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[quote=”maravilla”] and there is a hint of racism and xenophobia in your post that is beneath you.[/quote]
Whereas you may think I’m xenophobic I would simply counter that with you’re being naive. I’m am not afraid to call a spade a spade. Am not into the “political correctness” BS.
[quote=”maravilla”] i agree with David on this one. things are not always what they seem. not in this day and age, anyway.[/quote]
I agree with the above point. The difference is that you likely believe that most of these people are saints whereas I believe most are snakes.
Sorry to say but I [b]KNOW[/b] what I saw and you [b]DON’T[/b]. I was just citing the example of the Middle Eastern woman and her Mercedes as but 1 example of what goes on day in and day out involving so many of these [b]social parasites[/b]. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how polluted and abused our entitlement system is. However, those that are “takers” and not “givers” will always find excuses for defending Entitlements. Not surprising since nowadays it is much easier to sit in the cart than pull the cart.
As far as the nonsense about maybe the Mercedes belong to her boss or a relative……..[b]COME ON!!!![/b] If you believe that crap I have a GREAT Rolex I’ll sell you for $50.00!
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]The question none of you has addressed is whether (worst case scenario) the Mercedes which this woman was driving would have disqualified her from Food Stamp participation had the issuing agency known she was driving it.
The Food Stamp program, WIC, housing subsidies, etc do not and never have required that their recipients be totally destitute to be eligible.
When I was a welfare caseworker in Michigan in the early 1970s, clients could have as much as $1,500 in the bank plus a virtually unlimited value of personal possessions [u]excluding automobiles, farm equipment, livestock, etc[/u]. The equity they had in vehicles counted against the $1,500, but it’s possible that the Mercedes in question was “under water” relative to what was owed on it. Or it may have been leased.
And if those limits have kept up with inflation since 1970 then the allowable “wealth” may be much higher. You cannot fault people for taking legal advantage of programs the government has put in place for their benefit. And you should not automatically assume that someone is cheating until you know the facts.
Things are not always as they seem.
[/quote]If it [b]LOOKS[/b] like a Duck and it [b]QUACKS[/b] like a Duck then guess what: It [b]IS[/b] a Duck!
[quote=”VictoriaLST”]I used to work in social services but for the Catholic Church. I met a lot of people on welfare and other entitlements. Since everything was confidential, they told me things they would never reveal to employees of state or federal agencies. Among those confidences (and this was in the 90s – don’t even remember names):
“I got pregnant because “Jeremy” is going to be 18 and off the welfare. I picked the father because he gets veterans benefits.”
“I get benefits for me and my seven kids under my maiden name. My husband makes too much for us to get the welfare.”I could go on, but you get the picture.[/quote]
This doesn’t surprise me one bit. My most astounding experience was when I was at a market in Los Angeles frequented mainly by Middle Easterners (I buy my parrot’s food there…seeds…etc). There was a woman in front of me at the cash register with a basket full of groceries which was all paid for with [b]Food Stamps[/b]. I was directly behind her in line. After I paid for my items and was walking towards my car in the parking lot I passed by this very same lady still loading her groceries into her [b]LATE MODEL MERCEDES[/b].
I myself would GLADLY settle for [b]ZERO[/b] entitlement. Please just cut me a check, [b]WITH INTEREST[/b], for every nickel I have paid to the the Federal Government which was [b]targeted to either Social Security and Medicare benefits[/b] and I will [b]GLADLY[/b] settle fpr ZERO entitlement and be on my way. Fair?
I had heard, but am not positive, that the famed Salomon Brothers economist Henry Kaufman lives or has substantial interests in CR. Anyone know if that’s accurate?
[quote=”maravilla”]more and more, i see posts from people wanting to move here and work. that tells me they know very little about this country because that should be the very first thing they research. on one retirement website they recommend that you don’t come here with any expectation of earning $1.00, that you have approx $2000 a month in income, and at least $25,000 – $50,000 in the bank for emergencies. so many people come here completely unprepared and then wonder why living here is so hard.[/quote]
It’s a case of “Look Before You Leap” and far too many people don’t do that. They read glamorous stories or see TV shows touting how great Costa Rica is (or many other countries for that matter) and right away they think “Oh…I’ll just move to Costa Rica and [b]ALL[/b] my problems will be solved”. People need to be much more thoughtful and [b]THINK[/b] things out and [b]DO SOME RESEARCH[/b] before making major changes. The grass is [b]NOT[/b] always greener on the other side….
Yes there are boatloads of options available in that price range. Besides what you might find on this site under long/short term rentals if you are resourceful there are a number of other sites where you can find a wide variety of affordable rental in Grecia…Atenas…etc.
About 3 or 4 years ago (when the market was firmer) I was looking at the same thing in Playa Ventanas a bit south of Ojochal. I decided to hold off, thankfully, but I did explore this situation in depth. My recollection was that $75 – $85 p/square feet got you a very nice “built to American Standards” home whereas $50 p/square foot or slightly less got you a Tico Style constructed home. I worked with Land Assurance and I’m not sure whether they’re still around or not. It would seem that you could do better than $100 – $135. Good Luck
The good thing is that CR is such a small country that it’s very easy to get from one location to the next. If, like the comment above, you wanted to live in a more vibrant neighborhood but wanted to maybe chill in Cahuita or Cocles for a few days, the drive would not be that long. I once drove from Jaco to Puerto Viejo in about 8 1/2 – 9 hours.
Have you been there to visit? If not then I would encourage you to do so for a week or 2.
It’s a different lifestyle than the rest of CR. More traditional Caribbean…i.e…very laid back and lazy type lifestyle. Humidity yes but the trade of to that is the lush beauty of the area.
Certainly a lot less in the way of commerce. Really nothing at all in between Puerto Viejo and Limon. Puerto Viejo is a quaint small town..has a grocery story..a bank…a gas station or maybe 2…
good restaurants but overall not much to do other than lay back and relax most of the time. Really just comes down to what you’re looking for.
The guys mentioned in the story simply timed the market poorly and as it stands right now they’re investment has turned out to be a bad one. That’s just the way markets work. Win some…Lose some. Maybe in time it will get better but for now it’s simply a case of bad market timing. Personally, as I read the story about this monstrosity of a development I guess I’m hoping they do fail. The way the project is described just seems so inconsistent with Nature. Multi-Million $$ homes in the middle of the jungle? Something wrong with that in my opinion.
