What's it like to live in Managua, Nicaragua?
Malena Kruger
To live in Managua, Nicaragua is like living in a tranquil era, The people here "work to live," not "live to work." In Managua we have golf courses, beautiful beaches, coffee filled mountains, exciting volcanoes, folklore markets and delicious restaurants, but the best we have are the warm and caring people.
To live in Managua, Nicaragua is like living in a tranquil era, The people here "work to live," not "live to work." In Managua we have golf courses, beautiful beaches, coffee filled mountains, exciting volcanoes, folklore markets and delicious restaurants, but the best we have are the warm and caring people.
Posted April 27, 2014
Kent Payne
There are expats in the city of Managua, but they’re scattered. As a quick estimate, there are probably 10 or 15 areas that are a little more upscale that have nicer, larger homes for rent or sale. I’ve seen people come in to these areas and I’ve seen people leave, because once they’re in the city of Managua for 6 or 8 months, they realize that they don’t get the peaceful lifestyle that at least I’m looking for. (But you have to...
There are expats in the city of Managua, but they’re scattered. As a quick estimate, there are probably 10 or 15 areas that are a little more upscale that have nicer, larger homes for rent or sale. I’ve seen people come in to these areas and I’ve seen people leave, because once they’re in the city of Managua for 6 or 8 months, they realize that they don’t get the peaceful lifestyle that at least I’m looking for. (But you have to remember that I a young man on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma, so I don’t need a lot of people around to keep me occupied and I certainly wouldn’t live in a huge city and Managua is one that’s too large for my taste.)
There are some good things about Managua. There’s shopping and nightlife and the things you would expect to find in a larger, capital city. One of my favorites is the VIP movie theater.
When you walk into this movie theater, it has 12 screens, but three screens are showing the same film. One shows the film in 3-D, one shows it the regular two-dimensional way, and you have a VIP theater. Each one has a different price. The regular movie is about US $3.50 for a first run movie. The 3-D movie may cost about $4.50. The VIP movie theater is $8. The VIP theater has only about 40 seats. Each seat is a leather armchair that’s about three feet wide and reclines. The wait staff comes up as you sit down and they give you a menu. You can order sushi, or a Scotch or a cold beer, or they’ll bring you popcorn and soda until the world is level. You eat and drink while you’re watching the movie and never have to get up. Pretty cool
You do pay for what they bring you. Your Scotch is $2.50, a beer is $1.40, the popcorn is $2 and large cokes runs $1.75. So, for about $12, you can have a really nice movie experience, including snacks.
There are some good things about Managua. There’s shopping and nightlife and the things you would expect to find in a larger, capital city. One of my favorites is the VIP movie theater.
When you walk into this movie theater, it has 12 screens, but three screens are showing the same film. One shows the film in 3-D, one shows it the regular two-dimensional way, and you have a VIP theater. Each one has a different price. The regular movie is about US $3.50 for a first run movie. The 3-D movie may cost about $4.50. The VIP movie theater is $8. The VIP theater has only about 40 seats. Each seat is a leather armchair that’s about three feet wide and reclines. The wait staff comes up as you sit down and they give you a menu. You can order sushi, or a Scotch or a cold beer, or they’ll bring you popcorn and soda until the world is level. You eat and drink while you’re watching the movie and never have to get up. Pretty cool
You do pay for what they bring you. Your Scotch is $2.50, a beer is $1.40, the popcorn is $2 and large cokes runs $1.75. So, for about $12, you can have a really nice movie experience, including snacks.
Posted September 3, 2014
Frank Martínez
Nicaraguans who lived outside of Nicaragua and then either moved back to Nicaragua or moved to Nicaragua for the first time think that they are living happily ever after because they have seen the best of both worlds. As people living outside of Nicaragua, we have learned how to work hard, not to expect anything from anybody, and make money in order to have a happy ending ahead of our lives. We learned, for example, how to work hard in the US, and we apply...
Nicaraguans who lived outside of Nicaragua and then either moved back to Nicaragua or moved to Nicaragua for the first time think that they are living happily ever after because they have seen the best of both worlds. As people living outside of Nicaragua, we have learned how to work hard, not to expect anything from anybody, and make money in order to have a happy ending ahead of our lives. We learned, for example, how to work hard in the US, and we apply that knowledge in Nicaragua, which is an under developed country. So having lived in one of the most developed country in the world gives us a sense of ethics, but applying it to the environment we have here in Nicaragua. Compared with other places like in the US, the people here in Nicaragua can be considered lazy and that is a fact, but we try to move forward and learn from our mistakes. We expect to enjoy the money that we make in years ahead.
I have seen many Americans come here for the first time, and who trust my friends who are businessmen here, because the Americans have never been here before. What these American expats tell me once they get here, is that they have decided to sell their things in the US and they are moving to Nicaragua. I have heard that a lot from many American expats. They get very surprised when they get here. Here in Nicaragua, you won’t see a cop on the street asking for your paperwork. You won’t see the military equipment that you see in El Salvador or Honduras or Mexico. You will rarely see a police officer on the streets of Nicaragua. It is not that we are not being taken care of, but it means that the crime rate is very low.
Nicaragua is a beautiful country and the expats see that. Once you get off your plane in Managua, you land on the side of a beautiful lake. We have two of the biggest lakes in Central America. It is a beautiful scene. The planes will also take you around volcanoes. We have the most volcanoes in one country in Central America. We have everything beautiful such as the mountains, the lakes, the islands in the Caribbean, and the sandy beaches.
Expats find a lot of things to do here in Nicaragua and there are a lot of things to be done. We are developing and we have many gaps, so people are coming in to fill these gaps when they see the opportunities. That is why people from other countries seek to establish themselves in Nicaragua now instead of later.
The expats who move to Managua become less pre-occupied by the social environment because even though Nicaragua has a connotation of being a poor country, you won’t see poverty unless you go to the poverty-stricken areas. If you take your car and go around the city, what you will see are new buildings, new shopping malls, construction, developments, cars, traffic, etc. We have poverty amongst us, but you will not see it because they are confined to certain neighborhoods. Don’t be surprised if people say that they have been to Nicaragua and they didn’t see any poor people. Managua is a very small place that you can go around in an hour and a half. So many expats in Managua are very surprised at what they see here because Managua is very nice and it is safe. As soon as they step out of the airport, they feel that safety and they find that the people of Nicaragua are content with their lives.
Posted December 14, 2014