You'll find all the amenities you need in David

I’m having dinner at Mosto Bistro. The name sounds a bit fancy, but the place has the kind of laid-back charm I’ve come to expect of the growing town of David. At $11.50 for a Thai curry and a dessert of flan, this is the most expensive meal I’ve had in the past two days.

At breakfast earlier today, my coffee was $0.35…and it was good. A plate of scrambled eggs was $0.50; I added an order of hojaldre, fried doughy flatbreads, for $0.15. I’m beginning to suspect the cost of living in David can be half as low as in Panama City…and yet David offers many great city amenities.

David is the capital of the province of Chiriqui in Panama. Located just 45 minutes away from Panama’s highlands, this small colonial town seems to have it all.

Though I call it a small town, it’s one of Panama’s three largest cities. It’s close to beaches and mountains and even idyllic islands. There’s a busy domestic airport with regular flights to Panama City and even San Jose, in neighboring Costa Rica.

There are a couple malls where you’ll find large grocery stores and pharmacies and chain restaurants like Friday’s and KFC. But head away from the Pan-American highway and into the town center, and life is 100% Panamanian. There are beauty salons and cafés and dollar shops and more…all offering a truly local flavor and local prices that are easy on the wallet.

Cost of living in David: What can you expect to pay

Have a nice “executive lunch” for as little as $5, including a soft drink…or a large Panamanian “worker lunch” for as little as $2.75. The typical plate is heaped with rice, chicken, plantains or some type of bean or lentil, and a salad or coleslaw. Note: The big worker lunches induce long siestas, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem in this easy-going town. But the cost of living in David isn’t just low because of the food…

All the basics I would need to live comfortably are available: from hi-tech needs like reliable high-speed Internet from $19 a month to low-tech needs like clean water (often less than $7 a month for a two-person household).

A full-time maid can cost you as little as $175 a month, or pay $10 to $12 for a full day’s work, including laundry and light cooking. Small gas tanks for cooking cost $5 and will generally last a two-person household well over a month. One can live very comfortably here for $1,500 a month or less, including rent or monthly mortgage payments.

David’s cost of living is low…even when you factor in real estate

Perhaps the best thing is the price of real estate. In Dolega, just 10 minutes outside the David town center, a two-bedroom, one-bath home of about 1,150 square feet is on offer for $47,000.

Smaller homes in and around David range from $30,000 to $40,000 in price. Of course, these are simple, Panamanian style homes that an expat would likely want to spend some money remodeling. But nicer homes aren’t that much more expensive, with pretty little cottages, ready to occupy, starting at as little as $75,000.

Don’t move just for the cost of living in David, though. As one expat there puts it: “You might not be happy. It’s tropical and humid—many foreigners prefer the nearby mountain towns.”

However, expats in David see a world of potential. Even though all the basics are there, they say there is a lot of money in David, and locals are itching to spend on just about anything.

That means there is a real need for upscale bars, restaurants and cafés…boutiques and specialty shops…and even services, from catering to tailoring.

And it’s not just the locals that are raring to spend their hard-earned cash. Expats living in places like Boquete and Volcan come to David regularly to shop, and would love to see more options for a night on the town or specialty food items. If you’d like to save money while you make money, David may be the perfect place for you.

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