2.46/5
542 reviews
Photo by Darren Miller 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 city with strong infrastructure, making it appealing for digital nomads and professionals. Internet speed is fast and reliable, the metro system is efficient, and safety is high compared to other Latin American cities. There are plenty of amenities, great international food options, and a vibrant nightlife scene, especially in Casco Viejo. The city also has affordable Uber rides and solid public transport, though buses can be slow.

However, the traffic can be quite bad, so it's best to plan trips accordingly. The weather is warm year-round but humid, with a rainy season that can limit outdoor activities. While the city offers comforts similar to those of a U.S. city, it lacks diverse activities beyond malls, restaurants, and nightlife, which can make it feel monotonous for long stays. Some areas are rougher than others, but overall, safety is not a major concern.

In summary, Panama City is a great place to live and work with modern conveniences, but those looking for a wide variety of cultural or outdoor activities may find it lacking.

AI-generated summary of reviews

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

4 months 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.

1 year 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

3 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.

3 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.

6 years ago

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Clean

✅ Developed with strong infrastructure

✅ Many amenities

✅ Reliable metro system

✅ Affordable Ubers

✅ Good nightlife

✅ Good international food options

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality today

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ 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

❌ Traffic congestion

❌ Not much to do outside of shopping, eating, and nightlife

❌ High humidity

❌ Rainy season limits outdoor activities

❌ Some rough neighborhoods

❌ Feels more like an American city

❌ Expensive

❌ Not very safe

❌ Not much to do

❌ Very sweaty and humid now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ 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

82 28°
warm

81 27°
warm

82 28°
warm

81 27°
warm

82 28°
warm

Real

82 28°
very warm

80 27°
warm

82 28°
very warm

Humidity

nice
40%

nice
37%

nice
36%

nice
40%

nice
43%

nice
44%

nice
43%

nice
44%

nice
42%

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

1,029 people

1,583 people

1,467 people

933 people

1,222 people

1,185 people

800 people

600 people

800 people

1,231 people

1,000 people

1,236 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. Not all nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

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

Based on Panama City's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

	Senior Backend Engineer @ Rarible
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	Full Stack TypeScript + Golang 2D 3... @ Visuary
	Senior Site Reliability Engineer @ Ledger
	Senior Security Engineer EMEA @ Aircall
	Python Developer @ Eqvilent
	Senior PHP Developer @ Lodgify
	Staff Developer @ Rocket Communications

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$1,742 / mo

7 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 32° 90° 28° 82° 🥵

✈️25h

$4,109 / mo

🌇 Also went here161 people

1,400 remote workers in Panama City now, of which 5+ 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. Not all 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.

⭐️ Total score	2.46/5 (Rank #440) 542 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍7 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Good
💵 Cost	🙂 Okay: $2,534 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 10Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Hot: 29°C85°F (feels 33°C91°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	🥵 Sweaty: 72%
💨 Air quality (annual)	😐 Moderate: 91 US AQI
👌 Safety	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*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Good
🏥 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
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Okay
🎅 Startup Score	Bad

🌍 Continent	Latin America
🚩 Country	Panama
🗓️ Average trip length	9 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	10 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌦 29°C 85°F + 🥵 Sweaty (72%) = feels 33°C 91°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	👍11% 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	$2,534 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,056 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$5,751 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,643 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$705 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,356 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,500 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$33 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$44 / 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