Part one · 3 steps
Visa & residency
Start the Pensionado (Pensioner) Visa path
Panama's route for retirees. Plan on roughly $1,000/month of provable income — pension, Social Security, dividends — and expect the consulate to want it documented. The current read:
From our Boquete research
Pensionado requires a guaranteed lifetime pension of $1,000/mo single (+$250 per dependent, i.e. ~$1,250 for a couple); drops to $750/mo if you buy $100k+ property (as of 2026). US Social Security, government, military and qualifying private pensions count — the letter must state income is permanent. Grants permanent residency and Panama's well-known retiree discounts (transport, medical, entertainment). One of the easiest, lowest-income retiree visas in the world.
Read the full Boquete profile →Get key documents apostilled + certified-translated
Birth/marriage certificates, background checks — start early; it's slow, and every residency application wants them.
Our visa paperwork guide →Decide who runs the move — you, or a concierge
Part two · 3 steps
Healthcare
Map your care in Boquete
Know where you'd go before you need it — the hospital for something serious, the specialist, the pharmacy that speaks English. Here's our current read:
From our Boquete research
Day-to-day care is easy and cheap in Boquete (private GP visit ~$20-50) with many US-trained, English-speaking doctors. Acute/hospital care means David, ~35-40 min away, at private Hospital Chiriquí or Mae Lewis — solid for most cases but not specialized trauma/complex care. The nearest truly world-class facility is Hospital Punta Pacifica in Panama City (Johns Hopkins affiliate), a ~1hr flight or 6-7hr drive away. Private local insurance ~$100-175/mo; international plans ~$150-500/mo.
Read the full Boquete profile →Know what Medicare does — and doesn't — cover abroad
Original Medicare generally doesn't cover care outside the US. Whatever your plan becomes, it has to answer that gap.
Medicare abroad, explained →Compare international / expat health insurance
See what international health plans actually cover — and what they cost.
Part three · 5 steps
Money & taxes
Pressure-test your Boquete budget
A comfortable month in Boquete runs about $2,700 for a couple, at current exchange rates. Build your own version on top of that base — your rent tier, your healthcare, your flights home — and see what's left over.
Build the real monthly number →Understand US taxes as an expat in Panama
You still file US taxes abroad, and FBAR applies once foreign accounts pass $10,000. The country side matters just as much:
From our Boquete research
Territorial: foreign pensions/SS/investment income not taxed by Panama even if remitted; no US-Panama tax treaty so US worldwide tax still applies (use FEIE/FTC).
Read the full Boquete profile →Set up low-fee international money transfers
Bank wires quietly cost 3–5% in bad FX; specialists are far cheaper.
Have someone check the retirement math before you commit
Plan day-to-day cash + card access (and a backup card)
Check your cards' foreign-ATM fees before you go, and carry a backup card on a different network in case one gets swallowed.
Part four · 4 steps
The scouting trip
Book the Boquete reconnaissance trip
Not a vacation — a rehearsal. Rent in an ordinary neighborhood for a few weeks and live a normal week: groceries, buses, a doctor's appointment, a quiet Tuesday. Getting there and back:
From our Boquete research
No nonstop US flights to local David airport (DAV); you connect through Panama City's Tocumen hub (PTY) — Copa runs ~16 weekly DAV-PTY flights (~1h14m), and PTY has abundant nonstops to many US cities, so it's effectively a one-stop trip. David is ~35-40 min from Boquete. Total Boquete-to-US-East-Coast door-to-door is realistically a long half-day.
Read the full Boquete profile →Compare trip insurance for the scouting trip
Read the safety picture for yourself
Boquete sits under a US State Department Level 2 (“exercise increased caution”) advisory. Check the current one before you book, then weigh it against the on-the-ground picture:
From our Boquete research
US State Dept rates Panama overall Level 2 (exercise increased caution; as of 2026) — driven by city/lowland crime, not the highlands (the Level 4 'Mosquito Gulf' zone is a remote coastal area, not Boquete). Boquete itself is low-violence with very safe daytime walking. Honest caveat: Numbeo (Dec 2025) shows crime perceived as rising sharply (69.77/100) with moderate home break-in worry; rural-property burglary and crimes-of-opportunity targeting visibly wealthier expats are the real local risk — lock up, don't flash valuables.
Read the full Boquete profile →Test the season, not the postcard
Every place has a month the brochures skip. If you can, scout in the worst one:
From our Boquete research
At 3,500-4,500 ft, Boquete has a famously mild spring-like climate year-round, typically low 60s to high 70s F — no AC or heat needed in most homes. The trade-off: it's genuinely wet, with rain a large part of the year and the dry season bringing stiff winds and the misty 'bajareque' drizzle. Bug/humidity less than lowland Panama.
Read the full Boquete profile →Part five · 6 steps
The move itself
Rent first — live a full season before you even think about buying
The single biggest regret-saver. The market isn't going anywhere.
Book a short-term furnished rental for your landing
Give yourself 1–3 months to find the right neighborhood.
Decide what to ship, store, or sell
Shipping a household is expensive; many movers regret over-shipping.
Re-home your US mail before you go
Banks, the IRS, Medicare — the mail keeps coming after you leave. Keep a US address you check from anywhere, or hand the whole job to a service.
Sort pet import + airline requirements early
Timelines for vaccines and paperwork can be months.
Our pet-move guide →Scan and cloud-back-up every key document
Passports, prescriptions, insurance cards, the marriage certificate — one folder you can open from any phone, anywhere.
Part six · 4 steps
Settling in
Find your people in Boquete
Loneliness is the #1 reason people move home — build the community before you build anything else. What's already there:
From our Boquete research
One of Panama's largest and most organized expat hubs — roughly a fifth of the area is foreign-born, heavily American and Canadian retirees. Weekly market, café culture, social/volunteer clubs and active forums make a soft landing; English is commonly heard in town. Flip side: it can feel like a 'gringo bubble', and the influx has driven up prices and some resentment.
Read the full Boquete profile →Join the expat community before you arrive
Start the conversations months before the flight.
Our community guide →Set up a local SIM + home internet
If your phone's unlocked, an eSIM can cover you from day one; sort home internet once you have an address.
Start the language — even 20 words changes everything
Spanish is what your daily life will run in — the clinic front desk, the market, the neighbors. A head start pays off from day one.
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