Funding Your Dream:

Better Than California
By Jason Holland

It just was a regular day for Jeremy. The 38-year-old worked in sales but because he was able to do his job online, he was clocked in from his California home.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a thought struck him: "I could do this from anywhere in the world."

The only things Jeremy needed to make his living were a reliable high-speed Internet connection and a comfortable home for his family. Plus, he already had plenty of overseas experience. He had lived briefly in Peru, Argentina, and Costa Rica and had traveled throughout Central America.

But he'd never been to Nicaragua—and that's where he set his sights.

In particular, Jeremy had his eye on the colonial city of Granada: "We had friends living here, so we thought that would make it easier," he explains. "We didn't take a scouting trip, but we had good people on the ground."

Still, Jeremy admits that it was a leap of faith. Moving with his entire family to a country he had never visited took guts.

That was three years ago...and he hasn't looked back.
There has even been a new addition to the family—a baby girl born a few months ago in a hospital in Managua, the country's capital. Jeremy reports that both mother and baby received top-notch medical care.

Life for the family is just better in Nicaragua.

Jeremy continues to work in sales remotely. He's an independent contractor for a Stateside manufacturer of drug testing products. His office is his laptop and business is done exclusively online through email and Skype.

But although he does the same job as he did in the States, Jeremy is more relaxed. The tranquilo vibe of Nicaragua has rubbed off on him. He can be found working in a local cafe in the courtyard of a restored colonial house as often as at home. Wireless is widespread in Granada so there are dozens of potential "offices" all over the city.

And his flexible schedule means plenty of time for hanging out with his growing family.

"Living abroad has allowed us to travel easily and cheaply," says Jeremy. "We spend a lot of time at the beach in San Juan del Sur or at beautiful locations near Granada like Laguna de Apoyo or Aguas Agrias. We could never travel within the States in the same way we do here."

For Jeremy and family, the move to Nicaragua came at the right time: "I just knew there was another way of living. The fast-paced life of North America really got to me," says Jeremy. "The amount of time you spend working and in transit...and there's no real community. Everybody's driving around in a bubble."

These days, Jeremy and his family are able to live comfortably on $2,000 a month, which includes $700 in rent for their restored colonial home and $200 in bills like utilities and Internet.

"We make enough to rent a nice home and put the girls in a good private school. It would've been a lot harder in California," says Jeremy. "My wife was working in the States. But the difference in the cost of living here means now, she doesn't have to."