23:50ish reason number one I selected Nicaragua, and the volcanoes and coffee hills!

Hola Scott. I’m planning to live in Nicaragua. I was born there but came to the US in 74’. I have been back a few times and can’t stop visualizing my retirement there. Thank you for your insight.

Costa rica is way too expensive and overrated

Now I hope people don't get offended when I say this but anybody moving to someplace without investigating first is just plain stupid

I love Costa Rica, It is one of the best country I have been to. The first time I was there for my 23 birthday and the second time i was there for April. I had made a good group of friends there. I want to visit Costa Rica again. I love the food and the culture.

I found that Costa Rica was too “Americanized” for my liking.

I guess I’m right on schedule. Been here 1.5 years and ready to head back. I tried several areas. Puerto Viejo, Escazu, Nosara and Santa Teresa. My reasons are: 1. Price. I don’t want to hear, “ it can be cheap if you live in a hut in some remote area, eat at local sodas, and take buses ect.” Every place is cheap if you choose to limit your entire lifestyle. 2. Zero culture. No music, boring generic architecture, no true community, everyone just sticks to themselves 3. Rainy season is brutal and lonely and last almost half the year 4. Trying to have a small business here is really difficult. There’s just not enough humans around year round to make it profitable enough to pay this cost of living 5. Nothing works. Electricity, internet, forget having anything shipped, mechanics, construction, ect. 6. Roads are unbelievably horrible and dangerous. Your car will get destroyed 7. There’s a feeling of apartheid here where Tico’s and gringos live completely separate from each other 8. It’s honestly just kind of flavorless. I guess they’ve just become a place to zip line, surf mediocre waves, ride ATV’s and walk around the jungle. There’s really not much outside of that. You can find a fun rodeo or cultural event once or twice a year, out in places like Nicoya or Santa Cruz but all and all there’s no Latin American flavor like you see in Mexico Colombia Peru etc. I guess they lost most of it when they decided to go all in on being a eco tourism country catering to gringos.

Costa Rica has hidroelectric, geothermal, solar, wind. And right now is investing in increasing solar, wind, geothermal and wind. Actually, Costa Rica has always sold electricity to Nicaragua.

Why go somewhere to make it just like the mess you left behind??? Why go to Costa Rica, Nicaragua or anywhere else and try to make it in the image of Palm Beach?? That is always my question. Stay there, please, just stay there. A large number of expats look to go to a 'cheaper' location and try to live like relative kings. Then they realize they need to re-construct their new destination in order for it to afford them all the luxuries and conveniences to offer they voluntarily they left behind. When the provision of of those luxuries, services and conveniences suddenly means prices go up (SURPRISE!!!), they leave... leaving behind a dumpster fire expat-centric economy that was predicated on their spending as well as an economy no local can now reasonably afford. I make no excuses for despising the ultra-rich and the arrogant for going places and ruining them... and then leaving!. Costa Rica is a prime example of that paradigm. My fear is that the expat-cancer known as San Juan del Sur with its gated luxury homes, its private clinics and salons, clubs that do not allow Nicaraguans entry, its elite Rancho Santanas, questionable seasonal visitors, drugs, private security, private expat , etc. will not infect the rest of Nicaragua. Cancer is the only word for it. There, got that off my chest.

Actually, I have some pretty conclusive evidence that I CAN spend my life in a state of decision paralysis 😂😂.

My daughter and I currently live in Costa Rica (with my mom soon to join in a few months when she retires) and we have been here for almost a year. I still love it. I started doing research in the beginning of 2022 - part of which was a 12-week relocation class about moving abroad. This class was not Costa Rica specific. We also took a 2-month scouting trip in the fall of that year. The scouting trip went well and gave me enough info to feel confident in the move. I spent the next year planning and moved late summer of 2023. Research is key and you gotta stay in Airbnbs in regular neighborhoods, not touristy towns, to get a real feel for things like how the grocery stores are...etc.. Moving to CR is the easy part. Living here is harder because it really is just so different than the US, but if you come with the right mind set, you should be ok. Last month (remember we already live here - bought a car and everything) we also went to a relocation retreat hosted by some CR KZfaqrs Michael Alan and Sarah Elena and their whole thing is inviting speakers that talk about living in CR and how to do things. So you got residency lawyers, car brokers, healthcare experts, insurance people, construction people to explain how things work here...etc. It really makes such a difference when you have professionals to explain things as Facebook can only get you so far. LOL You also have people there to explain the culture and give you the good and the bad about CR. We got to meet people there from different countries and at different points in their decision process to move to CR. I remember meeting a woman that realized that CR was not for her after that retreat. Another couple realized that they had a lot more planning to do. For me, I got confirmation that I was on the right track and connection with some people that could help me in the future. I would recommend that anyone do something like this retreat in the country they are considering, but most importantly do a real scouting trip for at least a month.

14:30ish…😂😂😂

I am not that huge fan of ocean view, so I never see a reason for me to move to Tamarindo, Jaco, Uvita, etc... I have an aunt that live in Jeju island, amazing ocean view but I am like meh... I am just looking for a place that has, low tax(close to 0 more or less) on foreign source income, good health care because any Canadian can agree we have quality and efficiency problem here with healthcare.

I wish I could explain to my family how non-violent Nicaragua is, but they just don't want to listen. Thank you very much, Scott.

Scott, your dogs are da bomb. What are their names? 🐶

Costa Rica is too damn expensive. Not the paradise people expect.

Im from Panama, and Costa Rica is way more expensive than my country. Beautiful landscapes and people, but way overpriced.

Ecotourism and Agritourism have driven the Eco-expats and Agri-expats movement in Costa Rica. Most find that being away from their support systems and away from city infrastructure is very difficult. Also, farming isn't as easy, especially in an unfamiliar environment. I know several people who did a Costa Rica expat roundtrip. Most lasted only a few years. A few lasted only months.

Someone at 6:50 might need their glands expressed. I use Pure Pumpkin from the can by E.D. Smith. Has helped considerably.

Read in media that due yo waterlevels in reservoir are low and electrical is intermittent. Green energy is ideology driven seems that base load is being ignored. Nica uses (ive read) is close to 50% oil for its base electrical load.

Yes Scott, hundreds of Nortamericans (Us and Canadians) leave Costa Rica because MOST come blinded that Costa Rica is CHEAPER, life is easier, etc. then they don´t know Spanish and can´t cope with the Latin lifestyle because they yearn the US lifestyle, that´s the way it turns out for many. However many others who learn to adjust STAY and enjoy life here. It is OK if they go to Nicaragua it is fine and excellent. nicaragua is nice, has it´s own lifestyle, but I prefer the healthier and cleaner lifestyle here. I hope you enjoy your life in that brotherly country. I can´t support the strict despotic government laws there

Eighty percent of the people who leave Costa Rica within two years do so becaude they didn't research the place before htey moved there. It took you a half hour to say that.

Hi Scott , I always enjoy your Vlog. I haven't been able to find an international bank in Nicaragua. Can you tell me how foreigners bank.

Thats why i am so interested in grocery stores. Jamaica gocery was horrible . Stay month and mainly live on patties and jerk pits. Fresh produce almost non existent

80% of the people that view Scott's videos leave in two minutes of him talking non-stop!

My choice now would be Pereira Colombia.....

I don't know maybe I'm a little too thick but I would never move to a place without living there for a while to just test out the waters. That's just me I don't understand this whole conversation I think it's ridiculous

I would say 80% of people leave central america/carribbean because you just cant get thing done and its even more difficult if you want it done properly. Just basic organization, puctuality etc. It picks away at you. People say "well thats just tge culture" but i call bs on that its just a lack of competition because theres no market for it. If youre a self sufficient person, a trade person or industrious person you will sustain and thrive from the lack of regulation, if you re used to relying on people you ll leave evetually.

Oil doesn’t come from fossils. Look into it.

I so wish you would travel to Venezuela. Things are turning in the country and it would be very interesting to hear your opinion and your experience in that country. I keep hoping😊 Thank you Scott for the wealth of information in each video 👌

The only thing that Nicaragua offers more than CR is the price, and that can be mitigated by being an educated consumer in CR. People seem to forget that Nicaragua and half of central america is under dictatorships, you are not even allowed to fly a drone, the government can disappear you at any moment if they so desire it, the only ones that are stable in this regard are Panama and CR when it comes to freedom, so that comes with a price.

Nicaragua tiene tanta belleza natural como CR pero sin la arrogancia ni la falsa imagen de paraíso que le han creado al resto del mundo escondiendo los verdaderos datos de criminalidad, pedofilia, prostitución infantil y drogadiccion que el gobierno les obliga a ocultar para no dañar la industria del turismo. Se dicen ser la Suiza de Centroamérica cuando la realidad es que tienen dos Costa Ricas. Una que ha creado el dólar norteamericano donde solamente los extranjeros pueden gozar y otra que manejan con Colones que no tiene absolutamente nada de diferencia con el resto de la región. En todo caso Panamá es mucho mejor en infraestructura y economía pero sin la hipocresía de los ticos hacia los turistas. Aparte Nicaragua tiene cultura e identidad propia y Costa Rica le debe la mayor parte de su cultura folclórica a Nicaragua. De no ser por las carretas pintadas y los vestidos multi-colores de la provincia de Guanacaste que anteriormente fue parte de Nicaragua, en Costa Rica no habría ninguna cultura en lo absoluto. La diferencia en eso se nota una vez que cruzas el valle de San José hacia el sur donde toda la cultura folclórica desaparece por completo. Costa Rica; País de la región de Centroamérica donde el dólar norteamericano domina, el famoso Pura Vida vino de una pelicula de México, el Tuanis y el Gallo Pinto de Nicaragua y el nombre Saprissa de El Salvador!

What do you mean "Americans"? America is a continent

Been going to CR for ages. The mentality from tourist operators was Gringos have money and overcharged for years. Going forward, it's can be not expensive with due diligence. It's not as cheap as Thailand with less hassles. I doubt this dude will be missed if he opts out.