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No Maravilla I didn’t just pack up a a bag or two and move to Costa Rica 35+ yrs. ago. I packed up my VW bus, loaded up my wife and dog and here I am, still. I must say it hasn’t been all that easy but has been worth it. “Aqui me quedo” If you have a dream go for it.
[quote=”maravilla”]i really don’t get why people think pointing out the obvious is being negative. there are many many things to consider when moving here with children. the primary one is having the funds to live here and the origin of those funds if you are not able to legally work. then there is resiidency and all the headaches and paperwork that come with that little adventure. relying on meeting the Tico of one’s dreams is a bit farfetched — what does a single mother do in the meantime? did you just pack a bag or two and move on down to Costa Rica with nary a thought to these issues? i doubt it.[/quote]
wow, that was an adventurous undertaking. 35 years ago we lived in a different world with a lot less regulations and rules for every damn thing. i imagine that costa rica was pretty easy going back then and probably 100 times more disorganized on the migra front than they are today.
[quote=”maravilla”]wow, that was an adventurous undertaking. 35 years ago we lived in a different world with a lot less regulations and rules for every damn thing. i imagine that costa rica was pretty easy going back then and probably 100 times more disorganized on the migra front than they are today.[/quote]
Having been at migra yesterday for almost 5 hours, I can assure you that there is NO POSSIBLE WAY they could have been more disorganized in the past. I may be mistaken, but I’m pretty sure I saw an entire de-forested continent of paper moving around from desk to desk in only one room.
Before thinking about working in Costa Rica you should really visit the country for a few weeks outside of the tourist areas and see how many of the people live who have low incomes.
Almost all homes have running water. But many do not have sewer connection OR septic tanks. It is not unusual to see gray water draining into rural roadside ditches (you hope that is all it is). Hot running water is not “standard” in many rural homes.
The climate in much of the country is conducive to not having windows and many openings in rural homes do not have screens either. Most DO have steel security guards or shutters at the least. But no glass.
The common kitchen in these homes has a concrete sink, a portable propane cook top and sometimes a refrigerator. If they have a refrigerator it is something smaller than anything you ever saw in the US other than those sold for dorm rooms. . .
Anyone in the US with a roof over their heads generally lives in a much better place. A run down trailer in a trailer park is better accommodations.
Wages in CR are often just a few hundred dollars a month. While food and and some living costs are less many other things cost more. Most people in CR walk miles to the store and to schools. Longer distances are by bus. They sell a type of milk processed so that it does not need refrigeration because it would spoil on the average walk home in tropical heat. . .
Working without papers in CR is worse than working without papers in the US. In the US we have Mexicans who will work for one half to one third of what a U.S. citizen is willing to take. In CR they have Nicaraguans (called Nicas – a bit too close to what is sounds like and used the same way), that work for less than the Ticos and live in the worst of poverty conditions.
One attraction to living in CR is that wages are so low that even on Social Security many gringos could afford a house keeper (provided they owned a home, not rented and were frugal otherwise).
There are a LOT of things that are wonderful about Costa Rica. But most of us from the US would not be happy living like a Tico. If you are so desperate to get out of where you are I am sure there are many people who would hire you (for room and board) in the US as a housekeeper. . . The same situation that might await you in Costa Rica but under much nicer conditions here.
When I started making plans to live in CR I had an Internet business that would support me until Social Security came in. Until then I would have to live as a Tourist. But before I could move the economy collapsed and my Internet business has suffered to the point that I could not make it in CR. SO my plans have changed.
I looked at the move as a “great adventure”. But it is not one I would want to drag dependent children into unless I was financially secure OR had an escape plan.
It sounds like you have a wonderful dream. I think people should follow their dreams. But often you need to wake up to the reality that is not part of the dream.
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