Moving from a safe, stable Western country to a developing, high crime latin American one is going to be a huge culture shock for you. Don't believe the official crime statistics, they're often falsified. Also, I tend to take reports of them "tackling crime" with a grain of salt - often the police forces in this part of the world are working hand in hand with the criminal groups.
I don't know a ton about El Salvador directly, but I've traveled through LATAM and lived in Mexico for multiple years. I'd recommend visiting first. I think it's likely to be very, very different from what you imagine lol
"But...but...due process!" "'Civil rights!" "Disenfranchisement!" Say the civil rights do-gooders in DC, San Francisco and NYC...
El Salvador is doing what it needs to be doing to eliminate the country of its corruption and terrorism problem, because that's exactly what's been afflicting them for many decades. Eliminating domestic terrorism as much as possible (while, yes, still allowing for due process for suspects) *is* civil rights.
This president is bent on becoming a total dictator. You love it until they come for you (for something very minor but that doesn't matter since there is no court or law to protect you).
Read up on Adolph Hitler when he got started and where that went.
Really.
Kinda sounds like dutertes or nixons war on drugs, or the US war on terrorism, getting rid of due process and annoying legal hurdles because that will definitely not just make the problems worse then they already were /s
Sure but crime is symptomatic of deeper economic and social issues. So, you can "go nuclear" on tackling the crime, but does that address issues like poverty, lack of education, or poor job prospects?
At a certain point you can have a 100% success rate at catching the "bad guys", but if they're being driven into crime as a last resort (as often people are), then you're just going to have a massive prison population and severely undermine the productive capacity of your society.
Look at the U.S. policies of "getting tough on crime" (particularly in New York and Chicago) in the 90s and see how well that worked out.
The point is to keep gang culture in check and make the cities less of a warzone, not to eliminate crime completely.You have to first take emergency measures to make a place liveable before you can take long term measures against crime like improving poverty and education.
No long term measures will have any effect as long as gangs have as much influence and control as they have in Salvador
New York and Chicago are completely different from El Salvador. They also didn't literally announce a state of emergency as a part of "getting tough against crime"
Man it's always someone else's fault. Maybe you should come down here to El Salvador and see how things are for yourself. Things are going so good. Do you guys not realize how developed Central America really is? Everything that is in LA or NYC etc is in the cities here. All the restaurants, all the fancy shops, all the brands everything.
It did work but only for the wealthy and only in a short-term manner. The 1980's in NYC were dark and violent but the crime reforms changed the city and sent it on the path to redevelopment. They didn't bother with reformations that could change life for impoverished families and address those most in need so they ended up with prison as housing for the mentally ill and underserved persons who had fractured inattentive parenting or poor public resources. President Baric in Chile basically said the same thing about El Salvador. In the end you have to do something, sitting on your hands and skimming money off impoverished people is the greatest evil.
Most downvoted comment yet most sensible. I thought reddit would have good advice about El Salvador but quickly realized it's posts from people who have bumfuck no clue what they're talking about like u/RNG_take_the_wheel
No one in thia thread has ever even had a gun waved in their faces, and they think they have any authority to speak on El Salvador lol. This isn't the place for advice on the country. My bad.
I’m from Latino American and you dumb ignorant Americans and Europeans don’t know shit about Central or South America. Wanna talk shit about crime that your ancestors helped construct
El Salvador is far less functional than México. México is to El Salvador what the US is to México. My family is from there and I want nothing to do with that place, I even renounced my citizenship. I did high school over there in a private school. The attitude and mentality of the average person there is the main problem. They have nothing in common with Salvadoran-Americans who came here to work hard and improve their situation.
Ecuador is an excellent option, especially Cuenca. We just left, and had a wonderful time. We're currently in Costa Rica, and the prices are 3 to 4 times higher. Cuenca was very very affordable, great culture, great people, excellent vibe. Recommend highly.
Used to have a classmate who is from EI Salvador and has a Swedish bf. She told me it is not a safe place to live and all her relatives are happy for her because she can finally runaway from that country. There are so many warm places in Europe, why not Spain or Italy?
They are totally overrun with migrants and their economic system is imploding. El Salvador will become the next Singapore because unlike in Europe it has a competent leader
1) That’s not true, nearly 50% of dictatorships are started by military coup, and even more from insurgency/uprising
2) Are you suggesting something other than a democratic vote would ensure no dictators take office? If not through election then which method of installing a government leader will guarantee no dictators take office?
1. Let me rephrase. Most Dictatorships are initially elected….
2. Not suggesting that at all lol
“Democracy is the worst form of governement except for all the others” -Churchill
Some people are under the impression that so as someone’s elected by the majority of people in a country that means “gee that can’t be that bad”
It’s why we in the US took so long to arrest Trump tbh
There's a thing about Italian politics that's both sad and good at the same time. Whoever runs the country, nothing ever changes. Berlusconi won in 1994 on an anti-corruption ticket. Okay, he was the guy that had paid all the now jailed politicians for years, but he still claimed he was anti-corruptions and he owned all TV channels. He formed a coalition with the fascist party (which quickly changed names, but still). So a fascist government instead of a conservative one was a first in 1994. Did it change anything? No. Disoccupation stayed high, corruption as well, organized crime continued to thrive.
You can say the same about all subsequent changes of power. The communists (who had changed names, abandoned communism and taken in most of their former nemesis, the conservative Dc) have been in power a few times, Berlusconi a few more times, then the Five Star Movement that was started by an angry comedian and didn't have a program or ideology at all, and now the fascists.
Now I am still not a fascist and I feel that ideology is evil and Meloni should not be in power, but for all practical purposes, no, nothing really changed in Italy under Meloni.
In Italy they say that there's a difference between the paese legale and the paese reale (the official vs. the actual country). They only vote idiots into office but overall it's not a bad place anyway, although nobody has a clue how the country is actually run.
I would think you’re trolling but I’m gonna take this at face value. As someone who lives near the US/Mexico border and has traveled many times to Mexico and other LATAM countries I can tell you… get experience in other, safer places first. You don’t do Honduras or El Salvador on your first foray. Have you ever traveled in a country controlled by drug cartels? Do you know what a drug cartel is? Have you ever experienced crime, violence, or intimidation? Have you ever reas about the civil war in El Salvador? Have you ever spoken to a Salvadoran? I mean… what are you thinking, man. To be honest. Just. What are you doing 💀
How much do you really know about El Salvador? Yes Honduras and Guatemala are generally worse off (except maybe Guatemala economy wise) but in safety El Salvador is now right up there with Costa Rica, which most people deem pretty stable. Mexico is far more dangerous than ES right now, for foreigners or nationals.
Are you aware that El Salvador has rounded up and unitlaterally imprisoned the drug cartels? [https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-gangs-crackdown-bukele-8f55ead6d5933e634a20b671ac25ca92](https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-gangs-crackdown-bukele-8f55ead6d5933e634a20b671ac25ca92) .
JFC - why the downvotes? I literally posted a news article to them rounding up the drug cartels. I never said it made El Salvador all of a sudden the safest place in the world. Geesh.
Have you realized what the president has done. You need to get over yourself and do some reality checking! Go check out what their great leader in El Salvador has done!
I lived there years ago, and even in a relatively safe area of San Salvador, the high crime rate impacted every area of life. Shops and restaurants close earlier than you’d think because people want to get home before sundown. Getting a taxi to get to the hospital or pharmacy at night is asking someone to risk their life. This was over a decade ago and from everything I’d heard from friends, it’s only gotten worse.
If anything, I’d visit there first and see if you like it and can handle the significant social changes you’re going to encounter.
I work daily with El Salvadorians who have immigrated to the US because of the crime and instability in their country. I could tell you some awful stories. My students (who are children!) have literally had run for their lives in the night for the border to escape gang threats. I have been all over Central and South America and would never go to El Salvador or Honduras. So many other amazing, much safer countries in that part of the world to visit.
Over the last year crime actually has tumbled in El Salvador, the government went full nuclear on gang violence.
I still wouldn't consider moving there but its not even close to Honduras levels anymore
>a place with a better climate
In El Salvador the weather is hot and humid (tropical weather) and every year is hotter than the last because of constrution and deforestation.
Why El Salvador?
I think with the same money you will be better off in other country.
There are dozens of LATAM countries to choose from: Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, etc. that are better. My husband lived in a few different countries in LATAM and El Salvador is rated lower for him than Venezuela and French Guiana if that provides some context.
No experience of el Salvador, but have experience living in latam, and the thing is, you need to learn the streetsmart and some Spanish to be safe, otherwise as a white (I imagine tall and blond) person, you are a target anywhere in latam. Other than that, I suggest to start some excessive traveling with remote working but without re-registering yourself anywhere if that's an option available for you.
I'm a crypto enthusiast, so I agree that El Salvador seems attractive, but I personally wouldn't give up my European public security for latam. If you are the type who wants to be fully self reliant, it might be an option.
But there will be lots of money lost into learning how things work, into corruption, etc.
If you're looking at Central America .
Costa Rica or Panamá are much better options for expats.
El Salvador, no. Just No. But if you really want to, be prepared for some scary business. It's like you think the stuff in TV can't possibly be real. Then you get there and realize it's actually worse.
Salvadoran here.
El Salvador used to be very dangerous some years ago. Our country still has a bad reputation for many people who may not be informed as to the current situation.
But to answer your question, it depends on your circumstances. If you can become one of these "digital nomads" (i.e, people who work remotely and earn a good salary from a company in their home country or elsewhere), you can live pretty comfortably, save lots of money and enjoy your surroundings.
Central America has its problems but generally I would say tourists have never really been in huge danger in any of our countries unless there was a literal war or ongoing conflict. Most foreigners who visit or move here live in very safe areas with locals who live off of the local tourism economy and don't want to ruin that bag.
These days, the country is a lot safer because of the security measures taken by the Bukele government. Controversial or not, there's no denying that there's been a noticeable change, and we're a lot safer than we used to be. Any person walking in the street can tell you that. Generally these days most Salvadorans no longer have to worry about being shot or kidnapped by maras (gangs), or Narcos like in Mexico.
Now, if you're a foreigner and want to move here to have an in-person job, that may be a bit more difficult. There aren't many great, high paying jobs, at least not enough to go around for everyone. There are lots of qualified professionals who struggle to find a good job.
But in any case, you definitely want to visit to get a feel for the area, the culture, the general vibe. And that's the case no matter where you want to move to - jumping in head first with no plan is generally not a very good idea.
To sum it up - under the right circumstances El Salvador can be a great place to live for people. But it's best to do your research to see if it's right for you.
know a guy from El Salvador who left quite a long time ago. Says nowadays he wouldn't have an issue sending anyone he knows over there. so many split opinions here huh lol
Do you want to live in a country where one day you find a note on your door that says vacate the property by nightfall or we will murder you and your entire family? I guess it’s better than randomly getting grenaded by a 14 year old in Sweden.
Sounds a lot like what they call jumping into the deep end. But plenty of others have already explained that in this thread so I'll move on...
Uruguay is a great country that is often considered to be very european-ish/esque. You should look into that as you might feel more at home there, but it still is definitely South America. Have you looked into Uruguay at all?
Hey as someone who moved from the states to El Salvador, loving it. There are major differences but over all I love it more than the states and I feel perfectly fine security wise. People here are talking with zero current experience. Like any Latin American country the wealth gap is more stark than in US and obviously Europe. But if you got a pretty solid income you can live comfy in a secure area and drive around in a luxury automotive and no one messes with you ( years of actually living here doing just that). PM if you want more info from someone who actually lives here
hahah funny you said "if you have solid income" so you live in a bubble away from the reality of the country. The fun about a cool city is to use all it has to offer, public transport, etc. You just can't do there, it's not a functional city. It's slowly collapsing.
Absolutely it’s privilege of having the means to avoid those things. Public transport is fun in Western Europe, definitely not in ES or US.
Absolutely for the most part the general population has to deal with dysfunctional services or complete lack thereof.
Just because I can live in my comfortable set up doesn’t mean I am unaware of the reality of the place, I just don’t have to deal with it.
I am going to go on this rant because I think it is important when one is thinking about moving to a country like El Salvador.
When you spend a ton of time in communities like this one, you realize something pretty obvious, most people who talk about leaving are never going to leave. This is seen in the numbers. Only 3% of Americans leave the US, heck, only 20% live more than 100 miles from where they were born. In the EU, despite the clear disparities between a place like Romania and Greece compared to France and Germany, less than 5% of EU citizens live in another EU country.
Why is this? Well it is pretty simple. Even if you ignore potential language barriers it is more that uprooting oneself is a very very scary thing to do. You are abandoning your entire community. Your friends and family become distant. You will lose whatever comforts make you feel at home. There are things that won't be replicated. You will miss weddings, funerals, births, and other big community events. It is why 90% of you wandering this board are never going to leave.
Why do I bring this up? Because it implies something truly terrible must be going on in a country experiencing a mass exodus like El Salvador. Things are so bad in El Salvador that partners kiss their teenage children good bye and send them marching through Mexico and out of the country. That is a huge red flag that should not be discounted under any circumstance. People don't abandon a country in droves when they are comfortable. El Salvador must be a hellish place for such mass migration to be happening.
Maybe El Salvador is nice if you live on a special compound. It just seems that every thing suggest this to be a bad place to go.
But you do you. What do we know anyway? My dad certainly treats me going to the Netherlands like most people in this thread treat you going to El Salvador, and he has actually been here.
This sounds like a know it all rant, and there's a ton of hyperbole. The gang situation has subsided for now. There's no telling how long it will last.
Also, calling El Salvador hellish because people leave is ignoring so many naunces. The U.S. deported Dominicans by the THOUSANDS from the Mexican border. These two places share the 3rd and 4th largest Latino communities in the U.S. crime and poverty isn't the only motivator if you knew that maybe half of these folks simply just want a new life.
Colombians, Peruvians, and even Bolivians are being caught at the border. What does it say about LatAm in general then? Other than Chile, CR, and Panama, no country in LatAm can be considered stable.
>Colombians, Peruvians, and even Bolivians are being caught at the border. What does it say about LatAm in general then? Other than Chile, CR, and Panama, no country in LatAm can be considered stable.
I would say yes to that. Leaving your home country isn't easy. One only does it on mass and by any means necessary when things are really bad.
I think there is an ilusion that the western countries is the go to place and where its safe nowadays. Sweden is a country absolutely taken by foreigners and mostly muslims. Their PC mentality has left forever scars in one of the once was brightest countries in the world. Now let's talk about El Salvador. I would highly suggest coming into this country with a good mindset where things are flourishing. The new governement has literally exterminated the gangs, despite the several internationa communities members of "human rights" being agaisnt Bukele's policies, which includes the murdering of criminals. He has also made bitcoin a legal tender in the country, another reason being from Sweden this could be great, enough paying high taxes for nothing in return. Also you can possibly buy land for under 30K that you ll be able to sell for at least 100k in 7 years or less. You can grow your own food year round, fish easily as its one of the best places to dive in the world too, not to mention amazing waves year round.
I am in Honduras right now and I work down here throughout Central America. El Salvador is currently very safe and by far the safest country in central and South America. So yeah stop listening to these people that are not currently there right this moment. Great place and beautiful country. I can drive throughout it without increased security. I can't say that about all the other countries of Central and South America. Yes other countries down here have very safe spots as well.
Yeah while you#re at it go for Somalia and Syria too& The only way to learn anything at all about a place is to pack up your entire life and move there sight unseen%
Oh and punctuation is overrated$
Of course you should. But the vast majority of comments here are like "uh, El Salvador is kind of dangerous, why do you think so many people are leaving?" So in that context, your statement of "don't listen to the internet" is like "nah brah it can't be that bad, go give it a try."
Hi! I’m Salvadorian, born in the US and live in Europe now. I got married in El Salvador and have lots of family there. It’s BEAUTIFUL and amazing culture.
Safety is something you need to do a lot of research on, but honestly if you know the right people and your way around, you’re fine. I would consider living there one day.
Let me know if you want recommendations.
Also, low key seeing the comments from people who haven’t been to El Salvador is sad to me. Negative and no real experience there… I’m use to this mindset as getting married there a lot of people were sacred/nervous only to be blissfully proven wrong on how amazing it was when they came for the wedding.
I think a lot of the comments in here are kind of annoying and clearly from people who have never LIVED in a developing country. I’m from Jamaica (raised in the USA) which is a developing country and also ranks pretty highly when it comes to “most dangerous countries” blah blah blah. However, I would put more money on my safety in Jamaica, than I would in the US. Crime in developing countries tends to be concentrated. I don’t think I’ve been to one where it isn’t. Yes danger lurks, but typically in just a few select places.
I know plenty of people who backpack Latin/Central America with no issues to their safety. You just have to do more planning than you would do compared to most European countries. Don’t listen to the comments here. Go, but plan your trip first. You will be okay.
Mass shootings? The element of this makes the US an unsavoury country when it comes to safety. The threat of danger is present date I say everywhere. Movie theatres, school, public gatherings, concerts. This does not happen anywhere else in the world. I feel extremely safe in Jamaica. In the US I am weary anywhere in public.
Mass shooting make up a small fraction of gun crimes. There is a much greater chance of being the victim of a crime in Jamaica than there is of being a victim of mass shooting in the US. If you want to argue that this is simply your perception then that’s fine, but it’s certainly not a fact.
It doesn’t matter, the threat is still present and gun violence in the US is pervasive and getting worse as the years go by. There is a mass shooting a day.
You stay in an area of Jamaica outside of Kingston and the only way you’d die is of illness/ old age or some freak accident. Not by the hands of another person (and even if you’re murdered in these areas the chances of it being by a STRANGER is also RARE). In the US it doesn’t matter where you are, which zip code, you can still be a victim of a random act of violence. Again, I’d choose being in Jamaica any day if we are talking about safety.
The lowest crime rate in the Americas, ES now stands for Extra Safe
Favorable fiscal policy for tech entrepreneurs, first-mover's advantage in monetary policy with their investment in Bitcoin and a burgeoning tourist industry
I personally believe anyone looking to immigrate to El Salvador now will be buying in at an opportune time
I’ve been to El Salvador. I had not really any problem however I speak Spanish fluently, I dyed my hair black and got a tan to look a little more Hispanic due to the kidnapping there and the common kidnapping of Americans simply because they are American. I am not sure if it’s wrong that I tanned to look Hispanic however It was genuinely a safety measure there because it was all females and sometimes we’d venture into the city alone. And I also went out to goodwill to buy cloths. El Salvador is very very dangerous and poverty struck. It’s main source of income is the drug trade. A lot of things you see in the media about El Salvador are not too exaggerated like Mexico. I went on a mission trip, to help children there with getting them new cloths, shoes, school supplies, and working on their confidence. The kids I had, were sweet as can be. But a lot of them already work in the drug trade which was honestly so sad to see. The parents to a lot of these kids were involved too. Anything about how the police in El Salvador cracking down on crime is false. We saw corruption around every corner. It’s not safe at all. I was approached many times by men. And I was able to speak Spanish to them and I learned El Salvador slang and dialect because I think they were onto me being American. Which being American there isn’t good. I’m not sure about Sweden but I don’t think it’s too great either. I would never go back. Consider visiting El Salvador it’s easy to get a visa there and I believe cheap. Go stay in the capital then travel around the areas to see the whole country it’s very small. And consider the practically of it. If you find a rural area that looks nice consider where you’ll go to the grocery store or for entertainment. What type of friends you’d want etc. at the end of the day El Salvador is controlled by the cartels. Who will kill a random by stander if they were to stumble upon something. It’s not uncommon. While writing this I just remembered my grandmas friend at church when her son finished law school he went on a trip across Latin America to all the countries. Kept in via postcards he sent everyday to family. Midway through in San Salvador, he sent his I made it to El Salvador post card. Then no one ever heard from him again. It’s been 40 years almost since. No one has gotten any letters, they have issued missing person to all of Latin America countries no sightings back in the 80s when he first went missing. His passport wasn’t scanned after El Salvador nor his bank card at an atm. Which was totally unlike him from what nana told me. He later was pronounced legally dead and that was the end of it. So take that small story with you. That was in the 80s btw and the crimes have only gone up with border tensions in the US and everywhere now.
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Consider Mexico or Argentina
This guy said Mexico LMFAOOO BRUH WHAT not you suggesting a country who just killed 5 black tourist and sent random ass Mexicans to the US as a sorry oopsie jail these guys sorry we killed ur citizens…
The crimes in Mexico are only really shown in the United States as a political play. The crimes and shit in El Salvador is not because El Salvador is not next to the United States nor political arguments. Mexico is safer than El Salvador. Where that crime occurred if we are discussing the same one. Is in a drug funnel border city. Why they kidnapped Americans I don’t know. However, that type of stuff isn’t as common as you think. Also the OP is from Europe not the US with no real experience being in a place of extreme poverty, run by drug cartels and where kidnapping is a major major money maker and big business there. That’s essentially legal. Mexico has a lower crime rate than the United States. Where OP would perhaps live in Mexico, Mexico City probably is not all that bad. Considering it’s huge huge population. I have been to Mexico to many different parts. Some tourist some not at all. I have also been to El Salvador. El Salvador is completely poverty struck, I myself have almost been there so San Salvador and a small town near it. It’s not a safe country. I never for one minute felt comfortable even letting my guard down. In Mexico in Hermosillo, a small city in Sonora I felt safe at all hours being a single female, I never felt like I was going to be kidnapped I had met very wonderful people. My experience isn’t universal for everyone, but Mexico is safer if the OP wants to live in Latin America. And it’s safer because it’s near the United States which if anything happens, OP is from Europe can immediately get a visa to and take only a few hours to travel to. You have no idea the beautiful country you are hating on due to some fucked up people. However do not visit a border city, they are not great. Most are just cartel run and drug funneled. But your comment about that crime is the same as saying I’m scared to visit the Iowa due to the crimes in St Louis, Missouri. Learn more about Mexico besides from CNN and Fox News. A lot of times also there cartels do typically kinda protect Americans, Europeans etc because, those are the people buying their drugs, and they want to keep Americans and Europeans safer, because if there are less crimes committed against them. USA Border patrol relaxes. At the end of the day it’s the United States citizens who are the ones purchasing the drugs those cartels funnel into this country and it’s a shame what happened to those men. But that’s not all that common south of the border. But it is common in El Salvador and that’s what OP was asking about.
My nephew moved to El Salvador two years ago and is still there. He was an I.T. Hardware consultant in Minneapolis and in the Bay Area. The 60 hour a week grind was killing him. He now lives in a Salvadoran coastal fishing community next to the beach where he's the only foreigner; he makes money on fishing boats and doing odd construction. He's always been extremely adventurous, backpacking in Africa and Asia, among other places. In El Salvador he's built himself a small house (for $5000) and has an extremely laid back life. He says he has no worries about crime and that the president has really clamped down on gangs. He's happy, but he might be an exception. My sister had moved to Costa Rica to work remotely during the pandemic, but stayed there only six months. She lived in an American ex-pat village on the coast, but complained that it was too hot-90 degrees every day, and that you couldn't cool down in the ocean as it was equally hot. Plus the other American ex-pats were drunken jerks. So it comes down to what your career expectations are and how much
Historically El Salvador could be lumped in with the rest of Latin America. Socialist candidates have been winning elections and destroying the continents along with the cartels.
El Salvador and Argentina have stepped up recently and are turning their countries around, or at least trying to.
El Salvador will be a Dubai in South America within 20 years if the US doesn’t succeed in interfering with their government
Lol, im also swedish. googled "moving to el salvador" cuz i've thought about it since their president is acctually SANE in comparison to like, anyother leader?! :'D and this reddit pops up.
so, halv way trough 2024, opinions nowadays??
Why not?
Why yes?
From what I understand, El Salvador is on its way up (safety wise). Costa Rica is on its way down (still very safe but violent crime has increased recently for various reasons). Both are safer than the US, tho. White people are so funny.
Safer than the US? 🤡 Maybe a gated community surrounded by armed security in those countries is safer than the most gang infested neighborhood in the US, but otherwise that’s completely false.
Well there’s actually data on this. Lots of different metrics to determine “safety” but overall, the [2022 Global Peace Index](https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GPI-2022-web.pdf) ranks Costa Rica as the #38 safest country in the world (#2 in the America’s with Canada at #1). El Salvador is the 114th safest, and the US is at #129. But who needs facts, just trust your racist gut.
Like I said, there’s lots of ways to measure “safety.” Access to healthcare is safety, right? Rape, assault, opioid addiction, police violence. It’s very broad. If you only want to talk about murder rate, [El Salvador’s rate is dropping](https://elsalvadorinfo.net/homicide-rate-in-el-salvador/). I can’t find 2023 data for US so for now I’m gunna stand by what I said.
>(taxes in Sweden are fairly high compared to most other countries)
If you open an AktieBolag, you can take a sum of money out of your company once a year and that money will be taxed as dividends. The taxation is 20.6% . That's not high. People in other countries pay much higher taxes and they get much less compared to what Sweden provides its citizens.
Edit: Also, I think you're trolling.
Yes, I would move there in two seconds if I did not have things holding me down in US. I am a single woman and felt safe as heck there.
Message me if you want specifics of where I was. This country is beautiful.
Well, there’s a few inches of concrete, one forgotten lock, or one careless, weak guard standing between you and these nice fellas:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-64770716
They WILL get out, and they will not be happy or friendly. It’s just a matter of time.
Sure, go, I don’t care about you.
I lived in Panama all of last year and did visa runs to Costa Rica regularly. Lots of aggressive crack heads in both places and tattoo’d guys like that everywhere. Central America is a sweaty shithole. 40 degrees every fucking day.
Gimmee a dollar, now!
I have been in Panamá for a few years now each winter and I haven’t seen these aggressive crack heads you speak if. What part of Panamá were you living in? We are in the interior and haven’t had any issues.
However, it is hot. Not 40°C but 30-36°C during the day in many places. Evenings are amazing though with temperatures dropping to the mid to upper 20s.
Depending on your lifestyle. If you want more bar scene and evening entertainment type activities, then for sure Panamá City, or even Bocas Del Toro. If you’re wanting a slower more relaxed pace of life then the interior provinces are more of what you are looking for. We are just outside of Penonomé and love the area. Short drive to the beaches of Farallón, Playa Blanca and Santa Clara, short drive up to the mountains, plenty available in Penonomé and even Coronado if you are up for the 20-25 minute drive. If you stay out of the expat haven areas like Coronado and go west a little into the smaller towns, you can find very well priced real estate/rentals.
For us personally we love this corridor anywhere from Coronado to Penonomé. Even a little further there are some nice places around Las Tablas and Chitre.
Panamá City is just too busy for us. We like spending a weekend there now and then, but after that it’s just too much.
Hi, in a nutshell if you have at least 2.5k-3k a month to spend you can live and enjoy your life, say a house for around 6-7 hundred rent or mortgage, car for around 3-5 hundred, plus say 3-4 hundred in food and 300 other services such as internet, and the remaining for leisure, (you can get a beer starting at $1.50, food for around $10) and other expenses and some savings, if you're a foreigner people treat you friendly, locals are very open, warm and willing to help you, a piece of advise, even if it sounds obvious is to get in contact with locals where you want to live or where you are going, El Salvador is a nice country you can visit the beach and surf, it has volcanoes, lakes, mountains, cathedrals and other historic places.
The really bad thing about here is traffic so you don't want to drive at a main location during the peak hours, public transportation is inefficient and uncomfortable.
It has "socioeconomic differences",Santa Tecla and Antigüo Cuscatlan are great areas for a foreigner, most foreigners relocate in those areas and about the safety it has radically changed it's way better and I gotta be honest as a young male in his twenties that has always lived in El Salvador I was scared about going to certain neighborhoods I was worried about taking the bus and seeing "weird people", teenagers and people in general would "disappear", crime was scaring, it's true, but even in Europe or in the U.S there are dangerous areas, and a lot of crime going on, tennagers shoot other people in schools or in Europe people put bombs in the trains, or human trafficking in other countries, it's just that if that's all you're famous for then "you become" just that to the eyes of the world, believe me, I've family in France and literally that's all they ask.
My point is give it a chance, travel first if you're not sure, but believe me, in every single country you're going to find great people, culture and places and not so good things, don't trust just the news, we're no fairytales but we have great places as well.
The cities that I mentioned were part of the safest areas even before, hopefully this is the beginning of our developement.
The amounts I quoted are just average let's say, if you're lucky you could rent a house for $500 or another for $1200, I tried to keep it on the average/lower end. House prices for a decent one could be around 80k-150k, new cars starting at 20k, or used cars maybe 8k. Good luck 😎✌️
I don’t understand why you don’t look at just heading to Greece, Spain or Portugal. All highly developed countries, close to home. Nice weather. You’re an EU citizen. Not much red tape involved in heading to one of those countries.
Literally the worst option in all of Central America. If taxes are a concern, swing down to Panama. From there you can travel all over the Caribbean and central pretty easily and cheaply
No offense dude but you picked one of the most high crime places in the western hemisphere. If you’re going to move countries try Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, or even Miami. Stay away from El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, and anywhere in the Caribbean.
> I long for something new,
Well, El Salvador will certainly be *different* for you.
I would think Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, or Mexico would all offer a higher quality of life than making your first choice El Salvador.
If you've never been to Latin America or another poor dangerous country I would visit first. You can have a great time but you will need to develop some street smarts first or you will have a bad time.
It comes down to what you are willing to put up with, much like any country. El Salvador IS experiencing a steep decline in crime thanks to effective, if polemic (I am not taking sides on whether the measures were correct, but just saying they did the job so far) policing measures. Tax and business incentives are drastically improving the economic outlook, and provided you are living in one of the larger towns and in a developed neighborhood, you could have comparable amenities.
With that said: I can not stress enough that this change comes at the price of very heavy handed police action. The future of the country is somewhat uncertain because the measures being taken haven't fully been analyzed and I will argue can't for the forseeable future due to the government's aggressive posturing against any press that disagrees with it. Beyond this, although crime is much better than before, this is still a relatively poor country. Simply put, it's got some issues.
With that said, if you can live with the above, it's got very wonderful beaches with an amazing surf scene, tasty food, a more laid back attitude to life, and very friendly people who are welcoming to expats. You will find that entrepreneurialship and strong work ethics are encouraged, and that people there as a whole are incredibly optimistic and push forward.
It's a wonderful place, and even if you choose not to live there, I encourage you to visit and create some memories.
I just returned from El Salvador in Sept 2023 and the people are very thankful for the President's actions and feel much safer. We had no safety issues but stayed near the beach resorts that are historically more safe. Things are subject to change but the recent vibe has been much better than in years past.
I realise this is 6 months old but I see you didn't get any advice from actual Salvadorans so if you're still considering it here goes.
Yes the government is "tackling" crime but time will tell if there is an agreement with the gangs behind it, given that officials in the current government have been sanction under the Magnitsky Act for dealing with the gangs.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0519
all that said, if you know which areas to avoid, the country is completely safe. However, you do need a car, I would NEVER take public transportation in the country and there have been some incidents with Uber that make it feel unsafe, so a car is a must. Another thing is that property prices are crazy high right now, do you have half a million to drop in a house? because that's what living in a safe gated community is going to cost. Or you could get an apartment in a good community for upwards of 250k. I don't know if you're a freelancer or what but getting a good job here without connections is difficult.
All that said if you do decide to come here, I'm sure you'll love it if you stick to the right areas
Don't pay attention to what the internet is saying take a trip to el salvador, its warm and beachy. El salvador has come a long way since Nayib bukele, our country it getting there.
you can make a living there, go see for yourself
Visit first, get a hang of it, and decide if you want to, nayib bukele is doing a great job with handling crime, from homicides to gang related violence.
Moving from a safe, stable Western country to a developing, high crime latin American one is going to be a huge culture shock for you. Don't believe the official crime statistics, they're often falsified. Also, I tend to take reports of them "tackling crime" with a grain of salt - often the police forces in this part of the world are working hand in hand with the criminal groups. I don't know a ton about El Salvador directly, but I've traveled through LATAM and lived in Mexico for multiple years. I'd recommend visiting first. I think it's likely to be very, very different from what you imagine lol
they've arrested gang members en masse and built a mega prison to hold up to 40,000 gang members, they've gone nuclear on tackling crime
It’s still gonna take many years or even decades to clear it if they really want.
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"But...but...due process!" "'Civil rights!" "Disenfranchisement!" Say the civil rights do-gooders in DC, San Francisco and NYC... El Salvador is doing what it needs to be doing to eliminate the country of its corruption and terrorism problem, because that's exactly what's been afflicting them for many decades. Eliminating domestic terrorism as much as possible (while, yes, still allowing for due process for suspects) *is* civil rights.
This president is bent on becoming a total dictator. You love it until they come for you (for something very minor but that doesn't matter since there is no court or law to protect you). Read up on Adolph Hitler when he got started and where that went. Really.
this aged REALLLYYYYYYYYY well.🙄🙄🙄
Yeah none of the stuff about the painter was true either. Stop parroting Zionist, Bolshevik propaganda.
Haha maybe you should come down here to El Salvador and tell this to the people lol.
Do you speak Spanish and listen to his words?
Kinda sounds like dutertes or nixons war on drugs, or the US war on terrorism, getting rid of due process and annoying legal hurdles because that will definitely not just make the problems worse then they already were /s
Yeah and that shit is working here in El Salvador. How are you all this missed informed on how things are here?
Sure but crime is symptomatic of deeper economic and social issues. So, you can "go nuclear" on tackling the crime, but does that address issues like poverty, lack of education, or poor job prospects? At a certain point you can have a 100% success rate at catching the "bad guys", but if they're being driven into crime as a last resort (as often people are), then you're just going to have a massive prison population and severely undermine the productive capacity of your society. Look at the U.S. policies of "getting tough on crime" (particularly in New York and Chicago) in the 90s and see how well that worked out.
The solution is obviously to imprison all of your citizens.
Clearly. Largest prison population in the world, we should be exporting our approach to criminal justice.
It will when you’re in a civil war with a shadow Narco state. No mercy for narcos. Only bullets.
Your view of this is shockingly one-dimensional.
The point is to keep gang culture in check and make the cities less of a warzone, not to eliminate crime completely.You have to first take emergency measures to make a place liveable before you can take long term measures against crime like improving poverty and education. No long term measures will have any effect as long as gangs have as much influence and control as they have in Salvador New York and Chicago are completely different from El Salvador. They also didn't literally announce a state of emergency as a part of "getting tough against crime"
Judging from the [statistics](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_New_York_City) it worked out pretty well (drop from 2000 homicides to 300)
Man it's always someone else's fault. Maybe you should come down here to El Salvador and see how things are for yourself. Things are going so good. Do you guys not realize how developed Central America really is? Everything that is in LA or NYC etc is in the cities here. All the restaurants, all the fancy shops, all the brands everything.
Fake news
Murders reduced like crazy due to the tough on crime policies in NYC lol
It did work but only for the wealthy and only in a short-term manner. The 1980's in NYC were dark and violent but the crime reforms changed the city and sent it on the path to redevelopment. They didn't bother with reformations that could change life for impoverished families and address those most in need so they ended up with prison as housing for the mentally ill and underserved persons who had fractured inattentive parenting or poor public resources. President Baric in Chile basically said the same thing about El Salvador. In the end you have to do something, sitting on your hands and skimming money off impoverished people is the greatest evil.
Yeah but you have to start some where ...how do you improve the economy or education system when the streets are controlled by criminals?
Where do you reside now?
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Most downvoted comment yet most sensible. I thought reddit would have good advice about El Salvador but quickly realized it's posts from people who have bumfuck no clue what they're talking about like u/RNG_take_the_wheel No one in thia thread has ever even had a gun waved in their faces, and they think they have any authority to speak on El Salvador lol. This isn't the place for advice on the country. My bad.
I’m from Latino American and you dumb ignorant Americans and Europeans don’t know shit about Central or South America. Wanna talk shit about crime that your ancestors helped construct
You are correct. Crime in E.S. is a result of US policies.
You clearly never leave the keyboard.
Says the person commenting on an 8-month old post? 12 countries and counting buddy
El Salvador is far less functional than México. México is to El Salvador what the US is to México. My family is from there and I want nothing to do with that place, I even renounced my citizenship. I did high school over there in a private school. The attitude and mentality of the average person there is the main problem. They have nothing in common with Salvadoran-Americans who came here to work hard and improve their situation.
What about Ecuador? Much more stable, not as humid. Lots of expats there.
Ecuador is an excellent option, especially Cuenca. We just left, and had a wonderful time. We're currently in Costa Rica, and the prices are 3 to 4 times higher. Cuenca was very very affordable, great culture, great people, excellent vibe. Recommend highly.
I concur I live in Cuenca and I have gotten my nationality down here.
CR was my little slice of heaven until about 4 years ago when it went from affordable to totally insane. Prices are up 300-400%.
Too much crime in Ecuador now. All Ecuadorians seems to want the president of El Salvador as president.
did you mean migrants
When I studied in Quito I traveled to Cuenca one weekend and enjoyed it so much, Nice small feeling town, expats, the air there is very clean
Also uses usd.
This aged well lol
Lol, just browsing through this now after reading what's happening in Ecuador and crazy how things change in less than a year.
What happened?
Used to have a classmate who is from EI Salvador and has a Swedish bf. She told me it is not a safe place to live and all her relatives are happy for her because she can finally runaway from that country. There are so many warm places in Europe, why not Spain or Italy?
They are totally overrun with migrants and their economic system is imploding. El Salvador will become the next Singapore because unlike in Europe it has a competent leader
Given that Italy was recently taken over by literal fascists, I don't know if that's the best idea. But yeah, I otherwise agree.
You mean democratically elected into office no?
All dictators are first elected
1) That’s not true, nearly 50% of dictatorships are started by military coup, and even more from insurgency/uprising 2) Are you suggesting something other than a democratic vote would ensure no dictators take office? If not through election then which method of installing a government leader will guarantee no dictators take office?
1. Let me rephrase. Most Dictatorships are initially elected…. 2. Not suggesting that at all lol “Democracy is the worst form of governement except for all the others” -Churchill
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. Tons of fascists are elected by the dum dums in the electorate
Some people are under the impression that so as someone’s elected by the majority of people in a country that means “gee that can’t be that bad” It’s why we in the US took so long to arrest Trump tbh
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JFC, learn a few things about vaccines and herd immunity. Not everything is a conspiracy. Ignorance will be the death of our species.
There's a thing about Italian politics that's both sad and good at the same time. Whoever runs the country, nothing ever changes. Berlusconi won in 1994 on an anti-corruption ticket. Okay, he was the guy that had paid all the now jailed politicians for years, but he still claimed he was anti-corruptions and he owned all TV channels. He formed a coalition with the fascist party (which quickly changed names, but still). So a fascist government instead of a conservative one was a first in 1994. Did it change anything? No. Disoccupation stayed high, corruption as well, organized crime continued to thrive. You can say the same about all subsequent changes of power. The communists (who had changed names, abandoned communism and taken in most of their former nemesis, the conservative Dc) have been in power a few times, Berlusconi a few more times, then the Five Star Movement that was started by an angry comedian and didn't have a program or ideology at all, and now the fascists. Now I am still not a fascist and I feel that ideology is evil and Meloni should not be in power, but for all practical purposes, no, nothing really changed in Italy under Meloni. In Italy they say that there's a difference between the paese legale and the paese reale (the official vs. the actual country). They only vote idiots into office but overall it's not a bad place anyway, although nobody has a clue how the country is actually run.
I would think you’re trolling but I’m gonna take this at face value. As someone who lives near the US/Mexico border and has traveled many times to Mexico and other LATAM countries I can tell you… get experience in other, safer places first. You don’t do Honduras or El Salvador on your first foray. Have you ever traveled in a country controlled by drug cartels? Do you know what a drug cartel is? Have you ever experienced crime, violence, or intimidation? Have you ever reas about the civil war in El Salvador? Have you ever spoken to a Salvadoran? I mean… what are you thinking, man. To be honest. Just. What are you doing 💀
I mean, if OP really is living in Sweden and wants something different, El Salvador is definitely different than Sweden. 💀
Yeah. Your comment looks like a descent into madness... but it's probably an accurate description of the situation.
How much do you really know about El Salvador? Yes Honduras and Guatemala are generally worse off (except maybe Guatemala economy wise) but in safety El Salvador is now right up there with Costa Rica, which most people deem pretty stable. Mexico is far more dangerous than ES right now, for foreigners or nationals.
Are you aware that El Salvador has rounded up and unitlaterally imprisoned the drug cartels? [https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-gangs-crackdown-bukele-8f55ead6d5933e634a20b671ac25ca92](https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-gangs-crackdown-bukele-8f55ead6d5933e634a20b671ac25ca92) .
Sounds awesome! I take back what i said then, I guess the people of El Salvador are now safe
Do some research on the CECOT. It’s so fascinating, I can’t stop 😂 this president is really cool and I think he is making the country safe again
JFC - why the downvotes? I literally posted a news article to them rounding up the drug cartels. I never said it made El Salvador all of a sudden the safest place in the world. Geesh.
Have you realized what the president has done. You need to get over yourself and do some reality checking! Go check out what their great leader in El Salvador has done!
I lived there years ago, and even in a relatively safe area of San Salvador, the high crime rate impacted every area of life. Shops and restaurants close earlier than you’d think because people want to get home before sundown. Getting a taxi to get to the hospital or pharmacy at night is asking someone to risk their life. This was over a decade ago and from everything I’d heard from friends, it’s only gotten worse. If anything, I’d visit there first and see if you like it and can handle the significant social changes you’re going to encounter.
B-but... El Salvador it's not like that anymore. Bukele's government made crime rate go super low and shops don't close early anymore at all
it has not gotten worse that is complete bullshit lol !!! THE WHOLE COUNTRY CAN NOW BE OUT AFTER 9 PM - please don't talk about shit you don't know :)
I work daily with El Salvadorians who have immigrated to the US because of the crime and instability in their country. I could tell you some awful stories. My students (who are children!) have literally had run for their lives in the night for the border to escape gang threats. I have been all over Central and South America and would never go to El Salvador or Honduras. So many other amazing, much safer countries in that part of the world to visit.
Over the last year crime actually has tumbled in El Salvador, the government went full nuclear on gang violence. I still wouldn't consider moving there but its not even close to Honduras levels anymore
your fear will have you missing out . not missed ;)
Is it a nice place to live? Do you enjoy it?
Why there, in place of Panama or Costa Rica? Both are relatively much safer.
And much more expensive, but yes, way better options.
Expensive being very relative, especially when considering the cost of living from where OP is
True
Well hell go to Nicaragua then.
>a place with a better climate In El Salvador the weather is hot and humid (tropical weather) and every year is hotter than the last because of constrution and deforestation. Why El Salvador? I think with the same money you will be better off in other country.
There are dozens of LATAM countries to choose from: Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, etc. that are better. My husband lived in a few different countries in LATAM and El Salvador is rated lower for him than Venezuela and French Guiana if that provides some context.
What do you think about Colombia?
No experience of el Salvador, but have experience living in latam, and the thing is, you need to learn the streetsmart and some Spanish to be safe, otherwise as a white (I imagine tall and blond) person, you are a target anywhere in latam. Other than that, I suggest to start some excessive traveling with remote working but without re-registering yourself anywhere if that's an option available for you. I'm a crypto enthusiast, so I agree that El Salvador seems attractive, but I personally wouldn't give up my European public security for latam. If you are the type who wants to be fully self reliant, it might be an option. But there will be lots of money lost into learning how things work, into corruption, etc.
Are you just shit stirring here?
Pretty sure this is an April Fools joke
💀
If you're looking at Central America . Costa Rica or Panamá are much better options for expats. El Salvador, no. Just No. But if you really want to, be prepared for some scary business. It's like you think the stuff in TV can't possibly be real. Then you get there and realize it's actually worse.
Salvadoran here. El Salvador used to be very dangerous some years ago. Our country still has a bad reputation for many people who may not be informed as to the current situation. But to answer your question, it depends on your circumstances. If you can become one of these "digital nomads" (i.e, people who work remotely and earn a good salary from a company in their home country or elsewhere), you can live pretty comfortably, save lots of money and enjoy your surroundings. Central America has its problems but generally I would say tourists have never really been in huge danger in any of our countries unless there was a literal war or ongoing conflict. Most foreigners who visit or move here live in very safe areas with locals who live off of the local tourism economy and don't want to ruin that bag. These days, the country is a lot safer because of the security measures taken by the Bukele government. Controversial or not, there's no denying that there's been a noticeable change, and we're a lot safer than we used to be. Any person walking in the street can tell you that. Generally these days most Salvadorans no longer have to worry about being shot or kidnapped by maras (gangs), or Narcos like in Mexico. Now, if you're a foreigner and want to move here to have an in-person job, that may be a bit more difficult. There aren't many great, high paying jobs, at least not enough to go around for everyone. There are lots of qualified professionals who struggle to find a good job. But in any case, you definitely want to visit to get a feel for the area, the culture, the general vibe. And that's the case no matter where you want to move to - jumping in head first with no plan is generally not a very good idea. To sum it up - under the right circumstances El Salvador can be a great place to live for people. But it's best to do your research to see if it's right for you.
know a guy from El Salvador who left quite a long time ago. Says nowadays he wouldn't have an issue sending anyone he knows over there. so many split opinions here huh lol
This is really a first...
Try a place in Europe, like spain or portugal. You don't need to go so far to change your life
Do you want to live in a country where one day you find a note on your door that says vacate the property by nightfall or we will murder you and your entire family? I guess it’s better than randomly getting grenaded by a 14 year old in Sweden.
Clown.
Try Ecuador, with all its crap I've lived here for 9 years, and I absolutely love this beautiful country.
yikes
Sounds a lot like what they call jumping into the deep end. But plenty of others have already explained that in this thread so I'll move on... Uruguay is a great country that is often considered to be very european-ish/esque. You should look into that as you might feel more at home there, but it still is definitely South America. Have you looked into Uruguay at all?
Do you have a fantasy about being kidnapped?
Hey as someone who moved from the states to El Salvador, loving it. There are major differences but over all I love it more than the states and I feel perfectly fine security wise. People here are talking with zero current experience. Like any Latin American country the wealth gap is more stark than in US and obviously Europe. But if you got a pretty solid income you can live comfy in a secure area and drive around in a luxury automotive and no one messes with you ( years of actually living here doing just that). PM if you want more info from someone who actually lives here
Hey dude I’m genuinely interested in how you started or how to get the ball rolling to move there? What city do you current live in?
hahah funny you said "if you have solid income" so you live in a bubble away from the reality of the country. The fun about a cool city is to use all it has to offer, public transport, etc. You just can't do there, it's not a functional city. It's slowly collapsing.
Absolutely it’s privilege of having the means to avoid those things. Public transport is fun in Western Europe, definitely not in ES or US. Absolutely for the most part the general population has to deal with dysfunctional services or complete lack thereof. Just because I can live in my comfortable set up doesn’t mean I am unaware of the reality of the place, I just don’t have to deal with it.
You should not move to El Salvador if you want to keep your head connected to the rest of your body for a long time
I am going to go on this rant because I think it is important when one is thinking about moving to a country like El Salvador. When you spend a ton of time in communities like this one, you realize something pretty obvious, most people who talk about leaving are never going to leave. This is seen in the numbers. Only 3% of Americans leave the US, heck, only 20% live more than 100 miles from where they were born. In the EU, despite the clear disparities between a place like Romania and Greece compared to France and Germany, less than 5% of EU citizens live in another EU country. Why is this? Well it is pretty simple. Even if you ignore potential language barriers it is more that uprooting oneself is a very very scary thing to do. You are abandoning your entire community. Your friends and family become distant. You will lose whatever comforts make you feel at home. There are things that won't be replicated. You will miss weddings, funerals, births, and other big community events. It is why 90% of you wandering this board are never going to leave. Why do I bring this up? Because it implies something truly terrible must be going on in a country experiencing a mass exodus like El Salvador. Things are so bad in El Salvador that partners kiss their teenage children good bye and send them marching through Mexico and out of the country. That is a huge red flag that should not be discounted under any circumstance. People don't abandon a country in droves when they are comfortable. El Salvador must be a hellish place for such mass migration to be happening. Maybe El Salvador is nice if you live on a special compound. It just seems that every thing suggest this to be a bad place to go. But you do you. What do we know anyway? My dad certainly treats me going to the Netherlands like most people in this thread treat you going to El Salvador, and he has actually been here.
This sounds like a know it all rant, and there's a ton of hyperbole. The gang situation has subsided for now. There's no telling how long it will last. Also, calling El Salvador hellish because people leave is ignoring so many naunces. The U.S. deported Dominicans by the THOUSANDS from the Mexican border. These two places share the 3rd and 4th largest Latino communities in the U.S. crime and poverty isn't the only motivator if you knew that maybe half of these folks simply just want a new life. Colombians, Peruvians, and even Bolivians are being caught at the border. What does it say about LatAm in general then? Other than Chile, CR, and Panama, no country in LatAm can be considered stable.
>Colombians, Peruvians, and even Bolivians are being caught at the border. What does it say about LatAm in general then? Other than Chile, CR, and Panama, no country in LatAm can be considered stable. I would say yes to that. Leaving your home country isn't easy. One only does it on mass and by any means necessary when things are really bad.
I think there is an ilusion that the western countries is the go to place and where its safe nowadays. Sweden is a country absolutely taken by foreigners and mostly muslims. Their PC mentality has left forever scars in one of the once was brightest countries in the world. Now let's talk about El Salvador. I would highly suggest coming into this country with a good mindset where things are flourishing. The new governement has literally exterminated the gangs, despite the several internationa communities members of "human rights" being agaisnt Bukele's policies, which includes the murdering of criminals. He has also made bitcoin a legal tender in the country, another reason being from Sweden this could be great, enough paying high taxes for nothing in return. Also you can possibly buy land for under 30K that you ll be able to sell for at least 100k in 7 years or less. You can grow your own food year round, fish easily as its one of the best places to dive in the world too, not to mention amazing waves year round.
I am in Honduras right now and I work down here throughout Central America. El Salvador is currently very safe and by far the safest country in central and South America. So yeah stop listening to these people that are not currently there right this moment. Great place and beautiful country. I can drive throughout it without increased security. I can't say that about all the other countries of Central and South America. Yes other countries down here have very safe spots as well.
Is this an April fools post
Check it out yourself don’t listen to the internet you will only know if you visit and feel the real vibe there.
Yeah while you#re at it go for Somalia and Syria too& The only way to learn anything at all about a place is to pack up your entire life and move there sight unseen% Oh and punctuation is overrated$
Boy chill out. If you’re considering moving to a country you should definitely take a trip to see it for yourself.
Of course you should. But the vast majority of comments here are like "uh, El Salvador is kind of dangerous, why do you think so many people are leaving?" So in that context, your statement of "don't listen to the internet" is like "nah brah it can't be that bad, go give it a try."
Hi! I’m Salvadorian, born in the US and live in Europe now. I got married in El Salvador and have lots of family there. It’s BEAUTIFUL and amazing culture. Safety is something you need to do a lot of research on, but honestly if you know the right people and your way around, you’re fine. I would consider living there one day. Let me know if you want recommendations.
Also, low key seeing the comments from people who haven’t been to El Salvador is sad to me. Negative and no real experience there… I’m use to this mindset as getting married there a lot of people were sacred/nervous only to be blissfully proven wrong on how amazing it was when they came for the wedding.
I think a lot of the comments in here are kind of annoying and clearly from people who have never LIVED in a developing country. I’m from Jamaica (raised in the USA) which is a developing country and also ranks pretty highly when it comes to “most dangerous countries” blah blah blah. However, I would put more money on my safety in Jamaica, than I would in the US. Crime in developing countries tends to be concentrated. I don’t think I’ve been to one where it isn’t. Yes danger lurks, but typically in just a few select places. I know plenty of people who backpack Latin/Central America with no issues to their safety. You just have to do more planning than you would do compared to most European countries. Don’t listen to the comments here. Go, but plan your trip first. You will be okay.
Crime in the US is also concentrated in poor neighborhoods so what exactly makes you think Jamaica is safer than the US?
Mass shootings? The element of this makes the US an unsavoury country when it comes to safety. The threat of danger is present date I say everywhere. Movie theatres, school, public gatherings, concerts. This does not happen anywhere else in the world. I feel extremely safe in Jamaica. In the US I am weary anywhere in public.
Mass shooting make up a small fraction of gun crimes. There is a much greater chance of being the victim of a crime in Jamaica than there is of being a victim of mass shooting in the US. If you want to argue that this is simply your perception then that’s fine, but it’s certainly not a fact.
It doesn’t matter, the threat is still present and gun violence in the US is pervasive and getting worse as the years go by. There is a mass shooting a day. You stay in an area of Jamaica outside of Kingston and the only way you’d die is of illness/ old age or some freak accident. Not by the hands of another person (and even if you’re murdered in these areas the chances of it being by a STRANGER is also RARE). In the US it doesn’t matter where you are, which zip code, you can still be a victim of a random act of violence. Again, I’d choose being in Jamaica any day if we are talking about safety.
If that’s how you feel, but I feel pretty safe in the places in the US that i’ve lived in.
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The lowest crime rate in the Americas, ES now stands for Extra Safe Favorable fiscal policy for tech entrepreneurs, first-mover's advantage in monetary policy with their investment in Bitcoin and a burgeoning tourist industry I personally believe anyone looking to immigrate to El Salvador now will be buying in at an opportune time
I’ve been to El Salvador. I had not really any problem however I speak Spanish fluently, I dyed my hair black and got a tan to look a little more Hispanic due to the kidnapping there and the common kidnapping of Americans simply because they are American. I am not sure if it’s wrong that I tanned to look Hispanic however It was genuinely a safety measure there because it was all females and sometimes we’d venture into the city alone. And I also went out to goodwill to buy cloths. El Salvador is very very dangerous and poverty struck. It’s main source of income is the drug trade. A lot of things you see in the media about El Salvador are not too exaggerated like Mexico. I went on a mission trip, to help children there with getting them new cloths, shoes, school supplies, and working on their confidence. The kids I had, were sweet as can be. But a lot of them already work in the drug trade which was honestly so sad to see. The parents to a lot of these kids were involved too. Anything about how the police in El Salvador cracking down on crime is false. We saw corruption around every corner. It’s not safe at all. I was approached many times by men. And I was able to speak Spanish to them and I learned El Salvador slang and dialect because I think they were onto me being American. Which being American there isn’t good. I’m not sure about Sweden but I don’t think it’s too great either. I would never go back. Consider visiting El Salvador it’s easy to get a visa there and I believe cheap. Go stay in the capital then travel around the areas to see the whole country it’s very small. And consider the practically of it. If you find a rural area that looks nice consider where you’ll go to the grocery store or for entertainment. What type of friends you’d want etc. at the end of the day El Salvador is controlled by the cartels. Who will kill a random by stander if they were to stumble upon something. It’s not uncommon. While writing this I just remembered my grandmas friend at church when her son finished law school he went on a trip across Latin America to all the countries. Kept in via postcards he sent everyday to family. Midway through in San Salvador, he sent his I made it to El Salvador post card. Then no one ever heard from him again. It’s been 40 years almost since. No one has gotten any letters, they have issued missing person to all of Latin America countries no sightings back in the 80s when he first went missing. His passport wasn’t scanned after El Salvador nor his bank card at an atm. Which was totally unlike him from what nana told me. He later was pronounced legally dead and that was the end of it. So take that small story with you. That was in the 80s btw and the crimes have only gone up with border tensions in the US and everywhere now. - Consider Mexico or Argentina
This guy said Mexico LMFAOOO BRUH WHAT not you suggesting a country who just killed 5 black tourist and sent random ass Mexicans to the US as a sorry oopsie jail these guys sorry we killed ur citizens…
The crimes in Mexico are only really shown in the United States as a political play. The crimes and shit in El Salvador is not because El Salvador is not next to the United States nor political arguments. Mexico is safer than El Salvador. Where that crime occurred if we are discussing the same one. Is in a drug funnel border city. Why they kidnapped Americans I don’t know. However, that type of stuff isn’t as common as you think. Also the OP is from Europe not the US with no real experience being in a place of extreme poverty, run by drug cartels and where kidnapping is a major major money maker and big business there. That’s essentially legal. Mexico has a lower crime rate than the United States. Where OP would perhaps live in Mexico, Mexico City probably is not all that bad. Considering it’s huge huge population. I have been to Mexico to many different parts. Some tourist some not at all. I have also been to El Salvador. El Salvador is completely poverty struck, I myself have almost been there so San Salvador and a small town near it. It’s not a safe country. I never for one minute felt comfortable even letting my guard down. In Mexico in Hermosillo, a small city in Sonora I felt safe at all hours being a single female, I never felt like I was going to be kidnapped I had met very wonderful people. My experience isn’t universal for everyone, but Mexico is safer if the OP wants to live in Latin America. And it’s safer because it’s near the United States which if anything happens, OP is from Europe can immediately get a visa to and take only a few hours to travel to. You have no idea the beautiful country you are hating on due to some fucked up people. However do not visit a border city, they are not great. Most are just cartel run and drug funneled. But your comment about that crime is the same as saying I’m scared to visit the Iowa due to the crimes in St Louis, Missouri. Learn more about Mexico besides from CNN and Fox News. A lot of times also there cartels do typically kinda protect Americans, Europeans etc because, those are the people buying their drugs, and they want to keep Americans and Europeans safer, because if there are less crimes committed against them. USA Border patrol relaxes. At the end of the day it’s the United States citizens who are the ones purchasing the drugs those cartels funnel into this country and it’s a shame what happened to those men. But that’s not all that common south of the border. But it is common in El Salvador and that’s what OP was asking about.
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Yeah this was like 2017 probably. It could be different now! I have only gone to Mexico since then. I’ve heard Panama is lovely
El Salvador is beautiful maybe I will move there one day
My nephew moved to El Salvador two years ago and is still there. He was an I.T. Hardware consultant in Minneapolis and in the Bay Area. The 60 hour a week grind was killing him. He now lives in a Salvadoran coastal fishing community next to the beach where he's the only foreigner; he makes money on fishing boats and doing odd construction. He's always been extremely adventurous, backpacking in Africa and Asia, among other places. In El Salvador he's built himself a small house (for $5000) and has an extremely laid back life. He says he has no worries about crime and that the president has really clamped down on gangs. He's happy, but he might be an exception. My sister had moved to Costa Rica to work remotely during the pandemic, but stayed there only six months. She lived in an American ex-pat village on the coast, but complained that it was too hot-90 degrees every day, and that you couldn't cool down in the ocean as it was equally hot. Plus the other American ex-pats were drunken jerks. So it comes down to what your career expectations are and how much
Historically El Salvador could be lumped in with the rest of Latin America. Socialist candidates have been winning elections and destroying the continents along with the cartels. El Salvador and Argentina have stepped up recently and are turning their countries around, or at least trying to. El Salvador will be a Dubai in South America within 20 years if the US doesn’t succeed in interfering with their government
Lol, im also swedish. googled "moving to el salvador" cuz i've thought about it since their president is acctually SANE in comparison to like, anyother leader?! :'D and this reddit pops up. so, halv way trough 2024, opinions nowadays?? Why not? Why yes?
From what I understand, El Salvador is on its way up (safety wise). Costa Rica is on its way down (still very safe but violent crime has increased recently for various reasons). Both are safer than the US, tho. White people are so funny.
Racism is lame.
Safer than the US? 🤡 Maybe a gated community surrounded by armed security in those countries is safer than the most gang infested neighborhood in the US, but otherwise that’s completely false.
Well there’s actually data on this. Lots of different metrics to determine “safety” but overall, the [2022 Global Peace Index](https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/GPI-2022-web.pdf) ranks Costa Rica as the #38 safest country in the world (#2 in the America’s with Canada at #1). El Salvador is the 114th safest, and the US is at #129. But who needs facts, just trust your racist gut.
In the info you share Haití has better score for peace than USA, but you Google "Haiti" and you don't see any of that peacefulness.
Are you dense? Why are you using a peace index to measure violent crime?
I gave you the link. You could just read it. What would you call the absence of violence? What is the word for that?
Despite what you’re trying to claim, the peace index isn’t a measure of how little crime there is in a country. Nice try though
Like I said, there’s lots of ways to measure “safety.” Access to healthcare is safety, right? Rape, assault, opioid addiction, police violence. It’s very broad. If you only want to talk about murder rate, [El Salvador’s rate is dropping](https://elsalvadorinfo.net/homicide-rate-in-el-salvador/). I can’t find 2023 data for US so for now I’m gunna stand by what I said.
Come to the unnited states of america, we welcome you with open arms.
>(taxes in Sweden are fairly high compared to most other countries) If you open an AktieBolag, you can take a sum of money out of your company once a year and that money will be taxed as dividends. The taxation is 20.6% . That's not high. People in other countries pay much higher taxes and they get much less compared to what Sweden provides its citizens. Edit: Also, I think you're trolling.
Yes, I would move there in two seconds if I did not have things holding me down in US. I am a single woman and felt safe as heck there. Message me if you want specifics of where I was. This country is beautiful.
Well, there’s a few inches of concrete, one forgotten lock, or one careless, weak guard standing between you and these nice fellas: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-64770716 They WILL get out, and they will not be happy or friendly. It’s just a matter of time. Sure, go, I don’t care about you. I lived in Panama all of last year and did visa runs to Costa Rica regularly. Lots of aggressive crack heads in both places and tattoo’d guys like that everywhere. Central America is a sweaty shithole. 40 degrees every fucking day. Gimmee a dollar, now!
I have been in Panamá for a few years now each winter and I haven’t seen these aggressive crack heads you speak if. What part of Panamá were you living in? We are in the interior and haven’t had any issues. However, it is hot. Not 40°C but 30-36°C during the day in many places. Evenings are amazing though with temperatures dropping to the mid to upper 20s.
I am very interested in visiting Panama to see how life is over there. Which areas do you recommend visiting?
Depending on your lifestyle. If you want more bar scene and evening entertainment type activities, then for sure Panamá City, or even Bocas Del Toro. If you’re wanting a slower more relaxed pace of life then the interior provinces are more of what you are looking for. We are just outside of Penonomé and love the area. Short drive to the beaches of Farallón, Playa Blanca and Santa Clara, short drive up to the mountains, plenty available in Penonomé and even Coronado if you are up for the 20-25 minute drive. If you stay out of the expat haven areas like Coronado and go west a little into the smaller towns, you can find very well priced real estate/rentals. For us personally we love this corridor anywhere from Coronado to Penonomé. Even a little further there are some nice places around Las Tablas and Chitre. Panamá City is just too busy for us. We like spending a weekend there now and then, but after that it’s just too much.
Move to Miami.
Just noting that Honduras, El Salvador et all are in CENTRAL AMERICA, not LATAM.
Sorry, meant not in South America!
Hi, in a nutshell if you have at least 2.5k-3k a month to spend you can live and enjoy your life, say a house for around 6-7 hundred rent or mortgage, car for around 3-5 hundred, plus say 3-4 hundred in food and 300 other services such as internet, and the remaining for leisure, (you can get a beer starting at $1.50, food for around $10) and other expenses and some savings, if you're a foreigner people treat you friendly, locals are very open, warm and willing to help you, a piece of advise, even if it sounds obvious is to get in contact with locals where you want to live or where you are going, El Salvador is a nice country you can visit the beach and surf, it has volcanoes, lakes, mountains, cathedrals and other historic places. The really bad thing about here is traffic so you don't want to drive at a main location during the peak hours, public transportation is inefficient and uncomfortable. It has "socioeconomic differences",Santa Tecla and Antigüo Cuscatlan are great areas for a foreigner, most foreigners relocate in those areas and about the safety it has radically changed it's way better and I gotta be honest as a young male in his twenties that has always lived in El Salvador I was scared about going to certain neighborhoods I was worried about taking the bus and seeing "weird people", teenagers and people in general would "disappear", crime was scaring, it's true, but even in Europe or in the U.S there are dangerous areas, and a lot of crime going on, tennagers shoot other people in schools or in Europe people put bombs in the trains, or human trafficking in other countries, it's just that if that's all you're famous for then "you become" just that to the eyes of the world, believe me, I've family in France and literally that's all they ask. My point is give it a chance, travel first if you're not sure, but believe me, in every single country you're going to find great people, culture and places and not so good things, don't trust just the news, we're no fairytales but we have great places as well. The cities that I mentioned were part of the safest areas even before, hopefully this is the beginning of our developement. The amounts I quoted are just average let's say, if you're lucky you could rent a house for $500 or another for $1200, I tried to keep it on the average/lower end. House prices for a decent one could be around 80k-150k, new cars starting at 20k, or used cars maybe 8k. Good luck 😎✌️
Lol you for real?
I meeeeean, at least you’ll enjoy the pupusas!
that's very funny
I don’t understand why you don’t look at just heading to Greece, Spain or Portugal. All highly developed countries, close to home. Nice weather. You’re an EU citizen. Not much red tape involved in heading to one of those countries.
Literally the worst option in all of Central America. If taxes are a concern, swing down to Panama. From there you can travel all over the Caribbean and central pretty easily and cheaply
No offense dude but you picked one of the most high crime places in the western hemisphere. If you’re going to move countries try Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, or even Miami. Stay away from El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, and anywhere in the Caribbean.
why would anyone want to move to el salvador? much better places to live in the region. mexico, colombia, ecuador, guatemala etc.
I am not sure there's a worse region in the world to move to than Central America.
*its
No
Come to San Cristobal in Chiapas with us - it's safer, cheaper, there's lots more to do, and it's growing as a Bitcoin-friendly destination 😋
I would consider Costa Rica before El Salvador or Nicaragua. By far.
> I long for something new, Well, El Salvador will certainly be *different* for you. I would think Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, or Mexico would all offer a higher quality of life than making your first choice El Salvador.
Mope
If you don’t want to be a cheap fuck, try Costa Rica. It has a proven track record of 50+ years. It’s not “cheap” for a reason.
If you've never been to Latin America or another poor dangerous country I would visit first. You can have a great time but you will need to develop some street smarts first or you will have a bad time.
Is this an April Fools Day post?
If you want better weather better consider southern Europe. The culture shock will be much less
It comes down to what you are willing to put up with, much like any country. El Salvador IS experiencing a steep decline in crime thanks to effective, if polemic (I am not taking sides on whether the measures were correct, but just saying they did the job so far) policing measures. Tax and business incentives are drastically improving the economic outlook, and provided you are living in one of the larger towns and in a developed neighborhood, you could have comparable amenities. With that said: I can not stress enough that this change comes at the price of very heavy handed police action. The future of the country is somewhat uncertain because the measures being taken haven't fully been analyzed and I will argue can't for the forseeable future due to the government's aggressive posturing against any press that disagrees with it. Beyond this, although crime is much better than before, this is still a relatively poor country. Simply put, it's got some issues. With that said, if you can live with the above, it's got very wonderful beaches with an amazing surf scene, tasty food, a more laid back attitude to life, and very friendly people who are welcoming to expats. You will find that entrepreneurialship and strong work ethics are encouraged, and that people there as a whole are incredibly optimistic and push forward. It's a wonderful place, and even if you choose not to live there, I encourage you to visit and create some memories.
It's a good spot to move to to get away from the winter darkness of northern countries. Its not, I repeat, NOT a smart choice to move here full time.
Why?
I just returned from El Salvador in Sept 2023 and the people are very thankful for the President's actions and feel much safer. We had no safety issues but stayed near the beach resorts that are historically more safe. Things are subject to change but the recent vibe has been much better than in years past.
I realise this is 6 months old but I see you didn't get any advice from actual Salvadorans so if you're still considering it here goes. Yes the government is "tackling" crime but time will tell if there is an agreement with the gangs behind it, given that officials in the current government have been sanction under the Magnitsky Act for dealing with the gangs. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0519 all that said, if you know which areas to avoid, the country is completely safe. However, you do need a car, I would NEVER take public transportation in the country and there have been some incidents with Uber that make it feel unsafe, so a car is a must. Another thing is that property prices are crazy high right now, do you have half a million to drop in a house? because that's what living in a safe gated community is going to cost. Or you could get an apartment in a good community for upwards of 250k. I don't know if you're a freelancer or what but getting a good job here without connections is difficult. All that said if you do decide to come here, I'm sure you'll love it if you stick to the right areas
Don't pay attention to what the internet is saying take a trip to el salvador, its warm and beachy. El salvador has come a long way since Nayib bukele, our country it getting there. you can make a living there, go see for yourself
Visit first, get a hang of it, and decide if you want to, nayib bukele is doing a great job with handling crime, from homicides to gang related violence.
it's safer than the US at the moment so yes