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My brother and I are planning to move to Costa Rica. We wish to move a 48 foot tractor trailer through the Port of Lemon from Miami. Any advice on this subject would be welcome. We have CR friends who had moved a similar trailer from Fort Lauderdale, FL about 5 years ago to Grecia, CR, however we are unable to contact them via internet. we are looking for some insight on getting through customs, finding the “Right driver” to move the trailer ‘ etc. Our plans are to move to CR, rent a small house in the country (hopefully), get to know the area, the people, the customs and then later on buy some land. I know things in CR are much slower than in the US -(Thank God) so we are trying to get our homework done.
Also what are the pro’s and con’s of becomming a Resident?
Regards,
RichThe answers to your questions could fill a book and I am hoping you are getting professional advice from shippers etc because what you are propsoing sounds like it could be fraught with red tape like problems.
And it sounds like you may be focusing on the wrong end of things…
I would strongly suggest you speak with immigration attorneys first BEFORE you start shipping 48 foot tractor trailers into the country…
Scott
After they slap duties on all the goods you are bringing, those goods will cost you more than buying local. What material wealth is so important that you want to bring it to Costa Rica? Bottom line, bringing a 48 foot trailer of goods to Costa Rica isn’t a good idea (based on limited information). Everyone that I know sells nearly everything they own in the states and then repurchases in CR.
You don’t seem to have ever been to Costa Rica to be honest… have you? How many times?
You also seem young (not many 60 year olds are traveling with their brother). My point about being young is that you likely don’t qualify for either of the 2 residency programs – one being you have to be of retirement age and the other being that you have to have around a 1000 a month from investment income so CR’s gov’t knows that you don’t have to work (take a Tico’s job) to support yourself. You can’t LEGALLY work in Costa Rica. Read this: https://www.welovecostarica.com/public/953.cfm?sd=15
There aren’t any cons (I don’t think?) to becoming a resident – the issue is if you qualify.
Like Scott said, could wrote a book and I must add that it would be a very big book, because we don’t know much about your situation.
Dwayne, you now know someone who has, in fact, moved all their possessions to Costa Rica, and we’re glad we did. Not everything available in C.R. is up to U.S. standards, and if you have familiar stuff that you like, you should plan to bring it.
That said, I’m trying to figure out just what the question is here. Is the plan to use this 48-foot trailer in commerce here or to use it as a shipping container? If the plan is to use it in commerce, then I see a very long road ahead for the importers.
If the plan is to use it as a shipping container, I think a much better alternative would be to go through conventional channels and get a 40-foot shipping container. That’s done all the time and there are good companies here who can make all the arrangements.
Wow David, I’m impressed!
I’m a minimalist so I have only the bare essentials so there isn’t much I’d have to buy locally to satisfy my needs and wants.
I was wondering what the trailer was for too.
Marcia and I own some original artwork that would have been very difficult to sell in the U.S. and which is dear to us. Once you’re committed to a container, you might as well fill it up. The cost is a flat fee full or empty. And you’re not likely to be able to sell your belongings in the U.S. for enough to pay for replacements here in Costa Rica (at least that was our rationale).
David, how long ago did you move to CR? Did you ship container to east or west side. Was it a nightmare to get through customs to retrive your container cargo? Please share some insight into how the process worked for you. We had originally considered moving our things down, but some other sources (don’t know if they actually had done it or just read about it) made it sound like next to impossible. Thanks for your insight.
We shipped our container from northeastern North Carolina via Norfolk, Virginia to the east coast of Costa Rica. It was picked up at our home on June 15th. We arrived here on September 7th. It got here ahead of us.
Since our guest house here was not finished, everything went into storage. Once the guest house was completed, the first delivery of household goods could take place. Everything went just perfectly except that they delivered a couple of things we didn’t want and missed something insignificant that we had requested.
Moving a containerful of household goods to Costa Rica need not be a nightmare. We opted to use a Costa Rica-based moving company on the theory that they, better than some U.S.-based mover, could negotiate the Customs maze. I don’t know if that was good thinking or not, but we had no problems.
Elsewhere in this forum, I’ve written more extensively about our experience. It is critical that you follow all the rules and procedures or a nightmare might ensue.
Let me also reflect on the economics of the question. You’ve got a houseful of goods in the U.S., right? So you must either sell, give away, throw away or move all that stuff. If it’s stuff you like, then the question boils down to this: Can you realize enough from selling what you can sell, and save enough by not moving your things, to give you enough money to replace everything here in Costa Rica? Not everything here is up to U.S. standards, and not everything (especially imported things) is cheap. So you need to think about the value of your household goods and the cost of replacement and make a decision.
Another point: The cost of the container is fixed. You pay the same whether it’s full or empty. So if you have things with useful life left in them, you might as well put them in the container; you’re paying for it anyway.
Think about your kitchen stuff, your tools, your books, your clothing (summerwear only, please), your family heirlooms, your pictures. If you’re not ready to give those things up, then you may as well ship the sofa and bed.
Thanks, that was very helpful and I will try to find your other dicussions in this forum. This has been an awesome place for “honest to goodness” real life help! Makes it a tad bit less scary. Again, many thanks.
Where did you find a CR company, David? Was your container insured the same as it would be (if purchased) with a U.S. company? From what I was told here, I give them a value; they insure it for loss or damage.
ABC Mudanzas advertises in A.M. Costa Rica (www.amcostarica.com). SG Global can be reached at jsueiras@sgglobalcr.com. Both have very good reputations.
The contents of your container can be insured on a “piece-by-piece” basis. That is, you can insure the television but not insure the anvil; it’s up to you. Our insurance costa was 3% of the value we declared on each item — each box, each piece of furniture, whatever.
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