

Panama City

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fast

weather

cars

traffic

amenities

solid

internet

interesting

international

good

safe

american

expensive

staying

selina

bar

club

life

eating

Panama City is a modern and well-developed urban center with reliable infrastructure and solid amenities. Internet speeds and mobile data connectivity are strong, which is great for remote work and digital nomads. The weather is consistently warm year-round, with predictable rain showers that usually pass quickly. The city is very clean and considered much safer than many other Latin American hubs, though it still has some neighborhoods that aren't ideal.

On the lifestyle side, the city offers access to good restaurants, malls, bars, and clubs, especially in areas like Casco Viejo. However, several visitors point out that activities beyond food and nightlife are relatively limited, which can make extended stays feel a bit repetitive. Traffic congestion is also a common issue, and public transport options like buses tend to be slow, though the metro system is efficient.

Overall, Panama City is a practical place to live or work, especially for short-to-medium stays. It might not offer endless entertainment, but for those focused on a balanced, urban daily life—with modern comfort and safety—it’s a solid option.

AI-generated summary of reviews
11 months ago

Pros:
-Developed
-Lots of amenities
-Solid metro
-Nearby national parks
-Affordable Ubers
-Fast internet

Cons:
-Traffic
-Rainy season closes many of the outdoor attractions early
-High humidity
-Slow buses (the metro was great)
-Some rough neighborhoods

2 years ago

Panama City very interesting and slept on. Probably the most developed major city in Latin America with the strongest technology infrastructure which makes it very appealing for digital nomads. Also a lot of international business coming through here so there can definitely be good networking opportunities.

It’s also super safe compared to other South American hotspots like Medellin however it is significantly more expensive. I would say prices here are slightly less expensive than southern small-towns in the rural United States

The crowd does feel a bit more touristy than I would personally like but there are interesting people that you will meet here who are primarily from Europe.

The local seafood is good and there are a lot of great international options all over town.

Nightlife is strong on the weekends and if you’re specifically looking for that, I would recommend staying at the Selina in Casco Viejo since they have a rooftop sky bar and an underground club which are the most popular spots in town and are tough to enter if you’re not a Selina guest.

I do agree with the last comment that this city does seem like it can get boring fast if you’re staying for an extended vacation but if you’re spending most of your days living a normal daily life of work, self-care, exercise, basic social life, this is not a bad place to do it.

2 years ago

Panama City is a B+ place to live: solid weather, amenities, safety, and cleanliness... but, it feels much like an American city due to the skyscrapers, urban sprawl, and the limited activities. If you're not shopping, eating at a restaurant, bar hopping, or going to a reggaeton club until 3am, there's not a whole lot else to do.

The weather is remarkably consistent: everyday it will be 85F, it will be cloudy for a few hours including a 15-30 minute shower, and then it will be mostly sunny for the rest of the day. Wifi and cellular service is reliable (4G via GoogleFi or a local SIM card in most areas... buy from a convenience store for

4 years ago

Panama reminds me of the booming southeast asian capitals of bangkok, singapore, manila or kuala lumpur, filled with condos and malls. It is clean, the weather is warm but not humid. Internet speed is fast and reliable, all the conveniences of the city is available here. But aside from that, theres not much else to do here unless you enjoy the malls, eating out and going to the pubs. The only thing that you need to get used to is the roads do not have pedestrian lanes, although cars always prioritize pedestrians to cross first. But the cars here communicate in an orderly chaos. Frequently seeing cars beeping and almost crashing on each other on the crossroads. There are no traffic rules here unless there are traffic lights.

4 years ago

Use Uber transportation. I do not recommend to use bike because it is not safe. Traffic is a big problem, so be prepare ahead for your appointments and don’t get stock in the rush hours.

7 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Warm all year

✅ Very clean

✅ Well-developed infrastructure

✅ Good amenities

✅ Warm now

✅ Good air quality today

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Easy to make friends

✅ High quality of education

✅ Good hospitals

✅ Roads are pretty safe

✅ Freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ LGBTQ+ friendly

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

❌ Limited things to do

❌ Heavy traffic

❌ Some rough neighborhoods

❌ High humidity

❌ Expensive

❌ Not very safe

❌ Not much to do

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ Difficult to do business

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

3290°
hot

3188°
hot

3290°
hot

3391°
hot

3086°
warm

3391°
hot

3290°
hot

Real (median)

2882°
very warm

2780°
warm

2882°
very warm

Humidity

sweaty
80%

sweaty
75%

sweaty
72%

sweaty
80%

sweaty
86%

sweaty
87%

sweaty
86%

sweaty
87%

sweaty
88%

sweaty
83%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

dry
25mm

dry
14mm

dry
18mm

rainy
91mm

rainy
233mm

rainy
283mm

rainy
323mm

rainy
277mm

rainy
267mm

rainy
261mm

rainy
250mm

rainy
113mm

Cloud

pockets
33%

pockets
30%

pockets
32%

pockets
38%

pockets
44%

pockets
41%

pockets
40%

pockets
37%

pockets
36%

pockets
37%

pockets
29%

Air quality

okay
57 US AQI

okay
91 US AQI

okay
91* US AQI

clean
33 US AQI

clean
47 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

Remote workers

3,440 people

4,500 people

4,523 people

3,000 people

3,720 people

3,785 people

2,350 people

2,050 people

2,650 people

4,246 people

3,129 people

3,900 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

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✈️5h

$4,005 / mo

26 Mbps

Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety bad

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🌥 Feels 30° 86° 27° 80° AQI 61 😷

✈️42min

$1,449 / mo

🌇 Also went here279 people

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Colombia

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

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🌥 Feels 27° 81° 27° 80° AQI 55 😷

✈️10h

$3,990 / mo

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Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety good

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☀️ Feels 28° 82° 29° 85° AQI 34

✈️11h

$4,684 / mo

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⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

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🌥 Feels 44° 111° 33° 91° 🥵 AQI 53 😷

✈️23h

$1,545 / mo

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Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

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🌧 Feels 41° 106° 31° 87° 🥵

✈️25h

$4,522 / mo

🌇 Also went here185 people

2,400 remote workers in Panama City now, of which 3+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.25/5 (Rank #365) 584 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍8 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	7% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🙂 Okay: $2,747 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 15 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Too hot: 30°C86°F (feels 39°C102°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 86%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😥 Medium: 50%
💨 Air quality (annual)	😐 Moderate: 91 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Okay
🤮 Food safety*	Good
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Bad
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Low: $1,140 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Bad
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Okay
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Good
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Panama
🗓️ Average trip length	9 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	15 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌩 30°C 86°F + 🥵 Sweaty (86%) = feels 39°C 102°F
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 91 US AQI = 🚬 / day
🔌 Power	115V 115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 0 PAB in USD	USD 0.00
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	PAB 100 = USD 100
💻 Best coworking space	CascoStation
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Coworking PTY
☕️ Best coffee place	Juan Valdez
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍13% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	37,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$13,680 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 50% 👱‍♀️ 50%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 77% 👱‍♀️ 23%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
🏠 Apartment listings	Compreoalquile
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Panama
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Copa Airlines
🏥 Best hospital	Punta Pacifica

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$2,747 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,064 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$5,751 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,643 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$1,281 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,385 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,500 / month
🏠 Median home price	$238,000
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$60 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$45 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$341 / month
🍛 Dinner	$10
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$3
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$9,344 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$14 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$6 / trip