What's it like to move to Nicaragua?

Moving to Nicaragua is a fairly easy process assuming you do your paperwork and packing correctly up front. We packed each box with a number, listed exactly what was inside, down the number of socks stuffed into the glassware. Each list was in both Spanish and English and the manifest matched the inventory exactly. The only hassle was our car. If I had to do it over again, I’d sell my car in the U.S. and buy one here.

Moving to Nicaragua is a fairly easy process assuming you do your paperwork and packing correctly up front. We packed each box with a number, listed exactly what was inside, down the number of socks stuffed into the glassware. Each list was in both Spanish and English and the manifest matched the inventory exactly. The only hassle was our car. If I had to do it over again, I’d sell my car in the U.S. and buy one here.

What its like to move to Nicaragua depends a lot on how much you want to take with you. When I moved here with my daughter, we had our two suitcases, hand luggage and my laptop bag. That was it. 

 

After we had decided that we'd stay in Nicaragua, we sent a few boxes over here from Germany via a postal service. One package the size of your average moving box cost us about 90 Euros (about $100). It took about 4 to 5 weeks for the boxes to arrive, but they did...

What its like to move to Nicaragua depends a lot on how much you want to take with you. When I moved here with my daughter, we had our two suitcases, hand luggage and my laptop bag. That was it. 

 

After we had decided that we'd stay in Nicaragua, we sent a few boxes over here from Germany via a postal service. One package the size of your average moving box cost us about 90 Euros (about $100). It took about 4 to 5 weeks for the boxes to arrive, but they did arrive safely, and I had no problems with customs whatsoever. I would get a little card to notify me that I could pick up the box at the nearest post office.

 

If you of course decide to move your complete household to Nicaragua, it's a completely different story. ;-)

 

(Rex Stout's fictional detective, Nero Wolfe on Nicaraguan stamp, pictured.) 

If you want to move to Nicaragua to get away, to retire, to enjoy life, then it’s wonderful. It’s great. It’s a breath of fresh air. It’s a lifestyle that is a little more laidback than any other retirement lifestyle that you’d live anywhere else.
 
If you want to invest in Nicaragua and have a business in Nicaragua, you can easily do that and enjoy a retirement at the same time. The only thing is you should be aware that business is done differently...

If you want to move to Nicaragua to get away, to retire, to enjoy life, then it’s wonderful. It’s great. It’s a breath of fresh air. It’s a lifestyle that is a little more laidback than any other retirement lifestyle that you’d live anywhere else.
 
If you want to invest in Nicaragua and have a business in Nicaragua, you can easily do that and enjoy a retirement at the same time. The only thing is you should be aware that business is done differently here. The way business is done is somewhat slower and takes more time. You might not make as much as you thought you would, but if you moved down to Nicaragua for that, you can have a very positive experience doing it. 
 
For me, moving to Nicaragua was very pleasant. My father is Nicaraguan. I had already known my girlfriend, who is also Nicaraguan. So moving to Nicaragua was not only me coming back to a Nicaraguan family but also I was coming back to my girlfriend. So my move was a very nice, very positive experience.  

 

(Majagual beach, Nicaragua, pictured.)

Moving to Nicaragua is the best decision I’ve ever made. It’s the best investment I’ve ever made compared to anything else including other properties or the capital markets. It’s also the best lifestyle decision I ever made.

 

I may have a bad day where I’m stressed because I’m working and I still have the stresses and strains of work and meeting deadlines and trying to get things done and yet I have to pinch myself because I drive...

Moving to Nicaragua is the best decision I’ve ever made. It’s the best investment I’ve ever made compared to anything else including other properties or the capital markets. It’s also the best lifestyle decision I ever made.

 

I may have a bad day where I’m stressed because I’m working and I still have the stresses and strains of work and meeting deadlines and trying to get things done and yet I have to pinch myself because I drive down the road and pull into my driveway and think, “Well, at least I’m here.” I would not give this up or change this lifestyle for anything.

 

I had dinner with my friends, Paul and Ann, who are Canadians who moved down here nearly two years ago now. They decided to quit the rat race in Vancouver.  They had already been coming here 5 years and owned a property here in which they did vacation rentals.   Paul lost his job and they were sick of Vancouver and the cost and they said they’d come down to try and figure out what to do. Within about 6 months they decided what they wanted to do to earn a living and recognized that they didn’t need very much money to live here.  Now they’re providing services to other expats. They’re helping to manage their properties and rent their properties.

 

We had dinner together last night and I asked, “Would you change anything? Would you go back?”  They answered that even when you have a bad day and it’s frustrating, we were still living the lifestyle. This is the lifestyle. We’re all in our mid 40s and it’s the best change we ever made. I have no desire to go back to Canada or the UK other than to visit and see friends.