I have decided to try and go to Nicaragua by around March/April 2009. I can probably safely say I will be able to afford the plane ticket over there but beyond that I don't know how much cash I will have to play with. I will be living there for about a year and I will be fairly stationary while I do it, probably in a city.
As many of you travel, and may even live in Nicaragua could anyone tell me roughly how much money I will need to set myself up initially?
I have never traveled before, let alone lived in a foreign country so would there be any way to figure out things like accommodation and work before I show up? Or will I just have to figure it all out once I get there...

The cost of living is going to be very low, but definitely make some plans before you go. You can't just walk into a country and live / work there. Well, in theory you could, but things will be much easier for you if you plan ahead.

Best thing to do I think is make sure that you have enough money to get around there for atleast half a year without work. In that half year you could find a job and living for sure :)

Yeah I agree with both of you... I defiantly want to make some kind of plan before hand but I'm not so sure how I would go about doing it. The sights I have seen tend to be either for backpackers or middle aged tourist and there are not many credible sites dealing with long term accommodation, especially a roommate or host family which would be Ideal… Are there any that you can give me?

Ooh, and I hope you speak Spanish, that'll help you out a lot. Really don't depend on anybody speaking English there.

Yeah Im starting Night-school spanish lessons in a few months... A girl I know spent a year and a half in south america and she says that they are (generally) really eager talk though. Still I wouldn't want to go if I couldn't speak at all

Hey man, I have a lot of family from Nicaragua. You can have a good standard of living on about $20k a year (USD), but know what you're doing with it. It's a beautiful country, but the government is not functioning so well and crime and poverty are very high in many areas. Expect to pay for a bodyguard/driver. No joke.

Meals and groceries are SO cheap though, and people really like Americans (or more specifically, their dollars). I got a huge steak dinner at a local restaurant for 20 bucks (that was for 3 people too). Easily worth 4 times that much.

Know Spanish, man. If you don't you can forget about living there. Fortunately, the Nicaraguan accent is one of the easier ones to understand because they talk more slowly and don't slur as much as the Mexicans do.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm not sure what you'd do for lodging, but I'm sure there are programs for this sort of thing.

Hey man, I have a lot of family from Nicaragua. You can have a good standard of living on about $20k a year (USD), but know what you're doing with it. It's a beautiful country, but the government is not functioning so well and crime and poverty are very high in many areas. Expect to pay for a bodyguard/driver. No joke.

Meals and groceries are SO cheap though, and people really like Americans (or more specifically, their dollars). I got a huge steak dinner at a local restaurant for 20 bucks (that was for 3 people too). Easily worth 4 times that much.

Know Spanish, man. If you don't you can forget about living there. Fortunately, the Nicaraguan accent is one of the easier ones to understand because they talk more slowly and don't slur as much as the Mexicans do.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm not sure what you'd do for lodging, but I'm sure there are programs for this sort of thing.

He said in his OP that he doesn't have much money, so he'll probably be earning what the people earn there and living like the people there. So I doubt he'll be living like a king seeing as he isn't going to be a tourist there.

He said in his OP that he doesn't have much money, so he'll probably be earning what the people earn there and living like the people there. So I doubt he'll be living like a king seeing as he isn't going to be a tourist there.

Hehe yeah that is exactly right. As much as I would like bodyguards and limo's its more of a student gap-year setup and I probably don't want to walk around like a fat cat westerner if it really is that dangerous. That being said is there any place in particular I should steer clear of? Apparently Managua is pritty rough

Dude, all the Nicaraguenses are moving to Costa Rica much like Mexicans go to the US for work.

Therefore, go to Costa Rica. Much safer/better/gringo-friendly.

yeah, I mean, nicaragua is good and all as a traveller looking for adventure and such, but to actually live there, for a gap year? Doesn't seem like the most fun you'll have. Go to costa rica, or go to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a year as I did. I can even give you the address to a place where you can ask for a job (callcenter, they almost always need people)

Hey yeah i'm open to any country. I only picked Nicaragua because it seemed cheap; seeing as the apparently don't use USD as currency. If you have actually been in that region then I will put more stock in that than my own research.

Believe me, if I had enough money I would prefere to travel than live but if the choice is being able to go sooner but having to work once I'm there as opposed to flipping fucking burgers for a year before I can leave, to me it isn't any choice at all. I would prefere the country to be in Central America though; it seems to me if I do want to move around a bit that's the place to be.
So should I start looking at Costa Rica?

I don't really see why Central America seems more of a place to move around then south america???

Anyway, just trying to help however I can, and I know Argentina is good. Especially if you want to go right away and get a job there, I can help you.

http://www.5ca.com/Job-Opportunities.html

on the right hand side are the job openings, just send in your resume, and see what you get, your really don't have to know a whole lot about computers or what not to get in. trust me. And if you stay a year they even pay you back your airplane ticket. So your trip would actually be entirely free, because they actually give a REALLY decent pay for Argentinian standards, though probably not even minimum wage for the US, but that'll be the same in every south/central american country.
But with the money you make in 5CA, you'll be able to have a very good time :)

Also, zuperxtreme lives there and I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping you out in the beginning as he did with me :)

When I look at that sight it looks like a really sweet deal, so mabe that is the place to go.
It would sure as hell make everything alot easier if I do it this way so I will cheak it out.
Thank's, you have been a great help sybil

Go to the travel links thread, there are plenty of web sites that allow for free accommodation. You just have to check in in advance. www.couchsurfing.com is a good place to start.

costa rica is way more expensive than Nicaragua, although there is a smaller chance of you getting robbed/mugged.

just so you know, Ortega, the current president, is a big idiot. He was the head of the sandinista junta earlier, which lost power in 1990, the sandinistas are what would be known as marxist, or really psuedo marxists.

read up on their politics, and if anything go to matagalpa, which is a bit higher up there. Managua is also very safe, but number one is dont flaunt your money. I, myself, and Nicaraguan and i still have family there.

you better get used to a very low cost of living, and i think the current exchange rate is $1USD for about 25-30 Cordobas (Nicaraguan dollars) but again dont flaunt your money!

and learn spanish quickly, make sure you're fluent before you go, if you speak english thats an invitation to get robbed since your american. If you get the chance, visit Leon, one of the main cities there.

the best thing you can do is read up on their history/culture and as for food gallo pinto is one of their signature dishes, i have it every meal (red beans and rice) and meat is also very big, but the more expensive items. if you go you should hire a driver at least to drive you around, cause one bad turn and you're dead. besides, they know how to handle the beggers in the corner better.

Aguardiente and juaron are the more dangerous liquors there (people have died from drinking too much juaron which is sold in plastic bags with a straw, costs maybe a nickel or a dime for a ziploc bag) what you do is get a watermelon, drill a hole in it and let the watermelon soak the liquor and eat the watermelon. flor de cana is a nicaraguan rum, and again dont flaunt your money!

the doctos there arent that good, so dont go there unless you're really sick and dying. depending on the area you go to, the water is drinkable (well, all of it is, but your system might not be used to it).

there is a pretty good university there called ave maria college if you wanna go to school, there are american-nicaraguan schools. um, if you got any other questions just ask me.

I think I'm gonna give the Argentinian Call-Center a shot, which seeing as I have no IT skills is probably at best a 50/50 chance.

Thank's for the info as well, Nietzche. It sounds like it may not be the first place I want to go but that being said I cannot afford to be too picky. I still have around 4 to 6 months to figure it all out but it's good to get inside information rather than careers teachers who know almost as little as I do about that region.

Go to pa-na-ma in-stead

you will fid you can spend your bread

el-shaddai

"where - are - you - from?"

"LAKE TITICACA!"

"where the hell is lake titicaca?"

"NNNNNICARAGUAAA!!"

"where - are - you - from?"

"LAKE TITICACA!"

"where the hell is lake titicaca?"

"NNNNNICARAGUAAA!!"

And I thought lake Titicaca was in Peru :confused:.

You should try coming to Guatemala. Its a beautiful country, less dangerous than Nicaragua, and as cheap to live in.
But its still Latin- American dangerous.

I dunno. Ideally I would go all over the continent but I don't feel like working for 10 months at home to save up the cash. I'll just go to wherever I can get a job, preferably one which includes a plane ticket, and have a working holiday.

It would be a whole lot easier if I lived in America, I could just drive down without forking out $2000 for a plane ticket to get of this fucking island.

And I thought lake Titicaca was in Peru :confused:.

You should try coming to Guatemala. Its a beautiful country, less dangerous than Nicaragua, and as cheap to live in.
But its still Latin- American dangerous.

but in Guatemala 2/3 are still natives that dont speak spanish, which means harder to communicate, but yea other than that difference still the same LA problems

and Lake Titicaca is NOT in Nicaragua...

Nicaragua is kinda an odd choice. What made you want to go there?

I guess it looked cheap, semi safe and swimming in cheap drugs. I have changed my mind anyway, I think Buenos Aires would be a better idea after some more research of job prospects, plus it would be more fun I think.

I guess it looked cheap, semi safe and swimming in cheap drugs.
Oh, totse. :o

Hey don't get me wrong, thats not my primary motivation; it's (hopefully) a pleasent bonus to the trip. I'm in need of a good, long, depraved binge anyways. :)

Heh, just stumbled across this.

Well, sybil is right. Your best/easiest bet is to get into a call center here. The most required skill is fluent english and I'm sure that's native to you. Depending where you go, you can probably pull of an easy 2k a month. Which is MORE than fine here. I'm living with 1900 and I share a room with roommates. So, it's really not expensive here.

People are rather nice and usually don't mind helping you out with directions or whatever.

If you do come here, there are a few areas that you should steer clear off. La Boca, Constitucion, out side of "Capital Federal", etc.

Oh and Spanish would make your life much easier. Even though you have information booths and a lot of people on the street will probably speak english and don't mind helping, it's just easier speaking Spanish.

I don't have a problem helping you out, I even went to pick up Sybil when he came here :p

Oh, and just FYI the dollar is around 3:1 here. Or in other words, around 3 Arg pesos is 1 USD.

Was waiting for you Zuper >:(

btw...I made 2300 after being there for a month...And how long have you been doing that job? :p

j/k j/k...

Hey zuperxtreame, I would be happy and willing to accept any help or assistance from you :)

I am going for the call center job, have a resume whipped up and ready to mail or e-mail within a week, as well as beginning Spanish courses which will be far from sufficient, but better than nothing. All I have to do now is get some fucking cash to make the trip!

I am concerned that I may not be able to get the job though because I have zero IT skills. Would that be a big problem or would they train me up when I get there?

Hey zuperxtreame, I would be happy and willing to accept any help or assistance from you :)

I am going for the call center job, have a resume whipped up and ready to mail or e-mail within a week, as well as beginning Spanish courses which will be far from sufficient, but better than nothing. All I have to do now is get some fucking cash to make the trip!

I am concerned that I may not be able to get the job though because I have zero IT skills. Would that be a big problem or would they train me up when I get there?

You really don't have to have a whole lot of knowledge of IT (atleast not in 5CA, which is one of the better paying callcenters in BA) Just some basic knowledge of routers and modems and such and for the rest they'll train you :)
Don't trust Zuper too much though... he'll get you lost on your first day there :mad:!!!

lol, I've been living here for a longer time Sybil, I know my way around better :p

And.. you spoke three languages :mad: That's why you were getting payed more, slut. hehehe.

And None Other, you should just try 5CA, it's pretty high paying call center like sybil said and like most Call centers they train you there for... 3 weeks? Around there.

As for a place to crash, you could probably stay in a hostel or a student residence or something.

I'd be happy to help you out, add my msn: zuperxtreme@hotmail.com

Ooh, if you are going to there, stay in Hostel El Sol
http://www.hostels.com/availability.php/HostelNumber.2039

The owner (Paul) used to live in California or something, he speaks perfect English, very friendly and he'll help you out any way he can as he did for me.
The atmosphere is great there, it's like one big happy family.

If you do go there, tell them Bart from Belgium says hi, :D

...roughly how much money I will need to set myself up initially?
I have never traveled before, let alone lived in a foreign country so would there be any way to figure out things like accommodation and work before I show up? Or will I just have to figure it all out once I get there...

The first thing that sounds promising is that you are only planning to stay a while. Nicaragua is cheaper if you stay about a year. If you try to stay much longer and start buying and fixing things, it becomes very expensive (See also Cost of Living in Nicaragua (http://central-america-forum.com/forum-topic/cost-of-living-in-nicaragua) for more on that)

But if you are renting, and using public transportation, then things are reasonable. Figure $100 for a very basic apartment, or double for a comfortable one. Figure $10 a day for transportation and food as a bare minimum. That leaves you at around 5000 USD for the year.

Norm