I belong to Internations, the International Ex Pat Society, basic membership is free and there are over 300 Chapters worldwide, pick and choose, when you become a member in one city/country you are a member in all. Get togethers face to face Monthly so you get to know your Ex Pat neighbors and have fun as well! internations.org/ Advice for those planning to relocate to popular Ex Pat and Tourist/Travel Destinations such as the charming Colonial City of Antigua, Guatemala, there are bloqs and websites that will still inform you that Antigua is Cheap, it may be Cheap compared to NYC, San Francisco, Paris or Tokyo, however is not that cheap for a foreigner, with no connections, who may be living on a fixed income from home such as Social Security or small pension. Below is a post from the Guatemala Forum of the Ex Pat Exchange FB page and online www expatexchange dot com. one needs to sign up with a handle and password, there are some 225 country forums on the Exchange in case Guatemala may not be your target country. The prices in Q are Guatemalan Quetzales, offical exchange rate about 7.75 Quetzales to 1USD, a bit less in Banks as they take a small commision. As well, on Facebook there exist Ex Pat groups from dozens of countries, cities and popular Ex Pat destinations, where more experienced Ex Pats as well as bi-lingual natives give advices to newbies and wannabes, Central America has become a popular destination for those wishing to relocate, retire or run a small business, such as a Gringo Bar or tour operation. Before you make the move, travel to your target destination and rent a cheap room for a few weeks, walk around, ask questions and make contacts, smile and never be demanding, ok, some jerky bloq told you you could rent a semi-furnished 2 Bedroom apartment in the center of Antigua for $300 US, adjust to reality come in the low season, September and October, when many places are empty, join the Ex Pat Forum and Ex Pat Groups and ask who knows, you will be very suprised, here in El Salvador I see on our Facebook Ex Pat Groups members asking for hard to get items or hard to find Real Estate rental bargains and they get responses the same day! When I lived in Antigua many years ago a freelancer sold an Article about Antigua to the New York Times Newspaper stating that Colonial Homes, furnished with maid services could be rented in Antigua for about $150 a Month! Taht was a typo error, the real price then was about $1,500 Month in 1990 Dollars! However droves of bargain seekers came to Antigua and left disappointed. So always travel to the place you wish to live first. If the local language is not English, start studying! Some great Antigua Resources online are aroundantigua/ Antiguas Online Guide. revuemag/ Guatemalas Monthly Magazine, lots of Ads for lodging places, apartments, Spanish schools, etc. Download on pdf. I do not know how long it has been since you were in Antigua last but prices have gone up. for 1500...2000q you are not going to find a nice 2 bedroom apartment in a quite safe area furnished with internet and hot water. Maybe 2500q unfurnished you pay all utilities. You don not want the bed or sofa in a 1500q apartment anyway there going to be full of bedbugs. Your biggest problem is the dogs. the cheapest way to live in Antiqua is going to spanish school with full room and board, but they would have a problem with the dogs as would most furnished apartment owners. The real estate agents will be happy to rent you an apartment for $700.00 a month or more. You will need to go around the neighborhoods and look for signs or give the gate guard 50q to tell you who might be renting or looking for a house sitter. As for hotel reservations you are not planning to stay at the hotel santa domingo dont worry about a reservation all the hotels are empty in september. you can get a backpacker room and move up. I do not know how long it has been since you were in Antigua last but prices have gone up. for 1500...2000q you are not going to find a nice 2 bedroom apartment in a quite safe area furnished with internet and hot water. Maybe 2500q unfurnished you pay all utilities. You don not want the bed or sofa in a 1500q apartment anyway there going to be full of bedbugs. Your biggest problem is the dogs. the cheapest way to live in Antiqua is going to spanish school with full room and board, but they would have a problem with the dogs as would most furnished apartment owners. The real estate agents will be happy to rent you an apartment for $700.00 a month or more. You will need to go around the neighborhoods and look for signs or give the gate guard 50q to tell you who might be renting or looking for a house sitter. As for hotel reservations you are not planning to stay at the hotel santa domingo dont worry about a reservation all the hotels are empty in september. you can get a backpacker or budget hotel room and move up.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 21:43:16 +0000