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Picture Side
Nicaragua is a very beautiful country and the people are very genteel. After eight years here, we have never experienced culture shock unlike many people, probably due to our nomadic ways. You can live in the mountains, on the beach, in the rain forest and a dozen other different climates. Low cost of living is a factor. Every day is an adventure. We are so much more alive here.

Other SIde
You don't know what to do about the poverty and always feel you should be doing something to help the people. That's not a bad thing but it is always on your mind. You want to educate, bring the joy of reading, adopt 10 kids, help a family, prepare neighbors to get a job, teach English, learn Spanish, etc. Yet you learn from the experience and discover there is a major difference between poverty and not having enough money. Most of the people are happy even without the things we think are so important.

The picture side
Lovely hard working people, fresh fruit, simple life and easy stress free living.
The back side
Nicaragua  however is considered a third world country. Hydro and water goes off at least once a day. Hot water for your shower is a luxury. Recycling is something that is not promoted and every home has a burn pit were a family burns its plastics and everything else that is not organic. (However I was recently in Florida and their recycling is no better,   their plastics are sent to a landfill  left for the next generation to deal with. I'm not sure which is better..

Attitude is the major player no matter where you live.  We moved to Managua 5 years ago from Atlanta and for us, this is the place to be. 

So - what are some of the negatives of living here? Nicaragua is definitely dirtier than the US.  How can there be so many people mopping all the time, yet the place is filthy?  Why don't we mind?  Life here is grittier, but to us it is more vibrant.  The States seem pristine, but sterile to us.  Here there are lots of people on the streets, babies and young children are everywhere and (at least here in Managua) you can buy almost anything you want at the corner "between the red and the green" (ie: at any stop light).

People will definitely steal your stuff here if you don't keep an eye on it.  But it is extremely rare to hear about gringos being assaulted in Managua. You may need to be a little more careful here (ie: don't ever leave anything in your car, etc.), but if you use your common sense, you and your stuff will be fine.

Keep in mind that there are many different lifestyles here. Some of our friends live a more "local" life - their neighbors are Nicaraguan and they have Colonial style homes. Others live on the beach or on a small farm. Our lifestyle is actually quite North American.  Our house is a Florida-style ranch with a screened in porch (terraza) in a gated community of similar homes. We go to a mall to shop, to the supermarket for food and (occasionally) to the Intercontinental for Sunday brunch. It's nice to be able to choose your own personal level of immersion into a culture different that your own.

One final thought - we have been very frustrated at times trying to get anything done in Nicaragua. It's like pulling teeth! But, we recently went to the US to get some maintenance done on a couple of properties there and to handle some minor items involving the neighborhood homeowners association.  What a battle! In many ways it was not much different than being in Nicaragua except that everyone spoke English.