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1. Bugs
2. Big Bugs
3. Hairy, Big Bugs
4. Killer, Hairy Big Bugs
5. Hungry, Killer, Hairy Big BugsBugs outside = good. Bugs inside = bad. My plan is to keep a couple of chickens around 1) for eggs and 2) for debugging the immediate vicinity around the house. I’ll report back…
Sorry that doesn’t work, when they are off the ground or up high.
We have chickens, turkeys, young peacocks plus bugs!I’m seriously considering a move to CR and look forward to all the differences between there and the US. However, as someone with a physical handicap that limits my ability to walk over rough terrain or climb stairs without a handrail I’m concerned about getting around. Any thoughts or comments?
It seems like the majority of public places in Costa Rica are at or very near ground level, so access to them won’t normally be a problem. You won’t be able to choose just anyplace to live, of course, but most places with significant stairs will have handrails.
Given your physical limitations, might it be wise to consult a physical or occupational therapist in the U.S. to see what adaptive equipment might be useful to you? Without knowing any more than what you’ve said, I’m wondering if a quad cane would be helpful, but that’s just a wild guess.
I can’t think of five concerns about living in Costa Rica. But I do have three.
I spend 9 months a year here and my No. 1 complaint is the high cost of living, at least in the urban area of Heredia where we live. Wages are low and prices are high. Just the opposite of what it should be, and certainly of what it is in the USA. On every return trip to Costa Rica, I bring a large suitcase filled with Wal-Mart items — from shampoo, toothpaste and sun screen to home electronics. You name it, whatever it is, unless it’s locally grown or made in Costa Rica, costs twice as much here than in Charlotte, NC, where I also maintain a home. Even at the Wal-Mart-owned stores, like Hipermas and Pali, the prices are much more than in US Wal-Marts.
Cell phones are another good example, my wife and step-daughter both needed upgraded phones this year. I bought new Nokia and Sony Ericson models off ebay and had them shipped to my house in the states, saving hundreds of dollars over what they would have cost here, even at Hipermas. (Just make sure you buy the “unlocked” versions that have the band used in Costa Rica. Easy to find.)
Second, the infrastructure is severely lacking. Suffice it to say there are no rocket scientists in Costa Rica. Even a good engineer is hard to find. Example, the Autopista del Sol, the so-called Caldera Highway that runs from San Jose to the Pacific Coast. All of 77 kilometers long, this road was 30 years in the making, just opened a few months ago, and is now closed in part due to rock and mudslides, which any Tico could have told you would happen during the rainy season, which lasts a long time. OK, a Spanish company built it, but you have the blame the Tico politicos for hiring them and not overseeing the engineering. Of course, not that Costa Rica has the engineering competency, talent pool or equipment to build or oversee something as simple as road construction.Telecommunications is another example. The only reason it’s as far along as it is now is because the government finally caved in a year or two ago and agreed to allow competition, which, actually, has yet to happen. The internet: Yes, you can get high speed internet in your home (gracias a Dios), but try keeping it on during a rain storm, which happens frequently. The internet service is our neighborhood, at least via the cable TV company, is totally unreliable in rainy weather, and all electric power goes out frequently.
If the idea of having to put your used toilet paper in a waste basket instead of flushing it down the toilet turns your stomach, you won’t be very comfortable in Costa Rica. Since the country has no modern sewage treatment plants, you have to live with rinky dink septic systems, often installed by complete incompetents, that would clog even faster if you were to put toilet paper in them. And get used to the idea of seeing the streets in your neighborhood flowing with soapy bath and washing machine water. That’s because, from most houses, non-toilet water drains directly into the streets, down a storm drain and into the nearest river or stream. Oh yes, and the manhole covers on these drains are often missing, leaving huge open caverns that will swallow your car.
Which brings me to my third complaint. Despite the country’s eco image, Costa Rica is one of the most littered places you’ll ever live or visit. Drive down any main thoroughfare through San Jose to the Pacific beaches and you’ll be horrified by the amount of trash on the roadsides. Even in Tico neighborhoods of $100,000+ homes, you’ll find trash in front of houses, along the curbs and in the streets. It’s really unbelievable. And where does all this trash end up, in the rivers and streams and along the shorelines, some of which are the most polluted in the world. It must be a cultural thing where people think nothing of littering and where anti-littering laws are either non-existent or never enforced and dogs run free.
[b]ACEPDX[/b] before you make a final decision to move here, you need to visit and see just how [i]bad the sidewalks[/i] are.
You must walk while looking down.[quote=”chuck1″]I can’t think of five concerns about living in Costa Rica. But I do have three.
I spend 9 months a year here and my No. 1 complaint is the high cost of living, at least in the urban area of Heredia where we live. Wages are low and prices are high. Just the opposite of what it should be, and certainly of what it is in the USA. On every return trip to Costa Rica, I bring a large suitcase filled with Wal-Mart items — from shampoo, toothpaste and sun screen to home electronics. You name it, whatever it is, unless it’s locally grown or made in Costa Rica, costs twice as much here than in Charlotte, NC, where I also maintain a home. Even at the Wal-Mart-owned stores, like Hipermas and Pali, the prices are much more than in US Wal-Marts. [/quote]
I must be in communication with some of the 25,000,000 jobless in the US. We live in Costa Rica full time on Social Security and are in better shape than many families in the US.
The Walton’s are # 12, 15, 16 and 18 on the list of the worlds richest people with a total net worth of over $80 billion as a result of the inferior Chinese products they import into both the US and Costa Rica.[quote=”chuck1″]Cell phones are another good example, my wife and step-daughter both needed upgraded phones this year. I bought new Nokia and Sony Ericson models off ebay and had them shipped to my house in the states, saving hundreds of dollars over what they would have cost here, even at Hipermas. (Just make sure you buy the “unlocked” versions that have the band used in Costa Rica. Easy to find.) [/quote]
Being addicted to “cosas Americana” and gadgets that do everything has its down side. When I want to make a call or send a text message I use a phone. When I want a photo I have a camera, when I want music I have a Walkman, when I want internet access I have a computer. When you want “stuff” from the US you pay the shipping or take a trip back. I find most products manufactured in Central America to be very serviceable and fairly priced. What I need from the US comes by mail.
[quote=”chuck1″]Second, the infrastructure is severely lacking. Suffice it to say there are no rocket scientists in Costa Rica. Even a good engineer is hard to find. Example, the Autopista del Sol, the so-called Caldera Highway that runs from San Jose to the Pacific Coast. All of 77 kilometers long, this road was 30 years in the making, just opened a few months ago, and is now closed in part due to rock and mudslides, which any Tico could have told you would happen during the rainy season, which lasts a long time. OK, a Spanish company built it, but you have the blame the Tico politicos for hiring them and not overseeing the engineering. Of course, not that Costa Rica has the engineering competency, talent pool or equipment to build or oversee something as simple as road construction. [/quote]
Now isn’t that unique. Where have I heard before about politicos being in the pockets of lobbyists, who had no idea what they were doing and allowing contracting companies to take advantage of the taxpayer?
[quote=”chuck1″]Telecommunications is another example. The only reason it’s as far along as it is now is because the government finally caved in a year or two ago and agreed to allow competition, which, actually, has yet to happen. The internet: Yes, you can get high speed internet in your home (gracias a Dios), but try keeping it on during a rain storm, which happens frequently. The internet service is our neighborhood, at least via the cable TV company, is totally unreliable in rainy weather, and all electric power goes out frequently. [/quote]
ICE is obviously a problem but what government bureaucracy isn’t.
AmNet installed new cable into our area last October and I have not suffered down time due to AmNet problems after the first week.[quote=”chuck1″]If the idea of having to put your used toilet paper in a waste basket instead of flushing it down the toilet turns your stomach, you won’t be very comfortable in Costa Rica. Since the country has no modern sewage treatment plants, you have to live with rinky dink septic systems, often installed by complete incompetents, that would clog even faster if you were to put toilet paper in them. And get used to the idea of seeing the streets in your neighborhood flowing with soapy bath and washing machine water. That’s because, from most houses, non-toilet water drains directly into the streets, down a storm drain and into the nearest river or stream. Oh yes, and the manhole covers on these drains are often missing, leaving huge open caverns that will swallow your car. [/quote]
We are required to have septic systems and grey water systems that actually function and they need to be cleaned out on a regular basis or they back up and overflow into our own yards.
[quote=”chuck1″]Which brings me to my third complaint. Despite the country’s eco image, Costa Rica is one of the most littered places you’ll ever live or visit. Drive down any main thoroughfare through San Jose to the Pacific beaches and you’ll be horrified by the amount of trash on the roadsides. Even in Tico neighborhoods of $100,000+ homes, you’ll find trash in front of houses, along the curbs and in the streets. It’s really unbelievable. And where does all this trash end up, in the rivers and streams and along the shorelines, some of which are the most polluted in the world. It must be a cultural thing where people think nothing of littering and where anti-littering laws are either non-existent or never enforced and dogs run free.[/quote]
I would challenge you to find any Costa Rican beach on a list of the 100 worst polluted in the world. As far as rivers go, see: [url=http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070422192119AAgNFgx]Polluted rivers[/url] eight of the ten rivers on THIS list are in Louisiana. However, [url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-460077/Is-worlds-polluted-river.html]this one[/url] takes the cake.
You are obviously living in a different world than I am. I live full time in a semi rural area near Ciudad Colon. There is no trash in the town or on the highway through. No matter where you live there are people who feel under no obligation to care for the environment. There are street cleaning crews working every day to keep the town clean. Dogs, cats and any other animal owned by many Ticos are looked at as possessions not companions. Different culture, different point of view. We’ve gained six great companions off of the streets as well as protection for our property.
When you move into a different culture you either fit in or you try to change it. Those who try to change it don’t usually last very long…unless they like beating their heads against rocks.
Sir, If you live with that attitude of flashing gold and valuables without concern for being a victim of a serious robbery attempt, I would logically think you have a death wish.
You probably are waiting for some poor sucker to walk into your house so you can blow his brains out.
What ever floats your boat.You appear in your photo to be an attractive sucessful woman who knows what she wants. Remember that in costa rica.
[quote=”chuck1″]I can’t think of five concerns about living in Costa Rica. But I do have three.
I spend 9 months a year here and my No. 1 complaint is the high cost of living, at least in the urban area of Heredia where we live. Wages are low and prices are high. Just the opposite of what it should be, and certainly of what it is in the USA. On every return trip to Costa Rica, I bring a large suitcase filled with Wal-Mart items — from shampoo, toothpaste and sun screen to home electronics. You name it, whatever it is, unless it’s locally grown or made in Costa Rica, costs twice as much here than in Charlotte, NC, where I also maintain a home. Even at the Wal-Mart-owned stores, like Hipermas and Pali, the prices are much more than in US Wal-Marts.
Cell phones are another good example, my wife and step-daughter both needed upgraded phones this year. I bought new Nokia and Sony Ericson models off ebay and had them shipped to my house in the states, saving hundreds of dollars over what they would have cost here, even at Hipermas. (Just make sure you buy the “unlocked” versions that have the band used in Costa Rica. Easy to find.)
Second, the infrastructure is severely lacking. Suffice it to say there are no rocket scientists in Costa Rica. Even a good engineer is hard to find. Example, the Autopista del Sol, the so-called Caldera Highway that runs from San Jose to the Pacific Coast. All of 77 kilometers long, this road was 30 years in the making, just opened a few months ago, and is now closed in part due to rock and mudslides, which any Tico could have told you would happen during the rainy season, which lasts a long time. OK, a Spanish company built it, but you have the blame the Tico politicos for hiring them and not overseeing the engineering. Of course, not that Costa Rica has the engineering competency, talent pool or equipment to build or oversee something as simple as road construction.Telecommunications is another example. The only reason it’s as far along as it is now is because the government finally caved in a year or two ago and agreed to allow competition, which, actually, has yet to happen. The internet: Yes, you can get high speed internet in your home (gracias a Dios), but try keeping it on during a rain storm, which happens frequently. The internet service is our neighborhood, at least via the cable TV company, is totally unreliable in rainy weather, and all electric power goes out frequently.
If the idea of having to put your used toilet paper in a waste basket instead of flushing it down the toilet turns your stomach, you won’t be very comfortable in Costa Rica. Since the country has no modern sewage treatment plants, you have to live with rinky dink septic systems, often installed by complete incompetents, that would clog even faster if you were to put toilet paper in them. And get used to the idea of seeing the streets in your neighborhood flowing with soapy bath and washing machine water. That’s because, from most houses, non-toilet water drains directly into the streets, down a storm drain and into the nearest river or stream. Oh yes, and the manhole covers on these drains are often missing, leaving huge open caverns that will swallow your car.
Which brings me to my third complaint. Despite the country’s eco image, Costa Rica is one of the most littered places you’ll ever live or visit. Drive down any main thoroughfare through San Jose to the Pacific beaches and you’ll be horrified by the amount of trash on the roadsides. Even in Tico neighborhoods of $100,000+ homes, you’ll find trash in front of houses, along the curbs and in the streets. It’s really unbelievable. And where does all this trash end up, in the rivers and streams and along the shorelines, some of which are the most polluted in the world. It must be a cultural thing where people think nothing of littering and where anti-littering laws are either non-existent or never enforced and dogs run free.[/quote]
Hmmmmm This brings a question to my mind. What the Hell are you doing here 9 months of the year ? LOL
OH. BTW. CR [b]DOES[/b] have a rocket scientist.His name is Frank Chang.
http://www.adastrarocket.com/aarc/AdAstraCostaRica[quote=”ronny”]Number 1 for me would be crime. I like this initiative
http://caponcrime.info/%5B/quote%5DWhere the wealthy gather there must be protection. Making yourselves obvious targets requires additional protection at additional expense.
We live in a “middle income” Tico neighborhood that does not attrract the professionals from the city and the local ladrones are known.
Additionally four salvaged street dogs averaging 25 – 30 kilos and a great deterrent.
We live without gates or bars which will be added but it will not be for any reason other than to fit in.Don’t forget the dippity doo so you can spike your hair up and look like a rooster.Gotta ” fit in”:wink:
[quote=”soflodoug”]You appear in your photo to be an attractive sucessful woman who knows what she wants. Remember that in costa rica.[/quote]
To whom is that directed? And please say more on this point.
1) The seemingly illogical changes in the rules that effect “residents” (such as the new laws that may or may not be completely enforced. . ). Friends of mine dropped their resident application when they were told their necessary 6 months a year in CR had to be in one continuous block of time after having made several hundred thousands of dollars investment and many years work toward permanent resident status. I would have been ready to strangle someone. . .
2) Security bothers me a little. We happily live in part of the US where we don’t lock our doors and probably could not find the keys at this point. . . as well as having no doors on a work shop building. I KNOW this will not fly in CR.
3) Rising costs. A limited budget can quickly become an an insufficient budget when costs rise too much. But we are seeing that in the U.S. as well.
4) How property will be handled when I die. With my children in the U.S. I am not sure how well the property transfer or sale if necessary will go when the time comes. I suppose some serious lawyering and planning is necessary.
Bugs, snakes and pests are almost everywhere on the planet. In rural Virginia and North Carolina I’ve been in places where the flies, mosquitoes and wasps were MUCH worse than in Costa Rica. We have a dozen types of mud daubers here that clog hoses, vents and oil ports on tools, machinery and automobiles if they hold still too long. . . I’ve had snakes in the shop on a regular basis and Copperheads are fairly common. We may not have the variety of snakes as Costa Rica but they are more common than folks think. The bugs that bothered ME in Costa Rica were the little noseeums that eat you up at night without notice and can bight through the holes in mosquito netting.
guru, who told your friends that they’d have to remain in Costa Rica for six continuous months each year as residents? This is the very first I’ve heard of such a requirement.
And . . . You’re right about estate planning. You need to do it. Your will filed in the U.S. will not be recognized in Costa Rica nor will your Costa Rican will be recognized in the U.S. You need to file one in each country if you’re likely to have inheritable assets. If you die intestate in Costa Rica, the probate law is very specific about the distribution of your assets and that may be very different from what you’d prefer.
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