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Nicaragua: Are my prescriptions available:
When I was first diagnosed with high blood pressure I was put on a medication that was quite expensive. One day I asked my doctor if there was a generic or less expensive alternative. He wrote a new prescription that works just as well as the other and is available in Nicaragua.
Nicaragua: Expat Happy Hours:
I second the first poster. Better to contact local Facebook groups for the towns you'll be visiting and ask there. Granada has a Friday afternoon expat happy hour get together around 4:00 at the Grill House on the Calzada. There is another group that meets at Bistro Estrada, a couple of blocks away, and usually stays for dinner there. You can join both if you;re in town on a Friday. A lot of expats in Granada also like to take the boat cruise/swim on the Lake on Martin McNally's boat, the Bella Del Mar. Check that out on Facebook, too. Here in San Juan Del Sur it's a much more diffuse situation with no one happy hour/place for expats. Some of us have been going to the Hotel Monte Verde on Friday afternoons for wings, drinks and pool--very sociable and relaxing. Shuttle leaves from outside El Gato Negro approximately 11:30 a.m. and brings you back later in the afternoon. I was lucky today and they left late and I made it! Look for Cheryl Valentine Lafond on Facebook on the "Life in San Juan Del Sur" page.
Nicaragua: Importing Personal Belongings:
I will have about a pallette left to ship after my next trip to bring stuff back. Plastic book and file boxes and a few household items I can't take on a plane. Any suggestions for good shippers/brokers? Shipping from Miami.
Nicaragua: Clothing suggestions:
Okay: female perspective. It very much depends where you are. Living in San Juan Del Sur pretty much everyone wears shorts, skimpy tops over bikini/bathing suit, or a sundress or long tank top and sandals. Bring shoes/sandals that have some arch support--people do wear cheap flip-flops but unless you are renting a vehicle and driving most places you will be walking more than back home, often on cobblestone streets or broken/uneven sidewalks. Bring something like Keens or Tevas for hiking up volcanoes or in the jungle or along a rocky beach. (I wear Birkenstocks most of the time, except to the beach or pool, when rubber sandals make more sense). If you plan on going to higher elevations, you may want to bring a pair of capris or lightweight long pants, and a lightweight cardigan or sweater. You may never need it, but you never know. Used to be Nicaraguans dressed quite a bit more formally and were more covered up, but that seems to be changing, except in work situations. You won't "stand out" exactly, since this country thrives on tourism and there are plenty here at this time of year because the weather is drier and hot, but not as hot or humid as it will get later on. Lots of folks here from Europe, Australia and Canada as well as the U.S.
Nicaragua: Schools:
You have found the main FB group for SJDS. Did you contact San Juan Del Sur Day School? I don't know how high they go. There is at least one international school in Granada, and I know one local couple there whose daughter attends high school in Managua.
Nicaragua: APOLOGY:
This site certainly seems very U.S. oriented at times. I'm Canadian and definitely have to take some posts with a large grain of salt! There is good information here at times, but I've found the various expat pages on Facebook to be overall less snarky and more helpful. There is an expats in Nicaragua page, and several for different specific locations. San Juan Del Sur, where I live, has about four or five alone.
Please don't apologize--if anything, you are owed an apology by those who didn't have the manners to treat you more respectfully.
Nicaragua: Cold Canadian looking for beach rental:
I don't know how to do it for communities on the coast further north, but for the beaches in the area of San Juan Del Sur there are several Facebook groups that would be good places to ask this question. Life in San Juan Del Sur is one, and there was just a discussion recommending realtors, and there are also a couple of groups specifically for rentals and for real estate in the area. There are a number of gorgeous beaches north and south of town and plenty of lovely homes for rent close by. Bear in mind that if you rent near these beaches you will need your own transportation to get around. There are shuttles back and forth to the beaches at certain times of day run by various surf outfits in town, but buses are infrequent and you will otherwise be paying for taxis more than you will like. The beach in town is also the port of San Juan Del Sur and so the water is not really great for swimming.
Nicaragua: Please recommend a city:
San Juan Del Sur has a Spanish school (Spanish Ya) that teaches the curriculum for the D.E.L.E. exams that students take to demonstrate their level of proficiency in Spanish as part of college entrance applications or in applying for jobs that require such proof. They also administer the exams several times a year. In order to be qualified to do this their teachers are highly trained and regularly attend courses to acquire and maintain/improve their competence. By contrast, there are Spanish schools where the teachers are poorly trained, some of whom are college students trying to support themselves through school with little to no training in how to teach Spanish as a second language. Many of them speak poorly articulated "street Spanish" full of grammatical and pronunciation errors which is hard for a beginner to understand and rely heavily on handouts. I have chosen this school over several in Granada because of this, and because I love being by the ocean. All lessons are one-on-one unless couples choose to study together. They are not the cheapest, but for my money they are the best.
Nicaragua: Immunizations:
Unless you plan to be living in the jungle far from civilization, I can't
think why you would need them. I live here and haven't had them and don't encounter many situations in which there is high risk of contracting either (at least, no more than in the U.S.)
I'm sure others may have other opinions, of course.
Nicaragua: Residency:
You get the 90-day visa automatically stamped in your passport when you arrive at the airport. No need to deal with consulates/embassies beforehand. If you plan to ship household goods once you have your residency, use a lawyer who can handle that part for you as well as the residency application. If not, a facilitator such as Patricia Sanchez will be all you need--she is very experienced and successful at what she does. Or you can go the do-it-yourself route following the instructions in the aforementioned book.
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