Retire on Social Security at the Beach in Panama

YES! There are affordable places to retire at the beach in Panama too!

With the average Social Security check only $1544, it is difficult to retire in the United States, even if your house is paid for. Inflation has caused the price of groceries, medications, taxes, utilities, and just about everything else.

Living at the beach in North America, on only Social Security or a pension, would be almost impossible.

The solution is to move to a place that is more affordable…. like beautiful Panama!

In Panama, some beach areas are more expensive, like Coronado and Gorgona, but there are many beach communities in Panama where a single person can live well on $1500 a month and a couple can enjoy an amazing lifestyle for about $2000 per month… including rent!

These are some of the more affordable beach communities in Panama:

BOCAS DEL TORO

Bocas del Toro province is on the Caribbean side of Panama. The most popular place to live in the Bocas area is the island of Isla Colon. Isla Colon has grocery stores, a hospital, many amazing restaurants, beautiful beaches, fishing, surfing, and lively nightlife too. You can rent a furnished one-bedroom house in a tropical setting with a pool for about $500 a month in Bocas.

The beach communities listed below are in the Azuero Peninsula on the Pacific side of Panama. The Azuero gets less rain than other parts of Panama and it’s less humid than other Pacific beach communities. The very affordable beach communities are between Chitre and Las Tablas. Here’s a map to help you visualize where Chitre and Las Tablas are located. Notice where Bocas del Toro is on the upper left too. The Pacific Ocean is to the south and the Caribbean Sea is north.

PLAYA EL ROMPIO

El Rompio is a beach community in the Azuero Peninsula about 15 minutes away from Chitre. Chitre has a mall, 24/7 grocery stores, hospitals, many excellent restaurants, and other shops that line the streets. You can rent a furnished two bedroom two bath house in El Rompio for about $600 per month. See the house below. There are several other furnished rentals in that area in the $500 to $600 range and they all have an ocean view!

Between Chitre and El Rompio there is a small beach community at Albina Grande where a couple is renting a furnished two-bedroom house for $400 per month. That does not include utilities which run about $80 per month for internet, electricity, and cable tv. It’s on an acre of tropical land and has a pool too. See the photo below.

GUARARE

Guarare is a cute beach community also in the Azuero Peninsula. It’s about 15 minutes away from Las Tablas. Las Tablas has a hospital, grocery stores, hardware stores, great restaurants, and more. You can rent a furnished two-bedroom two-bath with the view below for $600 a month.

PLAYA UVERITO

Playa Uverito is about 10 minutes away from Las Tablas. As you can see from the photo below, there are several houses along the beach. There are also a few hotels and restaurants. You can rent a furnished two-bedroom rental there for about $700 per month. Some rentals will not include electricity so add an extra $50 for that.

PEDASI

Unlike what you’ve read in popular international publications, Pedasi is NOT next to the ocean. The town is about 10 minutes away from a beach. There are some houses next to the beach but they are usually more expensive. If you rent a furnished house a few miles away from the beach, you should be able to find a furnished two-bedroom for under $800 a month. See a sample below of a two-bedroom, two-bath for $950. Obviously, this price will not work for a single person who hopes to live on Social Security, but a couple may be able to afford the Pedasi area living on only Social Security. It’s definitely much more expensive than other beach communities in the Azuero. Most people in Pedasi go to Las Tablas or Chitre for shopping. Pedasi is about a 5-hour drive from Panama City. There are currently no commercial flights into Pedasi.

San Carlos is another affordable beach community where you could live on Social Security and still have access to hospitals, grocery stores, and social activities.

SAN CARLOS

San Carlos is west of Coronado. You can see where San Carlos is on the map above. You can usually find a furnished rental for under $700 if you are a few blocks away from the beach. It’s a great location with a 24/7 hospital, restaurants, grocery stores, and more. San Carlos is not far from Coronado where there are 24/7 grocery stores, amazing restaurants, and a lot of social activities.

There are many other beach communities that are not included on this list because they are more expensive, they are not close to basic amenities like a grocery store and a hospital, or because there is more crime in that area. It’s important to do research about an area before you move there.

YOU HAVE CHOICES IN PANAMA

Social Security or your pension might not go far in North America, but you have plenty of choices of affordable places to live in Panama. If you know you want to live at the beach, you have 1500 miles of coastline to choose from. The other things to take into consideration are our budget and how close you want to be to amenities like a grocery store, hospital, and social activities.

COME SEE HOW YOU CAN LIVE BETTER FOR LESS IN PANAMA!

Join us for a Private Panama Relocation Tour of the most popular BEACH communities in Panama! You’ll get to see rentals every day during your tour! You might even find the perfect beach house during your Private Panama Relocation Tour! Plus, you’ll learn all the important information you need to know to have a smooth, hassle-free move to Panama. See Details HERE