Comic Con Panamá of course, but what other fandom/sci-fi/geekdom events (gaming, cons, meet-ups) happen regularly, and are any participants here who enjoy such things?
Would love to hear about it.
Let's say user Tony idealogically doesn't like the subject matter of a post, and some responses to the post on your subreddit. He goes over to another related subreddit and crossposts the submission from your subreddit there, and asks "what do you guys think about this?" Feeding frenzy ensues.
The person can have in-subreddit consequences, which we took (like removal of offensive posts, for example), but are there any sitewide consequences for this behavior. Even if said user sent Modmail saying that their motivation was to create drama with the crosspost ("you're about to get exposed")?
I imagine not, but it'd be good to hear how others have dealt with this.
TL;DR: for the purposes of this subreddit, we use Expat, as that's the popular name from the primary countries people come from to read here. But we ALSO use Immigrant, because that's correct. And we also use Newcomer, because that's okay too. One word over the other is only weird if you make it weird.
In this sub, it's our position that the terms Expat, Immigrant, and Newcomer are all the same thing. No hidden loaded meaning, no cheerleading either above the other--you know what we mean.
If you come in <<gatekeeping>> the word, or attack others here for using one you don't prefer, look in another sub to participate: you posts will get removed, and you'll likely catch a ban if you keep it up.
Whatever you feel about immigration into Panamá, keep your words and behaviors respectful--there are human beings here who are just trying to live their best lives, just like folks in country already. The End.
En resumen: para los fines de este subreddit, usamos «expat», ya que es el nombre más común en los principales países de donde proviene la gente que lee aquí. Pero TAMBIÉN usamos «inmigrante», porque es lo correcto. Y también usamos «recién llegado», porque también está bien. Que una palabra prevalezca sobre otra solo es raro si tú lo haces parecer raro.
En este sub, nuestra postura es que los términos «Expat», «Inmigrante» y «Recién llegado» significan todos lo mismo. Sin significados ocultos ni sesgados, sin favorecer a uno sobre otro...ya sabes a qué nos referimos.
Si vienes a «controlar» el uso de la palabra o a atacar a otros aquí por usar una que no te gusta, busca otro subreddit para participar: tus publicaciones serán eliminadas y probablemente te baneen si sigues así.
Sea cual sea tu opinión sobre la inmigración en Panamá, mantén un tono y un comportamiento respetuosos: aquí hay seres humanos que solo están tratando de vivir lo mejor posible, igual que la gente que ya está en el país. Fin.
For me, something simple:
Te agradezco.
Very simple, "I appreciate you/it". The second word sticks in my craw, and I wind up saying "mil gracias" or the like. Some kind of brain block, I guess.
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
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.
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.
Estoy pensando cambiar de carro, queria saber que experiencias han tenido con las marcas chinas.
Jetour
Kaiyi
GAC
Geely
Los carros que vi especificamente son el Gs4 max, Cityray, jetour x70 y el kaiyi 7 sport.
As the title suggests.
In your mind, you're thinking Panama might be a possible destination to move, but at this time (either through lack of knowledge/research, or because you've done some research), something is giving you pause about making a definitive decision, or taking a next step.
What is it?
Prime Day deal--at $10/mAh, you can't go wrong. Grab it.
Very nice price--$10/mAH, and a charger (though the smaller weaker one). At least you can use one battery (lasts surprisingly long in RP tools) while the other charges in <2 hours.
A lot of people focus on the big stuff when they move to Panama, like visas, housing, healthcare, or cost of living. To be fair, yeah, they're vital.
But sometimes it’s the smaller things that end up mattering a lot more in daily life than you expected. It could be "creature comforts" that you didn't realize you couldn't do without, challenges in how to pay a bill, ordering items to your place, being a pedestrian/driver...anything, really.
You thought you'd done enough research, and you told yourself in your mind that "This is Panama", and you're supposed to adjust your expectations and attitude. And that is the right thing to do. But still, it's a challenge.
For me, silly enough, it was having to carry cash again. I grew up in the 80s, when ATMs where really hitting, so it shouldn't be too hard to adjust, but I'd trained myself to the point where having cash on me was rare, up until recently. And the "we don't accept more than a $20 bill" thing. Yes, little things, and understandable, but yeah, it did. Hashtag firstWorldProblems.
What’s something small in Panama that turned into a bigger deal or more bothersome than you thought it would be?
EDIT: Be very careful to just keep it to that one little thing that bothers you, and not turn this into a "Stupid Panama" bitching fest. At the end of the day, you adapt to the norms of the host nation, and take the lead of those who live there to change/improve it.
Esa es la pregunta. ¿Son las mascotas muy importantes en la cultura?
Whether it's clearing a level on Duolingo. Or holding a garage sale to de-clutter. Or consulting with an immigration attorney, booking a flight for a "boots-on-the-ground" trip, or whatever. This is your place to tell us what you did, and to encourage/inspire others to do the same.
This will be weekly, as the name implies: every Monday, join us and share your progress.
I keep seeing people say, “Panama is so cheap!” and it makes me want to physically cringe: that’s not quite right, and it’s also a bit tone-deaf.
Yes, some things are definitely more affordable than in the U.S. or Canada, especially if you’re earning in USD and living locally. But a lot of stuff? Not cheap. Imported goods, electronics, certain foods, car parts, some services — they can be surprisingly expensive. If you want decent housing in a good area, reliable healthcare, or a lifestyle that feels close to what you had back home, those costs add up.
And I also don’t like the word “cheap” because:
The average monthly income for a working Panamanian is roughly $600–$800 USD (varies by region and sector), and in many cases it’s even lower. A lot of people struggle with:
Gringos, even “poorer” ones, often come with:
When you boast about Panama being “cheap,” you’re basically saying: “This place is great because people can live here on less”, or "this place is great to be existing as my bargain place". But for everyday Panamanians, that “less” is their entire reality, not a lifestyle choice. That’s not a vibe I want to be part of.
What is true is that Panama is one of several places where you can do something called "financial arbitrage":
When you do that, Panama can feel very affordable for you, depending on your budget, and your financial planning and discipline once on the ground. But that’s about your personal financial setup, not the country being inherently “cheap.”
So if you’re thinking about moving here:
Panama isn’t cheap. It’s just one of many places where, if you’re honest about costs and willing to adapt, you can make your expat or retirement life work really well — and still respect the people who live here.
For those who’ve been living in Panama for a while, I’m curious how you think about this now.
If you were starting over from scratch, would you still choose Panama?
Not just a yes or no, but more about why. The initial excitement always fades and daily life sets in, so I’m interested in how people feel after that.
I personally am too new in my journey to definitively answer, but our alternative was Portugal, and if financially and logistically it made sense (still got young adult kids and grandkids in the picture), we might have tried harder to go there. However so far, no regrets, as Panama was a "soft-landing" for us due to relationships with locals, and the history with the US, and my (limited) Spanish, as well as proximity to the States.
For you, some things that might shape the answer: cost of living versus what you expected, healthcare and insurance experiences, ease or difficulty of bureaucracy, banking, residency, social life and community, language and cultural fit, proximity to "home" and day-to-day convenience versus friction.
I’m also interested in whether your answer changed over time. Did you feel one way at three months and differently at one or two years?
If you would choose Panama again, what made it worth it. If not, what would you do differently.
We've as of late been locking in on improving the subreddit, putting out some conversation starters to keep us active and enjoyable, and trying out some methods to keep trolls, disruptive folks, and hostility away from this sub.
That's why the mod posts, and a diminishing of disruptive posts in the last few weeks. I hope it's meeting with your needs--it's always a fine-line between moderation, but not too much, avoiding stifling back-and-forth.
We'll make mistakes, we'll try different stuff, but it's all for you to enjoy and gain insight about your present and/or future Panama immigration journey.