What's the overall cost of living in El Valle de Anton, Panama?
Col Davis Stevenson RET
The actual cost of living as a resident in El Valle can be lower than the cost for the same services in Panama City. There is an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit, the only item that may be hard to come by is meat, there is an open meat market, which I do not think the average ex pat would be to happy with. There are a couple of super markets which are not stocked for the picky buyer. Hired help can be reasonable since there is no major industry or commercial activities in El Valle...
The actual cost of living as a resident in El Valle can be lower than the cost for the same services in Panama City. There is an abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit, the only item that may be hard to come by is meat, there is an open meat market, which I do not think the average ex pat would be to happy with. There are a couple of super markets which are not stocked for the picky buyer. Hired help can be reasonable since there is no major industry or commercial activities in El Valle with the exception of the various chicken farms. Each Sunday there is an open market which is know as the Indian Market and one can buy vegetables, fruits, flowers and other staples while enjoying the various open stall vendors.
Posted April 23, 2013
Adam Brunner - abc realty panama
To answer your question about the cost of living in El Valle, you need to ask how well do you want to live. The cost of living in El Valle can be immensely cheaper than living in New York, and if you come with a New York budget for a middle class family than you can live very well. If you come from an Alabama backwood territory, the cost of living would be better, but only according to what accommodations you are looking for.
The cost of living...
To answer your question about the cost of living in El Valle, you need to ask how well do you want to live. The cost of living in El Valle can be immensely cheaper than living in New York, and if you come with a New York budget for a middle class family than you can live very well. If you come from an Alabama backwood territory, the cost of living would be better, but only according to what accommodations you are looking for.
The cost of living in Panama has gone up in the last 10 years. In 2004, the cost of a day laborer was $8 per day. Now, there is a minimum wage set by the government. Depending in what part of Panama you are in, the minimum wage changes. In the capital (Panama City) you would pay $25 per day for a maid. In El Valle you pay up to $18 per day depending on what it is you have them do. Some folks in the beach community (general Coronado area) pay their maids as much as $35 per day, but that is only because the maids have to take taxis to get to work because the bus stops are too far away to walk to to work..
The cost of living in Panama seems to be on the up slope, but we are a safer country, and our infrastructure is growing to keep up with the demand.
The local market here in the Valley sells a wonderful selection of in season fruits and veggies. The majority of the produce comes from the Chitre region of Panama, and is usually cheaper than what you would find in the supermarkets. We do have a few supermarkets here in the valley for the things that you are used to, but won't find in local markets. The trick is to go when the trucks arrive on Friday, and the same goes for the meats. That's why the weekends are so big in the valley. The freshest stuff and the best artisans all arrive on Friday then leave on Sunday.
Posted July 11, 2014
Marla Diaz
The question of the cost living in El Valle de Anton is relative, because, for example, one person may want to run the air conditioning all day while someone won’t run it at all. That said, the cost of living in El Valle de Anton is about the same as in Coronado, Panama. (The picture to the right is of the central market in El Valle.) Here’s an example. We’re a family of four; two adults and two kids. If we were...
The question of the cost living in El Valle de Anton is relative, because, for example, one person may want to run the air conditioning all day while someone won’t run it at all. That said, the cost of living in El Valle de Anton is about the same as in Coronado, Panama. (The picture to the right is of the central market in El Valle.) Here’s an example. We’re a family of four; two adults and two kids. If we were renting a really nice three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,600 square foot home in El Valle in a nice and safe neighborhood, to live a really good life would cost us about $3,000 / month. (Rent would be from $1,200 to $1,500 per month.) This would include buying all my imported foods that I like (imported foods cost much more in Panama than do non-imported foods), having someone come in to clean my house once a week, full time childcare for my daughter, my husband running the air conditioner all the time, the cost for all utilities, ongoing expenses for the car, an international health insurance plan, etc. That’s living very, very comfortably.
To give you an idea of how much the health insurance is, for our family on an international plan, its $172 / month vs. $500 when we left the States.
Here’s a little more about the cost for childcare. We have an au pair, which is not unusual in Panama. She’s from Germany. In exchange for 40 hours of work a week, we give her room and board and what they call here “pocket money”. In our case, we give her $200 / month.
If you were to have a live-in Panamanian for childcare, the rate is about $350 per month, but they work 12 hours a day. Many Panamanians have a live in housekeeper, because they’re used to that.
Posted August 17, 2014
Bill Brunner
El Valle
is more expensive than it used to be. For example, the price of real estate has gone up a good amount lately. However, the price isn’t going to go down. That’s the nature of real estate here. Prices will go up and hit a plateau but they don’t recede much, if any at all. That’s in contrast to how it’s been in Panama City. In Panama City they over-built high-rises, which caused them later to offer some for sale...
is more expensive than it used to be. For example, the price of real estate has gone up a good amount lately. However, the price isn’t going to go down. That’s the nature of real estate here. Prices will go up and hit a plateau but they don’t recede much, if any at all. That’s in contrast to how it’s been in Panama City. In Panama City they over-built high-rises, which caused them later to offer some for sale... El Valle is more expensive than it used to be. For example, the price of real estate has gone up a good amount lately. However, the price isn’t going to go down. That’s the nature of real estate here. Prices will go up and hit a plateau but they don’t recede much, if any at all. That’s in contrast to how it’s been in Panama City. In Panama City they over-built high-rises, which caused them later to offer some for sale at bargain prices but that didn’t happen to real estate prices in El Valle.
is more expensive than it used to be. For example, the price of real estate has gone up a good amount lately. However, the price isn’t going to go down. That’s the nature of real estate here. Prices will go up and hit a plateau but they don’t recede much, if any at all. That’s in contrast to how it’s been in Panama City. In Panama City they over-built high-rises, which caused them later to offer some for sale at bargain prices but that didn’t happen to real estate prices in El Valle. In the list of homes that we have for sale in El Valle, I believe that there are only two for less than US $300,000. For that amount, you could get a three bedroom, two bath house on a half acre.
The cost for In El Valle de Anton for food, gasoline, diesel, and electricity are pretty much the same as in Panama City. However, one of the advantages from a cost perspective of living in El Valle as compared with Panama City is that, when in El Valle, you don’t need an air conditioning anywhere near as much (because we’re up in the mountains). I don’t use it at all. However there are some people who do, but nowhere near as much as in Panama City.
I have a friend who’s living in a 2 bedroom, one bathroom house that’s about a thousand square feet who’s paying $100 a month for electricity. However, I think that one of the reasons why his bill is as high as is because he has a pressure pump for his well to give him water pressure.
Your cost for water in El Valle is about $6 a month.
The most significant cost of living differences in El Valle as compared with the US is the cost of the home and the cost of labor. For a construction worker, for example, I pay an average of $23 a day. The final cost to me is another 50% beyond that because of the cost of social security, vacation, how much you pay them when you let them go, etc.
Posted August 26, 2014
Neil Stein - Panama Paraiso
I come from Kauai, in Hawaii, where the prices are astronomical, so for me, it was very cheap here in El Valle two and a half years ago. However, the cost of living in El Valle has gone up. I’ve seen the food prices steadily increase in the markets. From the people I’ve talked to who come from decent-sized towns in the US, they complain that the cost of living in El Valle is about the same. Here are some examples:
I come from Kauai, in Hawaii, where the prices are astronomical, so for me, it was very cheap here in El Valle two and a half years ago. However, the cost of living in El Valle has gone up. I’ve seen the food prices steadily increase in the markets. From the people I’ve talked to who come from decent-sized towns in the US, they complain that the cost of living in El Valle is about the same. Here are some examples:
In order for a single person in El Valle to live very comfortably, he or she should be taking in about US $2,000 per month. The theory that you could live on $600 or even $800 a month, which was mentioned some years ago, is really inappropriate now. People who are living on $1,000 to $1,200 struggle a bit.
If, for example, you had $2,000 a month to live on, you would be living in an apartment or what’s called a “casita”. A casita is a small house, usually, a one bedroom, on a property that’s usually gorgeous and has on it the main home. The casita will either be a rental, or the homeowners may have their gardeners live in it. The casitas are available for anywhere from $500 - $700 a month. This price would usually be all-inclusive, which means that it includes electricity, Wi-Fi, furniture, etc. By the way, one of the good things about renting or even buying in most of Panama is that furniture is included, and in the case of renting, most of the utilities are included as well.
So, your rent is part of your expenses, and then, you have food, etc. You would then have some money left over for traveling, etc. If you live on $2,000 a month in El Valle, you can live very, very comfortably. As you can see, the cost to rent in El Valle is considerably less than it would be in Kauai. But the prices of food and gas are similar to American prices.
If you were a couple, you would probably not be comfortable living in a Casita (although some people do), because they’re too small. A couple could live on $2,500 - $2,600 per month in El Valle in the same style as the single person living on $2,000 / month.
Posted September 14, 2014