Northern Jinotega, any expats around San Jose de Bocay?
I'm looking at a farm around the San Jose de Bocay area.
Just wondering if I will have any neighbours who speak English?
It's about 3 hours from Matagalpa, a long way to drive to have a conversation about world events.
They say the road will be paved soon,...yeah right!
Re: Northern Jinotega, any expats around San Jose de Bocay?
We're always online right here, no driving needed!
Re: Northern Jinotega, any expats around San Jose de Bocay?
Key West Pirate has a farm up North, but more towards Esteli, sure he will post and touch base.
"You know what you say when people tell you you can't do something? Fool, shut your mouth up!"
Ernie K Doe
Re: Northern Jinotega, any expats around San Jose de Bocay?
Check for recent contra activity in the area. Someone has been giving the contras around Pantasma free satchels full of explosives that go boom.Originally Posted by Jimmy Torpedo
Probably won't have any neighbors who speak English. More gringo hobby farmers seem to be moving into the San Ramon area -- going to be pricer but you would have some other people like you around and it's maybe 20 minutes to Matagalpa by bus. You really can't survive here without at least some Spanish.
My first trip to Nicaragua, I met a woman in Esteli who was actually pretty good at Spanish, but who was finding that living out was very isolating and that she didn't have anything in common with her caretaker and his wife. She got a room in town, which added $80 a month to her expenses. My experience here is that any Nicaraguan who owns a farm and has any income lives in town and commutes to the farm during the week and lives in civilization on the weekends. Only gringos and the very poor Nicaraguans live in the country full time. I'm sure there are some exceptions, but this pattern is what make Boaco and Jinotega and a few other places the cities they are.
Re: Northern Jinotega, any expats around San Jose de Bocay?
Yuup, the mind robbing boredom of country living is tough for most people to take, whether in the dust season or the mud season. Drinking frequently, starting about 7 am will help, or being a workaholic on a money loosing farm could help. I did the back to the country thing 30 years ago. Boring
Let me see. I know some first world foreigners with farms. One grew next to nothing and then moved to guatemala. one works abroad to support his farm that has been devastated twice by natural disasters. one is a workaholic who rarely has a day off and has a tough time spending 5 minutes for a chat. one is rarely here. Another is an extended family with nice housing, internet, grandkids, etc.. they are very busy with work but live 30 minutes on a good road to a major city and have been known to travel abroad. Oh, I know another one who is working abroad to capitalize his farm.
We moved 2 klicks from town and the nicas in the family have been fleeing since the first year, and we have satelite tv and internet for entertainment. Now we have wifa and smart phones up the kazoo, so for family gatherings nobody even has to talk to each other.
If having English speakers around is important to you, look before you leap on buying that farm or get an apartment in Managua to go with it. It is not hard to find out if there are foreigners around--ask anybody, we stick out like sore thumbs. the locals will iD any foreigners for miles around, although sometimes they get confused because we all look alike! And last but not least, some of the most interesting English speaking foreigners are Europeans, not Americans. Americans seem to be best at being missionaries.
Last edited by el duende grande; 02-15-2015 at 03:19 PM.
"Support mental health or I'll break your head"
...with a 6 foot stick and mask and gloves....
Re: Northern Jinotega, any expats around San Jose de Bocay?
Thanks for your advice guys.
First of all, I do speak Spanish, I just like to discuss the fake invasion of Ukraine by those damn Ruskies, the proxy war in Syria and how the Federal Reserve and fractional reserve banking are slowly destroying the world. Not necessarily hot topics with Nicas.
Second of all, I am already a farmer who starts at 6:30, drinks too much and loses money, albeit, often in minus 30, so relocating to Jinotega would be a hell of a lot easier, especially with 3 farm hands paid 4 or 5 bucks a day.
I was thinking a beach house near Leon would fit the bill for entertainment value and just spend a week or two a month up in the mountains. I lived on the beach for a year in Costa Rica and find myself preferring the company of horses over tourists these days. I think if I was to socialize with tourists I would rather be guiding them on horse treks through the mountains. It is awfully nice country up there with a majestic drive through the mountains from La Dalia to El Cua, more like the massif central in France than anywhere else, albeit on a smaller scale.
Generally I do enjoy the company of people in the mountains of Central America more than that of the city folk with their smart phones, at least they know how to work although may suffer from extreme boredom, or maybe it's a lack of imagination, I don't know.
Finally, although I speak English, I am not American. In case you didn't notice by my interest in world events and the theory of money as opposed to Kim Kardashians butt!
Re: Northern Jinotega, any expats around San Jose de Bocay?
In my experience, the Central Asians, Russians, and most of the Germans just figure out how to make lives for themselves here without much fuss. The North Americans plan to fix the place up (not all, but I'd say more than not). San Ramon is worth a look but might be too expensive by now.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks