Crazy Parents writes another Postcard for International Living Magazine

Another one of our articles was featured as a postcard for International Living:

A New Life of Adventure on the Caribbean Coast
By Debbie Polden

Have you found the saying, "life doesn't always turn out the way you expect" to be true? My husband and I have definitely found that to be the case. We've also realized that when life takes you down different paths it isn't necessarily a bad thing!

After years of working and living in Canada, raising a family and caring for elderly loved ones we realized that our "retirement years" were fast approaching. As we contemplated the future we found that we had an undiscovered sense of adventure. Rather than looking to a "normal" retirement in Canada, we investigated the possibility of living abroad where our money would stretch further.

With planning and preparation we moved to Nicaragua in February of 2012 where we found a cute little house in León to rent. We quickly settled into daily life in this bustling university town. In Canada we had always loved exploring small communities and here in Nicaragua, living on the Pacific Coast, we found it allowed us to easily travel and see different parts of the country.

We visited Casares, a working fishing village, and stayed in a small hotel overlooking the beach—a great vantage point to watch the local fishermen and their families at work. We loved Las Peñitas, just a 45-minute bus ride away from León, where we could spend the day at a local restaurant eating, drinking and playing in the waves. We were really enjoying our life in León and weren't looking to make any major changes.

But in early 2013 we went on another road trip...to a small community on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua called Pearl Lagoon. Pearl Lagoon is a small, tranquil town with few roads and even fewer cars. There are no grocery stores here and no bank or ATM either. It's so remote that you have to travel an hour by panga (small boat) to get to the closest "big" town of Bluefields to access these amenities.

English is predominantly spoken in Pearl Lagoon but you will also hear Spanish, Miskito and Creole. We were surprised at how this little community captured our hearts and awakened in us a sense of adventure. By the end of our trip we were hooked and decided to move here.

We've now been living in Pearl Lagoon for over six months and the charm of living in this small community hasn't worn off. Because Pearl Lagoon is remote and far from the big cities, there can be inconveniences occasionally—electricity and water can go out without notice and for extended periods of time, for example—but we've surprised ourselves at how well we've dealt with our change in lifestyle. We've found that preparation and adaptability are the key!

Life isn't all sacrifice though. Pearl Lagoon has a couple of good restaurants where a group of four can enjoy a delicious fish dinner with beer or wine for only $35—complete with a beautiful view of the lagoon. Or, if you head to the local bakery, you can pick up a delightful rum cake for only a dollar. Fresh fruit and veggies are brought in from local farms so you know you are supporting the local communities. And, our three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is only $250 a month with our electricity and municipal water expenses at an additional $27—very affordable living indeed!

At our doorstep is a lush jungle where, with a local guide, we can take a nature walk and perhaps spot howler monkeys. Or, we can take a half-hour stroll to Awas, an indigenous Miskito community, and find a one-treed island all to ourselves where we can relax and read a book or take a refreshing dip in the lagoon.

Granted, a community like Pearl Lagoon isn't for everyone. In fact, when we were researching moving to Nicaragua we didn't think it was for us either. However, life has a way of taking you in directions you weren't expecting... We're happy our sense of adventure brought us to this laid-back, friendly community.

Crazy Parents writes a Postcard for International Living Magazine

A short while ago we were contacted by Erica Mills, Managing Editor for IL Postcards, and asked if we would be interested in writing a "Postcard" about our life in Nicaragua. As part of our "research" for moving abroad we had subscribed to International Living's magazine as well as their daily postcards so we were thrilled by the opportunity to share what life in Nicaragua can be like - at the very least, what it is like for us. On Friday, August 30, 2013 our postcard was emailed out to people who are interested in information about Nicaragua. Here is what we wrote:

We’re Happier than Ever in NicaraguaBy Debbie Polden
Eight years ago, my husband, Pat, and I had what most would term good, comfortable lives. Our jobs were stable...and there was no danger of losing them before we retired at 65. But with the kids all gone and making lives of their own, we realized that we had no desire to be working until retirement age.
We had seen many friends who put off retirement, unable to pursue their dreams due to health concerns. We didn't want that to happen to us...so we started to explore ways that would enable us to live a happy, more fulfilling life overseas...
After a tremendous amount of research and a few exploratory vacations to potential countries we saw the possibilities that Nicaragua offered for a new way of life. It met all our criteria: low cost of living, beautiful coast lines (we wanted to live near water), cooler mountain towns if we couldn't adjust to the heat and, specifically for us, a great need for volunteers.
A big question for us was how much money would we need each month to live on? In order to determine this figure we looked at what the financial requirements were for people to gain residence in Nicaragua as a pensioner. We found out that a couple would only need to prove an income of $750 ($600 for Pat and $150 for me) from a pension in order to obtain residence. This gave us an idea of how much money we would need to live in Nicaragua.
We began to save and in 2011 we realized that, because of our diligent savings plan, we were in a position to start our retirement a year earlier than planned.
Though we originally settled in the city of Leon, we were intrigued by the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. After a visit to Pearl Lagoon, and feeling the fresh ocean breezes on our skin, we felt right at home.
Living in Pearl Lagoon is like taking a step back in time to a simpler, slower way of life. It’s far more rustic and isolated than Leon, and, though living here sometimes has its challenges, that only adds to its charm.
Pearl Lagoon has so much to offer us: English-speaking friendly neighbors (this area is predominantly English-speaking)...the beach right on our doorstep...a nice breeze off the Atlantic...and a cost of living that fits our budget. And the people are incredibly friendly.
Our costs are extremely low, too. We pay less than $700 to live well. Rent for our comfortable three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is only $250. Dinner at a nice restaurant with a view over the water is less than $20 and the beach is a short, 50-cent taxi ride away.
You can fill your fruit and veggie tray for $10 and eat well for a week, and buy fresh crab for just over 40 cents a pound or fresh fish for less than $1.
Now, after over a year of retirement living here in Nicaragua we've never been happier. We no longer wake to a shrill alarm clock telling us it’s time to get up for work. Instead, we wake to the hungry chirping of our little adopted chocoyo(parakeet) Pancho, telling us it’s time to get up and enjoy our day.

Our Nicaraguan "story" is published on Retirepedia.com

Retirepedia.com is a website designed to help people decide where and when they would like to retire. They focus on retirement in 6 different countries - Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Malaysia, Nicaragua and Panama.

The website has information in regard to cost of living, infrastructure, internet, visa requirements and climate for each of these countries. I'm sure you would agree that this is information we are all interested in when we are looking to move to a new country. Besides country specific info they also provide general information on retirement such as financial planning, retirement planning tools, retirement jobs, hobbies and much more!

What I like about this site is that they encourage "real life" stories - they want your take on what life is like for an expat (good and bad) in your retirement country of choice.

Our written submission about moving to and living in Nicaragua has just been published - you can read about it here: Living in Nicaragua and loving it

Awas, Nicaragua

Check out our interview on the Expat's Blog

Earlier this year, when we updated our location for our blog posting on Expatsblog.com, we were asked if we would answer some questions about expat life - just a short interview.  We agreed and submitted our answers in June.

The interview was posted today and you can check out the interview at:  Canadian Expats in Pearl Lagoon, Nicaragua