About dturoff

Status:

Preparing to Move Abroad 

Gender:

Male

Currently Lives:

Citizen Of:

United States

Past Expat Posts:

Canada

About dturoff

I'm an equine veterinarian from northern California, have been practicing for 34 years. I travel to Central and South America, six different countries, 7 or 8 times each year, for a couple of weeks each time, to do volunteer veterinary work in remote, impoverished communities there. This includes 2 or sometimes 3 trips per year to Nicaragua, where I plan to live eventually, when I get too old and decrepit to travel as much (I'm 66 now, but I can still hike the Salkantay Pass at over 15,000 ft in the Andes, and have no plans to slow down anytime soon). I also teach as adjunct faculty with the veterinary college in Honduras, as part of a program administered by the American Association of Equine Practitioners.

My Website:

http://http://foothillmobilevet.com/

Advice for New Expats

Take it slow, and don't do anything rash, ill-considered, or irrevocable until you are very well informed about your intended destination. Be careful and skeptical about accepting advise; learn for yourself as much as possible. Rent long before you buy. Cultivate genuine friendships with local people; don't just hang out with other expats. Learn to adapt to a very different culture. LEARN TO SPEAK FUNCTIONAL SPANISH. Sorry to shout, and to be so blunt, but in my view, if you expect to live in a Spanish-speaking country without at least a basic working knowledge of the language, then you are an idiot and a target. Your ability does not have to be perfect, but way more than close-to-none. (Rant over:~~)

I would love to live in...

Ometepe or Poneloya

Education:

McGill University
  1968 to 1972

CSUS
  1976 to 1979

UCD SVM
  1979 to 1983

Favorite Websites:

http://http://equitarianinitiative.org/
http://http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/Home

Favorite Assignment:

Teaching

Favorite Cuisine:

Spicy

Favorite Museum:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_Nacional_de_Antropolog%C3%ADa

Favorite Movie:

Man on Fire; mostly for its very moody portayal of D.F., and because it's Denzel's best role.

Favorite Book:

Moby Dick

Favorite Sports Team:

I don't pay much attention to sports

Some Forum Posts:

Nicaragua: Best places for single senior citizen on a budget:

How well do you speak Spanish?

Nicaragua: WOW:

<> Hah !!; I was just thinking the same thing

Nicaragua: Renting a car:

I also always carry an expired DL with me, and once surrendered that instead of the current one, and the transito cop accepted it; This was near Matagalpa, and I was flying out the next day and had to get back to Managua.

Nicaragua: Squatter's Rights?:

Yes, on Ometepe Island. Property purchased 3 years ago with a well-researched, apparently completely clear title. Still being litigated, with no resolution yet, but not looking good.

Nicaragua: Asian feelings:

Also, it's not something at which to take offence (being referred to as "Chino") It's common in Latin cultures to characterize people non-pejoratively by their externalities; to refer to a skinny girl as "flaca" or a chubby person as "gordo/a" or a short guy as "chapo"

Nicaragua: Nicaragua, a place to live?:

On a forum not noted for its abundance of rational discourse or well-grounded inquiries, that post takes some kind of prize for insanity and cluelessness; thanks for the laugh.

Nicaragua: Transition:

Michael, from the tone of your posts it does seem as though you are a very nice and caring person, but moving to a country like Nicaragua with a serious medical condition in order to prolong life is more than a bit counter-intuitive, and does sort of stimulate the observation that you may not fully have thought this through.

Nicaragua: Pros and cons:

Iguanalover: That's one of the best posts I've ever read on this forum; thanks.

Nicaragua: Best Place for Real Estate Investment:

Plus: not responsible for maintenance and repairs (owner may not either, but you can move). $250 doesn't get much, but $350 does in many places, and even that's about 12 years

Nicaragua: Driving to Nica & Transporting my stuff...question???:

<> I have seen many counter-examples to that assertion in Nicaragua, but you seem determined to learn your own lessons. Also, cutting the roof off of a bus without installing (welding) some well-executed, more functional, replacement in the tropics is a *really* bad idea.

Date Joined:

3/22/2014

Total Posts:

46

Posts/Day:

0.04