If you’ve ever made friends previously in your life, you can probably do it again in Nicaragua. The concept and rules to friendship aren’t that much different here. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, expatriates usually gravitate toward one another. If you make an effort, it won’t take long to network and meet other expats.

Learning Spanish will open a lot of social doors for you, and allow you to be invited into Nicaraguan society. Many Nicaraguans with a higher level of education already speak and/or understand English, ranging from survival language skills to highly developed conversational skills.

English is taught in a lot of high schools, and some wealthy Nicaraguans attend American academies, or Ave Maria College, a U.S.-accredited four-year university in San Marcos, where all the courses are taught in English. In addition, U.S. TV programming is available through cable, and most movies are released in English – so many Nicaraguans already have some English-language skills. As the English-speaking population grows, fueled by tourism, more and more young and professional Nicaraguans are learning the language.

Also, many wealthy Nicaraguans have family in the United States, and some have lived there previously themselves.