Nicaragua here I come!

I am so ready to get out of CR, after 2 home robberies, 3 muggings and for other reasons as today I am setting off on my mission to relocate to Nicaragua! I work from home in the call center business and make very little money. In fact about $800 a month and spend every dine just to live. There is nothing left for me any more. I have friend that I worked with 3 years ago moved there. He lives on the east side of the lake in a small community and sorry I do not remember the name but is what I would consider off-grid and surprisingly good internet! He has a nice place. Very private and secure and is living very well on about $400 a month. Baring in mind he grows a lot of his own food and raises chickens. That sounds perfect to me. So my question to you would be. Where to start?

Thank you,
Jeff

Which type of visa do you have in CR? Here in Nicaragua, many foreigners used to stay on a tourist visa and make a visa run to CR every 3 months. But la Migracion is cutting down on this, because it has just become too much. They want foreigners to apply for residency - and this will be the 1st difficulty for you to overcome: which type of residency do you qualify for? The best would probably be to found a unipersonal company which would provide you with 1 year of long-term visa, to be renewed.

To have 5 years, you would have to found a S.A. with a Nica socio (to begin with) and invest min. 30,000$ (which you probably do not have).

The best would be to come and visit for some weeks or months to see what it is like and where you would want to settle down. And get some professional advice with respect to the residency question.

I suppose you speak perfectly Spanish - so take a look at the site of the Migracion:
https://www.migob.gob.ni/migracion/section/extranjeria/

Good luck!

Welcome to Nicaragua!

Frankly, I spent some time in Costa Rica back in the mid 1990's when the crime rate was a lot lower than it is now, but even then, I was always a target for scams, by the locals. The home that I rented was burglarized within the first month of my arrival, and generally, I felt that my wife and I were not welcome there.

I go to back to Costa Rica several times per year to visit family there, and always enjoy my time, but now with all of the drug traffic, and street crime, it has become a pretty sketchy place to be for anyone who is concerned with personal safety. Also, the many of the locals there are among the most arrogant, rude people that I have encountered in my travels. There are, however, many fine people in the country, and some of my best friends are Ticos. With that being said, and taking into account the ridiculous prices there, it is not a country which I would choose for an extended stay.

Nicaragua, however, is not only the safest country in Central America, but one of the friendliest countries to which I have ever traveled. Do your homework. Come and stay for a few weeks. Look around, and simply live the life here. Nicaragua is not for everyone, but it just might be for you!

Best of luck!