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My wife, 2 boys and I plan on visiting CR in January. Loads of questions naturally. We would like to have a tour guide that could take us to different areas of the country and who we could really count on for at least a month – may be hard to find even though the cost won’t be a problem. Are there a couple of areas, one on the coast, and one in the higher elevations that someone could recommend that have less crime and property costs are decent. I have read that the San Ramon area is very nice, and of course there are numerous towns along the coast that we could live in. I know the coast area will normally cost more than higher elevation properties. We can afford 500,000 to 1,000,000, but of course we would need to spend time in some different areas so we can determine what is best for us and evaluate the cost.
How efficient is the post office system in CR? What do you have to do to open a bank account? I know Panama has numerous things you have to do to open an account, but don’t know about CR. Is getting through customs in CR a problem? I have read about some South American countries who try to give people a hard time, but hopefully CR will be better. Thanks for any input from you expats out there.
Hi. I have worked with a company called http://www.costaricaonlinetravel.com as well as http://www.ilviaggiocr.com . They both can put together a great trip for you. As for the real estate info. I would go to the Help you Search page and fill it out and then Scott will put you with the agents that can help you. The post office system isn’t the best. But you can get mail it just takes patience and some time. 🙂 Hope this helps.
Thanks so much for your kind assistance. Look forward to any additional comments from others as well.
Your budget will allow you a huge choice in luxury accommodations however, if you are planning on actually living here, then finding a suitable place for the dedication for your two children may be more difficult.
The best choice in educational and cultural activities – although there are some excellent schools cropping up on the Pacific coast there’s really no comparison – they are located in the Central Valley area.
Over the past 8 years, I have used the Costa Rica Post Office to mail orders to about 15,000 people primarily in the USA and we have “lost” about ten orders – no kidding – so I am A: Thrilled with their service and B: Even more delighted with their costs.
Opening a bank account anywhere is more difficult than it has ever been before especially for a US citizen thanks to the US government’s efforts to find out exactly who and where money is being sent to and from – if you meet anyone that actually believes that all these measures are anything to do with the official story from the US of course, that of tracing terrorist’s cash please slap them for me!
Customs has never been a problem for me and the only people that have ever tried to give me a hard time in Costa Rica have been foreigners and not Costa Ricans…
Having said that, this country is not for everyone but I could not imagine living anywhere else.
If you would like me to recommend a Costa Rica Realtor whom I know personally and trust implicitly please visit [ https://www.welovecostarica.com/public/department40.cfm ]
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com
Author of ‘How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate… ‘PS. I just had a call from a friend of mine who said that for a $1,000,000 he’ll even build you an Igloo here in Costa Rica…
Thanks Scott. Very helpful information. My boys are homeschooled so unless we find a good private school somewhere, we will probably continue doing the homeschool routine. Sounds like the central valley may be just what we want since we have lived in the mountains of Arkansas, Alaska and West Virginia for the last 25 years even though we always go to the beach twice a year. We are Protestant and go to church regularly so finding a church may be a problem. What about the central valley as far as different (if any) churches besides Catholic. Don’t get me wrong, I have Catholic friends, but we would prefer a Protestant church.
Wikipedia says that “Protestant denominations have been experiencing rapid growth. However, three in four Costa Ricans still adhere to Roman Catholicism.”
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comIgloo, Even though the population is predominantly Catholic, there has been a growing transition in CR where more and more of the population have converted to other religions, mostly of the Protestant type. There are various well known Protestant groups such as the Methodist & Baptist (among others) that have been in CR for a long time, have large congregations, various locations, have respective private schools and country camps to Born Again Christian groups and there are also other religious groups such as B’hais, Jews, Muslims and other Asian based religious groups. Once upon a time, it was very uncomfortable to be anything other than a Catholic in CR, but today the Costa Rican people are aware of the religious differences practiced in their country and this does not seem to be a point of contention with them as long as you’re respectful of their practices. I don’t know which Protestant group you belong to, but my sister’s family is very involved in the Protestant community if you should need more info.
Edited on Nov 10, 2007 10:16
Igloo,
We started the process sixteen months ago and are 34 days from our move. Our household goods are being picked up next Tuesday and we are starting to get really excited. I encourage you to check out Talarke School (www.talarkeschool.com) that was started by homeschoolers and now has 85ish kids from 18 months to sixth grade. It is east of San Jose in San Ramon de Tres Rios. We will be living east of town in El Carmen de Guadalupe. The East side has lots of private school and Protestant Church choices as well. We wanted to be close enough to San Jose to access good health care, have shopping choices, and have other infrastructure related bennies. In our case, we did not want to live in the Escazu/Santa Ana area due to it being more similar to suburban areas here in the States than we wanted. The East side also seems to have fresher air and cleaner water due to the prevalent winds and the mountains. Your money will certainly go much further in the mountains on the east side, the crime rate is low, and you are 20-30 minutes from everything… Good luck!
JerryYou also might consider consulting via internet some of the “listings” of reputable real estate companies, like Century 21 or Remax. That might help you narrow your research, or at least pinpoint some specific locations, althought Costa Rica is a small country, you might get overwelm by it`s diversity and beauty.
Part of my family actually owns a C21 in NJ and I have nothing against the larger franchises in CR, but I can tell you that such a label will not necessarily buy you the quality, service or experience you will find in a good, responsible and knowledgeable real estate agent with a proven track record in Costa Rica. This summer I tried to network with some of the larger franchises mentioned before and some were wonderful and others, well I cannot tell you how hard it was to get a hold of them and pin them down for a meeting. After meeting some of them, I left with the impression that they still had a lot to learn about the business and I will not be referring any clients to them.
This site recommends real estate agents that really seem to know their busines regardless of their franchise affiliation and act professionally–I would check that out first. They may also have a more local approach/contacts rather than you viewing houses for sale with $$$ pasted to your forehead…
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