My experience in Nicaragua was like living in the US 100 years ago. Being a dirt farmer, I really enjoyed my visit. For me and my family its the perfect place to live. We are in the process of selling our property in Texas and fully liquidating. Hopefully soon we can be there permanently. Thanks again Scott, your vlog is so important to anyone wanting to understand Nicaragua
Hey Scott, nice to see you back doing Nicaragua content! Have you thought about doing more interviews with other expats, touring their homes and talking about their activities there? Just ideas… I enjoy your content!
In the US, our money is worth nothing. However, once in Nicaragua our hard-earned money is all of sudden worth something. That's amazing, for us. In that sense, we are very fortunate.
idk but i live with less than 1k per month XD I'm a Nicaraguan born here, lived here, but a lot of people claim that they can't live here with less than $4k or something like that. I live in my house, has a PC gamer, car, things in my house and that kind of things, don't know what kind of life that have but they should live like kings XD
One has to wonder, for a similar lifestyle, how much were they spending in the USA or Canada? If you "need" $4K / month in Nicaragua that means a SPENDING POWER of at least $10K if not literally closer to $16K in the USA. To get a spending power of $16K in the USA means a monthly income greater than $24K to accommodate taxes. That's not an impossible income number BUT, no one "needs" to live like that. Nice when you can.
I would say that the costs of electronics such as TVs, video game consoles and things similar to those are about 20-30% higher than the US. However there are often deals you can get that make it worthwhile to buy here instead of the US if you factor the cost of import, etc. I was looking at an OLED tv that was on special for $1300, the same TV was about $1000 on Amazon, but with the cost and risk of import it went up to about $1300.
Scott, You traveled to Bolivia! Scott overall do you get the impression Nicaragua is still cheaper place to live than Bolivia or vice versa. I’m talking about in general overall daily cost of living/rent.
It's VERY different. Nicaragua is definitely the cheaper of the two. But Bolivia is more modern. So what Bolivia seems to offer is very affordable modernity. Basically big cities and modern apartments that Nicaragua just doesn't have. But for safe, quality living in old fashioned houses and village-like cities, Nicaragua seems significantly cheaper.
Hi there! I've watched several of your videos and I'm confused as to what is the best way to purchase property if "everything is a scam". Do I just work directly with the homeowner and then hire a real estate lawyer for closing? Thanks so much for the valuable content!🎉
Another great video. Thanks for taking the time to correct misinformation. A lot of this problem comes from the people who have little experience away from their own native homes. My brother, a staunch right-winger and conspiracy hack, is a great example. I took him for his first overseas trip to Ecuador to open his eyes some years back and the entire trip was "THIS here compared to THAT in the US," I almost left him in Quito. Seriously. EVERYTHING was a comparison, and everything that benefited the middle or working classes was 'George Soros-backed Socialism'. The fact that Ecuadorans use a lot of concrete (like elsewhere in Latin countries) was proof (!) of Hillary Clinton's 'majority control' of concrete production in the world. He walked around with a polo shirt and commando sunglasses and wondered why people avoided us. When he asked why I was considering moving to Nicaragua, I told him because I know he wouldn't like it there and I would never have to offer him a place to stay while he complained. My buyer backed out of the purchase contract last minute, so I am looking at a few more months delay, but I am still coming! Thanks for the great videos!
Yeah, I don't get it man. So many people complain about living in North America being so expensive and so many other viable reasons to complain. But, then if you bring up the idea of moving to a different country their tune changes completely. I've gotta sell my house in Canada before I can make the move. I'll be staying here for a bit longer to get enough money together. But, I'm considering taking a vacation there with the wife and browsing homes in person. My plan is be somewhat self-sufficient. Installing solar panels to compensate for the high power bills. Hoping to have some fruit trees, but would also like to be close to a town/city. That way we won't need to make a lot of money to enjoy life :)
That's really sad. But I suppose once you convince yourself of those made up things in America, where they are just as obviously untrue, when you travel other places you already have that mentality of "just say whatever". You have to establish a pattern of avoiding common sense, general knowledge and observation even in the US to think many of those things, so once your brain is in that "reality doesn't affect my beliefs" mode, no amount of proof or obviousness is going to change that. And often Americans struggle to see the world as being outside of the American context... meaning the "rest of the world" is just American colonies to many Americans and that's how they experience the rest of the world.
Solar can work well. But my experience is that power bills here are generally so low that you can't justify solar. The per kW hour is high, but rarely do you pay for every kW. So it's a misleading price comparison. Everyone I know here pays much less than in the US. But there are definitely cases where people pay more.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog I thought there was a system in place where you pay more depending on how much power is used? So, local Nicaraguans often use very little, so they keep their bills very low. Whereas, we tend to use a fair bit. I figure having the solar panels would also be an alternative to having a generator for outages. It costs a lot up front, but never needing to pay a power bill would be nice. One less thing to stress about. I definitely see why it's not necessary though.
@roblettinga3504 yes, there is a tiering system. But even with that, we often see power bills that are only 10-20% that of the US. So solar might take a century or more to pay for itself. The country is already on green power (solar, wind, hydro and geothermal) so it is just a matter of cost and with cells and batteries and hookup and everything else, versus time / value of money. Living here, we couldn't possibly consider solar with anywhere we've lived. The cost of green power is so low, we'd never be able to save money with solar.
Hi Scott, another quality breakdown as usual, thank you! We've been in touch previously and I'm getting the impression that $3k u.s. per month may be enough to have a good quality of life, with perhaps quarterly trips to visit neighbouring countries. Would you say that sounds about right? We tend to eat local street food when in Thailand and perhaps a nice meal in a restaurant 2 times per week. We'd need a relatively modern (i.e. not falling apart) 2-3 bedroom home with aircon and although our preference is to own our own transport, we could deal with private hire or driver as you mention when needed. Your thoughts? Thanks in advance, Jon
from experiencie 3k is enough for 1k a month rent you would get top of the line housing in the best private neighborhoods so for 500 or 700 a month you will get modern decent good neighborhoods. 400$ a month in groceries. and for nice restaurants just average 10$ a plate of food. electricity is 30-40$ a month
Thanks for the video, a couple of points from my experiences. Main reason I don’t fly Spirit is the schedule, flights leaving at 11pm or 1am just don’t work for me. Also, the cost of flights go way up in December since it’s a popular month to fly. It’s not uncommon to see round trip tickets for close to $1000 right before the 24th and returning on the 2nd or 3rd of January.
The late night schedule can be tough. They are talking of adding a second flight option. Keep in mind the Best Western is across the street and you can walk over. Makes midnight flights really easy. I just searched and the most expensive flight I see in December is $171. In January one flight for $576, but it is only one day. All over days are under $400 and only four of those. ALl in all, it's only like five days of the entire year with prices that would get you to around $700 for round trip. If you are flexible by just one day, it nearly cuts in half. And by mid-January is back to $94!
Okay, going in the opposite direction, Miami to Managua, the two most expensive days of the year... Dec 21st to Jan 4th, there is one and only one combination of days that can hit $1,000 and it's literally from what I can tell, the two top days of the entire year and barely hits the mark.... $1,027. But that's round trip, two flights. And there's literally only one day on either leg that can get anywhere close to that. That same round trip on American, for example, is more than double at $2160. But better time of day for some people (I prefer late night so that it doesn't interfere with my days.) But that's just the businest day of the year. We all accept that Christmas flights cost an arm and a leg. The entire rest of the year it is cheap and it's still cheap with just a few days of play in the schedule.
TOurism is still pretty low, and we aren't in the COVID recovery anymore. Just a year ago, Spirit flights were just weeks old after a backlog of a few years of no flights. So two years ago, any prices were fake as there weren't flights (but Spirit kept posting them to be hopeful) and last year they had SO many people that had been waiting years to fly that they couldn't fly enough people. Now we are back to normal and it's super cheap. @@frankdnb1142
Why is it so important if Nicaragua is cheap or expensive? Foreigners here will never live like a Nicaraguan. How much does it cost to see volcanoes through your bedroom balcony in the US? Try Hawaii.
Well because several people have made the claim that Nicaragua is actually more expensive than the US. Someone actually claimed that only millionaires live in Nicaragua and you can't live with less. Even when the average income is under $3,000 per year.
So in that example, they'd claim that the balcony in Hawaii is cheaper than the balconies in Nicaragua. Sounds insane, but Americans will sometimes claim these things.
@kevinadams9468 when looking at the lowest cost locations, that's often not the case. Often the people asking can't afford NOT to. But they've been lied to. Like that one guy that was posting and saying how he was tricked into believing only millionaires can afford to live in Nicaragua, so he opted to live in his car in California and is homeless now in the US. He could EASILY live in Nicaragua and can't afford not to be here, but he asked and was mislead and now is homeless when he could be retired and living decently well (not fancy, but well.)
Some good points. Flying from the USA to Nicaragua can be expensive when you don't live close to Miami or Houston. I flew Avianca last May and they were good. I had to cancel my friend's flight and they issued a refund. Is Nicaragua allowing pets into the country again? A few months ago they were not allowing pets due to some disease being spread.
Nicaragua has been allowing pets for a long time. I came here three years ago with my dogs and it wasn't new then to allow them. Maybe recent, but not new. I've never known a time that pets couldn't come and go. Technically flying from the US to Nicaragua is always cheap. The thing that isn't cheap is flying AROUND the US. That's a global situation. Flying around Mexico, Europe, South America and most countries is super cheap. but around the US is not. For example, flights between the US and Nicaragua are typically around $110 but flights between normal US cities of similar size are often $600. I have to go to my dad's house in a few months and the flights from Florida to NY are 300% the prices of the flights from Nicaragua to Florida. Good to hear that Avianca isn't always bad. Once in a while we have to use them because they provide so many critical flights here.
A few months ago? There has been pet barriers at Costa Rica's land border because of an infection in Panama and CR. But I've heard of absolutely no issues coming from Honduras' border or via air or water. And I've had multiple friends bring animals over the last several months so at least in their instances, pets were moving as usual and there was no delay or scheduling done because of a pet blockade.
A landlord might do that. But in my situations, my landlords have never gotten the bill, I do. So it is the bill on the gate. Once in a while we get an email. But I've not had someone text me one yet. But I'm sure a landlord that gets a bill would be willing to do that.
Rates of exchange are meaningless. The pound and Swiss Franc are super high exchange rates. But the British are pretty poor these days. It's the change in exchange rate over time that matters. And the Cordoba is pegged to the Dollar (it's complex, but it is a peg) so there really isn't an "exchange", it's just two ways of measuring the same money (100C and 212F are the same temperature, we don't think of Fahrenheit as hotter just because the number is higher.)
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog I have to buy US $ . Americans don't. Euro is good too. More Cordoba or Baht . A $10 room in Nicaragua is $10 for US citizens and $15 or more for Canadians. One km/h is slower than one mile/h
What? A $10 USD room is $10 USD for everyone. Exchange rates mean nothing. You don't earn the same amount in the number between countries. It's just a number on paper. The amounts you work in don't change. They affect nothing.
My experience in Nicaragua was like living in the US 100 years ago. Being a dirt farmer, I really enjoyed my visit. For me and my family its the perfect place to live. We are in the process of selling our property in Texas and fully liquidating. Hopefully soon we can be there permanently. Thanks again Scott, your vlog is so important to anyone wanting to understand Nicaragua
@martinbowen5910 what area do you think you want to move to in Nicaragua? 🙏😍
I really like the weather in the mountains in Matagalpa and Jinotega area, would probably rent a home in Poneloya also for the beach@@selena2250
Bienvenido
Hey Scott, nice to see you back doing Nicaragua content!
Have you thought about doing more interviews with other expats, touring their homes and talking about their activities there? Just ideas…
I enjoy your content!
In the US, our money is worth nothing. However, once in Nicaragua our hard-earned money is all of sudden worth something. That's amazing, for us. In that sense, we are very fortunate.
idk but i live with less than 1k per month XD I'm a Nicaraguan born here, lived here, but a lot of people claim that they can't live here with less than $4k or something like that. I live in my house, has a PC gamer, car, things in my house and that kind of things, don't know what kind of life that have but they should live like kings XD
One has to wonder, for a similar lifestyle, how much were they spending in the USA or Canada? If you "need" $4K / month in Nicaragua that means a SPENDING POWER of at least $10K if not literally closer to $16K in the USA. To get a spending power of $16K in the USA means a monthly income greater than $24K to accommodate taxes.
That's not an impossible income number BUT, no one "needs" to live like that. Nice when you can.
I would say that the costs of electronics such as TVs, video game consoles and things similar to those are about 20-30% higher than the US. However there are often deals you can get that make it worthwhile to buy here instead of the US if you factor the cost of import, etc. I was looking at an OLED tv that was on special for $1300, the same TV was about $1000 on Amazon, but with the cost and risk of import it went up to about $1300.
Love the dogs playing in the background 😂❤
I never know if they are back there until I do the edits, lol.
Scott, You traveled to Bolivia! Scott overall do you get the impression Nicaragua is still cheaper place to live than Bolivia or vice versa. I’m talking about in general overall daily cost of living/rent.
It's VERY different. Nicaragua is definitely the cheaper of the two. But Bolivia is more modern. So what Bolivia seems to offer is very affordable modernity. Basically big cities and modern apartments that Nicaragua just doesn't have. But for safe, quality living in old fashioned houses and village-like cities, Nicaragua seems significantly cheaper.
If thats your yard its lovely, and the pooches seem happy too.
Yes I t is different from state to state
Hi there! I've watched several of your videos and I'm confused as to what is the best way to purchase property if "everything is a scam".
Do I just work directly with the homeowner and then hire a real estate lawyer for closing?
Thanks so much for the valuable content!🎉
Yes exactly. Avoid all the scam layers. Everything in Nicaragua is direct, in person.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog Thx so much!
Another great video. Thanks for taking the time to correct misinformation. A lot of this problem comes from the people who have little experience away from their own native homes. My brother, a staunch right-winger and conspiracy hack, is a great example. I took him for his first overseas trip to Ecuador to open his eyes some years back and the entire trip was "THIS here compared to THAT in the US," I almost left him in Quito. Seriously. EVERYTHING was a comparison, and everything that benefited the middle or working classes was 'George Soros-backed Socialism'. The fact that Ecuadorans use a lot of concrete (like elsewhere in Latin countries) was proof (!) of Hillary Clinton's 'majority control' of concrete production in the world. He walked around with a polo shirt and commando sunglasses and wondered why people avoided us. When he asked why I was considering moving to Nicaragua, I told him because I know he wouldn't like it there and I would never have to offer him a place to stay while he complained. My buyer backed out of the purchase contract last minute, so I am looking at a few more months delay, but I am still coming! Thanks for the great videos!
Yeah, I don't get it man. So many people complain about living in North America being so expensive and so many other viable reasons to complain. But, then if you bring up the idea of moving to a different country their tune changes completely. I've gotta sell my house in Canada before I can make the move. I'll be staying here for a bit longer to get enough money together. But, I'm considering taking a vacation there with the wife and browsing homes in person. My plan is be somewhat self-sufficient. Installing solar panels to compensate for the high power bills. Hoping to have some fruit trees, but would also like to be close to a town/city. That way we won't need to make a lot of money to enjoy life :)
That's really sad. But I suppose once you convince yourself of those made up things in America, where they are just as obviously untrue, when you travel other places you already have that mentality of "just say whatever". You have to establish a pattern of avoiding common sense, general knowledge and observation even in the US to think many of those things, so once your brain is in that "reality doesn't affect my beliefs" mode, no amount of proof or obviousness is going to change that. And often Americans struggle to see the world as being outside of the American context... meaning the "rest of the world" is just American colonies to many Americans and that's how they experience the rest of the world.
Solar can work well. But my experience is that power bills here are generally so low that you can't justify solar. The per kW hour is high, but rarely do you pay for every kW. So it's a misleading price comparison. Everyone I know here pays much less than in the US. But there are definitely cases where people pay more.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog I thought there was a system in place where you pay more depending on how much power is used? So, local Nicaraguans often use very little, so they keep their bills very low. Whereas, we tend to use a fair bit. I figure having the solar panels would also be an alternative to having a generator for outages. It costs a lot up front, but never needing to pay a power bill would be nice. One less thing to stress about. I definitely see why it's not necessary though.
@roblettinga3504 yes, there is a tiering system. But even with that, we often see power bills that are only 10-20% that of the US. So solar might take a century or more to pay for itself. The country is already on green power (solar, wind, hydro and geothermal) so it is just a matter of cost and with cells and batteries and hookup and everything else, versus time / value of money. Living here, we couldn't possibly consider solar with anywhere we've lived. The cost of green power is so low, we'd never be able to save money with solar.
Hi Scott, another quality breakdown as usual, thank you! We've been in touch previously and I'm getting the impression that $3k u.s. per month may be enough to have a good quality of life, with perhaps quarterly trips to visit neighbouring countries. Would you say that sounds about right? We tend to eat local street food when in Thailand and perhaps a nice meal in a restaurant 2 times per week. We'd need a relatively modern (i.e. not falling apart) 2-3 bedroom home with aircon and although our preference is to own our own transport, we could deal with private hire or driver as you mention when needed. Your thoughts? Thanks in advance, Jon
from experiencie 3k is enough for 1k a month rent you would get top of the line housing in the best private neighborhoods so for 500 or 700 a month you will get modern decent good neighborhoods. 400$ a month in groceries. and for nice restaurants just average 10$ a plate of food. electricity is 30-40$ a month
@@tomashillGood info here. Screenshotting it.
Thanks for the video, a couple of points from my experiences. Main reason I don’t fly Spirit is the schedule, flights leaving at 11pm or 1am just don’t work for me. Also, the cost of flights go way up in December since it’s a popular month to fly. It’s not uncommon to see round trip tickets for close to $1000 right before the 24th and returning on the 2nd or 3rd of January.
The late night schedule can be tough. They are talking of adding a second flight option. Keep in mind the Best Western is across the street and you can walk over. Makes midnight flights really easy.
I just searched and the most expensive flight I see in December is $171. In January one flight for $576, but it is only one day. All over days are under $400 and only four of those. ALl in all, it's only like five days of the entire year with prices that would get you to around $700 for round trip. If you are flexible by just one day, it nearly cuts in half. And by mid-January is back to $94!
Okay, going in the opposite direction, Miami to Managua, the two most expensive days of the year... Dec 21st to Jan 4th, there is one and only one combination of days that can hit $1,000 and it's literally from what I can tell, the two top days of the entire year and barely hits the mark.... $1,027. But that's round trip, two flights. And there's literally only one day on either leg that can get anywhere close to that.
That same round trip on American, for example, is more than double at $2160. But better time of day for some people (I prefer late night so that it doesn't interfere with my days.)
But that's just the businest day of the year. We all accept that Christmas flights cost an arm and a leg. The entire rest of the year it is cheap and it's still cheap with just a few days of play in the schedule.
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog You’re right, I just checked the flights and the prices are way down from the last year or two.
TOurism is still pretty low, and we aren't in the COVID recovery anymore. Just a year ago, Spirit flights were just weeks old after a backlog of a few years of no flights. So two years ago, any prices were fake as there weren't flights (but Spirit kept posting them to be hopeful) and last year they had SO many people that had been waiting years to fly that they couldn't fly enough people. Now we are back to normal and it's super cheap. @@frankdnb1142
Why is it so important if Nicaragua is cheap or expensive? Foreigners here will never live like a Nicaraguan. How much does it cost to see volcanoes through your bedroom balcony in the US? Try Hawaii.
Well because several people have made the claim that Nicaragua is actually more expensive than the US. Someone actually claimed that only millionaires live in Nicaragua and you can't live with less. Even when the average income is under $3,000 per year.
So in that example, they'd claim that the balcony in Hawaii is cheaper than the balconies in Nicaragua. Sounds insane, but Americans will sometimes claim these things.
Why wouldn't it be important to know how much it's going to cost where you vacation or you live?
At a certain level, if you have to ask, you probably can't really afford it. @@allencrist5797
@kevinadams9468 when looking at the lowest cost locations, that's often not the case. Often the people asking can't afford NOT to. But they've been lied to.
Like that one guy that was posting and saying how he was tricked into believing only millionaires can afford to live in Nicaragua, so he opted to live in his car in California and is homeless now in the US. He could EASILY live in Nicaragua and can't afford not to be here, but he asked and was mislead and now is homeless when he could be retired and living decently well (not fancy, but well.)
Some good points. Flying from the USA to Nicaragua can be expensive when you don't live close to Miami or Houston. I flew Avianca last May and they were good. I had to cancel my friend's flight and they issued a refund. Is Nicaragua allowing pets into the country again? A few months ago they were not allowing pets due to some disease being spread.
Nicaragua has been allowing pets for a long time. I came here three years ago with my dogs and it wasn't new then to allow them. Maybe recent, but not new. I've never known a time that pets couldn't come and go.
Technically flying from the US to Nicaragua is always cheap. The thing that isn't cheap is flying AROUND the US. That's a global situation. Flying around Mexico, Europe, South America and most countries is super cheap. but around the US is not. For example, flights between the US and Nicaragua are typically around $110 but flights between normal US cities of similar size are often $600. I have to go to my dad's house in a few months and the flights from Florida to NY are 300% the prices of the flights from Nicaragua to Florida.
Good to hear that Avianca isn't always bad. Once in a while we have to use them because they provide so many critical flights here.
A few months ago? There has been pet barriers at Costa Rica's land border because of an infection in Panama and CR. But I've heard of absolutely no issues coming from Honduras' border or via air or water. And I've had multiple friends bring animals over the last several months so at least in their instances, pets were moving as usual and there was no delay or scheduling done because of a pet blockade.
So pay your utility directly rather than through the landlord?
Yes, that's the way to do it. That way you know someone isn't marking it up in the middle.
My landlords have always text me a screenshot of all bills. They also still bills on my gate also here in Mexico. Do they do this in Nicaragua?
A landlord might do that. But in my situations, my landlords have never gotten the bill, I do. So it is the bill on the gate. Once in a while we get an email. But I've not had someone text me one yet. But I'm sure a landlord that gets a bill would be willing to do that.
Shit, Americans have the highest exchange rate ! What would they do if they were with Canadian roupies !!
Rates of exchange are meaningless. The pound and Swiss Franc are super high exchange rates. But the British are pretty poor these days. It's the change in exchange rate over time that matters. And the Cordoba is pegged to the Dollar (it's complex, but it is a peg) so there really isn't an "exchange", it's just two ways of measuring the same money (100C and 212F are the same temperature, we don't think of Fahrenheit as hotter just because the number is higher.)
@@ScottAlanMillerVlog I have to buy US $ . Americans don't. Euro is good too. More Cordoba or Baht . A $10 room in Nicaragua is $10 for US citizens and $15 or more for Canadians. One km/h is slower than one mile/h
What? A $10 USD room is $10 USD for everyone. Exchange rates mean nothing. You don't earn the same amount in the number between countries. It's just a number on paper. The amounts you work in don't change. They affect nothing.
WOW, this video should be titled "Driving Distance Arguments", lol! Ridiculous!!!
Not sure I understand.
Hey Scott, i have been folowing your channel for a long time! Do you have WhatsApp?
WhatsApp cannot be shared on RUclips, it is blocked. All my contact info is on every video description.