Nica Housing Survey Results

Here is a summary of the results of the Nicaragua Housing Survey that was run in January through February 2008. My brief analysis is below. You can also view the actual survey and the result table.

There were a total of 110 people that responded. While some didn't complete the survey I decided to include them in the report. Non-responses are indicated in the summary.

The first part of the survey was designed to determine who these potential new residents were and what their experience with the third world was.

The first question in this section asked how much time people had spent in Nicaragua in the last five years. A scary 44% said none with an additional 19% saying less than a month.

In the followup question, almost 55% said they had never lived in a third world country. The good news is that almost 40% said they had lived in a third world country for over a year.

Over 88% of the people were between the ages of 30 and 64 with almost equal numbers under 30 and over 64. Over 85% were male.

35% said they would be the only adult moving, most of the remainder said themself and their spouse or partner. Almost 80% said they would bring no children with them.

About 25% said they would consider a move "right now", an additional 27% within a year and 38% more in one to five years.

The following question was about why you would move offering a way to rate multiple choices. The first one asked if the move was for retirement. 35% said that wasn't important, an additional 29% said it was a major reason. Over half didn't see working remotely as a major issue but there were quite a few that clearly liked that option. There was no mode in the responses about weather change but many people ranked culture change as important or very important.

Over 70% said they lived in a private house with over 65% saying their living space was less than 2000 sq. ft. 38% lived near water, 22% in or near the mountains.

The next questions had to do with money. Liquid capital more or less had a mode in the $10-30 thousand choice but only about 50% came out in the $0-70 thousand range. The home equity question had answers splattered all over the place. When asked what percentage of your net worth you would be willing to invest in your home in Nicaragua, the clear mode was 10 to 35%.

Expected monthly income was somewhat interesting. 9% under $1000/mo, 32% between $1000 and $2000 and 18% in the $2000 to $3000 range. A whopping 16% said over $5000/month.

A multiple option question about where your income would come from actually didn't know where it would come from.

The "Would you like to learn Spanish?" question had a lot of favorable responses with less than 3% saying they only want to learn enough to get by. For desirable indoor activities, hanging out with friends, using a computer and reading came up pretty high with couch potato being at the bottom. For outdoor activities, doing something (hiking, fishing, surfing, ...) came out high with with golf on the bottom.

On the fears list, political stability showed about an equal division between concerned and not concerned. Access to health care showed most people with concern but not a critical concern. Distance from friends was also divided. Dealing with Spanish didn't seem to be a great concern.

Most people showed significant interest in volunteering their time in some way. Other "interests" were quite divided.

As for weather, the majority picked the 30C high choice. It looks like 20C high was a more popular alternative than 40C.

In reasons for moving to Nicaragua, most people assigned a high significants to "Love Nicaragua" and "want serenity". Few saw the decision as financial.

Most people see their new home as being a house on a lot or small average. While there were differences, it appeared that anything from "just a lot" to "turn-key" were possible options. The majority would purchase (rather than rent or get involved in a cooperative).

Preferences of living in a big city, the boonies or in between varied all over the place. People did say they eat at home most of the time but if they go out, healthy choices is a consideration. Beyond that, Vegetarian was of interest to a few, Vegan, Kosher and Special seemed to not be important.

Finally, the "test question" was "How do you envision your move?" In my opinion, 42% got the right answer which is "Move first, get bearings, then look for permanent option". The rest are currently looking for a realtor. :-)

Note that there are more things in the poll than what I covered here and more details. The complete poll results are located here. You can also view a copy of the original survey