# Mexico or Nicaragua?



## one4mandy

I was certain that I wanted Nicaragua but have recently been leaning far more heavily toward Guanajuato. Is there anyone with whom I can discuss this decision? My family has already decided I am insane and they spend more time telling me I am going to end up dead than offering any insight. The people from where I come think crossing the county line is expatriating. S I'm looking for like- minded people to help me decide.

There is a wealth of info online and on here to help me through most of the process. But an anyone tell me the pros of Nicaragua (Granada) versus the cons and likewise for Guanajuato? I'm interested in renting wherever I go for at least a year. Wondering whether or not I should bring my new vehicle. Wondering if buying a Vespa like thing is a better idea and storing my vehicle in the US. 

Anything that anyone has to share with a 42 year old single mother who is bringing her 14 year old son to experience another culture....

I posted this in some burning man forum and was confused! Sorry if you read it twice

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## Isla Verde

one4mandy said:


> I was certain that I wanted Nicaragua but have recently been leaning far more heavily toward Guanajuato. Is there anyone with whom I can discuss this decision? My family has already decided I am insane and they spend more time telling me I am going to end up dead than offering any insight. The people from where I come think crossing the county line is expatriating. S I'm looking for like- minded people to help me decide.
> 
> There is a wealth of info online and on here to help me through most of the process. But an anyone tell me the pros of Nicaragua (Granada) versus the cons and likewise for Guanajuato? I'm interested in renting wherever I go for at least a year. Wondering whether or not I should bring my new vehicle. Wondering if buying a Vespa like thing is a better idea and storing my vehicle in the US.
> 
> Anything that anyone has to share with a 42 year old single mother who is bringing her 14 year old son to experience another culture....
> 
> I posted this in some burning man forum and was confused! Sorry if you read it twice
> 
> Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum


I know nothing about living as an expat in Nicaragua, but I'm curious as to why you were considering Nicaragua in the first place. Recommendations from friends, perhaps?

If you're thinking about bringing your son with you, you'll have to put him in a private school, which could be kind of expensive.


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## one4mandy

I visited Nic and loved it. I loved the colonial feel to the place. It is gorgeous. My son will be in international school wherever we and up. It is important to me that before he leaves home, he is exposed to other cultures and learns fluently at least one other language. 

The drawback to Nicaragua for me is the heat. I am a Marin County CA kind of person. I prefer perfect cool and sunny.

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## one4mandy

Isla Verde said:


> I know nothing about living as an expat in Nicaragua, but I'm curious as to why you were considering Nicaragua in the first place. Recommendations from friends, perhaps?
> 
> If you're thinking about bringing your son with you, you'll have to put him in a private school, which could be kind of expensive.


Are you familiar with Guanajuato living?

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## Isla Verde

one4mandy said:


> Are you familiar with Guanajuato living?
> 
> Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum


I spent a few days there many years ago. It's a gorgeous colonial city with many hills. It's also full of university students since the state university is located there, which means a youthful atmosphere and lots of cultural events. The famous Festival Internacional Cervantino is held there every year in October: Festival Internacional Cervantino .


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## DennyDaddy

Oh one4many......

You could get many replies from posters on areas in Mexico to move to!

One likes that place, one don't. So here is a good way to figure where to move to, or start out in Mexico!

Get a big map of Mexico and pin to a wall! Blind fold your son, step back out of the way,,,,,, then give him a dart to throw at the Mexican map!

Bing, move to a city close to where the dart hit the map.

Most likely, there will be x-pats there, and you may get out of that a place to start. 

Everyone will tell you a faverate place, good and bad points, but it may not make a difference to your likes!

Bet the dart and Mexican map 
will work wonders for you.

DD


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## stilltraveling

Nicaragua can be very frustrating. I lived there for a few years and found it to be exhausting. I'm a tall, black, pretty-fit male, certainly not a mark for street thugs, so personal security wasn't really the problem. They're mostly cowards who'll run at the sight of a man. However, I did see more than a few purses get snatched. Actually, it seemed pretty routine. The real problem is your home. You cannot leave your home unattended in Nicaragua EVER. Break-ins are very VERY common. Thieves will take anything that isn't bolted down. You have to hire a velador or your house will be hit as soon as you leave, and even then you have to find someone who is trustworthy. Foreigners are definitely targets for thieves because Nicaraguans have very little worth stealing (and most of them tend to be armed while foreigners rarely are).

Second, the utilities in Nicaragua are very spotty. The electricity would often go out for days at a time, and when the electricity goes out the water goes out because most cities use wells that run on electric pumps. During one outage, we were without electricity or water for 5 days. Everyone would sit in candlelit bars (they had ice trucked in from Managua) trying not to notice how bad we smelled. The internet would go out every time it started raining (which was every night from June to November) and often wouldn't come back up until the next day. Nicaraguans are used to it because only a decade ago, electricity was only available for 6-8 hours per day anywhere outside of Managua. 

Another very frustrating thing about Nicaragua is how they treat women. I've never seen so much cat-calling, whistling, crude comments and even ass-grabbing on the streets as I saw in Nicaragua. I even saw guys on bicycles come right up and kiss a woman before speeding off. They have absolutely no respect for women. Even little boys as young as 5 do it. Ex-pat friends would often ask me to walk them home just because they didn't feel like dealing with it (they never try that stuff with a woman when she's with a man). I can't put into words how bad they are with that. It made me ashamed to be a man. 

Then of course, there's the heat. There's really nowhere to escape it in Nicaragua. There just aren't enough high elevations. I used to judge the temperature by how many times I had to change my shirt. A 3-shirt day was average. Leon is probably the worst place for heat. 

Finally, if you want your son to learn Spanish proficiently, Nicaragua is definitely not the place to do it. I speak Spanish at a native level and I had to relearn the language when I was there. I have this wonderful Español-Nicaragüense dictionary on my shelf that helped me get through it. They have a vocabulary that is best described as "colorful" with many MANY words that don't exist outside of Nicaragua and they put the accent on different syllables than the rest of the Spanish-speaking world, even when the accent is written right there in the word! Also, they use the voceo form which really only exists in small provinces in Spain and parts of Uruguay. 

Don't get me wrong. I loved the place. It's just not for the faint of heart. "Adventurous" would be an apt description of living in Nicaragua. My daughter certainly loved going to school every morning in a horse-drawn taxi, and I loved the provincial feel of the place. However, I think a being a single mother and a chela (their word for gringa) in Nicaragua would be a nightmare. Returning to Mexico certainly made me appreciate civility and working infrastructure, that's for sure.


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## conklinwh

Circle110 lives in Guanajuato and is pretty active. You might want to send him a PM.
Guanajuato is a wonderful colorful place that looks right out of Cinc Terre in Italy.
I'm not sure about international schools for a 14 year old. They have a great university that could be the best arts school in Mexico but I don't see a lot of expat teenagers and easy to spot as the teenagers usually hang out on the steps of Teatro Juarez.
San Miguel on the other hand has a number of international schools and is probably as easy a move from the US as you will find.


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## vantexan

Read an article about San Miguel de Allende years ago that talked about younger expat families with kids in school there. Just mentioned it amongst a number of things, said it was common to see young Americans playing on school grounds with local kids.


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## circle110

I also considered Nicaragua as an alternative to Mexico but after several visits to Mexico and a four month volunteer stint in Granada, Nicaragua it was a no-brainer decision for me.

Mexico has more culture in both senses of the word. Culture in the sense of the unique and complex character that the mestizo blend gives to the country and also culture in the sense of the arts. I went to hear the Nicaraguan National Symphony and I was very surprised by how bad they were. My high school orchestra sounded much better. On the other hand, the Guanajuato Symphony plays far better than many small regional orchestras in the US. The same holds true for painting, writing, theater and 'artesania' (arts/crafts) -- Mexico wins hands down over Nica.

And don't even get me started on the difference in the quality and variety between the two cuisines!

As conklinwh mentioned, I live in Guanajuato and it has a very unique vibe that hooked both my wife and I (she's from Mexico City). San Miguel also has a lot to offer but it is different and I'd recommend visiting both places to see which one calls to you more.

There are not a lot of young expat families here in Gto., but those that I know all send their kids to the same private school. I am not sure if it is technically an international school (I'm not clear on what makes a school be designated as international) but the parents are all extremely happy with the school and their kids love it as well.


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## ptrichmondmike

No matter the beauties of Nicaragua, or the cost of living even lower, perhaps, than out-of-the-way Mexico, it is the FOOD that eliminates it as a possibility, for me, period. Rice and beans? Forever? Please....Mexico is a kaleidoscope of wonderful food -- not to mention all the other cultural manifestations that leave Nicaragua in the dust.


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## conklinwh

circle110 said:


> I also considered Nicaragua as an alternative to Mexico but after several visits to Mexico and a four month volunteer stint in Granada, Nicaragua it was a no-brainer decision for me.
> 
> Mexico has more culture in both senses of the word. Culture in the sense of the unique and complex character that the mestizo blend gives to the country and also culture in the sense of the arts. I went to hear the Nicaraguan National Symphony and I was very surprised by how bad they were. My high school orchestra sounded much better. On the other hand, the Guanajuato Symphony plays far better than many small regional orchestras in the US. The same holds true for painting, writing, theater and 'artesania' (arts/crafts) -- Mexico wins hands down over Nica.
> 
> And don't even get me started on the difference in the quality and variety between the two cuisines!
> 
> As conklinwh mentioned, I live in Guanajuato and it has a very unique vibe that hooked both my wife and I (she's from Mexico City). San Miguel also has a lot to offer but it is different and I'd recommend visiting both places to see which one calls to you more.
> 
> There are not a lot of young expat families here in Gto., but those that I know all send their kids to the same private school. I am not sure if it is technically an international school (I'm not clear on what makes a school be designated as international) but the parents are all extremely happy with the school and their kids love it as well.


It's great to know about the private school, technically international or not-more advertising as such I suspect, for expat kids. Do you know if both primaria & secondaria? Is it located centrally? We think Guanajuato is really interesting and thought about it when we decided to move out of San Miguel but it has more people than we wanted.


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## circle110

I know that it has primaria and secundaria. It may have prepa too. I think it does but I am not 100% sure about that. If I remember to ask my friend whose daughter goes there, I will post a confirmation of that.


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## one4mandy

This has all been extremely helpful information. Thank you all. I have decided on Guanajuato. I loved Nicaragua, but visiting and living are very different experiences.

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## Isla Verde

one4mandy said:


> I loved Nicaragua, but visiting and living are very different experiences.


Indeed!


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## kito1

I just saw this post and am so happy to see that the other 2 people who have lived in NicaLand agree with me about the food!!! I loved Nicaragua but the food is what eventually did me in!


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## tiggywinkle

Hi, I just noticed your message and thought it was interesting. I recently moved from Europe to Mexico and it is great here, but in Mexico city. I was in Guanajato two weeks ago and after a weekend, there is very little to do there and it is not an expat place, too many locals and then it will be hard to mix. Try mexico city or a bigger town than Guanajato. Good luck!


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## Isla Verde

tiggywinkle said:


> Hi, I just noticed your message and thought it was interesting. I recently moved from Europe to Mexico and it is great here, but in Mexico city. I was in Guanajato two weeks ago and after a weekend, there is very little to do there and it is not an expat place, too many locals and then it will be hard to mix. Try mexico city or a bigger town than Guanajato. Good luck!


How can a Mexican city have "too many locals"? Mexico City is full of locals too, by the way  .


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## edgeee

one4mandy said:


> ... My family has already decided I am insane and they spend more time telling me I am going to end up dead than offering any insight. The people from where I come think crossing the county line is expatriating. S I'm looking for like- minded people to help me decide...
> 
> Anything that anyone has to share with a 42 year old single mother who is bringing her 14 year old son to experience another culture....
> 
> Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum


You sound like someone who is open to the thoughts of others. It also seems to me that you will make up your mind based on what makes sense to you. Way to go.

As for dying, well, it waits for all of us. How and when it happens is only marginally controlled, if at all.

_"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."_
- Walter Bagehot (1826 - 1877)

_"One's real life is often the life that one does not lead."_
- Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)


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## circle110

tiggywinkle said:


> Hi, I just noticed your message and thought it was interesting. I recently moved from Europe to Mexico and it is great here, but in Mexico city. I was in Guanajato two weeks ago and after a weekend, there is very little to do there and it is not an expat place, too many locals and then it will be hard to mix. Try mexico city or a bigger town than Guanajato. Good luck!


We don't find that it is very hard to mix here. In fact, the great majority of our friends are "locals" and not other expats.

I agree that it is definitely not an "expat place" like, say, Chapala or San Miguel and that was a little part of the reason why we chose it. However, now that we've lived here 3 1/2 years I find that there is a small but active group of expats here who are very integrated into the community. Outside of a couple of odd birds, those expats are all very good people and have been very much accepted by the "locals". 

Also, as far as there not being anything to do -- well, that depends on what you are looking for. I never have problems keeping busy!


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## Isla Verde

circle110 said:


> We don't find that it is very hard to mix here. In fact, the great majority of our friends are "locals" and not other expats.
> 
> I agree that it is definitely not an "expat place" like, say, Chapala or San Miguel and that was a little part of the reason why we chose it. However, now that we've lived here 3 1/2 years I find that there is a small but active group of expats here who are very integrated into the community. Outside of a couple of odd birds, those expats are all very good people and have been very much accepted by the "locals".
> 
> Also, as far as there not being anything to do -- well, that depends on what you are looking for. I never have problems keeping busy!


I enjoyed your post and have a question: Do you speak Spanish well? I would think that would be an important factor in being able to make friends with the locals. Maybe tiggywinkle doesn't speak Spanish (at least not yet), so is looking for a place to settle in Mexico where there are lots of English speakers.


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## circle110

Isla Verde said:


> I enjoyed your post and have a question: Do you speak Spanish well? I would think that would be an important factor in being able to make friends with the locals. Maybe tiggywinkle doesn't speak Spanish (at least not yet), so is looking for a place to settle in Mexico where there are lots of English speakers.


Yes, I already spoke Spanish well when I arrived and it has only improved in my 3.5 years here since my wife is still learning English and we use Spanish as the default daily language of our household. We sometimes switch to English so she can practice but she always wimps out and goes back to Spanish after a bit. 
(Actually, I'm rather kidding. I understand perfectly well how exhausting it is in the beginning to spend a long time using your second language.)

I agree that speaking Spanish helps a lot in getting to know people. On the other hand, I can think of a couple examples of expats here who speak very little Spanish but are very popular with the local Guanajuatenses. They just made the effort to reach out and the local people responded in kind.


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## Isla Verde

circle110 said:


> Yes, I already spoke Spanish well when I arrived and it has only improved in my 3.5 years here since my wife is still learning English and we use Spanish as the default daily language of our household. We sometimes switch to English so she can practice but she always wimps out and goes back to Spanish after a bit. ... I agree that speaking Spanish helps a lot in getting to know people. On the other hand, I can think of a couple examples of expats here who speak very little Spanish but are very popular with the local Guanajuatenses. They just made the effort to reach out and the local people responded in kind.


Is your wife Mexican? If that's the case, wouldn't you agree that also helped you make local friends in your neighborhood and in general fit in more easily into the community?


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## circle110

Yes, my wife is Mexican but no, in our case that didn't help us make friends here. 

Actually, it worked the opposite way. I already had a community of friends here in Guanajuato because I had been coming regularly since 2002 performing concerts. 

I met my wife here in 2008 when she was visiting Guanajuato from her home in the DF and I was in town performing. Once I moved to Mexico in 2009 and we wound up settling here, I introduced her to my friends. Our group of friends has grow from there but the core is still the people I already knew.

So really, music has been the biggest help in making friends here because it puts you out in the public eye and creates an instant conversation topic.

But I do agree with you that speaking Spanish and having a Mexican wife certainly can make the integration process easier and would have been an even bigger help if I didn't have music to act as a contact-maker and ice-breaker.


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## dannymanny

Nicaragua is beautiful but I think Mexico is a better place to live, work, raise a family


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## Isla Verde

dannymanny said:


> Nicaragua is beautiful but I think Mexico is a better place to live, work, raise a family


Could you give us a couple of reasons why? I'm not contemplating a move to Nicaragua, just curious.


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## Hound Dog

_


circle110 said:



I also considered Nicaragua as an alternative to Mexico but after several visits to Mexico and a four month volunteer stint in Granada, Nicaragua it was a no-brainer decision for me.....

And don't even get me started on the difference in the quality and variety between the two cuisines!

Click to expand...

_An informative and interesting post circle110 but, if you feel so inclined, I, who live at Lake Chapala and in San Cristóbal de Las Casas in Mexico and have for 12 years but with no experience in Nicaraugua, would love to hear your take on the difference in the cuisines. The cuisines between Lake Chapala and Highland Chiapas are different as are various other culinary traditions in Mexico I have had the pleasure to experience including Guanajuato State so I don´t mean to imply that this is a simple inquiry, I´m just curious as to your meaning.


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## rixtravels

I've been asking the same question myself regarding Nic or Mexico but I can tell you from my own experience that Guanajuato is beautiful! It isn't as hot as Granada either.


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