What's the overall cost of living in Volcan and Cerro Punta, Chiriqui Province, Panama?

Hello!!!
The overall cost of living in a comfortable way in the Volcan or Cerro Punta Panama area is aproximately $800 to $1,000 per month.

For example, typical monthly payments are:

Cable TV                    $40
Power                        $30
Water      ...

Hello!!!
The overall cost of living in a comfortable way in the Volcan or Cerro Punta Panama area is aproximately $800 to $1,000 per month.

For example, typical monthly payments are:

Cable TV                    $40
Power                        $30
Water                          $6
Rental                      $400
Food                        $300
Transportation             $60

The cost for doctors and health insurance will depend on the age and health of the person.  If you don't have insurance a typical visit to a doctor will be $40.  Health insurance for a retiree will be around $120 per month on a private hospital in David Chiriquí, 45 minutes from Volcán.

The cost of living in the Volcán and Cerro Punta area is not only considerably less than in the United States and Western Europe, it is rather less than in other parts of Panamá. When I first arrived, I lived in a fully furnished casita (small house) on a mere $700 a month, and actually saved money. About half of that was the rent. Groceries ran about $80 a month. Electricity ran about $15, natural gas (for the stove and the hot shower) about $5, water about $4, bus...

The cost of living in the Volcán and Cerro Punta area is not only considerably less than in the United States and Western Europe, it is rather less than in other parts of Panamá. When I first arrived, I lived in a fully furnished casita (small house) on a mere $700 a month, and actually saved money. About half of that was the rent. Groceries ran about $80 a month. Electricity ran about $15, natural gas (for the stove and the hot shower) about $5, water about $4, bus transportation (to nearby Volcán for groceries, post office, and the like, and occasionally to Davíd for more important purchases) about $10. I am in good health, but regular medical and dental checkups averaged out to around $10 a month. Internet was included in my rent.

I now live in a house with my Panamanian wife, and we share the costs. She earns just from her "cottage industries", like making masa, knitting, washing blankets (she is a rare Panamanian here for having a washing machine), and selling duros (a frozen dessert). The costs, other than rent, are pretty much the same, except cable runs about $22 a month and a combined telephone and internet service runs about $30 a month. And I am still saving money!

Of course, lots of expatriates prefer to live in a more opulent style than I, so costs for them will be higher. But you can extrapolate from the above that even for these gringos the overall cost of living in this region is still quite low. (And, as I have noted elsewhere on this Best Places in the World To Retire website, I caution gringos to be careful about ostentatious opulence, for that attracts the thieves. It is best to live as I do: simply, more like one´s Panamanian neighbors.)