by Larnies Bowen
Unbeknownst to me, I arrived justo a tiempo for the beginning of the busy season here in Panama City. The holidays were quickly approaching and January marked the beginning of summer so (affordable) housing was/is scarce in this Latin American hotspot. All the newspapers and websites have been listing apartments at upwards of $600 (yes that is USD). And I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t stomach forking over $600+ per month in rent in Latin America. So…I took to walking.
At the suggestion of some family friends who work in real estate, I walked around choice neighborhoods and spoke with the management, concierges, and residents of various apartment buildings in the hopes of locating a reasonably priced apartment. After much walking (and some tears), I found a decent one-bedroom apartment within my budget. It’s not in the prettiest neighborhood, but it’s centrally located—a quick quarter bus ride or $1 taxi ride to the University of Panama and everywhere else I need to be. One major drawback: it was completely unfurnished. (Apparently, in Panama when you rent an apartment you rent just that—an apartment. Most apartments don’t come with stoves or washing machines, or anything.) In fact, apartments don’t even come with lights! You have to go to an office called Edemet and put down a deposit first.
Further complicating the “settling in process” was all of the red tape concerning registering an apartment, opening up a bank account, obtaining a visa, and getting electricity in my apartment—all of which took about a month. Meaning, after it took about three weeks to locate an apartment, it took another three to four weeks until I could actually move in the apartment. I believe my realtor summed it up best when she explained “This is not the states. Everything here is un tramite…a long process.”
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The views and information presented are the Fulbright grantee’s own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State.
