Living and Working Remotely From Nicaragua
Updated November 28tth, 2021
Considering living working remotely from Nicaragua? You’re not alone. My recent article on trends in the country talk about the flood of people moving to Nicaragua.
This article covers the benefits, things to consider and strategies for success.
Stay-at-home orders and quarantines around the world for Covid 19 have got a lot of people working from home. There will be a long term trend towards more companies and their employees embracing working remotely.
Moving abroad to live, work, and invest is not for everyone. But for a lot of professionals, entrepreneurs, tech workers, investors, and crypto investors you might be better off establishing residency abroad.
As we sit here in sunny Nicaragua, taking breaks from my work to jump in the pool or jog on the beach, it made me want to write an article on the pluses and minuses of digital remote working here.
Benefits:
Low cost of living
My wife and I normally spend about $2500 / month with everything included. That includes housing, restaurant meals, drinks, good food, massages once a week, a maid to clean our house two times week, gym membership, cell phones, two vehicles, and trips to Managua to the mall and the movies. We live well.
Right now because many of our favourite places are closed and we aren’t going out we are only spending about $1600 - $1700 a month.
Tas Savings and Income arbitrage
Given that low cost of living here you can take advantage of the income arbritage if you can earn “North American money” while spending down here
The same time zone as continental United States & Canada
This is a big one depending on how much you need to be connected during office hours in North America.
From personal experience, dealing with my tech guys in India & Pakistan, I know that its a pain to have to do things before dawn or late at night.
Nicaragua is the same as Mountain Standard time during the winter and Central Standard time during the summer. It changes due to daylight savings time which Nicaragua doesn't follow. No winter here, right?
If your job requires North American hours you can have a normal schedule living here
Setting up.a Panamanian corporation and living in Nicaragua can take your tax rate to as low as 5%
Nicaragua has a territorial tax system. Meaning any income earned abroad but received in a personal bank account here is tax free, Using a Panamanian structure combined with living in Nicaragua is an incredible solution.
Top quality properties are compared to major markets in the US and Canada.
That’s part of the reason for the low cost of living described above
So if you take the income arbitrage, save that money, and put it towards a property, you are really winning.
Easy to own property, corporations as foreigner
This is also a huge plus. Here you can buy and own property 100% in your name as a foreigner with the same rights as locals.
Corporate formation is also easy and you can own that 100% on your own.
It also means that, depending on your business, you could form a Nicaraguan subsidiary for tax shelter purposes. Check out the article on corporations.
Easy to get residency by investment
Nicaragua one of the easiest countries in the world to get residency by investment.
You only need to invest a minimum of $30k into property or a business
Check out the article I wrote on that, updated this year
Lifestyle
I take breaks to jump in the pool during the day.
At sunset I can go for a surf or a run on the beach.
Wander to cafes or bars to work where I can get happy hour beers for $1
That is year round too, so even in the “winter” it’s beaches, sun and pools. Here our rainy season is still really nice. I actually like it since the temperatures are cooler.
I’ve got cellular hotspot on my phone so even at places like the beach at Hacienda Iguana in the photo I can share internet to my phone and get some work done.
I traveled almost all of Latin America looking for my favorite place, and this is it. My jam is funky beach towns with great weather and good surfing. S
o full disclosure I’m biased towards places like this. For me this was the best spot from Mexico to Chile and everywhere in between.
The community here is great. The local Nicaraguas are friendly and there are lots of other foreigners to spend time with
There are tons of restaurants, bars, coffee shops and other places to meet up and socialize
Health and wellness
As mentioned in the community artel There are a ton of options to stay fit when you need a break
The groups and communities for the respective active communities are awesome and inviting
In addition to the article on community I have another on the health and fitness options here
They range from yoga to gyms to surfing. Check out the article for more
Excellent school
The San Juan Del Sur day school is extremely popular among the expat families.
The teachers are almost all from Canada and the United States, and the curriculum is excellent.
So it’s like your kids are gong to a North American school in terms of quality. But the kids also get to learn real Spanish. As and adult who learned Spanish
(slowly) at a later age I can tell you its better to learn it while you’re young
Good flight connections
There are normally multiple daily direct flights from the Managua airport to major hubs in the United States
Including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Dallas, and Los Angeles
There are also lots of connections from the airport just across the border in Liberia, Costa Rica. Including direct flights to more US cities and some in Canada.
Things to consider:
Power
Nicaragua’s power system has improved dramatically in recent years. We used to have long power outages on a regular basis. Now, on average, it’s a few hours total in every month. If you’re working remotely you will need a solution for those times.
I recommend a battery backup system to power your router, charge your computer, cell phone and maybe run a USB fan for a little breeze.
The systems can be bought here in Nicaragua at the big hardware chain Sinsa. I use a battery back up & surge protector combo that I bought it for about $135 US. It will run my just my router for 4-5 hours if the power goes off.
Though I would recommend a more robust ones for like the image to the left for $300-$400. That will run that router plus a USB fan all day.
Internet connections
You want to select the right provider for the area of the country you move to. The internet connections in Nicaragua have also improved dramatically over the past few years.
There are lots of high speed options assuming you are near a town or city. It is more of a challenge if you choose lot live in a remote location. So if this is a consideration for you contact me when making plans.
The best ones are:
#1: WifiNic
The have the best combination of coverage, speed and reliability. They have about 99% up time in my experience. And the speed numbers below are fairly accurate for download, though I do find their upload speeds to be slower. That upload speed is something to consider if you produce a lot of content.
Current WifiNic pricing (April 2020):
3.0 mbps: $30
4.0 mbps: $40
5.0 mbps: $50
6.0 mbps: $60
7.0 mbps: $70
8.0 mbps: $80
9.0 mbps: $90
10.0 mbps: $100
15.0 mbps: $130
20.0 mbps: $150
25.0 mbps: $160
I have WifiNic in my house now and it is super reliable. Only thing is when the power goes out. If the outage is wide-spread enough to get the whole region of Nicaragua the company network made be down, even if I have the router on a back up power source.
So for that I have a Movistar internet package on my phone and can hotspot. Between the two I have 100% uptime.
#2 Tecomunica
The best fibre optic option in the country. Coverage is generally limited to towns and cities with increasing extension into subdivisions and some rural areas close to major centres. Their speed is excellent both up and down. They advertise 50 mbps on a residential line fo $115/month including tax.
My clients have said an issue they had is occasional services outages due to physical cable damage. The fibre optic cable for Tecomunica runs on the power poles. In that regard I would estimate real-world uptime about 97%. So these guys are great for speed but you need to consider backup internet if using them.
Prices:
20 mbps: $75
50 mbps: $115
#3: Claro
I have Claro on here as the #3 option, but that completely depends on where you are. My clients had Claro service in the centre of San Juan Del Sur in years past and it was the worst internet they’d ever had. I think because the cable lines were old.
Then I had it in a newer development in Managua and it was fast and reliable. So my advice would be to ask around about the neighbourhood and how the service is, to see if the infrastructure will support it.
Prices are super reasonable:
10 mbps: $33
20mbps: $43
40mbps: $49
Although as mentioned that’s not going to be true in all areas.
#4: Movistar portable
In some markets Movistar offers normal home service. This article is mainly for the coastal region so we will go over the options available in this area.
Here in San Juan Del Sur Movistar offers a small portable modem with data limits that runs over the cell phone network. This is best as a backup option, or if your wifi doesn’t reach the pool:)
Banking in Nicaragua
Banco Lafise Bancentro is the best in the country
The ATM network is Nicaragua is solid. Fees for withdraw from foreign banks are moderate. If you’re American you could also consider the Charles Schwab account that offers zero international ATM withdrawal fees.
If you set up one of the Panama based corporations I offer you can easily move funds from there to your personal bank account. There are no taxes in Nicaragua on this income,
It’s pretty easy to set up a Nica bank account if you buy property here. You don’t need to be a resident or citizen. It takes about a week to open the account and two weeks for my debit card to get in.
Setting up a Nica bank account can be a challenge if you don’t have property here though. If you want a bank account in-country without property I would consider creating a corporation. There might also be some tax benefits to a Nica subsidiary depending on your line of business. If you’re looking at that maybe I can assist with my consulting services.
Summary:
If you are a digital remote worker or entrepreneur, looking for a base, Nicaragua is an awesome location. Low cost of living, North American time zone, good internet connections, ease of residency, beautiful tropical location, and easy flight connections to the US make it ideal.
Want to know more about working, investing or living in Nicaragua?
Contact me!
Joel Stott-Jess
Cell / WhatsApp: (+505) 8176 8624
US Number: 1 786 753 8743
Skype: joelstottjess
Joel Stott-Jess is a New York Times featured agent / broker in San Juan Del Sur.
Originally from Alberta, Canada he has been doing business in Nicaragua since 2014.
An investment consultant, serial entrepreneur, surfer, and outdoor enthusiast he is an expert on the real estate and business markets in Nicaragua. He also operates The Central Investor, a real estate and investment blog focused on the entire Central American region.
