NICARAGUA EXPAT BUDGET | Cost of living in NICARAGUA for 2 adults | FULL MONTHLY EXPAT BUDGET

See our full monthly and yearly NICARAGUA EXPAT BUDGET. We detail the cost of living for 2 adults in Nicaragua, showing all our expenses. We are retiring early, becoming EXPATS and moving to NICARAGUA full time in 16 months!!! Planning our budget was one of our first big steps in determining where we wanted to live. Nicaragua is an amazing country and has one of the cheapest cost of living. Our budget shows you how you can live much cheaper than in Canada, USA and Europe, while maintaining a similar quality of life as in your home country. You will be surprised to see how affordable it is! We have provided our working spreadsheet of all our expenses, our costs are estimated on the higher end of what we are/will be expecting to pay - as we would rather have extra money "left over" every month than be short...this means more money for travelling!!!
We are a Canadian couple and we LOVE to travel! We are retiring early (at age 45) and moving to Nicaragua in 17 months. We're selling, donating and downsizing, and heading down the Pan American highway for the Adventure of a life time! Follow our channel to be part of the Adventure!
If you enjoy our videos & want to support our content creation you can buy us a cup of coffee
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Want to rent a house in Nicaragua for a few days or a few weeks? Here is our house on Air B & B abnb.me/QQh9gX... - Our property managers, Mango Vacation Rentals (Paul & Ann) will take great care of you! You can also check out the other vacation properties they manage at www.mangosjds.com.
Learn more about our EXPAT journey
👉 • Moving to Nicaragua - ...
Trying to decide if you want to buy or rent abroad? Here are the pros and cons
👉 • EXPAT LIFE - BUY or RE...
Want to know more about traveling & living in Nicaragua
👉 • Nicaragua
FIRE - Financial Independence Retire Early - learn how here
👉 • FIRE - Financial Indep...
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[@MsDeevah3867]

Really loving this Nica Vlogs, it’s so nice for people considering a Nica move so they know what to expect, budgets and things like that

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Glad you are enjoying our channel. We want to provide as much information as we can to help other people who may be considering becoming expats or who want to travel to Nicaragua.

[@MsDeevah3867]

@@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures That’s an amazing ride. Well done guys

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

❤️

[@Alexis-pl5cn]

Great video. I just love love love when people share their own personal experiences. This probably won't apply in the 20 years it will take me to retire, but it helps me get even more excited. I'm working a side job (I'm in my 20s) so hopefully I can retire early. 🤞 Thanks for the video- I'm going to go watch the rest of your stuff!

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Thanks Alexis. We are so glad you are finding the info useful. If your in your 20's now and already planning for an early retirement you are in great shape. The earlier you start planning your financial future the better and easier it is. We started in our 20's!!! You should check out some of our FIRE videos, there are some great tips to help you work towards early financial freedom.

[@nwalker2619]

Good for you for planning early, I wish I was as smart as you when I was in my 20s 😊

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

If you have questions about our budget, leave us a comment and we would be happy to share more information.

[@44outthedoor]

Tovah loves spreadsheets, it is very detailed all away down to haircuts 💇‍♀️

[@michaelgraf6635]

Would you recommend it for a couple with a ten year old? How much more of a budget would we need? Can't take the rat race anymore and highly considering moving there

[@44outthedoor]

It’s Amazing how expensive data is in Canada. Going to save a lot in just paying lower bills.

[@teez4983]

Looks like your pension can go a long way in Nicaragua. Congratulations 🎉

[@44outthedoor]

Yes, your money will go really far. A couple can live very well on a single pension.

[@RickOShay4u]

are sold Over The Counter and that most doctors make house calls at reasonable fees.

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

This is true and a great benefit. It allows you quick access to medication and care - which we think is great (compared to the long wait times here in Canada).

[@alexmendieta7876]

Property taxes are so cheap! Was the house registered as a corporation?

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

No the house is not registered as a corporation. Yeah property taxes are soooo much cheaper than our home in Canada, we pay over $3k a year.

[@StevenGrahamHypnotherapist]

Are you retiring to Nicaragua ONLY because of the cost of living? The infrastructure and range of services that Canadians and Americans are used to is about 95% non-existant in Nicaragua. I lived in Leon and Granada for a short time but learned a lot about dealing with lack of convenience, products and services while there. I wish you both every success you could imagine.

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Lower cost of living and a more relaxed slower pace of life is a big draw for us. We live pretty minimal now and are excited to live in a place that is less commercialize and does not revolve around "stuff". So this seems like a great fit for us.

[@StevenGrahamHypnotherapist]

I understand the draw to Nica for many. I think of returning every now and then as I have fond memories of the country, culture, nice people and simplicuity of life. A very low cost of living and a super easy income requirement for retiring is a big draw.

[@herbnorden5317]

We are from Brooks Alberta, having a hard time deciding between Mexico and Nicaragua. Did you look at Mexico?

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

We did consider Mexico, however we quickly quickly gravitated more towards other Central American countries, such as Guatemala and Costa Rica. While we do like traveling to Mexico we found that many of the expat communities were in areas that are quite commercialized (not what we were looking for). Nicaragua really drew us in with the cost of living, the central location to other Central American countries and we travelled to SJDS for a few weeks and absolutely fell in love with the vide of the town. It was exactly what we were looking for. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jqC1lmmNZsmHoNk You should check out our video on cheapest countries to retire, we give our top 5 a grade based on the criteria many expats are looking for.

[@RogerYoung33]

Who was your real estate agent? We just purchased at Rancho Papayal ( July 2021)and I’d love to compare notes over dinner sometime.

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Our realtor was John Crilly from Remax, we was amazing! We would love to meet up sometime. Are you living down there full time?

[@RogerYoung33]

@@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures We will be probably by September. Finishing selling our house in the US right now. We know John, great guy. I’ll hit him up for your contact information when we get back in country.

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Sounds like a plan. We are hoping to be down in November for a few weeks.

[@owenharris1781]

Really helpful and insightful videos, thank you. We were wondering how your bulldogs are handling the heat? We are boxer lovers and were concerned about the heat and breathing for them. Keep up the good work. Really appreciate it.

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

We don't move to Nicaragua full time for about a year, so our bulldogs have not been there yet. We think they will be just fine...and they are in training now😊 Tigger LOVES the heat, when it is 30 degrees outside he is always out just basking (we had another bully that was just like him). Penelope does like the sun but she is also very good about going into the shade to cool off. Our Canadian house gets hot in the summer because our main floor living is on the second floor and the front of our house is all windows and we don't have A/C (it is often 30 degrees in the afternoon/early evening). We do have a window A/C just in the dogs room but we rarely use it, and when we do we only set it to 24 degrees and they are fine with that. Our Nica house does have A/C and we likely run A/C in the dogs room at night. We have met several other bully owners in our travels to various hot destinations and they have all told us their dogs are fine, they go for walks at sunset and enjoy some swimming time and spend the day in the shade. The dogs are one of the reason we will be driving down, having them fly makes us very nervous due to the potential heat and not being with them during the flight.

[@PlatinumGT]

Thank you

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

You're welcome. Hopefully it was helpful

[@suzettemorgan6936]

Amazing how far your $$ can go.

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Yeah, moving abroad is much cheaper than Can/USA. The cost of living in Nicaragua and everything it has to offer is why we are choosing to relocate there.

[@herbnorden5317]

Thanks for the info. Was wondering about finances are you setting up a Panamanian corp?

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

No we are not. Corporations are used for people setting up a business and we are not going to be running a business there. Many expats withdraw money from a US dollar account at the ATM. After purchasing our house we did also set up a Nicaraguan bank account.

[@leannascherr3710]

Also, how does becoming expats on your pensions affect income tax?

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

We will still pay income tax in Canada on our pension and any money we draw from our investments. So no huge changes there. One thing that will change is that we won’t be eligible for the full CPP and OAS as we won’t have lived and worked in Canada for the full amount of years...part of the cost of retiring early.

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Once we move and file our taxes in Canada we will make a video about.

[@pathkris2984]

@@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures Also how about taxes in Nicaragua? Do you have to pay taxes on foreign sourced income like pension or investments?

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

@@pathkris2984 no you don’t have to pay taxes on foreign income. One benefit to entice expats to move there and spend money in their economy.

[@randyparton5451]

Does this budget take into consideration personal items? Shampoo, lotions ect.

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Randy this budget takes into account everything we would be purchasing for ourselves and our 2 dogs. It includes date nights, how much Tona and rum we plan to drink and even purchasing toilet paper. You should check out our other video on our grocery shopping budget. We detail all our food purchased to eat for week. We also have another video air soon showing all our costs for 10 days - groceries, restaurants, entertainment, etc.

[@leannascherr3710]

Hi Chris and Tovah! How do mortgages work? Or do you need to pay for housing up front? With rentals, is it 1st and last montus rent and then monthly after that? Or do you need to pay 6 months or a year up front? Thanks!

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Hi Leanna, to learn more about buying a house check out our channel, there are 2 videos with more details. Typically the banks don’t do mortgages but you be able to buy with the seller financing you for a very short term. For renting it really depends on the landlord, every place is different.

[@salvatoreemma]

Hi, how safe is the drive you plan to journey down to Nicaragua by car, especially points through gang ridden Mexico?

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Really it is as safe as any Canadian or USA city. The country’s we will be traveling through have a lower crime rate than te major USA cities. We won’t drive at night and like anywhere, aim to not go into bad neighbourhoods. Many travellers use the Pan-American highway on a daily basis to travel this route.

[@neotheone5140]

Hey guys, my wife and I want to move to nova and are looking for places. Can we contact you some time for some questions we may have?

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Absolutely, we would be happy to help in anyway we can. You can reach out to us on our Instagram @amazingadventures_chris.tovah

[@surfside4467]

I have been to Thailand and am now in the Philippines. As a US citizen will I need proof of the Yellow fever vaccine to enter Nicaragua?

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

No you do not currently require a yellow fever vaccine to enter Nicaragua from the Philippines. However people traveling from countries that the WHO deems a yellow fever risks would require vaccination. Always double check the entry requirements prior to travel since things are always changing.

[@Canuckbelgo]

Tovah, gorgeous name btw. So I immediately recognised the Canuck accents...despite being originally from Nova Scotia. 😀 My mom and one of my sisters lives in Edmonton actually. I'm an expat of 32 yrs but in Europe. I work for the EU in Brussels but...cutting to the chase, it's getting unbearable here with all the "insanity". Can you please confirm that Nicaragua is NOT pushing the masks, shots and "the passport"?? Our older children are all grown up but we're especially worried about our youngest who's only 7. I'm very worried. Many thanks !

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Fellow fellow Canadian 🍁! It's funny how Canadians don't think they have an accent...but we do😊 Right now Nica is pretty chill with the whole covid thing. You can wear a mask and get vaccinated if you choose but there is no push or country wide rules. Also they did not shut down business like they did in Canada and many other countries, their business remained open. They did of course see a drop in tourism as the boarders were closed for some time, but the boarders are back open and travel is picking up. Currently you do need a to have a COVID test prior to entry. Hope this answers your questions.

[@Canuckbelgo]

@@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures Thanks for your quick reply Tovah! Things are really starting to get hairy over here so I will continue to try to see how we can organise to get over there.

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

@@Canuckbelgo Stay safe and safe travels (if you decide to make a move). If you have more questions we are happy to help.

[@RickOShay4u]

Masks are Highly recommended as are Vaccinations. There are looong lines of folk's waiting to get their shots.

[@Canuckbelgo]

@@RickOShay4u In Nicaragua?! Omg, this is horrific !

[@RickOShay4u]

You did not mention that most prescription drugs arr

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

Hey Rick, your comment got cut short...we didn't talk about prescription drugs (in this video) but they are much cheaper than Canada and USA

[@RickOShay4u]

@@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures I continued It in the next post. I thought it would be OK since it is part of the cost of living here, yes much cheaper than the u-s or Canada

[@ChrisTovahsAmazingAdventures]

@@RickOShay4u Thanks Rick!