Nicaragua is a country that's pulling in foreign investment at a record pace.

Particularly in real estate, Nicaragua is cleaning up. Truth is, the tropical nation has really become a target destination for those looking to take advantage of living in both an exotic and an extremely safe geographical location close to both the USA and Canada.

After all, it offers everything buyers are looking for in a second home or retirement home: attractive prices, economic stability, aesthetically pleasing views, and incredible investment potential.

Read More »

The past couple of weeks were spent in Nicaragua to help my colleagues host a couple of tours at Gran Pacifica. Since I had a few extra days in country, I decided to take a short, 2-day trip to Flamingo Towers in Costa Rica – an absolutely stunning villa complex overlooking the prettiest beaches in the country. I had visited in February and was itching to get back. The property has unparalleled views of Playa Flamingo from the front balcony, and Playa Potrero and the mountains from the back balcony. You see the sunrise from one balcony and the sunset from the other. It's really quite unbelievable. And with my colleague now working there, I knew I had to go. But how would I get there?

ECI Development and Gran Pacifica Resort played a coordinating role in furnishing students in rural Nicaragua schools with sports uniforms of major league caliber. When a private school near Pittsburgh closed (Mt. Gallitzin Academy), it had no further use for brand-new jerseys and shorts produced from the same fabric and by the same company that manufacturers the uniforms of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League.

Belize has been slow to tap into a potential half-a-billion dollar tourism market, something that other Caribbean countries, most recently Nicaragua, have been enjoying.

With over 150,000 small family-sized private aircrafts in the United States of America (USA), over 40,000 of these planes fly annually to Caribbean destinations such as the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and even Puerto Rico.

It is a ½ billion dollar market that other destinations such as the Bahamas have embraced, implementing special mechanisms to facilitate its full potential. But just as the once famous Boogie in Belize sky diving activities conducted by Tsunami Skydivers were gaining popularity some years ago, authorities in Belize have not been as receptive to the idea as other neighboring countries.

When you grow up, what do you want to be? This is a question we get asked starting from when we are toddlers, and one that we begin to ask ourselves as we get older. For the lucky ones, this question is figured out early in life and we spend our life happily pursuing it. For the others, every experience is one step closer to figuring it out.

Growing up, what did I want to be? Easy, I "knew" from the time I was4. I wanted to be a doctor – specifically a dermatologist. The classes I took in high school and college were dictated by this decision. Even the college I chose was due to its strong reputation for its pre-med program.

A recently published study by Gallup highlighted Nicaragua as the safest country in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the study, residents of Nicaragua were the most likely in Latin America and the Caribbean to feel secure in their communities last year.

In 2013, Nicaragua scored a 67 (on a scale from 0 to 100) on Gallup's Law and Order Index, which is based on confidence in local police, feelings of personal safety, and self-reported incidence of theft. In the region, Nicaragua, Panama, and Chile have the highest index scores, and each has seen sizable increases since 2009: Nicaragua improved 9 points, Panama 7 points and Chile 7 points as well.

Read More »

One of the least visited countries in Central America, many expats still find their way to Nicaragua for the solace it offers. Nestled between Honduras to its north and Costa Rica to its south, Nicaragua is a palm tree dotted safe-haven, and is seen by many of its residents as a recluse from the mass tourism that overruns other more traditionally popular destinations. The outdated image of Nicaragua as a war torn country has, despite its inaccuracy, limited the number of travelers that have chosen to visit the country. The vast expanse of dramatic, untouched coastlines meet lush rainforests on shore, a sight anyone would be sorry to miss, but outsiders seldom bare witness to this wondrous elemental beauty.

Some countries roll out the welcome mat for foreign retirees, offering sometimes significant tax breaks, in-country discounts and other perks to anyone who qualifies for resident retiree status. The age you qualify as a retiree can have a broad definition, depending on where you go. For example, in Belize you can qualify for retirement residency and the associated perks as young as 45, and Panama has no stated minimum age requirement for its Gold Standard retiree residency program.

Read more

People ask me all the time, "What is going on with the canal in Nicaragua?" Well I had the chance to meet and sit with Mr. Li recently at a luncheon and he is excited about the progress of the feasibility studies being performed by Baker McKenzie in Washington DC. I circulated the room filled with about 1000 business people and spoke to some other folks on the inside and they are also very optimistic about the canal being built.

Read more

For a lbunch of information at a glance, the Globlal Agewatch charts are an incredible snapshot of a country's demographics. As you'll see, Nicaragua has some strengths and weaknesses in the area of aging population, it's greatest strength is that it has a relatively young population and growing workforce. This workforce is in close proximity to the US and Canadian markets and as a result, numerous manufacturing and business process outsourcing (BPO) centers are setting up shop here. Low per capita GDP is cited as a challenge and today it is. In the 12 years I've lived in Nicaragua that number has more than tripled, indicating an incredible surge forward on an economic front. Challenges withstanding, Nicaragua has an incredibly bright future ahead.