I didn't find Nicaragua driving to be bad by Latin American standards...not even as bad as Mexico, certainly much better than Venezuela...actually, even by US standards the driving wasn't so bad, we're not exactly poster children for defensive driving, at least not in beautiful New England...
Welcome to Manila.. "Manila can be “chaotic and spiritual, dirty and divine, gritty and gorgeous all at once.†And if nobody can recognize the city’s splendor and poetry, “you will never find it anywhere." -Celdran
But there are countries that are worse than others. By corollary, this means that there are some countries that are better than others.
What do you mean by "American"? The word "American" has indeed changed in meaning. It used to mean American, as in "North American" (USA, Canada, Mexico).. But lately, the word has transformed into another meaning.. Usually it just refers to someone living in the United States (only) So it really depends on what you mean... Do you want to: a) Get out of North America b) Get out of the United States. And here are my answers: a) Spain, Australia b) Canada for sure. Canada is great.
PANAMA ROCKS! Live on the beach very cheap under 1000. No problems with high speed internet, phones (mobile and landline). 35 cents for a beer. Cigs. 10 a carton!
Whatever. Tell that to Eric Volz website http://www.friendsofericvolz.com/. The american locked up down there in Nicaragua after being tried in a kangaroo court. Ortega and company wouldn't catch me spending my dollars in the two-bit banana republic of Nicaragua.
they do hate americans and complain about the fact that Costa Ricans don´t like them. It´s kinda funny, now that I speak spanish, I hear ¨Nica jokes¨ all over the place.
We're in Canterbury now. We just spent three days in a $500/night hotel a bit further North. The Internet was out for the first two days and none of the staff had the slightest clue what to do about it. The printer in the business center needed a new toner disposal cartridge. The old one filled up on 14 July and had not been replaced. The night porter wasn't. He just disappeared, leaving the hotel completely unstaffed after hours. So much for the brochure which promised 24hr room service. We turned in laundry to be cleaned and it was returned to us -- wadded up in the same plastic bag we sent it in. Not folded, just wadded up as if it were still dirty laundry. The door lock barely worked, requiring significant "fiddling" every time we wanted to enter the room. The toilet barely worked, requiring significant "fiddling" every time we had to use the toilet. $500/night buys you a lot less here than it does in the U.S. Next vacation, we're heading to Asia.
Need a real vacation? The Philippines might just be what you're looking for - cheap yet good local beer, friendly English-speaking people, Westernized culture with a touch of Asian exoticism, government allows businesses to incorporate in Panama and thus eliminate taxes for overseas income, first-class hotel accommodations and amenities cost less than $50/night, fresh food be it exotic or Western, Westernized shopping places, night parties reminiscent of Mardi Gras every night, drug peddlers and criminals don't kill foreigners for their money since they give them discounted wares and even more discounts for bulk purchases of regulated drugs and stolen goods, you can walk on dark streets in the middle of the night and not have a gun since you're gonna be offered a cheap local one anyway, and the IT industry is at par with both industrialized and hastily developing countries.