Murdena
8/14/2014 17:10 EST
Hi,
I live alone in Canada, and cannot stay another winter. I am 57, and am on a fixed income. I really want to explore and live,learn cultures and perhaps never see snow again!! lol So this is a new adventure for me, I have not really traveled that much before and never for about 5 months which is what I plan. Dec./Jan to mid/end of April. I was told a bit by email of a friend who spent time in Guatamala in the 90's. Sounds very interesting, so I did a bunch of research on the area. Thought I may be interested in places around the lake as opposed to Panajachel?! Santa Cruz, San Pedro, j...can't think of the name right now. Anyway, it all sounds very interesting and intriguing, however I really am a beach, salt water person but not fond of humidity.
My top priorities are safety, affordable, coastal..ish, and culture.That being said, I have been looking @ Panama, Belize, Nicaragua(?), and Guatamala, Atitalan area, which is not coastal..so??? I'm just researching these and am not sure of affordability at this time. Sooo I am opened to advice, suggestions, and any information I can gather. Peru has also been suggested and also is very appealing. I have not researched it as of yet, been busy with the other possibilities. And to be very honest, I am a tad overwhelmed, to say the least!!
I would be very interested to hear about anyones experiences, locations, thoughts, interpretations, and advice. I will leave this with you, and hope to hear from you at your convenience.
Thanks,
Murdena
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lucythecat
8/14/2014 20:19 EST
Murdena,
Central American and Mexico beaches equal heat and humidity. Nicaragua on the pacific side has very consistent off shore breezes. I'm a surfer and enjoy the beaches. You should check out Nicaragua or Panama if your on a fixed income.
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majicjack
8/14/2014 21:35 EST
First let me start with the question everyone beats to death. Is Nicaragua safe? My wife is 64 years old and travels alone in Nicaragua and has never had any trouble. You don't go into slums or rundown neighborhoods where you live now. Don't do it here.
Nicaragua is very safe. There is a difference between being safe and people stealing from you. Yes, they will steal you blind if you let them. Take a few precautions and common sense and you can prevent this. Do not assume that just because they are from the USA or Canada that they are good people. There are a lot down here because they had to get out of town in a hurry. This is a country where trust has to be earned. The people for most part are very friendly here. It takes a little while for them to get to know you but once they do they are not that much different than any place else in the world. It is a very poor country and you have to take this into consideration.
If you are going to live on or by the beach in Nicaragua you are going to be hot and humid. We live in Poneloya which is on the Pacific side. It is close to Leon that has many supermarket, clinics, and overall anything you may need. You can find very good deals on rentals here on the beach or near the beach. It just depends on what you income level is. and what you wish to pay.
The cost of living evidently does have meaning to you. The cost of living in Nicaragua is very low. Electricity is considered high here. We have a very large home here and the electric is about $100 a month. It would be about $500 or $600 in the USA. There are friends that have small houses and theirs is $20 to 30 a month. Clothes are cheap, food that comes from the USA is a little high but other items are very cheap.
If you live here regardless resident or not you are eligible for free health care. Don't expect what you will get back home. They do have some nice public clinics and hospitals but not many.
Public transportation is abundant and cheap. You may share a seat with a pig but that is basically true anyplace in Central or South America.
We have lived here for nearly five years and have traveled the country north to south and east to west. This culture has been here longer than the US or Canada. It is not going to change for you so you must adjust to it. My opinion is it is a great place to live. It is peaceful, low cost of living, laid back and the government does not bother you. I am quite sure you will get other opinions and other comments on here so you will have to go on your gut feeling.
Take care and good luck to you in your search. There are some folks that will give you a lot of helpful information on this site and as in everything else some pure BS artist. Chance are they have never been here or a two week vacation. Most of the people that have had problems here with Nicaragua were self inflicted.
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elduendegrande
8/15/2014 11:20 EST
If safety is your biggest concern, Stay in Canada. Thievery, including armed robbery with knives, is endemic to the region and does not show up on the stats because it is not reported to the police.
Be adviswed that coastal here in CA means hot and sticky. Great for a vacation, but do you really want to live there?
Culture? Give it the 3 day tour and then go to richer, more educated, more european countries like Chile. If not, bring your own culture and adapt as a best you can.
Most of these countries have spots that are affordable. With care, a single person can live decently on a grand a month.
The big kicker is your lack of travel experience. Go see these countries for yourself. You may be intrigued by the newness or appaled by the dirt and anarchy. Plan on renting your first 5 years so you can make a balanced decision. Plan on learning at least Spanish to get by.
As far a NIc., I would suggest renting an apartment or room in a nice area of managua with AC and use it as a base to explore the country. Another plan would be to rent in the cooler mountain areas of Jinotega or Matagalpa, both a quick bus ride for the comparative conveniences of Managua. The rest of the country has little to offer except heat, bugs, and isolation. If you like beaches, vacation in SAn Juan del Sur.
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JerryHoover
8/16/2014 17:10 EST
There is an easy way to find out more about the countries you mentioned. Just go to you tube and type in the country and even the city in the country you are interested in and watch videos that others have posted on that particular country.
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elduendegrande
8/18/2014 12:18 EST
Again, research various sources, but nothing replaces seeing it yourself.
If you like culture, San Jose and San Salvador would be good places to check out. If you like convenience and moderninity, panama and CR would be the best choices. If you like failed nations, Honduras would be number one with the evolving dictatorship in Nicaragua a close second.
All these countries have beaches, most with beaches on both coasts although the pacific beaches tend to have more access and infrastructure. I`m not a tropical beach person, but I spent a few pleasant days at Monterrico Guate.
Nicaragua and south currently have lower murder rates because the gangs and cartels are under the radar, but every country has some towns that are fairly safe.
You don`t sound like a missionary or America basher, so I suspect you may be a quality of lifer. That is a tough row to hoe down here, so you need to investigate carefully yourself and don`t make any longterm commitments until you have tested the waters thoroughly. If I had it to do over again, I would be looking at Panama, with a preference of Chiriqui Dept. El Salvador`s second city, Santa Ana, would also be worth checking out.
Another thing that may apply if you plan to make trips back to Canada for any reason is to be near an airport with fairly direct and convenient flights.
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lonnie22653
8/19/2014 09:49 EST
Just remember, each person has their own experience and what one person has experienced is not necessarily what you will experience. International Living was a great source of info for me starting out (one of the reasons was because they had cost of living information). Also, join the expat pages on FB for countries you are interested in and then just be a voyeur for a few months - read the posts, get a feel for the expat population and how they feel about the country they are living in, what the problems and concerns are etc. Don't ask questions or join the conversation, just read. You'll get to know many of them by their posts, you'll we what's important to them as a community. I found that probably to be the most helpful thing of all. Since you have not traveled much, I think you might want to be close to a decent sized expat population to start out. Also just google things like best places to retire and you will find articles from publications like AARP, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, LA Times etc that are helpful. Good luck. I too will be a solo expat and there are a lot of solo women expats in Nicaragua. I need to work a couple more years and have spent a decent amount of time traveling in Latin America so had a sense of the cultural differences and was not shocked by the poverty, nor was I surprised by the open heartedness of the people. This is a wonderful time in our lives for the grand adventure. Live it and love. Once you make the BIG move, it will be easy to move from place to place if that is what you want or need to do. Good Luck and have fun!!!
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