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[quote=”NancyRoman”]My husband and I are considering visiting for a few months to see if we can possible live there.
I have heard that there are some plumbing issues and when one uses the restroom the toilet paper is put in a trash can and not flushed down the toilet. I can maybe understand that for older homes, but is it so in the newer homes and condos?:?:[/quote]
This is true. Paper is put in trash. They use 3-inch pipe rather than 6-inch pipe.
But more important was the scam or dishonesty of my landlady . . / and the dept of health didn’t give a damn. I had to pay the water for TWO houses the landlady owned There was no connection for water to the second house. There was also no septic tank. Dept of Health didn’t care, The realtors trying to sell the house were also uncaring and dishonest. Be careful.
I have no idea which article the letter-writer has read. Revolution will really start should her idea be implemented.
Read my article in http://www.pronlinenews.com/?p=28129
Dishonesty or incompetence in Massachusetts
Barb[quote=”VictoriaLST”]Too many opinions…
Is it 72 hours as one group of friends say or do we just cross into Nicaragua for a few hours and then cross back into CR as another group claims?
[/quote]
Just a few hours is all that is necessary. I spent one hour in the duty-free shop and that was sufficient.[quote=”jmi82060″]If this does not seem to be too personal of a question for you, I would like to know how some of you spend your time in your daily lives. What gives you meaning to your lives? I was wondering how a retired expat fills his/her time if not working or managing a job. Thanks.[/quote]
It depends on your age and gender.
As a 78-yo female, I was bored. I joined online writing groups, wrote a second book, finished a third, wrote many articles for an online newspaper (pronlinenews.com), did some legal consulting for fans back in Massachusetts, had many email arguments with my landlady who in my opinion was a thief (my water bill was for TWO houses; there was NO septic tank; and so on).Most single or divorced or old or alcoholic or recovering alcoholic men were seeking and/or sought young or much younger Costa Rican women for sex. The CR women wanted money of the men, who were willing to provide for those women and, sometimes, their families. The men were generally unattractive.
The married expats varied in size and age and money. I was friendly with one Canadian couple, but they had their own busy life.
I did meet many Ticans. All were amiable and they tended to bring their relatives around to my house. I was invited to several parties at their homes.
But in summary, I was bored. What I was doing could be done in any country, provided I had a computer.
After three years, when my lease was up, I returned to the USA. I still have many problems, the biggest one being lack of sufficient money.
My SKYPE phone, 1-978-961-0079, is you have other questions.
Barbara “Barb” Johnson[quote=”Scott”]Last night Mayra and I had dinner in the new, very elegant ‘Andiamo La’ Italian restaurant located beside Más Por Menos en Santa Ana (on the road to the Cruz Roja) …
At c57,299.87 (US$115) for the two of us, this certainly isn’t [i]comida tipica[/i] but we can’t wait to go back …
[/quote]$115 is more that one-tenth of my social security. A good reason to leave Costa Rica. Not cheap at all. Insanity if one is retiring to CR thinking it is a cheap place to live.
[quote=”jmi82060″]I have heard others say that one can live on one’s social security if one lives the Tico lifestyle. What might that mean exactly?[/quote]
It depends on how much you get for social security.
Ticos–gardeners–make generally 1000 colones an hour. They don’t pay as much as you do for rent.They usually live in the “family” house, which has been there a long time.
The Tico lifestyle means beans and rice reheated in the morning and fresh beans and rice at lunch and dinner.
Ticos come in all classes, poor, merchant or better paid, and rich. Depends which Ticos you are trying to live like.
[quote=”maravilla”]no no not the minsterio de salud — the municipality. not having a septic tank is a building violation. they pay more attention to those things than health issues.[/quote]
Too late. I’ve moved. I have no idea where in the municipality to go. Do you?
[quote=”maravilla”]no no not the minsterio de salud — the municipality. not having a septic tank is a building violation. they pay more attention to those things than health issues.[/quote]
Too late. I’ve moved. I have no idea where in the municipality to go. Do you?
[quote=”maravilla”]. . . so if you have something like that going on, then i would go to the muni and file a complaint. tossing around the words “cholera” and “hepatitis” might get their attention.[/quote]
I DID go to the Ministerio do Salud in Atenas. The people were pleasant like most Ticans were. But they are also lazy and incompetent. They said they’d come to the house and investigate but they did not. The toilet waste either (1)goes underneath a second house that is the landlady’s — depends on which STORY one believes or (2) goes into a neighboring stream on a PRIVATE conservation land where there are Brahmin vacas.
The stream is a mess. There is either a lot of water running in it or it is a dark muddy brown. I didn’t go near it. I had been warned it is contaminated when I first moved to the house. At first I thought it had only been contaminated by the vacas. When I realized there was no septic tank to empty — septic tank companies could not find it to empty — I realized it was toilet waste that was doing the contamination.
My landlady is known throughout Atenas. She is a Colombian woman who has been living in Atenas for many years and is notable for her personality. She said she had the tank emptied and would provide me with the company number. She never did that. Why? Because she had no such number and clearly was telling me one more of the many lies she had.
The water bill was for TWO houses not only for my rented house. There was NO lighting on the patio, because the wires were encrusted, corroded, etc. They were covered by ceramic wall decorations.
The realtors often came by with potential renters and potential buyers, and NEVER said anything to those people. Sadly, most of the realtors were Gringos and were dishonest and unethical. I was amazed when I heard what they said about the house.
I had one choice and that was to move.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]You’re right on every point, Tom. Costa Rica is “. . . without a doubt one of the greenest countries on the planet.”
Now if they’d just clean up tailpipe emissions, we could actually see all that green.[/quote]Now if the Ministry of Salud gave a damn about septic tanks. I reported my landlady’s house. It had no septic tank . . . and the kitchen smelled on occasion. The folks at the ministry said they’d come to check. They didn’t. When I left, it still had no septic tank. Her house is still for sale. Some Gringo sucker will come along and buy it. The realtors know and say nothing.
[quote=”km1204″]WE HAVE AN ACCOUNT IN THE BANK OF COSTA RICA. CAN WE DEPOSIT A CASHIERS CHECK DRAWN ON OUR US BANK IN NJ -BANK OF AMERICA- WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS AND HOW MUCH CAN WE DO IN A TRNSACTION?
[/quote]I have an account in a USDOLLAR Banco Nacional. I’ve been able to direct deposit from my USA bank into BN immediately. That is, without any need to wait.
I can convert whenever I want into colones . . . at the published conversion rate, of course. No waiting. All immediate. I think I was able to withdraw $1000 at the ATM.
No problems. I simply stayed away from checks at all times.[quote=”maravilla”]some of us might follow you!!! jajaja[/quote]
That would be funny, meeting folks in Greece whom I couldn’t meet in CR.
Barb[quote=”juliab”]Agree with Maravilla, but have to point out that rural Italy is CHEAPER than CR at the moment. We spent 3 weeks there last summer. I was truly surprised just how affordable it was (the rural part, same on the French side).
The only question I have is why would you, Barb, want to move from one 3rd world country (CR) to another (rural Italy is as close as it gets to 3rd world)? It just doesn’t make any sense.. you’ll waste your money and precious energy. Rural Italy is full of EXACTLY the same problems as CR (the ones you’re trying to escape).
For those trying to bash Barb, why? She’s made her mind. Good for her! Go ahead, Barb, do what is best FOR YOU.[/quote]
Thanks, Julie.
I’ll let you all know what it’s like where I end up.
Barb[quote=”maravilla”]greece may still be affordable, but forget italy. and france. italy would’ve been our first choice given that my husband’s family still lives there, but unless you have at least $3000 a month just to get by, life would be dismal there. all his family complain bitterly how expensive it is — maybe things will go back to normal when they ditch the euro. i would’ve chosen the south of france, personally, but again, way too expensive compared to how it used to be when i lived in france years ago. now most of those places are only for the very rich. there are still some parts of italy that are affordable, but those places would be way out in the countryside without all the things you say you miss. the intellectuals there are the truffle hunters with their beloved pigs!! jajaja
[/quote]Around 1989 or 1990, I almost took off with a Brit, whom I adultered with 25 years earlier. He bored me, though, but I thought Provence was flat enough for me to bike around. If he womanized. I’d manize. Read all the books on Provence and its truffles.
Good lord, my crazy past. Good thing I have lots of memories. They make up for what is lacking now.
Yes, I’d been hoping Greece would pull out of the Euro thingaling.
In Italy, I like Tuscany. Another possibility was around Bologna and the University.
Dreams, dreams, dreams.
Barb[quote=”Versatile”]This is a good lesson for many of us. Looks like a failure to assimilate to me. On her bad leg. You have to take in that much of Costa Rica is hilly and there are not many amenities for handicapped people to help get around in Costa Rica. I know that and accept that. I have a bad leg as well. Being a female alone in CR can have some negatives as well.
Be sure to try CR out before moving to CR. I think she messed up there. I wonder why she has lived in so many other countries and was she happy in any of them?
[/quote]Yes, the year in Europe traveling around was when I was 19-20 with my family.
I adored Greece. The happiest years of my life. Loved the people. the food, particularly the music, their kefi (energy), their culture. Best love affair aod my life. Arranged marriages there at the time. We probably could have avoided that, but I didn’t want to start breeding again. I already had two sons. He wanted children. He eventually did enter an arranged marriage. I heard from him. He wanted me to return to Greece from Israel, where I thought I could work. Since then he married and not has five grown children. He still wants me to return to Greece, but I no longer look as I looked in my 30s. You can’t go home again. I’ll end up in Greece, but I won’t let him know.
Israel was very tense. Police told kids not to play on the grass. Lots of pros and cons. Could not afford to stay their on one salary–assuming I could have found a job.
Italy would be great, too.
For the last 10 years, until I came to CR, I’ve had an affair with a much younger man. He came to CR to check it out. He didn’t like it, so wants me to return to the States. How long I’ll stay there is up in the air. It’s about time I recognize my age–77 years.
Life is complicated. Drawing conclusions from incomplete information is always dangerous and wrong.
Barb
