Just curious what the general sentiment is here. Have you visited? What are your impressions? Do you have any questions?
I'm Jeremy, used to live in the US - then traveled a lot, now settled down in San Salvador and I love it...
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2 sats \ 3 replies \ @tenderscore 30 Jun 2022
Bad medical care, questionable water, spotty internet, crappy roads, extreme poverty, rolling electrical brownouts, crime. El Salvador has a long way to go. For me I've chosen Puerto Rico. Crypto tax friendly (more bills coming), no passport required, few of the problems listed above. I believe it can become the Monte Carlo of the Americas if bitcoin legislation isn't relaxed dramatically in the Americas. El Salvador is hot right now, but when more desirable places use the same game plan they coined (pun intended), then so long El Zonte?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ElSalvadorVisas OP 30 Jun 2022
Well, I can't speak to every concern... But my experience has been that medical care (if you are talking about the time a doctor spends with you understanding and treating your issues) is actually much better than the United States. The problem is access to more recent or high-tech machinery. For anything other than basic operations, I'd probably grab a ticket to the US/Mexico/Cuba - which is fairly cheap and fast. Where I live (in the capital) municipal water is treated and of high quality, but many people buy bottled water anyway. I have high-speed internet with few issues - and I could even get fiber gibabit if I wanted to pay extra, but again, I live in a better part of town. We probably lose power for a few minutes to an hour once every other month. The roads are of poor quality compared to the US or Western Europe, but are equivalent to many other parts of the world. Poverty is an issue, but that's true everywhere - there are households in Mississippi/Louisiana/Arkansas that don't have the basic services one would hope to have. Crime honestly isn't very bad where I am. In the more rural parts of the country it can get sketchy, but things are rapidly improving. Puerto Rico is nice too, but you are still a US citizen, and the IRS is very powerful. I suspect its power will grow as the strain of hyperbitcoinization is felt over the next few decades. Hopefully more places do adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, but for now, that certainly isn't a given.
Just my two cents :)
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @iguano 30 Jun 2022
what about the spanish? do you like it?
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @tenderscore 30 Jun 2022
I speak spanish. It's fine.
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1 sat \ 6 replies \ @nerd2ninja 30 Jun 2022
I'm always interested in businesses in El Salvador, but I'm much too focused on community development where I am to move there.
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3 sats \ 5 replies \ @ElSalvadorVisas OP 30 Jun 2022 freebie
Yeah it's pretty cool here, but the most important thing is to find a place you connect with!
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0 sats \ 4 replies \ @nerd2ninja 30 Jun 2022
While you're there, if you manage to find someone that would sell non salted butter or sugar for Bitcoin (especially via lightning network) please give me a ping.
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3 sats \ 3 replies \ @ElSalvadorVisas OP 30 Jun 2022 freebie
Well, it depends on volume, I guess. None of the street vendors have electricity, so you are looking at tiendas (small shops that would be more trouble than they're worth) and bigger stores, like superselectos or walmart, but then you're playing the margin game. What kind of volume are you talking about?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @nerd2ninja 30 Jun 2022
ahem and by the looks of it, it would seem to me that you'd be the perfect person to talk to about something like that.
https://escapetoelsalvador.org/product/basic-company-formation/
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @nerd2ninja 30 Jun 2022
I'm not entirely sure because I'm gathering quality feedback survey results, and I haven't gotten to the point where I've made the first sale just yet, but for right now I would estimate maybe 20 cups of butter every month. I'm actually comfortable with growing with a smaller business. I also don't know how the business legal structures are like in El Salvador, but if they have the ability to register as corperations and can legally sell stock, maybe I'd even be interested in investing in said smaller businesses to help them scale.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ElSalvadorVisas OP 30 Jun 2022 freebie
You can def come and sell products you make without having to make a formal company. You can do what in other countries would be called a 'sole-proprietorship'.
1 sat \ 3 replies \ @Cornholio 30 Jun 2022
If things in America slip sideways in a dramatic way it is good to know I can get citizenship there but even then it is not a place I would want to be voluntarily. Or really anywhere in South America. I think I want to see what happens under future political leaders and allow for things to mature from where they are today. Outside of a select few cities or towns it honestly does not sound like that great of a place.
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10 sats \ 2 replies \ @ElSalvadorVisas OP 30 Jun 2022 freebie
There is definitely a lot of negative perception to overcome. I've lived all over and I think it's a pretty normal place. Just remember what you see on the news is not what real life looks like - and that is true no matter where you are!
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Cornholio 30 Jun 2022
Yeah I think the biggest issue is no matter what, without at least visiting it is nearly impossible to get a clear or accurate picture. I would like to at least visit in the near future!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ElSalvadorVisas OP 30 Jun 2022
Let me know how I can help!
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0 sats \ 4 replies \ @lv99_slacker 30 Jun 2022
Citizenship via bitcoin donation wen?
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1 sat \ 3 replies \ @ElSalvadorVisas OP 30 Jun 2022 freebie
Doesn't work like that. You have to get residency first, then spend some time. You can't simply buy a passport. There are places that do that, but this isn't one of them.
0 sats \ 1 reply \ @om 30 Jun 2022
El Salvador has yet to prove that it is solvent and won't go begging to IMF next year which might end badly for bitcoin.
It is also to remain seen whether Nayib Bukele can manage to stay in power and if not, would the next guy revert on bitcoin like Honduras is doing on ZEDEs now.
It would be also interesting to watch how NB if ousted will transfer custody of the country's bitcoin treasury to his successor.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @ElSalvadorVisas OP 30 Jun 2022
President Bukele is the most popular head of state in the world, by a large margin. There is no concern locally over whether he will retain power. The IMF is definitely a concern, but I am optimistic about the Volcano Bonds. Until they are ready, there really isn't a point in discussing it - since it is all speculation.
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