The first three months in Panama City, Panama are mostly admin. After that it turns into a life. We see the same order of events with almost every client who moves here, and the ones who have a smooth first ninety days are the ones who did three small things in the first week. Here is the sequence that works.
Week one: the three things everything else waits on
1. A local phone number
Do this on day one. Almost everything else in Panama needs a local number: the bank, the building administration, the internet company, the man who comes to fix the air conditioning. It takes an hour and it unblocks everything.
2. Start the bank account
Start it, because it takes longer than you think. Banks here ask for a set of documents and they are thorough about it. People who leave this until month two spend month two paying rent by international transfer and being annoyed.
You do not need the account to rent an apartment. You want it for everything after.
3. Somewhere short term to live
Do not sign a year-long lease from another country on a place you have only seen in photographs. Take something short term for a few weeks and look properly once you are here.
We say this knowing it delays our own business by a month. It is still the right advice, and the clients who follow it are the ones who are still happy in month twelve.
Weeks two to six: choose an area, then an apartment
In that order, and one question comes before both: will you have a car?
Some parts of Panama City work on foot. El Cangrejo is the most walkable, and Bella Vista, Marbella and Avenida Balboa are fine for daily errands. Costa del Este, Santa María, Clayton and Albrook are calmer and greener and assume you drive. Without a car in those areas you will spend real money on taxis every day.
Pick two areas and see something in each before you decide. People change their mind about neighborhoods constantly. Our guide to the best neighborhoods in Panama City, Panama goes through each one.
Have your documents ready before the first viewing: passport, proof of income, references, and the deposit. Good units go in days, so the paperwork is what decides whether you get the one you wanted. The full list is in our guide to what a landlord will ask you for.
On budget
For a city-wide reference, Numbeo’s Panama City page, updated 12 August 2026 from 647 entries by 61 contributors, puts a one bedroom in the city centre at an average of $1,260 a month and a three bedroom at around $2,038, with wide ranges either side.
Treat that as orientation. The furnished tower units most international arrivals actually want sit above those averages. Our own current rentals run from $2,000 to $6,500 a month, and you can see them on our apartments for rent page.
Whatever you compare, compare the full monthly number: rent plus the building fee plus utilities. More on that in our guide to the cost of renting in Panama City, Panama.
Weeks six to twelve: the boring things that make it a life
Once you have keys, the list is short and dull:
- Internet. Arrange it the day you sign, because installation takes time.
- Utilities in your name, if the contract says so.
- Meet the building administration. Learn how visitors, parking and deliveries work in your building. Every tower has its own rules.
- A doctor and a dentist. Ask other residents, not the internet.
- Some Spanish. You will manage without it in the areas where most international residents live, and daily life gets much easier with a little.
Two things nobody warns you about
Traffic. It is the most common complaint we hear, and it is the reason the car question decides your neighborhood. A twenty minute drive at eleven in the morning is a different journey at six in the evening.
The rainy season. It rains hard, usually in the afternoon, for a large part of the year. It is manageable and it surprises people who pictured a permanent dry heat.
The things people like: it is warm all year, the country uses the US dollar, and it is a short flight from the United States. For most of the clients we work with, those three are why they came.
Rent before you buy
We sell property and we still say this to everyone: rent for six months in the area you think you want.
Choosing the wrong neighborhood as a tenant costs you a lease. Choosing it as an owner costs you a great deal more. Once you know the city, buying is a much better decision, and our guide to buying property in Panama as a foreigner covers how that works.
Month three is when it settles
Most of our clients say it takes about three months to stop feeling like a visitor. That is why we check in at one, two and three months after someone moves in.
By month three the questions have changed. They stop being about paperwork and start being about plumbers, and a good handyman matters more than a good contract. We keep a network of people we trust for exactly that, and we answer Sunday to Sunday. You can read more about who we are, including reviews from clients in six countries.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us before they move.
Get a local phone number and start your bank account, then rent somewhere short term while you look. Almost everything else in Panama needs a phone number, and the bank account takes longer than people expect.
Almost always yes, and we say that as people who sell property. Rent for six months in the area you think you want. People change their mind about neighborhoods constantly, and it is a cheap mistake as a tenant and an expensive one as an owner.
You will manage in the areas where most international residents live, and you will meet Spanish-only paperwork, building administrators and technicians. Learning some quickly makes daily life much easier. We work in English and Spanish.
For the people we work with it usually comes down to three things: it is warm all year, it uses the US dollar, and it is a short flight from the United States. The common complaints are traffic and the rainy season, and both are manageable if you choose your area with them in mind.
Most of our clients say about three months. That is why we check in at one, two and three months after someone moves in. Month three is when the questions change from paperwork to plumbers.
Moving here? Start with a conversation
Tell us when you arrive, your budget, and whether you will have a car. We will tell you which areas fit, what is available, and what the first month will actually look like. We answer in English or Spanish, usually the same day.
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