Expat Guide to Panama Household Help

Thinking of making a move to Panama, but don't know if you can afford it?

Hiring household help is one thing worth considering and adding into your budget for retirement in Panama.

 

In Volcán, you might get a good gardener for $25 a day, which would be a fair amount to pay someone. In Río Sereno, $10 or $15 would be the norm to hire someone to work on a farm, because it is a much more rural community and there are fewer, almost no, expats there....yet!

 

In Río Sereno we call a gardener a “farm man.” They typically charge about $10 - $15 a day for general help. Specialized help like welding, construction management and finish carpentry are generally more, but nowhere near what you would pay in the U.S. for that same help.

 

Finca Cazador is 12 acres.We have a subcontracted farm helper available for all sorts of household help, heavy lifting and gardening help. He charges by the hour or by the day, and is available early in the morning, all day, and into the evening.

Much of the work he does here is related to keeping undergrowth controlled.

 

The problem with Panama is not getting stuff to grow, it’s keeping everything under control. Here in Panama, things grow where you don’t want them to grow. 

 

In some parts of our off-grid community here at Finca Cazador, we have 10 feet of black topsoil! That means you can grow almost anything very easily, but you have to spend a few hours a month cutting back the overgrowth. Because labor is so inexpensive here, you can plan on a minimal expense for household help, who generally have the tools and years of experience managing plant life.

 

One of the other things to consider is the quality of the work the person you get does. Is that somebody you want in your house? Is that somebody you can trust? 

 

It’s a relationship just like everything else. The biggest problem with most expats who come here is that we’re talking about hiring Panamanians, but the expats don’t take the time to learn Spanish.  

 

Maybe you're thinking of moving to Panama and you want to find a place that's comfortable, inexpensive and safe and you don't want to have to do all the work yourself. 

 

Maybe you want to spend your time experiencing the beauty and fresh air abundant in this area. In this part of Panama, the cost of household help is very low, and it helps the families, and the local economy tremendously when you hire them.

 

If you'd like to come take a tour of the farm, simply send us a message.