How is it to live in Honduras for an american? I am planning to move there. Any information will help.?

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Oliverio

Honduras? You'll love it!

Tegucigalpa, the capital city, is probably the all around safest and most convenient place to relocate.

If you prefer a coastal and Caribbean environment there are several options: Starting in the northwest, San Pedro Sula is very prosperous and cosmopolitan but hot and steamy, a little crowded too; Tela is my favorite coastal city with great palm-lined and white sandy beaches, not too big and not too small; Ceiba is an old port city with a lot of boats and fishing, the closest to the Islands of Roatan and Guanaja; Trujillo is a little quieter but lively with a lot of history and a cooler breeze and more laid back. The Islands are great for someone who loves the ocean, especially scuba diving and snorkeling, and doesn't mind a bustling tourism.

If you like the mountains and more folkloric and Indigenous surroundings, go further west and inland around Santa Barbera or Santa Rosa de Copan. A rancher and wild life seeker may prefer the Olancho area.

Here are some things I remember about Honduras:

In 1969, Honduras entered into a 100-hour armed conflict with El Salvador originating with a disputed soccer game and therefore the hostities were called the "Soccer War"!

Red beans are the national staple but in 1994 there was a shortage of red beans and Honduras imported them from China to meet local demand only to have a boatload of them arrive infested with weevils!

Columbus first arrived in Honduras at the current site of a small Garifuna village called Triunfo de la Cruz.

In Triunfo de la Cruz, just south of Tela, you can get some of the best fried fish and platain to eat at little wooden tables set between palm trees in the sand right on the beach!

The Garifuna are decendants of former Caribbean plantation workers who speak a dialect containing African, French and English words!

"Sopa de caracol" was a very popular song in the 90's about a soup of the same name from the Caribbean coast of Honduras and has Conch meat and Coconut milk!

sonny_too_much

I did live in Honduras for a few years but now divide my time between China and the Philippines.
The other answers are correct and good answers but there are some things you need to be aware of. It is a very poor country and crime is everywhere you look. You will stand out and be a high priority target where ever you go. You will find that the police and the Army will rob you just as fast as the dopers that are in every city.
Many American and Canadians live in Honduras and get drunk and stay drunk. Rum is so cheap and Marijuana is like 35 dollars a Kilo so it is easy for people to stay stoned. What a waste.
All that being said, I really loved living there and I think you will also if you go there with your eyes open and are willing to adapt to a totally different culture.

robertoenc85

Where exactly are you planning to move? Tegucigalpa the capital is a fairly nice town and foreigners are welcome depending on where you are. Keep in mind you WILL stand out in a crowd. Try visiting the US embassy website and the general recommendations given to travelers that is your best resource. http://www.usmission.hn/english/mission/sections/RSO/index.htm

EXA

Well, after everybody said I can only add this:

I live in Honduras. It is a beautiful beautiful country. But can be very dangerous too, like any other country.

Do not live too close or too far from the main cities.
Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba.

It is very cheap.
If you plant to buy a House, (I say yes ) You can get a great on for around $200,000.00 ( 3500-10000 FEET) DEPENDS WHERE YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE.
You can find any kind of food, fast food, chinese, arabic, Honduras, spanish, italian, mexican. etc.
You could buy a good car for $10,000.00 (around 2002-2006).
The public bills phone,water,light,taxes are kind of high for local people but for you could be cheap. around $300 by month all included.
Entertaiment, all you want the prices you want. You could go to the finest restaurant there and a buffet could cost you around $30.00-$50.00 by person (remember a great hotel, the finest food) To buy baleadas "wheat tortillas and beans" for $.50 cents.
Movies arrive with 2 weeks or maybe at the same time in the us. Clothes are kind of expensive, but for local, There is bennetton, gap, oldnavy, polo, mng, all you want.
My advice, do not go to the poor people places the market, the plaza, the center of the city. Go to the malls and upper class places. But always be carefull, do not trust in strangers or others. The embassy in Tegucigalpa is big and have many kind of protection programs for the us citizens. Where to go, where to live, they are checking on you time to time. You could open a small bussiness here. The people is friendly but poor. So keeping this in mind use your common sense.

Honduras has mountains, beaches, relaxing places. But as I said before do not live very far or lonely. People notes that.

Good luck.

mmm777

I agree with all the answers but one (sonny too much's). Crime rate is indeed high but foreign victims are very few, mainly because foreigners live in upscale neighborhoods in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula or visit tourist attractions in the Bay Islands, Copan, La Ceiba or Tela (where you will find the tourist police). Let us know where you are planning to live. The embassy page is a good source of information.

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