By Kathleen Peddicord
Summary:
Kathleen Peddicord, publisher of Live and Invest Overseas.com recently moved from Paris to Panama and discusses the cost-of-living there.
I suggested he double-check his math. Lief's budget, which he presented to me last week, shows that it will cost more for our little family to be in Panama City, Panama, than it has cost us to be in Paris, France.
How could that be? I asked incredulously.
My husband the accountant assures me his numbers are correct, and, indeed, holding aside the cost of housing, which we're considering separately, it appears our day-to-day cost of living will be higher in Panama than it's been in France.
On the one hand, this is a comment on how affordable Paris can be. This is a place where even a modest lifestyle can feel rich, where the greatest pleasures--strolls along the Seine, afternoons in the Luxembourg Gardens--come gratis.
In Paris, we're happily car-free. We walk nearly everywhere. The butcher, the baker, the grocer, the wine shop, and Jack's school are all less than 15 minutes' walk from our apartment, as are the Tuileries gardens, the Louvre, six movie theaters, and at least a dozen cafes and restaurants. When we want to venture beyond our quartier, we take the metro. For 1.10 euro, we can go anywhere in the city.
Other things in Paris can be cheap, too--for example, telephone, cable, and Internet. Our phone plan, which costs less than 40 euro per month, allows unlimited free calls anytime to anywhere in the United States and anywhere throughout Europe. Hard to beat. Full cable and wireless Internet service cost, in total, less than 70 euro monthly.
On the other hand, in Panama, we'll need a car. Which will mean monthly insurance, gas, and maintenance expenses...plus the cost of a driver, at least while I work up the courage to navigate the streets of that city on my own.
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About the Author
After more then 22 years as Editor and Publisher of International Living, Kathleen Peddicord is now Publisher of Live and Invest Overseas.com and Editor of the group's FREE weekly e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, detailing the best opportunities worldwide right now for living, retiring, investing, owning real estate and doing business. Nobody covers this beat better.
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First Published: Apr 26, 2008
