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Italian bread! That’s what I’d really miss being down there. Fresh and still warm from a Bronx bakery…umm. You’re right Maravilla, the bread in CR just doesn’t cut it. The closest is a loaf of Spanish bread which looks similar in shape but it is a light tan in color. Even where I live they can’t bake a good Bastone. Delicatessens and supermarkets actually “import” Italian bread up from the Bronx because so many people want it here.
I also read that article about Willi. They call his bread “Willi’s Pan.”Thank Lotus, Actually we have been tested for allergies. I’m allergic to dust mites, and of all crazy things, cockroaches. The problem with dust mites is they’re everywhere! We solved some of it by removing carpets from the lower level of the house. My eldest son suffers from mostly outdoor allergens. My youngest is allergic to dogs and cats…we have three dogs and one cat. Kinda hard to get rid of the pets though.
I appreciate the help and wonder if the mites and other fauna and flora are somehow different in CR.
As a side note, your photo is quite striking! As I always say, Costa Rica is one country where there are so many good looking people. I hope I don’t upset that balance when I finally get there.
Thanks again.Here’s a little example of better health while we visited CR. My kids and I all suffer from chronic sinus problems. I have used Flonase and OTC nasal sprays for years. During our 9 days in Costa Rica I found I didn’t have to use the nasal sprays at all. Similar to last visits experience. After returning to the US the relief lasted for 3 months, and now I’m back on the sprays. My children also had similar experiences with their sinuses. Maybe its mind over matter but we did feel better.
We also felt we ate better food there and as a consequence we all lost between 3&5 pounds in 9 days. And we had plenty of arroz con frijoles. Overall, all of us had better sleep and more energy.
Maybe the stress free environment and being on vacation helped, but I really think there is something to eating more natural foods and well being.Now after just coming back from the Dentist and having a failed dental implant turn into a bone graft, having a deep scaling performed, and remembering all the posts I read here last night, and again now, I think I’ll join Davidcmurray and take a couple of painkillers…The Novocaine is just starting to wear off.
In New york we had a radio talk show host, Bob Grant, whose famous line “We (theUS) are slipping and sliding toward Third Worldism” appears to be coming to pass.
After reading these highly intelligent and informative posts, I think I’ll go lie down, read a book and try to forget the ever worsening state of the Union.Night All!
I can tell you what I know about the market in the Northeast US. Supply and demand….Too many homes on the market… too few buyers. I have customers who are brokers and almost all of them say inventory on homes is way up in the past year. Teaser loans have driven prices way up in the last few years. People who bought and thought home value increases would never end are getting stuck now with higher interest loans. Many want to bail out because when their rates readjusted they found the house unaffordable. Recently prices have dropped to more realistic levels, but with as many homes as are on the market and less buyers, it is taking much longer to sell them. Even people who have lowered their prices 10% or more are finding it difficult to sell. Unless you want to give the house away, You have to wait until things stabilize. But no one seems to have an answer for when that will be.
On a positive note, one broker in an urban area told me 2006 was his best year ever.
I don’t know if anyone remembers this from last year… Pres. Bush, Vicente Fox and the PM of Canada met at the Bush ranch in Crawford, TX, to discuss the elimination of borders between the three countries. The talk was about issuing a “North American” passport of sorts, so you can travel between all three countries. In essence that would lead to “Citizenship” in all of the above. A united North America, What a concept. If it keeps going like this maybe I’ll get automatic CR citzenship in a couple of more years.
We have met the enemy and we are it!I hope I don’t come off sounding like an a** on this. But I am really glad this thread aired out many of the fears we all have in the back of our minds on relocating to a foreign country. The entire world is in a bad state and all of us want to find our own paradise. For myself I can say I believe it is Costa Rica. With all it’s good and bad. No matter where we live or travel, we will experience both.
There is no true paradise on earth, though we always try to find it. All of us that have had input on this thread have done so with good intentions. Emotions and fears appeared at some points to run high. In our own minds I’m sure we did not want to hear the worst about our own piece of “paradise.” But reality in CR, The US or Europe is still reality.
Our hopes, dreams and aspirations always want to be kept as pure as possible. But we have to weigh the negatives with the positives. In the end, the question is only one you can answer. Our lives are what we make of them, not what others tell us it should be.I would like to thank Scott for having the courage and wisdom to have this thread on his site. It takes many diverse opinions to formulate a decision on where any of us will spend our lives or retirement years. Knowledge is the power we all need to make those informed decisions.
Thanks again,Scott!I think we went a little off topic here but coming soon, I believe this year, the airline has to submit your name to “homeland security” before you can even leave the US.
I wonder if our dogs need to be cleared too?Its getting better by the day!!!!
Vegasknite, You’re right. I forgot about the increase in drug use being a major factor in crime. The poor do suffer more than the wealthy.
I too grew up in NYC, The Bronx in fact, which you know has a similar reputation to Brooklyn.
I’m sure both the things we mentioned have an influence on crime. I’ve been to San Jose with my wife, walked the streets of Alajuela at night and My kids have been in Jaco late at night and we also felt safe.
In San Jose we hired a street guide for a tour of the National Theater. He told us an increase in gangs in recent years has been the factor in crime there.
All in all CR is probably not any worse than any other place in the world. If we really did’nt feel secure we would not even be considering moving there.Crime rates around the world seem to be rising. Just look at the nightly news or read the newspapers, if you can stand to. Either it is a function of crimes being better reported, better news coverage, or it is actually rising. Remember a crime that is not reported appears never to have been committed.
As it reads in the rest of the world it reads similarly in CR. The English language papers and internet news reports have crime stories every day. Does this mean it is worse in CR than years ago, maybe.
Then look at US news and you get the same type of stories.
It would appear that the world is a different place than it was when I was growing up. Maybe the fact that news reporting is more sensationalized than ever before helps to reinforce our fears.
I happen to think there is a real rise in crime, in part, to the growing separation between the classes. The rich are increasingly accumulating more, and the poor are not being able to make the jump to middle class. In the US the middle class is shrinking by being taxed out of their houses and lifestyles. The gap in CR is also widening. this may account for poorer people committing more crime. In CR the society is more egalitarian than other places in the world and you would think that would lessen crime. But if the rich/poor gap keeps getting wider this may contribute to envy of the rich and an increase in criminal activity.
On our last visit to Costa Rica we had the opportunity to speak to a lifelong Tico about this. I was saying to him that living here makes you have more of a sense of “personal responsibility” in order to stay safe. As in Lock your doors, car, don’t drive on unfamiliar roads at night, don’t go to downtown San Jose at 3am and other obvious things. His answer was that it is really more a matter of “common sense.” If you look for trouble you will find it.
When all of us go on vacation we might sometimes leave our common sense at home, figuring hey we’re on vacation everything is going to be alright. Just be aware of your surroundings at all times and act appropriately. Doing this does not guarantee safety, but it most likely is a good start.Edited on Jan 10, 2007 10:57
Do you think the reason many of us leave our native country and move to CR is because of problems with the two legged variety of animals? I happen to be of the opinion it is…Not all of us, just most.
By the way we’re owned by three dogs and a cat. Unconditonal love, what a great thing!GringoTico, Last time I checked it was still free…and worth every penny.
But sometimes laughs can be priceless!
