How to make new friends in Panama

Due to its famous canal, Panama has been welcoming expats for many decades, with the present-day community totalling well over 300,000 mostly long-stay incomers.

Getting used to cultural differences, struggling with a new language and wondering what’s the best way to make new friends are hurdles all expats have to face when they move overseas. Forming a social network takes time and is often dependent on work colleagues and their friends until new arrivals orient themselves to what’s out there for them. More experienced and adventurous expats see their lifestyle as a revolving door, coming and going on a regular basis, but others need to settle down and call their destination home.

Panamanians are very used to having an expat community in their midst, as the famous canal was built by expat labour and its present day services and long-term maintenance involve many foreign companies. For new arrivals, local professional networking events are a start towards building friendships, with seminars and conferences also useful. Chamber of Commerce activities offer a useful way to integrate, and networking with your work colleagues can easily expand your own personal network.

Volunteering is a great way to meet new friends on your own wavelength, with Panama offering a number of opportunities. One decidedly worthy cause is Give and Surf, working to help 500 Ngabe tribespeople living without clean drinking water, electricity, running water and toilets. Another group helps local underprivileged kids in rough communities using basketball and another does the same using soccer.

If you prefer dogs to humans as your best friends, several private charities in Panama are now running dog rescue and rehoming centres which welcome volunteers willing to help change the local attitude towards homeless dogs. If you’re feeling lonely since you arrived, adopting a dog is the best ever cure, and meeting new friends in Panama’s dog parks is great both for you and your new, furry companion.