Guatemala: What are the pros and cons of moving there please?

There is no real pro for moving to Guatemala. It is not the US, and it certainly not a rich country. The gangs have slowed a bit, but it expected to return with force. The value of life is not as high as it should be, compared to the US.

It is warmer and wetter, but you still have to contend with earthquakes. You get what you get.

pro = cheap pussy and cheap drugs, cheap living and you might be able to grow food

cons = when the shit hits the fan worldwide, the local population will ransack your house, beat the shit out of you, steal everything you own and then tie you to a tree in town square, the government and policia will torture you to get all of your personal banking infomation and possibly even try to use you as a hostage so your family can send them more money. then they'll steal your bank account, and any other personal assets you may have.

good news is after all that they'll slit your throat and feed you to the dogs.

PRO: you can own slaves

There are no Pros because Gautemala is scheduled for a bone crunching 8.+ quake next week. Stay the heck away from Guate, move to Tarija Bolivia instead.

I lived in Antigua for three years. 2007 to 2010. I love the country, weather and people. It is cheap there if you live like the locals, but if you live in comparable housing (3bdrm 2bth home) in a gated secured community the rent is about the same as the US. Utilities were about the same. Outside the City the internet sucks. In the city the crime is terrible. If you are white you stand out and are often taken advantage of by locals in that you are charged more when shopping and are often a target for local police to ticket and pull over. The police are corrupt and are easy to pay off. All in all I would live there again since I know my way around. It is a beautiful country.

Something is heating up:

5.5 49km SSW of Acajutla, El Salvador 2012-12-13 21:26:44 13.169°N 89.984°W 43.1
4.9 44km SSE of Quepos, Costa Rica 2012-12-13 17:20:26 9.044°N 84.041°W 34.0
5.0 37km SSE of Quepos, Costa Rica 2012-12-13 17:16:22 9.098°N 84.066°W 37.3

Antigua is awesome, however, it was also buried by a volcano a few hundred years ago.

OP, if you are going into Guatemala blindly, you're probably going to be taken advantage of, especially if you're not fluent in Spanish. If traveling north to Copan, never travel at night or we'll never hear from you again. You will be plagued with children begging for a handout non-stop, some of whom will ingest diesel and breath-out fireballs at road stops for a few quetzal coins.

If you are marginally good-looking, you'll be seen as a worthwhile meal-ticket for local girls. If you're really good looking, it'll be 6 months before you're diagnosed with a really bad VD.

Or go to Costa Rica.

I'm from south America, if you have kids please dnot, by yourself take the proper care and be ready for anything, take some vacation and explore first before you do it. Go to Brasilia better choice that is my advice

Spoken like a true cannuck asshole. No wonder you guys are hated down in these parts worse than the Americans. HA!

Ciudad Vieja was partially buried when heavy rains caused land slides of dormant volcan agua. It was not due to an eruption. Ciudad Vieja is located at the base of the volcan agua and the town is still there and doing well. Antigua is located a few miles away and safer.

All police are corrupt in Latin countries. No getting around that.

Forget Costa Rica. Expensive and over rated. It was good 20 years ago but now with the new lady prez, she is a control freak taxing the shit out of everyone.