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I’m going to CR to tour the immediate area around San Jose to investigate resources for my wife, who has MS and is wheelchair confined, with an eye to buying and living in the only area that has all the medical we want to be close to; the Central Valley. I’ve gotten some feedback here on the forum by searching and I’ve been reading everything on the web for days, so I know the normal limitations that we will face.
It seems the advantages will overcome the negatives but I’ve not run across any good info on the following.
1) Are there nursing homes? I will never put her in one because we can just about bring all the help we need to a residence ……… but you never know.
2) Is there a way to transport her short distances in a manual (or power) chair to any of the few paved parts of the city and accessible businesses? Perhaps van taxis. It could take months to get our van there and her expensive power chair does have clearance limitations.
3) Are there caregivers who will live-in or rotate for 24 hour coverage? She needs little actual medical care now so a lot of the work would be housekeeping and companion care.
These are questions that can be hard to answer moving anywhere, but especially to a foreign country. Local knowledge is the only thing that counts.
Oh yea……………..are there a lot of motorcycles there?
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Jelly
I do know a British couple living here in Costa Rica and the wife has MS and will try to put you in touch with them, I have not spoken with them for about a year.,
1. There are nursing homes here and in comparison to the nursing homes in North America, they are very affordable. In MetLife’s Survey in 2003, it was reported that the average rate for a private room in a nursing home was US$181.24 per day (US$5,437.20 per month) and the cost of a home-health aide was US$18.12 per hour. You could probably hire someone in Costa Rica for about $5 per hour.
2. Taxis are also very affordable.
3. Full time, even live-in care for your lady wife are available and would probably cost about $5 per hour, a fraction of what they would cost in North America.
4. There are many motorcycles here, you might want to read my article on Harley Davidsons at . I also happen to own http://www.HarleyDavidsonOwner.com (amongst about 200 others) but have yet to decide what to do with it …
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThanks Scott,
I actually just found a number of $1,500 US for a nursing home in CR, which is 1/4 the US cost but more importantly, the quality in the US is dismal unless you are able to find an small, intimate facility at twice the cost. This points to the real problem: there are few beds anywhere I’ve looked at any cost.
Affordable home care is the way to go.
Taxis are available of course, but it will be much easier if she can stay in her chair somehow instead of being moved to the vehicle seat.
Sounds like a great place to ride. I’ll probably get a dual-sport considering the roads. I had a Valkyrie and now ride a sport-tourer.
My focus for housing will be that all living for us be on a single floor at street level, with 3,000 or more sf and a view is a must. There must be room for her current caregiver who will come with us. She can be on a second floor or not. I do not care for the ostentatious display of wealth so those $1,000,000 houses are out. I will be looking in the $100,000 to $400,000 range. If you have something you know about, let me know. I be there during the last week of July, 07.
Note: Scott, I just sent you an email about losing this. I guess I found it again..LOL
Every week I see a gentleman in motorized wheel chair driving all over the town in San Antonio, Belen. In this pueblo all of the primary intersections have handicapped ramps from the sidewalks into the streets and he gets along very well. Belen is located in the most convenient location in the Central Valley of Costa Rica just 10 minutes from the international airport and the drive to the capital, San Jose, in the evenings or on the weekend takes about 15 minutes and during the week at rush hour can be up to 45 minutes. Look at the map on http://ticotomasino.spaces.live.com to understand where San Antonio, Belen in the province of Heredia in located. This is a wonderful place to live and very affordable. We are within 30 minutes of hospitals,
Clinica Biblica, http://www.clinicabiblica.com/english/msocial.php, and
CIMA, http://www.hospitalsanjose.net.
Cable TV here is $20 p/month and internet via cable or wireless is available for $20 p/month. http://www.cabletica.com.
Shopping is a short walk to several small grocery stores or Pali which is now owned by Walmart, http://www.walmartfacts.com/articles/5084.aspx.
Only 5 minutes away on the expressway that connects the international airport to the capital of San Jose is the Real Cariari Mall with 3 floors of shopping and 6 US style cinemas and tons of restaurants. http://www.plazarealcariari.com
Less than 5 minutes away across from the Real Cariari Mall, you’ll find the hotel Ramada,
http://www.ramadaherradura.com/english/index/index.htm and
Melia Hotel, athttp://www.solmelia.com/solNew/hoteles/jsp/C_Hotel_Description.jsp?codigoHotel=5894. which are located on the Cariari Country Club golf course, http://www.clubcariari.com/english/index.html.
Within a 15 minute drive we have PriceSmart, http://www.pricesmart.com/Local/Default.aspx, which is the US based wholesale shopping club.
PS: Check out this wide open motorcycle club if you get a chance; http://www.ldxmc.comJelly,
Check out http://www.amcostarica.com they list two assisted living places.
http://www.amcostarica.com/morenews2.htmhttp://www.puravidalifecare.com/
http://www.fincafuturoverde.com/
Edited on Jul 14, 2007 06:55
Jo Stuart is now living in the assisted living center at the CLUB CAMPESTRE ESPAÑOL in La Ribera, Belen which is 400 meters north of the Cathedral in San Antinio, Belén
Apartado 521-4005, San Antonio, Belen
Teléfono: 239.08.27
Fax: 293.61.51
e-mail: campestreespanol@racsa.co.crBut did you see the very high costs of Puravida Life Care???
$250,000 for what looks like a fairly small two bedroom villa (which is expensive) and then $1,650 per MONTH for one person plus $500 per month for the second person. Maybe most people are not aware that for $2,150 per month you could hire your own full time nurse, your own full time chef plus a driver for that amount of money.
Or am I missing something here?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThanks to Tomasino and Lotus.
Scott: I think you’ve nailed it. Residences like those at the prices they want are good if there is no one around to support the person in need or they are “thrown away” by the family. I only want to know that such facilities exist. Why wouldn’t you create a virtual care home in place, if it could be done for less and with love.
I have remodeled our home to perfection for my wife but would go broke pretty fast if we had to pay $10k / month for 24 hour care.
It seems like all the reasons we would move to CR are, in fact, valid.
Jelly
That’s the Henderson’s of Carico, and they have an impeccable reputation here in CR. They have been here for many years and prefer the high-end market. Probably they have clients who will pay those prices since they have an affiliated office in the Florida Keys where everything costs mucho dinero.
Marilyn and Ginger Henderson, co-owners of Carico Real Estate Co., Inc., are native Floridians with offices in the Florida Keys and Costa Rica. Marilyn has over 35 years of real estate experience.
In 1974 Ginger entered the real estate profession after graduating from the University of the Americas in Mexico City, Mexico, with a BA degree in International Relations.
In 1981 they co-founded Carico Real Estate Co., Inc in the Florida Keys. Since that time they have helped hundreds to relocate, find or sell homes and to acquire commercial or development properties both in Costa Rica and the Keys.I appreciate that the costs are minimal compared to Florida but what do you think about the costs compared to what you could have in Costa Rica?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comScott,
*****warning, social commentary coming….Hahahaha**************
I live in one of the most expensive places in the US, a beach town, where we’ve seen people with more money than sense, drive up prices to point that locals can no longer live here.
I have participated in the escalation of real estate but it really bothers me that it takes at least a 6 figure income to buy a house nowadays.
Greed is a big reason I’m moving. To the extent that housing both here and now, apparently in CR, is marketed as an investment instead of a staple of life, gives me pause. Market forces themselves will provide a good return as long as the draw to be part of a different and, in many ways, a better lifestyle remains. I don’t see trading one rat race for another to be at all satisfying.
Progress has to be made, no doubt. Building developments without the infrastructure to go with them is lunacy and points to money as the only reason they get proposed. Asking for unreasonable profits from a property that has become untenable for some reason (the 40% who return home) can also be a pipe dream.
If I’m misreading the demand then I’ll gladly eat my words. I simply want a place to rest my heart and soul.
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