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By all means give people other website addreses that contain information that will help educate and protect them where possible but please be extremely careful with the language we use in this forum.
Dave – Please email me…
Scott – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comPlease don’t misunderstand me, I have NEVER been robbed in Costa Rica but you do need to use your “common sense” which as they say, is not so common… Take sensible precautions and you should be fine.
Scott
I am meeting with Federico on Friday and will make sure we have all the details posted on the site as soon as I can… I think it’s safe to say that the rates will be substantially higher than what you would find in the USA.
To be blunt, I had tried to communicate with this company a couple of years back and after leaving a dozen messages without a single reply, forgot about them.
After seeing David’s posting, I though I would give them one last shot and was shocked to receive phone call from Federico within SECONDS of emailing him a very vague email.
Best wishes
Scott – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThanks to the Patriot Act who’s true unwritten, unspoken mandate is to find out EXACTLY how much money every American has in every country in the entire universe – opening up bank accounts in Costa Rica is now more difficult than ever.
Yes! You should be a fully legal resident of Costa Rica to open a bank account however, some banks will open an account if you can prove that you have applied for residency.
Some banks will open a Costa Rican corporation account for you much quicker than a personal account and forming a corporation is easy…
Scott
The local Costa Rica medical care system does sometimes have pre-existing condition clauses and if you speak fluent Spanish you should not have a problem getting around depending on where you live… The bigger the city, the tougher, more congested you’re going to find it …
Needless to say, you and your friends will only be covered by the CAJA when you are fully legal residents of Costa Rica and not before.
Scott
I don’t know but as a “guest” in this country, I would encourage you to pay the correct wage to anyone that you employ.
If you are caught employing “illegal” aliens, the penalties can be quite severe (not sure if this is law yet or not) so would also encourage you as a “guest” in this country to avoid hiring any illegal immigrants.
Scott
OK – You’re scaring me now…
You bought “several acre parcels of land for $35K per parcel” PRIOR TO ARRIVING in Costa Rica? And then when you got here you visited the property but “were not able to stand on our property”?
It may have been more useful to ask opinions and do your research BEFORE you bought the land, no? “Gorgeous land” may be gorgeous but if you’re not allowed or can’t physically build on it, what’s the point?
What does WLI stand for? Is it Worldwide Land Investment?
Scott – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comMy comment was that your goods might not actually get to Costa Rica… Meaning that they will be stolen BEFORE they get here.
You’ve got to move your “valuables” from car to hotel, from hotel to car, people will see you, immigration and customs officials will inspect your “valuables” and may have “friends” that would be very interested in relieving you of them.
Keep your life simple, travel down with the bare necessities and if you really need the jewelry and collectibles at some later stage, which you don’t, then ship them down here INSURED by plane or whatever other method.
This way you, AND your friends can focus on the travel experience and not worry about losing “valuables.”
As for INSIDE Costa Rica, if you are living in an ungated community in the mountains – surrounded by people who’s family income is about $250-$350 per month – unless you have a very good security system, I honestly don’t think these “valuables” will be around for too long.
Once again, I would encourage you to focus on the experience of living in Costa Rica and NOT bring a whole boatload of “valuables” to worry about…
Scott
Frankly, I think you would probably lose the stuff LONG before you got to Costa Rica.
This is NOT a sensible idea unless you plan on eating, sleeping, washing, showering and going to the bathroom inside your car and never, ever, ever leaving it – even for a minute.
Scott
Thank you for bringing this to our attention Michael, I did not see this…
There are a lot of people who have moved to Costa Rica legally and illegaly, trying to improve their quality of lives.
I am British and here (legally) and have a quality of life that I could only enjoy in the US or UK if I earned about five times as much as I do here so really can not blame others for trying to do the same…
This article tells it like it is. Many of my Tico friends are respectful of the Nicaraguans but many are not because they are using much of the resources of the country and one area in particular – healthcare services – seems to be a real sore spot!
Reminds me of the UK. Most of the Brits I know are sick to death of all sorts of immigrants showing up in the UK demanding health care and taking services and resources that they have paid for throughout their lives with their National Health Insurance contributions…
The good news in comparison, is that the Nicaraguans are A: Catholic and B: Speak Spanish and for the most part, they work hard.
Makes you wonder why some people continue to promote Nicaragua as such a great place to live when so many of them are trying to escape to Costa Rica to improve their lives. You don’t see Ticos fleeing to Nicaragua to improve the quality of their lives…
What’s the solution? I have no bloody idea! If I did, the governments of the US, UK and most other first world nations would be banging on my door asking for help with their immigration problems….
Scott – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comPS. I would suggest that the 180,000 number of “undocumented Nicaraguans” is probably WAY below the real number.
The Tarcoles river is the main river that carries much of the raw sewage from San José out to the sea. I would suggest that this is not the best place to bathe.
Having said that, it is an easy drive to Jaco from here…
Scott
There should be no problem whatsoever in trading from Costa Rica as long as you have good internet access.
There should be no problem wiring money to Costa Rica either but obviously you would need a Costa Rican bank account in the exact same name as your US bank account.
Scott
“Then there’s just the paperwork” has taken three months for some people. There are also import duties whcih can be considerable depending on the age and model of the car.
The ‘Costa Rica Cars – New or Used?’ is an important article and talks about import duties at:
Scott
