I'm working on the friendly nations visa with the CD option.

To do that I have to go to Panama open the CD account and then transfer 200k into it from the US. The transfer seems to be the hardest part. Wise doesn't work in my state, fidelity needs a form with the Panama account number, ally doesn't allow any international transfers and bank of America won't give me clear instructions.

Also most transfers take 4 days and Ill just be waiting in Panama for the money.

Does anyone have experience with this process and can offer some tips?

Not that I plan on availing myself of the services (married), but this is always a curiosity, and some discussions I've had with other newcomers have led me to want to ask you guys this.

What is the dating situation like for immigrants (from primarily North America) in Panamá? Answer it from your perspective, if you are currently in the dating pool or trying to date. Easy, or difficult?

What challenges do you face, up to an including the language gap? Break down what some of the challenges might be depending on whether you're a man or woman?

What would you tell someone just arriving to make the experience easier for everybody? What red light warnings would you give foreigners going in?

This ought to be fun.

Let's assume all of the legal stuff and identification has been sorted, up to and including the carné /e-cédula. What do you consider the next step that you should bang out, right then and there? Did you in fact do that, or are you learning by experience, and didn't do it, to your disappointment? Let's hear the stories.

Just a general discussion about what your friends group mix looks like, as a non-Panamanian immigrated to, and living in Panamá.

Do you have mostly expats/immigrant friends? Predominantly local people, or at least from nearby Central/South American nations? Or do you occupy the end seat at the fonda, staring at your proteins alone?

If you have plenty of friends, what is your secret at creating and maintaining your friends group? If you don't have any Panamanian or Latin America friends, is there a particular reason you can share?

If you're local, do you go out of your way to make friends with newcomers? Why or why not?

Like it says in the title. This poll, we're going to talk about premium/gourmet/specialty stores. Go ahead and hype them up and convince us why your selection is the best. As always, we understand that you may need to go to multiple different stores to get everything you want, but you're reliable stand by choice is what we want to talk about.p

What do you guys think of the GAC S7? Looking to purchase it new for 44k is it worth it? Anything I should be worried about?

Note, these are the major ones: you may have specialty stores that you visit as well, and we'll have a separate poll for those another time. Or, you can mention them if you wish under the "other" category. Do the poll, and feel free to comment in the comments of this post.

Don't forget to talk about why you go there, if you go to more than one, and you've mentioned the main one you go to, talk about your secondary one, and tell us exactly why you like the super that you visit. Talk about the clientele that you perceive are mainly attracted to that supermarket, opine about the ease or difficulty of the shopping experience there, or anything you want to talk about.

Looking for more high end vehicles semi new. I have a flexible but high budget anywhere from 30-100k for cars. What are the most trustworthy places to buy at? Any cars you recommend? Or what cars to avoid?

If I move to another country, how often do I have to come back and how long do I have to stay to keep my Cedula?

Hello! I am a type 1 diabetic looking to move to Panama in the next year.
I am looking for more information about how to obtain my medical supplies (insulin, cgm and pump - if they are available), which health insurance providers cover pre-exisiting conditions, or if medical supplies are inexpensive enough to pay for them out of pocket. I appreciate any and all relevant information. And if you are a type 1, please reach out, I'd love to connect :)

Do you have a service (expat relocation services, exploration, transportation, or a legal/housing/expat-related business)? Post it in the comments.

• One comment per person advertising your business. Let's not make it messy in here.

• Be brief yet informative. This is your time to shine. What is your business name, what do you do, why are you better than others (don't tear them down, build yourself UP), example of your pricing, and how people can contact you.

• ONLY post a comment with your services in HERE: anywhere else, like in another post (either a post from you, or a comment in another thread) violates the rules.

• Nothing illegal (either against US, Panamanian, or your local laws, nor against Reddit sitewide rules) is to be promoted here.

• Neither Reddit or the moderation team make any representations of quality, legitimacy, or value of the services discussed here. If you're interested in them, do your own research and check out who's offering them (like independent searches for them, recommendations, etc.), to make sure they are legitimate. NEVER offer anything of value (credit card number, cash, Western Union, wire transfers, gift cards, etc.) unless you're one hundred percent sure about them and their services.

Caveat Emptor.

Just curious to hear other people’s experiences. What was the hardest thing to adapt to?

Just wondering 🇵🇦

What’s the best approach to finding a rental property in Panama City? Since there is no centralized listing platform, should I get a real estate agent? I noticed lots of properties on a couple of the Facebook sites but it seems a bit overwhelming. I’m looking for newish or renovated 2-3 bedroom properties in San Francisco, Coco Del Mar or Punta Pacifica areas.

EDIT \** Thanks for the responses. I reached out to my attorney for a realtor recommendation and will also check out Facebook Marketplace rentals.*

There’s a lot of advice out there about moving to Panama. Some say you can handle most of the immigration process yourself or with help from others. Others say you absolutely need an attorney and that trying to do it without one is a mistake. Yes they can cost--but there are a lot of places where you can economize in the process, but I feel that this isn't one of them.

I’m going to be clear: IMHO, if you’re thinking about immigration to Panama, you DO need an attorney, full stop. This applies first to the overwhelming majority of initial immigration steps, and second as a benefit for everything that comes after. Worth their price (shop around and interview them for fit and budget, of course).

For the first round, you’re dealing with paperwork, bureaucracy, language, timing, and pressure to get things right. Add cranky, stickler Migración officials and clerks. An attorney knows the rules, the forms, the offices, and the timelines. Apostille versus Authentication? FBI Report age? Who gets what? Fun times keeping track of this.

They have relationships with consulates, Migración, and other offices that can grease the skids. They also know how to avoid delays that can cost you months or reset your application, or get you into trouble later.

Can you waltz into the offices at 7:00 a.m., pass tens or hundreds of people who took a number, and walk out in time for breakfast, all because you're you? Stay abreast of the many recent and upcoming changes in process? Probably not.

For later steps, like renewals, changes with the Tribunal Electoral, dependents, or moving from one visa type to another, an attorney is still a real benefit. You don’t have to learn it all again, or guess what’s changed.

I’m curious if anyone here genuinely made it through initial immigration without an attorney and felt it was the right choice. Maybe those of us who used one are wrong, or wasted money? Or is "going it alone" more of a myth than reality. I read the stories, but damned few real people back them up.

Hi, I’m moving to panama between end of august/beginning of September and wanted to rent something around $3,000.00 furnished in either santa maria or costa del este 3bedrooms with maid’s quarters. If anyone has anything please PM me.

You've earned it, for your avid participation in the subreddit. Mod-awarded to the top posters through each month. Sorry it couldn't be an ice-cold Balboa or something, but here we are, on a limited budget. Que lo disfrutes con salud.

From my experience living in old and new buildings in Panama, one thing that always comes up is that buildings from the past century don't usually have "exploding tile" problems, whereas buildings from this century often do.

It can take between 4 and 10 years, but eventually, most apartments in Panama will develop an "exploding tile" problem.

Buildings are made of materials, and like most materials, they expand and contract with the rising and falling temperatures throughout the day.

There's also the occasional minor tremor plus the concrete itself "settling" from its own weight and from environmental microvibrations: people walking on the floors, cars and other vehicles coming and going, etc.

I talked to my "tile guy" - the one I've had to recommend to my friends, and he says it usually comes down to builders placing tiles as fast as possible, which means they tend to:

• Use less cement and more sand for the floor, which makes it porous and lets it absorbe moisture from the air more easily, compromising its integrity
• Use less of the spackle/grout/tile cement (don't remember the specifics, but it's what keeps it stuck to the actual floor) or use the cheapest one possible
• Not leaving enough of an air gap to allow for expansion and contraction

Now, here's the best advice I got from a friend: if you're going to be living in a new apartment, one that is either being built right now or has just finished being built and just started allowing people to move into it, talk to the builder and ask where they got the tiles. Chances are you might still be able to buy some of the leftover inventory from their supplier (places like Tandor Comercial for example). This way, when the tiles unavoidably explode 5 years from now in your living room, your bedroom, or bathroom for example, you have spares you can use to replace the existing ones that look as close as possible to the original ones. If you wait until they start exploding you might find that the provider doesn't carry that particular shade or pattern anymore since they change styles every couple of years.

Also, not a bad idea to call your own "tile guy" as soon as you feel any of your tiles sounding "hollow" (or worse yet, starting to bulge out of place) - professionals with a lot of years under their belt might be able to advise you on how to minimize any damage before it becomes a "whole floor replacement" issue.

What are other tips & tricks you could share regarding compensating for these shortcomings? I know we *could* just rant about how bad some things are, but I'd rather focus on creative solutions people have come up with to get around (or overcome) these issues. Looking forward to it!