Expat Community > Nicaragua

pato23
Joined 2002
Posts: 765

Newbie in Nicaragua or Central America

14 years ago

........remember the name, ommitted in this public post, you will certainly meet him and others like him online researching Granada or in person there, ------ is on dozens of Nicaragua forums and websites pretending to be an honest business contact and real estate agent for ex pat newcomers, -------- story goes back years and years, we first encountered him in the 1990s when he was scamming, asking for donations then selling donated materials on black market, international aid organizations during the aftermath of the and Flood and Hurricane tradgedy in Honduras and Nicaragua, -----------, like all scammers is bi lingual,some are multi lingual in fact, very educated. -------, like a few ex pats you will encounter Way Down South are sociopaths and verycharming and charismatic, be very careful if you tend to be a bleeding heart, faint of heart or looking for a so called "honest" English speaking Nicaraguan friend with a lot of connections and believe me the person I am referring to is Nicaraguan-American dual citizen has dozens of local connections!!!!!! If you tend to cross these people or try to pull out of deals with them they become very angry and know how to play the blame game on newbie guilty US ex pats. So months in advance of your departure, join www.couchsurfing.org and bewelcome.org and contact local members for hosting, meet ups after arrival and relocation plus relocation and travel advices, a local can easily put you in contact with another local who say is renting a room, house or apt. saving you a so called ex pat finders fee....sorry, Nica is a very poor country and most people, including many fellow paisanos and ex pats will hustle you in a new york second ..I am a New Yorker, my second home is a Dominican-Latino majority barrio in the Bronx, NYC so I am not from Ohio or Kansas. I am not bleeding heart nor f,aint of heart, care nothing about politics, people are far more important, start off by volunteering once you are settled, earn the trust of locals who will watch your back, ex pats who reside in guarded communities, co ops, condos etc. will generally gossip when you turn your back, and please do no favors nor lend money to anyone, nor pay anyone for services in advance..even if you are resident for years and you THINK you finally know it all, never stop learning,natives will often still attempt to aprovechar..take advantage..when possible..since you are white and have money...friendship and trust often does not enter into it... I first arrived to CA in 1970!!!!!
I made every mistake possible, then some, I was just lucky had family and mentors here older and experienced, otherwise I would have been back in USA years ago or worse.
Feelings are not facts. Easy does it, but do it, one day at a time and you will meet fine persons in pdPDboth ex pat and local communities, as well stick with volunteers and long term backpacking travelers to learn a lot. Stay with givers, avoid takers, not easy when you are "newbie" saludos. buena suerte. PS
PD en espanol, being romantic is one thing, reading, researching and looking at beautiful photos, living here day in and day out is another thing entirely.

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