An article from November 2016 by Huffington Post comparison Nicaragua vs Costa Rica.
We tend to agree that Nicaragua has many things to offer that have lower price points and at the same time Nicaragua is less developed than Costa Rica. Yes, Nicaragua is very diverse with some amazing shopping malls such as Gallerias Santo Domingo, WalMart, Pricesmart (Costco), Sinsa (Ace Hardware) and a great modern medical facility Vivian Pellas, and many franchises and than you see the Calle de Comercio - Granada with many street vendors selling phones, food, clothes, fixing bikes and more.
For us the modern conveniences were not the real reason to move here, it was the people (local and expatriates), culture and history and awesome warm weather, beats Kansas any day, that attracted us to specifically locate in Granada, Nicaragua.
We also saw a real estate market that was undeveloped offering opportunities in buying as well as opportunities in operating a real estate development business specifically building homes geared to foreign active retirees.
It also helped to find local expats that where welcoming and willing to provide information on life in Nicaragua.
Before you take the plunge to live in Nicaragua or anywhere else, please take a few trips and compare, and ask many questions, and verify.