We wanted to expand on the article from International Living on Nicaragua, here is our story.
We took the plunge in 2016 to move and live in Nicaragua, by first establishing a company and then buying a home. Will explain why we set up a company below.
We both were living in Kansas City, KS and came to realize we both wanted to live in another country, to start a new journey together and find a slower pace environment. We checked several countries such as Costa Rica, Chile, Belize, Mexico, Panama, and Colombia. We were amazed that all the variables we used such as cost of living, distance to US, crime rate, real estate value and real estate market, people, culture and market growth, drove us to travel a total of 6 trips before we decided to move to Nicaragua and reside in Diria, Dept of Granada. It has so far been a great journey and we must agree with the content of International Living article below. We would say that it's the people, ones attitude and willingness to accept change by being open minded of your new surroundings that will help you make the transition to a new country and culture. We therefore, blog about living and experiences in Nicaragua, and venture out to as many places this country offers, not just the touristic places.
One thing for sure, we have found modern medical, dental facilities, shopping centers and more; great service in restaurants and auto repair shop's, but at the same time frustration as we try to understand some of the rules, procedures, and way of life. But overall life is good and we are pleased with our decision to move to Nicaragua.
One caution, don't take our advice, you need to ask many questions and decide for yourself as you have your needs and expectations. We advice to join the various Nica expat groups to learn about life as an expat in Nicaragua, don’t try to duplicate their lifestyle, find your own rhythm. Don't assume that the local expats have the right information, some do not; rules may be changing, what was correct a month ago may no longer be correct, so ask and verify.
So why did we set up a company. Here are the reasons why we first set up a company; we can buy real estate, buy a car, motorcycle, receive investor status so we can apply for residency status as an investor, open bank account(s), (we did open two bank accounts as individuals at Lafise, which required you to have two letters of introduction/referral from 2 Lafise bank account holders and a lot of other information such as your country of origin bank account and tax information).
You can buy real estate in Nicaragua as a foreigner, you do not have to be a resident, be aware that 90 day visa rules are changing. We bought our home via a company so we could apply for investor status, which to us made more sense since we wanted to develop real estate projects and sell real estate.
Good luck on your Nicaragua venture and do connect with us if you have any interest finding your dream home, have questions, or just wish to connect and talk over a cup of coffee. We LOVE the local coffee.