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David, This is a bit off of the above subject that you answered but I was wondering if you know of any good contractors, builders, engineers, architects that we should know about. We are going to build on land near Matapalo south of Quepos. We are in the building discovery stage. thanks, Cindy J.
Cindy, I have used the same architect to build two houses outside Grecia and I’d recommend him to anybody. He, in turn, put us in touch with a builder who’s based around San Jose but who is just now completing our main house. I’d recommend him, too, without qualification.
I’m pretty sure the architect would design and supervise a project near Matapalo. As for the builder . . . .
E-mail me and we can discuss it in greater detail.
(And please put “Costa Rican Architect” or somesuch in the Subject line so I know it’s not spam.)
Looks like you’ve done a lot of research, now it’s time for action. Just follow the advice and take the plunge. Worse case scenerio, you hate it and you move back. A lot of people do that everywhere – including within the U.S. etc.
My children attended in Puerto Viejo, at the Escuela Publica. Here is the email address for the English-Speaking instructor at the private school in Cahuita. She’s been very helpful to me, answering all kinds of questions, from academics to tuition and busing. I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about schools in Limon.
Email: Tricia B. – costaeco@gmail.com
Thanks alot Makohan! I visited the schools in the area (except Limon which seemed too far regardless) and talked to some people with kids at the school in Cahuita who all had positive feedback, but forgot to get a contact and their website is not fully functional, at least the one I have found http://www.cyecc.com/.
I’ll make sure to report back if I get any useful information.
PS> I also met the gym teacher at the Escuela Publica in PV and hung out for awhile after school and it seemed like a really positive atmosphere and the kids were all having a blast.
Sorry to jump into this conversation about 1 month later, however I am wondering how a non-resident enrolled in a public school. I am assuming the child is fluent in Spanish? I am moving there with an 11 & 14 yr old who speak English & my understanding was I have two choices: Expensive bilingual school or homeschooling. Am I correct?
In Costa Rica they have private schools that are not the North American or European expensive private schools. We sent our grandson to one and it was about $125.00 per month . It was great, he learned the language very well but some customs were more difficult for him to adjust to. When you come, ask in your community and someone will direct you to a private school.
The school year starts in February for most schools, so if you come in April, that will be late and may be a problem. It will mean your children would be going to school almost a year without a break.
There were no restrictions on a non-resident enrolling in public school in PV, but you are correct, the language barrier was difficult to say the least. However, most private school in the area also taught class in Spanish so my children would have been in the same boat regardless. I’ve found that, depending upon the ages, children catch on very quickly to the language. I’d say under age 9 or 10 is best, with the preschool years being ideal. Once they are older than say 10 or 11, it becomes more difficult for some reason to pick up the nuances of the language.
Homeschooling is an excellent option, if you have a budget that will allow you to be home to do this. The private schools, as mentioned above, are also very good and reasonable prices – extremely reasonably as compared to US private schools, with most tuition around $125 a month.
Thanks for the additional information! I corresponded with the Escuela Complementaria in Cauhuita and was encouraged to at least have foundational spanish, that the school year starts feb 12th, and costs around $120 (tuition probably going up) with a 20% discount for additional child, fees for uniform shirts bought from the school, and a bus fee. I do not know the bus fee as they said to check back later, but I have heard it is around $100 a month from Puerto Viejo.
Because my kids already have some Spanish and we have a few months, I am pretty sure they will start in July (if there is still room) and repeat the 2nd 1/2 of their school year and kick back in with their full grade in Feb. This was a recommendation from the school. That should give them a chance to get acclimated, brush up on their Spanish and be ready for the full year. At least that is the plan as of right now. I’ll report back how it all goes this summer 😉 Worst comes to worst we’ll home school the regular subjects and Spanish until Feb, but I think the 1/2 year plan is great (the kids however are lukewarm on this idea except for the fun of meeting all the new kids).thanks again!
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