Nicarugua? Is that a good country for my old Uncle to retire to?

Question

He has looked into Belize and Costa Rico but those counties are too 'civilized' for him. He wants a bit of a challenge, maybe in starting a small tourist business. And what Spanish DVD's are best for learning the language? Is "Rocket Spanish " any good? Rosetta Stone?

Answer 1

QUARTALUPE...BEAUTIFUL LAND GREAT OCEAN ALLWAYS GREAT TEMPETURE...perfect for retirement...

Answer 2

I, for one, am too young to be retired but can be a big help. I am a Nicaraguan citizen (born and raised); i live in the capital, Managua. I work in the Nicaraguan government alongside many tourism-related businesses. Don't let people who have never stepped foot in this country give you ANY advise whatsoever.

To start off, Nicaragua has been statistically rated as the Safest country in Central America for many years now. If you at any moment doubt this google "safest country in Central America" and see what country pops up. We are home to the two largest lakes in Central America (one of which is the 2nd largest in Latin America), the only sweetwater sharks on the planet, the largest volcanic island in a freshwater lake n the world and the largest rainforest North of the Amazon in Brazil.

There are many expats here in Nicaragua, the majority of them head either to Granada or San Juan del Sur, only those involved in international matters stay in Managua. Managua, the caital in which i live, has a devastating history. 90% of the city was destroyed in an earthquake in 1972 (December 23rd) and the aid money which was sent in to help us was smuggled by our then- U.S. backed and supported dictator (which had dictated for over three generations). Thankfully the revolution, Daniel Ortega (our current president) and the FSLN took care of those matters long ago.

Many of the people I work with in the tourism-related field are expats who have taken advantage of our Law 306, which has great benefits (take a look at the links i provide below for more info, hope it helps). I have met many expats from China, Taiwan, the U.S. and many European countries tell me how much they love Nicaragua. Now, as for prices and living standards, you're pretty well off here. For the price of a regular home in Costa Rica you can own a beachfront property with all luxuries and then have money left over for other things.

Everything you buy in the U.S. you will easily find here, food, toys, phones, ect. Wi-fi is available virtually everywhere now, and internet cafes in Managua don't charge any higher than 30 cordobas (about $1.25) an hour. We have most food chains from the U.S. (Pizza Hut, Mc Donalds, Burger King, Subway, Fridays, ect) and we have international restaurants from all regions of the world. You will most certainly not feel too home sick in Nicaragua. The safest, low prices, and friendly people will convince you this is the best place to live.

What he should do is come visit for a week; there are tons of things to see, places to visit, shows to attend, ect. I assure you once hr gets here you'll be at the immigration office trying to get citizenship =)

Answer 3

Nicaragua might be a good place to go, from the sound of it. It is a very underdeveloped, rustic country, such that in some country towns the electricity might be on only part of the day and horses and oxcarts might be a major means of transportation, but for an underdeveloped country it is relatively safe- crime isn't out of hand, and politically it is fairly stable and democratic.

I'd still be careful about flashing money around, as it is a very poor country.

As for Ortega- he was a socialist president during the 1980s,  but for a socialist he was fairly moderate (he allowed his party to be voted out of office democratically in 1990) and he's become more moderate since, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.