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[quote=”DavidCMurray”]davek, embrace the fees. Love them like you love life itself.
vmc, no one (no one) has ever (ever) accused me of being the quiet one before. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with it.[/quote]
Lo Siento Mi Amigo.
I just have to share this story with you . . .
Several years ago, an American couple liquidated everything and brought $29,000 to Costa Rica in cash. In the process of arriving, their luggage was searched by Customs.
At the hotel, they couldn’t find the cash, so the next morning they went back to Customs and raised holy hell. Of course, no one at Customs could or would admit to anything, and they left emptyhanded and unsatisfied.
Back at the hotel, they went back through all their luggage and, lo and behold, there was the $29,000 in the outside pocket of a suitcase. (Think about that.)
When one asked the other if s/he hadn’t searched that suitcase, the reply was that s/he hadn’t wanted to disturb the cat!
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]I just have to share this story with you . . .
Several years ago, an American couple liquidated everything and brought $29,000 to Costa Rica in cash. In the process of arriving, their luggage was searched by Customs.
At the hotel, they couldn’t find the cash, so the next morning they went back to Customs and raised holy hell. Of course, no one at Customs could or would admit to anything, and they left emptyhanded and unsatisfied.
Back at the hotel, they went back through all their luggage and, lo and behold, there was the $29,000 in the outside pocket of a suitcase. (Think about that.)
When one asked the other if s/he hadn’t searched that suitcase, the reply was that s/he hadn’t wanted to disturb the cat![/quote]
If we came with c1,000,000 and $1000.00 USD would that be overkill?
I think that would be overkill unless you’re really comfortable with losing that much. Why risk it?
You can get c200,000 from the ATM at the airport. Depending on your lodging plans, that will be plenty of money for a couple or three days. Remember, you can use your VISA card in most restaurants and many hotels, too.
And I question (because I don’t know) what exchange rate you’ll get when you go to your bank (if your bank can even obtain colones).
Keep this simple. Arrive with about $200US in ten and five dollar bills. Get a wad of colones from the ATM at the airport. Get settled wherever you’re staying. Then see how far those colones will take you. When the pile’s getting low, go back to the ATM.
And remember, Traveler’s Cheques are not generally welcomed here. Cashing them at the bank can be a bureaucratic hassle.
Were it mine to do, I’d have ATM/debit cards from two different bank accounts just in case the ATM eats one or the bank’s security system hangs you up.
“The quiet one” indeed!
[quote=”davek”]Point taken, I am just not happy about all of the fees.
Thanks David[/quote]
David is right. If you spend any time at all in Costa Rica you will face fees.
This is particularly true if you intend to apply for residency.
Document fees for birth cert., marriage cert., police report, etc. plus authentification of each document in the state in which it exists and this is solely to get the documents ready in the States. Then you have the authentification of the local consulate – $40.00 each document.
When you get to Costa Rica you will have to have each document translated at 8 cents per word and get fingerprinted for an Interpol chack [b](surprise, this one is free)[/b] obtain stamps through Casa Amarillo for the translations.
Now the documents are ready for presentation to Migracion with another fee.
No, you aren’t finished yet. If and when you finally are approved for your residency they nail you again for what looks to me to be about 22% of your monthly income before you can get your official ID (the cedula).
Everything comes at a cost just like it does in the States. THe tax rate on most things you buy in Costa Rica (except fresh food) is a minimum of 13%.
All in all I don’t think you will find any complaints here about the price we pay for the priviledge of living in Costa Rica[quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”davek”]Point taken, I am just not happy about all of the fees.
Thanks David[/quote]
David is right. If you spend any time at all in Costa Rica you will face fees.
This is particularly true if you intend to apply for residency.
Document fees for birth cert., marriage cert., police report, etc. plus authentification of each document in the state in which it exists and this is solely to get the documents ready in the States. Then you have the authentification of the local consulate – $40.00 each document.
When you get to Costa Rica you will have to have each document translated at 8 cents per word and get fingerprinted for an Interpol chack [b](surprise, this one is free)[/b] obtain stamps through Casa Amarillo for the translations.
Now the documents are ready for presentation to Migracion with another fee.
No, you aren’t finished yet. If and when you finally are approved for your residency they nail you again for what looks to me to be about 22% of your monthly income before you can get your official ID (the cedula).
Everything comes at a cost just like it does in the States. THe tax rate on most things you buy in Costa Rica (except fresh food) is a minimum of 13%.
All in all I don’t think you will find any complaints here about the price we pay for the priviledge of living in Costa Rica[/quote]Waggoner,I understand, I was just not prepared to have to pay Visa 3% everytime I use my debit card for anything I do while in Costa Rica. It won’t change how we spend our vacation. I hope someday in the not so distant future, I am staring down the barrell at all of the fees involved in gaining residency in Costa Rica. I am very jealous of those of you that are living your dream in the most beautiful place on earth.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]I think that would be overkill unless you’re really comfortable with losing that much. Why risk it?
You can get c200,000 from the ATM at the airport. Depending on your lodging plans, that will be plenty of money for a couple or three days. Remember, you can use your VISA card in most restaurants and many hotels, too.
And I question (because I don’t know) what exchange rate you’ll get when you go to your bank (if your bank can even obtain colones).
Keep this simple. Arrive with about $200US in ten and five dollar bills. Get a wad of colones from the ATM at the airport. Get settled wherever you’re staying. Then see how far those colones will take you. When the pile’s getting low, go back to the ATM.
And remember, Traveler’s Cheques are not generally welcomed here. Cashing them at the bank can be a bureaucratic hassle.
Were it mine to do, I’d have ATM/debit cards from two different bank accounts just in case the ATM eats one or the bank’s security system hangs you up.
“The quiet one” indeed![/quote]
I sincerely HOPE you know that I meant that in jest…….LOL
I was going to bring that kind of cash in because we have to get a house rented and stuff, this is a PERMANENT trip, not a vacation….. If I did indeed bring that kind of cash in, it would be ATTACHED to my body somehow, and not in my luggage.
As soon as I know the exact date of our travel, I’ll be able to work on getting colones to our bank….we’ll re-think this strategy as we go along….right now, all the loose ends are all up in the air! LOL
Thank you for all the advice, and I didn’t mean to hijack or anything, so I’ll do the more difficult thing for me and shut up…LOL
THANKS AGAIN!! …Oh Quiet one.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]If the alien has something decent to offer, I’m all for it.[/quote]
Shall I post the YouTube link to the video of the UFO over Poas?….Serious.
[quote=”davek”] I am very jealous of those of you that are living your dream in the most beautiful place on earth.[/quote]
The dream can become a nightmare as it did for me for the first year.
What I didn’t count on is the difference in the way the Hispanic mind thinks.
Good article in El Residente explains the difference. Gringos focus on results and anything that goes wrong is dealt with on the fly. Here the focus is on the process in an attempt to prevent anything going wrong. This difference drove me nuts until I learned to kick back, do what they ask and relax.
Now, even though I face the same type of issues, it is Pura Vida.Waggoner41: Could you give a little more details on the nightmares you experienced in your first year? Your experiences would be edifying for newcomers!
This is also something to remember: If you are using a US bank credit or debit card, the exchange rate you will get is significantly lower than the rate you will get locally. At least 10% lower.
Also, although TSA as no authority to confiscate your cash; this was recently tested when they attempted to confiscate an attorney’s cash, Customs apparently does have the authority. Of coure this would only really be a concern inbound to US. If it is over $10,000 and not declared, be prepared to depart with your cash.[quote=”sueandchris”]Waggoner41: Could you give a little more details on the nightmares you experienced in your first year? Your experiences would be edifying for newcomers![/quote]
To start with I am, or was, a type “A” Leo. My problems stemmed from the fact that I expect everything to go well or be given a reason that it doesn’t. To date I have been given no idea why the following has occurred but I have learned that things must be done their way.Allen Dickinson just wrote a good article in El Residente regarding the issues that affected me.
Basically it is a new ball game in the way you think.
When Americans set out to accomplish something if we run into a problem we resolve it on the fly. What Dickinson refers to as being [b]results oriented[/b].
The Hispanic world tries to prevent anything from going wrong by trying to cover all the angles that could possibly present a problem. They are [b]process oriented[/b].
When you try to get anything done you have to have everything in the perfect order that they expect. This can include documents that you might think are irrelevant to whatever you are trying to accomplish.
[b]Item #1:[/b]
My wife and I presented our documents to Migracion and they were essentially identical. She obtained her residency and cedula last April.I am still on hold and the next step for me is waiting until April 29 before I can even inquire into the status of my file.
I have been rejected twice by the “Tecnicos” who do the review and the file has been sent to the office of the director of Migracion now a second time.
Each time the director’s office rejects the rejection and sends the file back down for another review and that review will be done by yet another “Tecnico”.
There seems to be either no written rules regarding what they are looking for or, when they run into something that looks to be an issue they stop the review and reject the file.
When you come to Costa Rica, bring your patience with you.
[b]Item #2:[/b]
In addition when you come to a new country you are not quite sure how the laws work.We bought a property here and our first attorney quit working on the purchase of our property and our residency without telling us. Each time I called I was given a different reason why there was no progress. It was three months before I finally realized they didn’t intend to complete their work.
Our second attorney informed us that there were major problems and a lawsuit had been pressed against the property as a result of actions by the seller. The [b]facts[/b] he gave us were blown entirely out of proportion and he claimed that we would find that he was our [b]savior[/b] in Costa Rica. We finally gave up on him when communication became sporadic and we found that he was spending most of his time at the beaches.
As a result of inquiries to this forum I was put in touch with a very good advisor and a very good attorney who settled the property issue within two weeks.
[b]Item #3:[/b]
When we finally closed on the property after a six month delay we could not get into the property before the closing to inspect the property and found afterward that the seller had taken everything that was not nailed down kitchen cabinets, breakfast bar, mirrors in the baths and even some of the electrical breakers in the home. They cut coaxial cable in removing TVs, broke the water supply line to the house and even took the porton which was concreted into the ground.In the end everything cost us over $30,000 more than we expected but we have our home mortgage free and are happy with it.
Maravilla essentially called me an idiot when I first posted on this forum inquiring about the people I was dealing with and she was right.
There are two things that I did do right.
[b]First[/b]
We took some very good advice of a member of this forum and ended up with a very good advisor and attorney.[b]Second[/b]
We had the services of a young Tica at the B&B where we were staying when we first arrived. My wife was very sick and the young lady was extremely solicitous in caring for her. Since she was working only part time I asked her to come to our home two or three times a week to help my wife keep up the home. When we got to know her and her family we found that they were living on the edge financially and ended up asking them to come live with us. Our home is large and we easily accommodated them. They live here rent free and we guarantee all educational expenses for their children. Otherwise the man of the family supports them. When we need anything they get it for us at Tico prices rather than the American prices that can be three times as much. They find the gardeners, construction workers, household items, trees for the property, everything. They have provided introductions to the neighbors and we have become a part of the Tico community. The neighbors have been friendly and helpful and we exchange ideas and labor.Now that I have learned to be patient with the system and we have friends who help and guide us we are extremely happy with our move.
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