About tommyhawk

Currently Lives:

Citizen of:

Some Forum Posts:

Nicaragua: internet:

Here on Ometepe there is a company out of Managua, Cootel, who is promising fiber optic distribution from their antennas. The price is roughly half that of Claro, 4mb/$39 and cellular internet 1gb/$2, but as of now they wait for the antennas to go up. Fiber optic is in San Juan del Sur but I hear reports of $200 for 5mb. Ouch!

Nicaragua: what is it like:

I'm an older retired person and I absolutely love it here and would never again live in the US. It is the best move I have ever made. I came here to deliver some things on my way to India and never left, You might try an extended vacation. Decide if you want city life, a small or medium size town or rural, then do a search for more specific interests you may have. Come down, hang out, bring plenty of patience and look around. I was lucky enough to find the perfect place to live within two weeks and have been in the same neighborhood ever since with the kindest, most considerate neighbors ever. Impatience, anger and especially sarcasm does not go over well and if you are prone to these your stay will be more difficult. If you're looking to remain single women will not leave you alone. The rest should take care of itself.

Nicaragua: prpcof comes unhinged:

prp, any time you respond or even acknowledge a troll you give it a reason to live. You do not need to answer a troll no matter how outrageous, abusive or false its post may be and this one is especially angry and bitter. Better to ignore and never, ever let it get under your skin. Everyone here knows its game so its abusive posts will not affect your standing. Eventually it will tire and iook for another host to feed on. Have fun!

Nicaragua: Nicaragua, a place to live?:

Presidente Ortega, I have Capt. Trump on line 2.

Nicaragua: realities of expat life:

So many of them came expecting to live like they did in the US, only cheaper, while thinking the only differences would be language and weather. The reality that the only cheap thing is labor could have been researched easily on the internet.

Nicaragua: volunteering:

As iguanalover mentioned, you need no more than to show up, and have an open and positive outlook. The opportunities to make a difference will present themselves in due time. The hardest thing will to say no when there is so much that needs to be done. I now limit my volunteer activities to a before school breakfast and hiring an English teacher for neighbor children. I also try to create jobs whenever possible and rotate casual labor when additional help is needed. I think I've made a small difference in some lives and couldn't be happier with my life here.

Nicaragua: Crime spiking there yet?:

Your suspicions are correct, Laperro. Crime is rampant, murder rate second to none and you can trust no one, especially people who post on internet message boards. Everyone waits for the new Gringo (or lottery ticket as the locals call us) so they can rob them blind. Your dad was right; poor people are desperate without any sense of morality. You really should stay in Canada in the company of your own kind where you can live your life safe and snark free.

Nicaragua: reloating from U.S:

I don't know about cities as I am very much a country person but when I first came here people couldn't have been friendlier or more helpful. Cities are probably much different if my short time living in Granada was any indication. With you and your husband's experiences you most likely already have the skills for living here. Different small towns have different personalities- where I live is very friendly if a bit noisy, the nearby community is quiet and hardworking, two towns further north seem to have far too many drunks and derelicts. As there isn't a great deal of subtlety one can learn the character of a town fairly quickly. You probably will not lack for local friendship here if you speak some Spanish and will be sure to quickly learn more. There is a great desire among children to learn English and your willingness will open many doors to you. There is a blog of two retired teachers and their 10 years here. You can also write to the author of the page, which is how I ended up living where I do. http://retirenicaragua.wordpress.com/ Feel free to send a message if I can be of help. The country can always use more people like you.

Nicaragua: What Do You Wish You Brought to Nicaragua?:

I'm bringing a Sleep Number bed in my suitcase next month and a smaller, newer projector for outdoor movie nights. Everything else may not be the best available elsewhere but good enough for my simple life here. Sometimes I think 'Yeah, I really need a set of Ironclad cookware' or other things that were so important in my old life and completely superfluous now. The cookware alone would cost as much as my house lease for two years. Other than that, extra cables etc for the various Mac devices. A cable for the iPad is $8 in the US and $35 in the Galeria Apple store- local kids destroyed 3 cables in 2 years. 32GB Class 10 SD cards in the US cost the same as 8GB Class 4 here. Small things that take almost no space but greatly increase the quality of life.

Nicaragua: Weather & Safety:

A very general rule of thumb is roughly a 4ºF decrease in temperature per 1000' elevation. I live on Ometepe in a very small town and safety is absolutely no concern. Last year my wife decided she wanted to live in Granada where she grew up but hadn't lived there in 40 years. I detest cities but gamely went along. It felt completely safe during the day but a little shady at night. Our neighbors constantly badgered us to be more careful, lock the doors at all times, never walk at night etc but I can't live like that. We never had any problems but were not there very long. Very hot there in August and September with little breeze and none at all in the closed courtyard. Thankfully after two months my wife had to admit it had changed over the years and came back to the island.. The only thing I miss is having La Union and La Colonia within easy walking distance.

Date Joined:

8/30/2013

Total Posts:

60

Posts/Day:

0.05