Tips and advice to thrive in Honduras

Do not let anyone push you around! Speak Spanish aggressively like Hondurans do.  This is important for anyone  who may want to invest in Honduras. http://honduras.usembassy.gov/business/ … duras.html   Also register in the Embassy, in case there is an emergency!

Best Wishes All!

Take anti parasitic and anti amoeba medicine every six months. Amoebas that travel to your heart, liver or brain can cause extreme illness, even death.

1 Knowing the local language is important but not absolutely necessary.  I would strongly advise learning Spanish if you do not know it.  Be patient if you work on learning Spanish it will take 2 to 5 years.

2 Don't buy into the media that this is a country that is so dangerous you must not come here.  Nonsense, it isn't any worse than NYC.  If one walks alone at night in dimly lit streets, yes you are at risk.  Take cabs at night preferably from a guard at the establishment. 

3 People are usually late, customer service is non-existent except for the restaurants.  Expect the most idiotic processes and DO NOT HAVE PACKAGES SENT HERE FOR DELIVERY.  Trying to work through customs here, (aduanas) is an all day event to pick up $80 of books might cost a day of processing with you there all day and pay another $40 to $80 for duties.  DO NOT DO IT, ALWAYS, ALWAYS PUT IT IN A SUITCASE, this isn't a problem to my knowledge.

4 Go buy a dozen Cipro tabs for Montezuma's revenge.  If you eat any fresh food such as vegetables and have drinks with ice, you will eat something and later or next day it hits you.  Just take one tab, it will knock it out, and let your body develop its resistance.  I did this for a year about once a month or two months I would get something.  One tab, one day, and it's gone.  Also, you do not need a prescription for drugs unless you get into pain med's.  But I have found US drug prices at Goodrx.com is cheaper.  Bring as much as you can with you. 

5 You must leave the country for three midnights every three months.  You can get one 30 day extension for each 90 days for about $25.  If you do this every 90 day visa makes you leaving this country every 120 days or 3 times a year versus 4.  You can take busses to Costa Rica or Mexico as the two closest countries to reset your visa.

Technically all contracts and rentals must be in Spanish and must charge in Lempira not dollars.  Many landlords violate this and put contracts in $.  You can demand it be Lempira, and remember the first price is always higher than the acceptable price.

Good tips and advice!

I read your text that you personally knew 10 expat's murdered here?  So, you knew every expat killed last year, or in how many years?  I say this since only about 11 expats are murdered here a year, and the vast majority are killed in three way romances and drugs, and you knew these folks?  So who are the people you knew were killed here?  Your story doesn't ring true to me, so that is why I am asking you to provide the names please. If you can't provide a list of names please remove your post.

Be careful with the tropical sun, no matter how light or dark your skin is. I had one friend, who chartered trips to the Hog Islands and discovered a melonoma cancer on his arm, became metastatic and spread to his brain. Even though he received treatment at Bethedsa Naval Hospital, he passed away. So if you are into a lot of snorkeling/scuba diving, or just spend a lot of time at the beach, see a dermatologist once a year. Each small growth of a melanoma increases the likelihood that it will be fatal.

Hi everyone,

Please this is getting off topic and too negative. Let me remind you the subject of this thread : Tips and advice to thrive in Honduras.

Can we now get back to the topic? I invite other members to share their experiences on the initial subject.
"
How did you manage to adjust to Honduras?

How long does it take to feel at home? Would you say it is an easy process?

According to you, what is key for a successful integration process in Honduras? "

Thank you,
Christine
Expat.com

I won't return to the site.  You want a lot of junk opinions on here so I will remove myself and please do the same for me, remove me from any mailing lists.  Thanks and good luck to you.

Amen! Right on the button. Five years in Honduras and a permanent resident - cost me about $2,000 and well worth it - four round trips to the US will be about  $2,000. Be VERY careful if you hire a local attorney for anything. If you need a referral, let me know. I went through 4-5 "abogados (abogadas)" before finding an honest one or one who's isn't starving. Two essential words in Spanish - manana and mas tarde - if you need work done or assistance you will hear these words - an appointment (cita) for a time and date actually means "sometime/anytime that date or the next day. Patience is a must and just another part of the wonderful Honduras culture.

Archaeo sent you a PM, but hoping you can help me out. My wife and I are looking to get more information and someone to help with the residency application process. Can you refer/recommend any lawyers that I can get in contact with? Thanks in advance!

Paka & Suzanne

If you want to leave Honduras with a small fortune, bring down a large one! Do not ever ever do any business transaction unless it is cash on the barrelhead at the moment of the transaction.

It is completely unnecessary to take medicine for parasites or amoebas if you eat noni fruit. It kills everything like that, and it helps to burn fat and lose weight. Knowing how to properly prepare noni is a useful skill in a place like Honduras. It is important to get fruit that is ripe but not rotten, with soft waxy skin. Peel the fruit with a sharp knife, carefully removing the little dark-colored pits on the side. Then you crush the fruit and let it soak in a bowl with a little water for a while. Next push it down through a colander, mashing the pulp with spoon and forcing it through the holes in the colander. The resulting juice has a rather strong taste so I like to mix it about half and half with fresh-squeezed mango juice. This is a wonderful health-giving tonic that helps in so many ways and is especially useful places where there is a problem with parasites. It has too many beneficial properties to list them here. I relied on noni quite a bit and ate it regularly while it was in season. They go bad very quickly once they approach ripeness so you have to be careful with them or the juice will have a pretty bad taste. But its really not too bad if it is prepared carefully.