5 Reasons Why El Salvador Should Be on Your Radar

Attentive ears have already heard about El Salvador’s slow sidestep into the spotlight. The Central American country so recently ravaged by gang violence has seen a rise in safety and living standards over the past few years, positioning itself as an ideal destination for expats and outside investors. Its idyllic coastline and volcano-strewn countryside are more accessible than ever, with a seismic shift in safety standards, eased access to visas, and cuts to overseas taxes helping the war-worn country to revive.

Get in ahead of the crowds while costs are still comparable to their northerly Mexican neighbors as El Salvador ramps up in 2024.

Here are five compelling reasons why El Salvador should be on your radar:

1. Affordable Cost of Living

The cathedral is a breathtaking blend of history and architecture in the heart of El Salvador's capital.|©iStock/edfuentesg

It’s no secret that Latin America is a cost-effective place to live. Your quality of life will invariably be improved when streetside pupusas oozing hot cheese or crisp cold bottles of beer set you back mere pennies. For a one-bedroom apartment in the center of the capital, expats can expect to pay around $700 per month in rent. This number quickly slips once you leave the hubbub of —the country has many cheaper, charming towns worth considering, most terracotta-capped and colorfully walled. Appealing, but naturally lacking in the city’s vibrant social community and easily accessible (and very affordable) healthcare facilities.

Entertainment is also reasonable in the capital. A three-course dinner date at a mid-range restaurant can be expected to set a couple back around $30, paired with a domestic beer for an added $2. Gyms and sports clubs clock in at around $30 per month. After rent, according to cost-of-living ranker Numbeo, single expats can expect to spend around $646 per month.

One key financial benefit of choosing El Salvador as your Central American base is the lack of significant taxes. As of March 2024, there are no taxes imposed on worldwide income for non-residents, only domestic. There’s no property tax. It’s yet another reform introduced to drive foreign investment and immigration, a significant benefit for expats continuing to earn income from abroad.

2. Dramatic Improvements in Safety

El Salvador has seen a meteoric shift from the world’s most violent country to a destination on par with Bali or Thailand in only nine years. From the massacres of Indigenous and working-class people in the 1930s to the 12-year-long civil war that ravaged the country in the 1980s-90s, the country struggled to recover from the beleaguered past century. Many of the dispossessed fled north to the United States, with young Salvadoreans forming gangs for the sake of protection. Deported back to El Salvador, these same gangs then returned to their home nation, extorting locals and conducting mass murders with seeming impunity. The country’s seemingly unending tumult was finally addressed in 2022.

Declaring a state of emergency and conducting a comprehensive, military-led suppression of gang activity across the country, President Bukele largely quashed the street warfare that has terrorized El Salvador for decades. Police presence is also very evident in the streets, attentive to foreigners concerned by the country’s less than favorable recent reputation.

With homicide rates dropping to just 2.4 per 100,000 inhabitants at the close of 2023, a 70% decrease year-on-year, the infamous country is safer than ever for foreigners. It’s an ideal time to move or invest before the world at large catches on.

3. Flexible Visa Options for Expats and Investors

Plaza Libertad in San Salvador – a lively and historic public square. |©iStock/pananba

As the country pushes for more and more foreign investment and immigration, a number of new visas have been announced. There are a number of very straightforward routes to getting a visa for El Salvador, some newfangled and tech-forward, and others, such as a traditional cash-in-hand parade.

A Rentista (or Nomad) visa offers prospective expats one year of residency on their first application, with the option to switch to a two-year model upon renewal. You’ll need to be bringing in $1,460 a month to qualify, but if you opt instead for the Pensionado visa you’re only required to show evidence of $1,095 in passive income. Both require six months of physical presence in the country.

Almost all of the country’s available visas mandate a minimum of six months on the ground, with the exception of their flashy new Freedom Visa. It’s the world’s first visa obtainable through cryptocurrency investment, cited as an invitation to “altruistic foreigners interested in supporting the economic, social, and cultural development of El Salvador.” If you have a spare $1,000,000 worth of bitcoin to pump into the Salvadorean economy, this visa is by far the most flexible.

4. Quality of Life

It will come as no surprise that a life spent sitting on black sand beaches wrapped around volcanic vistas is an easy one. The surf-primed Pacific waves have long attracted laidback communities to the shore, places where new residents can quickly build a community with similar interests. The small colonial-style towns littered across the verdant mountains also foster a close-knit sense of community, conveniently located for explorer types seeking routes to the tips of volcanoes or the rims of their crater lakes. Those preferring the anonymity of the city can stroll around the once ostentatious aspects of San Salvador’s Spanish-designed center, a vibrant city often overlooked by travelers in Central America.

There are large swathes of the country that are, as yet, undeveloped. Beachfront lots, mountainside homes, and jungle-shrouded haciendas are all up for rent, purchase, or development, with a tropical climate keeping the whole country hot year-round. Despite its relatively small stature, expats with a wide range of interests and preferences can easily build their ideal life in El Salvador.

5. Geographic Convenience

El Zonte Beach, El Salvador – a serene and picturesque coastal haven.|©iStock/hbrizard

One of the benefits of sticking to the American continent is the ease of access between the central nations and the US. Thanks to the significant Salvadorean diaspora in the States, it’s easy and inexpensive to travel between the two. Non-stop flights run several times a day between El Salvador and Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Boston, and more, and a return ticket can run you less than $400. Visiting family and friends at home doesn’t bear the financial sting that it does from Europe or Asia, and San Salvador’s international airport can be reached in a matter of hours from practically anywhere in the small country. El Salvador also has the benefit of being on the same time zone as several key US cities. Abiding by Central Standard Time, it’s ideally located for those hoping to continue working to an American clock.