Retiring in David
Working lowland city near Boquete — the cheapest realistic base in the country, with the region's best hospitals right in town.
A working lowland city near Boquete and the cheapest realistic base in Panama, with the region's best hospitals right in town. It's a place to live cheaply and well, not a resort — the expat scene is thin.
Value-first retirees who want low costs and strong local healthcare, not a scene.
Genuinely hot (mid-30s C most days) and the expat scene is thin — it's a place to live cheaply, not a resort.
Anyone who needs a ready-made expat community or can't handle genuine heat.
What David costs, measured against everywhere else
Of the 62 retiree bases we track across 17 countries, David is the 8th cheapest — 7 are cheaper, 54 are dearer. It is the cheapest of the 4 we cover in Panama.
Rent runs about 35% of the budget — $475 of $1,350, leaving $875 a month for everything else.
Our Panama page quotes $2,100 a month. David runs 36% below that, at $1,350 — which is why the country number is a starting point and not an answer. We measured that gap across all 62 cities: the median is 16.5%.
The same money in another country
Within 15% of David's budget, one city per country. The cost barely moves; the tax, the visa and the standard of care do.
Panama taxes you at 0% (foreign income) and asks for Pensionado. That line, not the rent, decides the swap — and flight time from your own city decides the rest, which depends on the passport you hold.
Other retiree bases in Panama
Ready to actually move to Panama?
The city tells you where to live. The country guide tells you how to get there — the visa routes step by step, which hospitals to register with, insurance, and the first 90 days on the ground.
See the full Panama relocation guide →Outside Panama City, most single retirees live well on 30–50% less than in the US or UK — and it's all in US dollars, so no exchange-rate roulette.