I wanted to dedicate one post to the people who helped us find our home in San Juan del Sur. We were introduced to Elisha & Gord when they contacted us after a post Kharron made on the Facebook group Expats in San Juan del Sur. He posted that we were looking for a home to move into as soon as we move from San Diego.
In Nica Now offers a spectacular service – they will do all the leg work and networking necessary to find a home in San Juan del Sur for a very reasonable price. After a short discussion about this option we emailed them back stating that we were interested in their services. Elisha & Gord replied immediately with a questionnaire that would give them an idea of what we were looking for, our expectations, and list of rated desires. Once our homework was in, we set up a time to do a video chat via Skype. It was nice to see the people we were working with, it felt like a real meeting. The power had gone out the day we originally scheduled our chat and the internet was slow the day we rescheduled, but these things were all good lessons about the land we were relocating to.
From what I had read, we thought we wanted to live in an area called Playa Marsella. It was near a beach and away enough from town, but with a few restaurant choices that seemed walking distance. I didn’t want to live right in the middle of the tourist hub, but I wanted the convenience of not always having to drive for food and entertainment. Elisha & Gord had just been living in Playa Marsella and they explained that it was on a very dusty, rocky, dirt road. It was a lot of wear and tear on your car and not ideal for walking. They suggested we live closer to town, but would still search for housing options in that area as well as what they thought would be more optimal.
I can’t say enough good things about In Nica Now’s services. We had our feelers out in many forums and as the possibilities came in, we were able to pass the options to Elisha & Gord who either knew of the property already or would contact the owner/property manager to inquire and view it. This took a lot of work and stress off of us, especially since we already had a lot going on in San Diego.
In the end, we all felt the best option was a two bedroom, two bath house with a pool in an area called Palermo. Palermo is named after the villas up the street at the Palermo Hotel & Resort. Its a hot 30 minute walk into town or a 5 minute car ride. Its located up a hill, so walking from town with 2 kids is not really an option, but luckily we have a car and a cab ride is $1-2. We love our house, the location, and the fact that it has a pool!
In Nica Now also has an amazingly helpful blog. If you’re thinking about a move to Nicaragua or even just a visit, I would advise reading their whole blog, but a few that we found to be most helpful are “One Month of Living Expenses 2014: San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua“, “Is San Juan del Sur a Party Town?“, “Making the Move“, and “All About Nicaragua: Blogs, Websites & Forums and Facebook Pages“.
Thank you Elisha & Gord for your work, gentle steering, and friendship!