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With a belly full of food from Elizabeth’s and a gallon jug of water in hand I set out for what would end up being a long, hot, sticky day.
Jon and Quinn took me to a few of the rental places that they had looked at when they first arrived in San Juan del Sur. Some of them were no longer available and none of them had wi-fi so we carried on up the road out of town to look at a few others.
Some of them were a little rough around the edges and once again none of them had wi-fi.
Jon and Quinn stopped at the Pali grocery store to grab a few things and I soldiered on with my mission.
Two hours, a gallon of water and a bucket of sweat later I arrived back at Elizabeth’s hostel with very little to show for my effort. I was physically drained — and to be totally honest, emotionally — drained as well.
On the up side, I did have a couple of appointments to look at rentals that were coming available over next few days, but nothing I had seen up until this point had made me very excited.
I realized that ambling around the streets without a plan was not working out so well, so I took the search tactical.
On day two I started at the street that runs parallel to the beach and walked to the end of the street, went up one block and walked all the way back. I continued this pattern until I had zig-zagged my way across every single street in San Juan del Sur.
By the end of the day I had found two apartments that would work, but neither of them felt right.
What to do?
Just commit to one of the places so I didn’t miss out? Or roll the dice and continue house hunting for one more day?
That night I went for a beer at my favorite bar – Republika – to visit with the owner and friend Cory.
Cory works at the Remax Real Estate office here in town so I asked him if he had an inside scoop on any rentals not on the tourist trail. He promised to look into a few places for me the next day, but also mentioned a place he just noticed that afternoon.
I have no idea now I missed it because it was not more than fifty meters from where I laid my head at night. Maybe the rental sign wasn’t up when I walked by it early that morning.
It was my third day in San Juan and I went back to meet the landlord Salvador. He had just completed the interior construction of the apartments that morning and proudly showed me around.
To avoid a price increase I did my best at hiding my excitement. When you’re white and don’t speak Spanish you’re already at a disadvantage without gushing about how much you like a place.
The largest apartment was already rented out, but the small one on the second floor wasn’t. With one bedroom, one bathroom, a small kitchen and a living room it was perfect for me.
The monthly rent included electricity, gas, water, cable TV, a small LED TV and wi-fi all for less than half what we were paying in Granada.
I showed up at 9 o’clock the next morning to pay my rent just ahead of another couple that took the third and last apartment. Their first choice happened to be my apartment, but luckily I beat them to it.
Special thanks to Cory for helping me find this place. It it weren’t for him I might still be aimlessly zig-zagging the streets of San Juan del Sur in search of the perfect place.
Congratulations! It looks perfect. Funny how often grabbing a beer can pay off!!!! Enjoy! Diane
Gord, So glad you found a place! It sounds like it’s close to the beach too? It looks perfect for you and Elisha . . . I hope she’s excited? We’re going to Antigua, Guatemala for a week in the latter part of September just to look it over. The heat and humidity here is taking it’s toll on Sherri! I’ve learned over the years, that if something is meant to be and you work at it, things some how fall into place. Is there a small hotel nearby? :)Warm regards,Joe & Sherri
Gord, congratulations on the find. I am definately jealous. I can only hope that I will have the same luck when I get down there.
What is the weather like? From your comments about the bucket of sweat I assume it is hot? How hot? Do you enjoy a constant breeze coming off the ocean?
Hi Mark,
One of the reasons why the surfers love it here is the wind. Lake Nicaragua allows us to have offshore winds over 300 days per year (330 days last year) and they usually last all day. Unfortunately we had three days of onshore winds that do not bring any relief from the heat. It averages around 32 degrees here most of the year but we are in rainy season so the humidity is higher. It’s not overly hot sitting on the beach having a beer, but put in a few miles walking at high noon and it’s a different story.
Cheers,
Gord
Thanks for the info. Hope things go well for you in San Jan DS!
Hi, just found your blog. Congrats on the move. Lots of great people in SJdS. If you come to Managua please come by and say hello. We’re at km 10.5 Carretera a Masaya up in the hills with a cool breeze, great views and a nice swimming pool.
Thanks Mike. I just looked at your site (El Porton Verde) and your place looks beautiful. You did a really nice job on the construction and landscaping.
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We are thinking of heading to San Juan del Sur for a couple of months. Can anyone provide a realistic budget for a month of living down there? We are budget travellers and any info would be very helpful!
We live in San Juan del Sur with a monthly budget of $1400 USD. We track everything we spend and are currently working on a post with the details, which we’ll be publishing soon.
While you’re waiting for the post you can read about the cost of living in Granada. They will be very similar.
http://wp.me/p21efP-tg
Thank you so much for responding. This is very helpful information.
is it hard to find pet friendly housing? Or apartments that have yards?
Hi Chelsea,
All houses we’ve rented have been pet friendly. Apartments with yards exist, but are sometimes a bit more difficult to find.
Cheers,
Elisha