How's the standard of living in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua?
Diony Fuentes
Life is simple and easy in San Juan Del Sur. It is even better if you are a retiree because you can have a really nice life in San Juan Del Sur if you have what, by North American standards, is not that much money. You can just go out and have a nice meal anywhere you want.
For locals, life is easy, too, but for me, in order to really enjoy San Juan Del Sur, you have to go out and enjoy the town. San Juan Del Sur is a little town by the beach and everybody knows each other.
Life is simple and easy in San Juan Del Sur. It is even better if you are a retiree because you can have a really nice life in San Juan Del Sur if you have what, by North American standards, is not that much money. You can just go out and have a nice meal anywhere you want.
For locals, life is easy, too, but for me, in order to really enjoy San Juan Del Sur, you have to go out and enjoy the town. San Juan Del Sur is a little town by the beach and everybody knows each other.
Posted September 12, 2014
Blue van Doorninck - Rancho Chilamate Horseback Adventures & Guest Ranch
The standard of living of the locals in San Juan Del Sur is much higher than in the rest of the country of Nicaragua because of the high percentage of tourist businesses is in this town. However, outside of San Juan Del Sur, the standard of living for the locals can be pretty low; I think even by international standards. They do not make a lot of money. They do subsistence farming. This means that they grow what they eat, they make bricks for their houses, and they cut down...
The standard of living of the locals in San Juan Del Sur is much higher than in the rest of the country of Nicaragua because of the high percentage of tourist businesses is in this town. However, outside of San Juan Del Sur, the standard of living for the locals can be pretty low; I think even by international standards. They do not make a lot of money. They do subsistence farming. This means that they grow what they eat, they make bricks for their houses, and they cut down wood to make the lumber for their houses.
The standard of living of expats in San Juan Del Sur is pretty good but it may be different from person to person because it also depends on one’s budget. You can do well here without spending a lot of money or you can rent a beautiful house and live exactly how you would back in North America, but for a lot less. The cost of living here is about half of what it is in North America.
Posted October 4, 2014
Daniel Snider - Snider's Realty Nicaragua
I believe that the standard of living in San Juan Del Sur for the average Nicaraguan is a bit of a struggle just like anywhere else in the country. Although, living close to the ocean, in a beach community, and with a lot of American influence has changed their standard of living considerably. So, I wouldn’t say that the life of Nicaraguans here is a struggle, but living in such a nice place like San Juan Del Sur and finding new opportunities with tourism and foreigners, I would...I believe that the standard of living in San Juan Del Sur for the average Nicaraguan is a bit of a struggle just like anywhere else in the country. Although, living close to the ocean, in a beach community, and with a lot of American influence has changed their standard of living considerably. So, I wouldn’t say that the life of Nicaraguans here is a struggle, but living in such a nice place like San Juan Del Sur and finding new opportunities with tourism and foreigners, I would say that the standard of living has at least became better in the last two years for the average Nicaraguan. The standard of living for expats is extremely good because you get a lot of bang for you buck. You can be a retired person in San Juan Del Sur and use your money to its fullest and enjoy an extravagant life. The coastal zones of San Juan Del Sur are very beautiful. There are lots of restaurants and things to do and it all comes at an affordable price. All that equals to a very nice standard of living for the average expat.
Posted December 5, 2014
Eugenio Cortez - Hacienda & Ecolodge Morgan´s Rock
The standard of living in San Juan del Sur is fairly easy, fairly simple. Fairly cheap, also. You’ll find everything you need in San Juan del Sur; you probably just won’t find it in large quantities. You learn to live with not just what you need but "just enough." It’s not like you’re in a big city like Managua where you can go anywhere and get what you want. What you may want to buy is not as accessible in San Juan del Sur as in Managua,...
The standard of living in San Juan del Sur is fairly easy, fairly simple. Fairly cheap, also. You’ll find everything you need in San Juan del Sur; you probably just won’t find it in large quantities. You learn to live with not just what you need but "just enough." It’s not like you’re in a big city like Managua where you can go anywhere and get what you want. What you may want to buy is not as accessible in San Juan del Sur as in Managua, but you will find everything. You just don’t know if they have any stock. That can get frustrating.
For example, if you are looking for a specific shampoo in San Juan del Sur and they don’t have it, you just buy another one. You have to be flexible with yourself or else you will go crazy.
For example, if you are looking for a specific shampoo in San Juan del Sur and they don’t have it, you just buy another one. You have to be flexible with yourself or else you will go crazy.
I’ve spoken with people who live comfortably under these standards for about US $800 or even $700 a month. They tell me that they don’t need anything else because with that amount, they’re more than fine.
Posted December 5, 2014
David Smith - Nicaragua Sotheby's International Realty
Generally, the standard of living in San Juan Del Sur is probably higher than anywhere else in Nicaragua. It is quite a prosperous little town. The expat community is growing, bringing prosperity and money into the town. Even the Nicaraguans who are catering to tourists are doing quite well, so the standard of living in San Juan Del Sur is quite high. Having said that, it is still a developing country and so an important question to ask is "How is the standard of living...Generally, the standard of living in San Juan Del Sur is probably higher than anywhere else in Nicaragua. It is quite a prosperous little town. The expat community is growing, bringing prosperity and money into the town. Even the Nicaraguans who are catering to tourists are doing quite well, so the standard of living in San Juan Del Sur is quite high. Having said that, it is still a developing country and so an important question to ask is "How is the standard of living relative to what?" Relative to North Americans, the standard of living depends on the amount of income that you have and how you choose to spend that income. However, for as little as US $1,000 per month, you can have a very high standard of living in San Juan Del Sur.
If you have $2,000 per month, you would find that you have plenty of cash for yourself and you have cash enough to help other people. You have time and money to explore the country, to go on vacations, and you would be very well off. You would have everything. You would have maids, caretakers, and plenty of time to explore the country from the east to the west coast. You could do whatever you wanted to do.
In order to compare, if you have $2,000 in Toronto, well, everything is more expensive over there, so you would be watching every penny that you spend. You would be losing more than a half of your money on rent or on a tiny mortgage because $2,000 is nothing in Toronto. In San Juan Del Sur, $2000 per month is a lot of money.
Posted March 5, 2015
Gordon MacKay - InNicaNow.com
The standard of living in San Juan del Sur depends on who you are. Some of the people who are working for minimum wage have a pretty low standard of living. Many of them live in a family home where a dozen other people live. Some of them of have jobs and are contributing and doing what they can to get by, so no one’s starving, but there aren’t a lot of extras. There are lots of Nicaraguans as well who have jobs in tourism and make some tips, or have jobs that pay a...The standard of living in San Juan del Sur depends on who you are. Some of the people who are working for minimum wage have a pretty low standard of living. Many of them live in a family home where a dozen other people live. Some of them of have jobs and are contributing and doing what they can to get by, so no one’s starving, but there aren’t a lot of extras. There are lots of Nicaraguans as well who have jobs in tourism and make some tips, or have jobs that pay a little better, so they are more affluent. For the average expat living in San Juan del Sur, if you want to bring your American life to San Juan del Sur, it isn’t going to be that much cheaper because you’ll be buying imported items, and you’re going to want the things that you have to import to San Juan del Sur.
If you want to come to San Juan del Sur and have an amazing life that’s a little simpler- to get your fruits and vegetables at the market, your meat at the butcher, cooking at home and visiting friends, it’s very inexpensive and you can live like a king- at least for me that’s what it feels like.
I have a beautiful home, we have a shared pool, I’m a close five-minute walk to the beach and 10-minute walk to town, and I eat amazingly. All the food that I eat was in the ground or on the tree two days ago. I live amazingly.
(Fruits and vegetables delivered to Gordon MacKay's door, San Juan del Sur, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted July 6, 2017