Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
[quote=”camby”]Just got back from CR Friday and already down in the dumps about sitting in this windowless cube, home for looks like next 20 yrs….
Had a great time, despite the rain at times…[/quote]So where did you go and what did you do?
Where did you get the anti-venom (especially on a Sunday)? How do you store it and what is the shelf life?
We just had some guest arrive last week from Houston via United with 2 large dogs in crates and 1 small dog that came in the cabin.
They were scheduled to fly into Liberia and they were afraid that they may not be able to get the dogs on the plane because United’s policy is that if the temperature at the destination city is 85F or higher at the scheduled departure time for the flight – no dogs in “cargo”.
Fortunately they had scheduled the flight that arrived into LIR just after 8pm, and it had rained that day so the temperature at LIR was OK at take-off time.
With that knowledge in hand, it may be wise to only consider SJO as the destination airport.
Several airlines have a policy of “no pets in cargo” – period! JetBlue still has their “Jet Paws” pet flight program but only for small pets in the cabin.
American Airlines website says “Passengers should also be mindful that American Airlines will not allow pet travel in cargo if extreme temperatures are anticipated.”
I have been told that other airlines have announced that they will no longer permit pets in cargo after “x date”, so it is difficult (and it is getting more difficult) to fly your pets, especially internationally.
Do you anticipate flying to SJO or LIR, and have you any idea what the cost will be. I know the cost will depend on the size, range, propulsion of airplane, etc., but do you have any preliminary idea?
[quote=”Bibi”]
We were ensured by Eugenia who is the expert on immigration that we would not have to leave, but I will ask her again and let you know.[/quote]Here is a post from this past July that seems to hit the nail on the head! I looked up the law, printed this section in Spanish, translated it to English and printed both versions along with the authors citation. I got it all printed on one piece of paper and carry it in my passport holder. Send me a PM amd I’ll forward the file to you. It has helped a couple of times.
[i]RE: Residency requirements
Posted Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at 3:23 AM
The short answer to your question is “No, once you have a permanent number issued by Migracion and you have the receipt proving your documents and application were filed you are not required to exit Costa Rica to renew your tourist visa (which may or may not be for 90 days)”.In practice, that has been the case for at least six years. However, the Ley de Migracion, in effect since March 1, 2010, specifically addressed the issue. See Ley de Migracion y Extranjeria, Article 33.3 (you can’t get an easier number to remember). Paraphrasing Article 33.3: Thou must exit CR when your tourist visa expires EXCEPT if you have a pending application for a change of status. In your case, you are changing from tourist to temporary resident under the pensionado program.
Cordialmente,
Javier Zavaleta
Residency in Costa Rica
Tel (323) 255-6116 – Fax (323) 344-1620
On the Web at http://www.residencyincostarica.com[/i%5DWe’ve had Slingbox a couple of years now and use it on a regular basis. It works exactly as David describes.
Another source that we have been using now for several months is USTVNow.com. You can not get it in the States, but it works everywhere else, and we have found the picture quality to be a bit better than the Slingbox.
Just Google USTVNow and it will come up. Go to their site, register for free and you get the “terrestrial channels” (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX and a couple others) free of charge. Thay have packages that include many more channels, but I think it is a bit pricey. It is nice to have multiple sources for getting stateside news and information.
By the way, you can get both SlingBox and USTVNow on your iPad or other device. For mobile devices I think you have to buy “SlingPlayer”, but for USTVNow you just log in. I actually watched part of the recent debate on my iPhone while in the car!
davidd-
looks like Scott or one of his monitors deleted your message because of the size going through his server or for some other reason. please send me a PM and I’ll send you my email, I would like to see your link.[quote=”camby”]I hope, sometime, to come back to CR and check out more the Nicoya area, perhaps will a bit during this visit. What is the southern cross?[/quote]
The Southern Cross is the constellation “Crux”. There are very few places in the northern hemisphere that allow you to see it because you must be facing due south and you must be in a dark area (i.e., not a brightly lit city). Starting in mid Dec you can see it very low on the horizon for an hour or so each night, and by 21-Mar it dominates the night sky, then starts getting smaller until you can no longer see it by June.
It rises on its side, rotates to a vertical position during the night, then goes down on its other side. Whenever you do see it, the two stars that makeup the top of the cross and the bottom of the cross point directly at the South Pole. That is true no matter if the Cross is at any angle of “tilt” or if it is completely vertical.
As it is always visible in the southern hemisphere, this constellation was “the North Star” for mariners traveling the southern oceans during the years of exploration.
There are many songs, poems and stories that are about (or mention) The Southern Cross.[quote=”sprite”]
As far as waiting is concerned, I am pretty sure it is nothing like the long waiting for anything in Costa Rica.[/quote]Sprite, you are right!
(Damn, that’s now twice I have said that!)[quote=”camby”]
all good info and insights, for me, A/C is pricey in states or in CR, likely. Dont mind some heat, its more about humidity, though hate cold more…Loraine, if you dont mind sharing some info, can you PM me your area, real estate agent if and when you get a moment….Bill, if I recall, you live on teh Nicoya Pen coastal area, correct? With normal breezes,etc, would think that it would not be as hot and sticky-correct? also, I read in the Valley, that it gets down at night to around 60-65 F, give/take, what is the normal lows for your area?[/quote]Camby, yes I live in Playa Samara, also known as “ground zero” since the “big one”.
First I should disclose that I was born in Houston, lived there until the mid-80s, moved to Tampa and lived there until retiring and moving to Samara in 08 – – so I am used to humidity. I grew up with it, have lived it, have fished and sailed and boated in it all my life, so even though I am used to it, it does bother me more as I get older.
I am like a mushroom, I must have humidity. When we used to go skiing in Colorado I would get nose bleed after 2-3 days as my nasal passage dried up. Same thing happens when we go up to Arenal or Monteverde. The weather is pleasantly cool but it is just too dry for my body to assimilate!
So yes, there is humidity whenever you are near the Pacific Ocean in CR. I specifically say “Pacific Ocean in CR” because if I said “the ocean” then there would be all these posts about Africa and the Sahara Desert and Australia and whatever desert they may have…..
My impression is that the further south you go in CR the more humid it becomes, and conversely, the further north you go in CR the less humid it is.
By way of example, the rain forest comes all the way to the Pacific Ocean’s shore down in the Osa and even up as far “north” as Manuel Antonio area. Not so here in Samara and on the Nicoya Peninsula. We have a totally different type of vegetation. It is green and lush most of the year, but it is more hard wood and not your prototypical “rain forest”.
And I am in the Tamarindo area at least one day a week on “an assignment” and I can assure you it is less humid in that area than it is here. I have been traveling up that way for almost 2 years and I am amazed in the difference in our separate climates being only 60+/- km apart as the crow flies. That area has a shorter rainy season (hence, a longer dry season) and gets much more “dry and crunchy” during the prolonged dry season.
Could I live in either the Osa, the Manuel Antonio area, the Tamarindo or Playa Del Coco area? Absolutely! But again, I love living near salt water and I can tolerate the humidity.
As far as temperature, that depends on the time of year. Right now, the house is open and the digital thermometer reads 78 degrees F.The lowest I have seen is was in February each of the last 3 years, and that was 68F. But I have friends that live 10-15 minutes away that are sitting outside right now in 72F looking at the Milky Way and the lightning far out in the Pacific. I live on the first ridge line back from the ocean at about 110m elevation. My friends live at 350-400m elevation, and I can see some of their houses from my neighborhood! They enjoy the lower humidity and cooler temps, I enjoy hearing the ocean crashing ashore and seeing the beach and reefs.
We do use AC at night for over half of the year (set at 77F) because it is more comfortable than not having it on. March – July are the warmest and most humid, and being honest I have to say that May can be miserable, especially at night. That is the only month that we don’t eat outside. Between the heat and humidity, it is too much like Houston, where the only difference between day and night is that it gets dark at night.
Actually, during Nov – Feb I fall asleep outside almost every night looking at the Southern Cross with my trusty 6kg guard dog at my side. We often wake up to walk into my bedroom where my wife has the AC on, and discover that it was cooler OUTSIDE than in the AC bedroom!
[quote=”loraine”]
You are a real charmer! No, the realtors we met were in Dominical and in Jaco Beach…beach areas! Both tried to disuade us from beach life. And we have friends who live near the beach in Manuel Antonio and Puerto Jimenez…they are the first to say how hot it is! Since they own b&b’s there, they’re there year round.Possibly, you are in a cooler beach area…yeah
I’ve been called a lot of things, but gullible has never been one of them.
This is a forum open to all. We were asked our opinions, and just because you don’t agree with some of us, doesn’t mean you can’t act civil.
Good luck with your trip to CR in October…I hope you and your wife have a lot of fun and you get to see a lot of this beautiful country![/quote]
I have a life sized picture of real estate agents in Dominical & Jaco trying to make a living by telling people they don’t want to live at the beach! Now, if you said to them “I don’t like hot weather” then I can see them saying that to you and then privately asking each other “If she doesn’t like hot weather why did she come to the beach to look at real estate?”
I have neighbors who lived in Manuel Antonio for a year and after being here in Samara now for 2 years they are always saying how much cooler it is here than down there, especially at night. But honestly, don’t you think that if you are within 10 degrees of the equator and you are at sea level, wouldn’t a reasonable adult expect it to be hot? That surely should not have come as a surprise.
As I sit here right now, it is 81 degrees in my house. The doors facing the ocean are open, the windows and doors on the opposite side of the house are open, the small windows in the cupola are open and the ceiling fans are on. The sun is bright with a few clouds in the sky. 81 degrees may be unbearably hot to some folks, but to me it is quite comfortable.
I assume your wishes for a good trip in October were addressed to Camby, not me.
I live here year round and have for 4 years now. It is indeed a beautiful country and after traveling to several different parts of the country the only place that I would absolutely stand not to live is San Jose proper. Certainly could live in Atenas and Grecia and even Heredia – and maybe old Sta Ana, but not down “in the valley”.
So where did you end up after you were dissuaded from living at, on or near the beach?
[quote=”loraine”]
A couple of years back, when we had met with a couple of different realtors and expressed an interest in beach living, they both said that it is very expensive to live at the beach plus it’s very hot nearly all year long. They told us it can run $500 a month to run the a/c 24-7 and it’s too hot to even go outside during the day. Plus, the properties are very expensive near the beach (and be careful of titles and how close to the water you are). The one realtor told us that few ever stay longer than 2 years then choose to move inland.
If your plan is to live at the beach, you may want to rent first and see if it is all you imagined plus verify what it would cost to live there.
There’s a reason why most of the population lives around the central valley and in the mountains. I love the beach myself, but gave up that ‘dream’ quickly. I figure, once I’m living there, I can just drive two hours and stay for a weekend at the beach to get my ‘fix’./quote][i][b]”A couple of years back, when we had met with a couple of different realtors and expressed an interest in beach living, they both said…….”[/b][/i]
Hmmmmmm – a couple of realtors said….. let me take a wild guess and say they probably worked in the Central Valley or up in the mountains. Are you really gullible enough to base your choice of location on what you heard from “a couple of different realtors”?
[i]”[b]Plus, the properties are very expensive near the beach…”[/b][/i]
I’m sure that you expressed your heartfelt gratitude for that extensive bit of “market research”. Did they also mention that there is a full array of properties from “a” to “z” at the beach (just like in the Central Valley or in the mountains) or were all of your questions answer by that one simple minded hasty generalization?
[i]”[b]The one realtor told us that few ever stay longer than 2 years then choose to move inland.[/b]” [/i]
Let me make another guess and say I bet this was one of the original realtors you spoke with about properties in the Central Valley or in the mountains! Likewise, I am confident that he provided you with statistical data to verify his statement. Otherwise a person as shrewd as you wouldn’t have accepted that (and other) statement carte blanche’. You know, I find it hard to believe all these people that I have seen on a daily basis for the past 4 years actually moved to the mountains and then drive back down here to the beach everyday. And some of them lived in this area for 10-15 years before I got here!
[i][b]”If your plan is to live at the beach, you may want to rent first…..”[/b][/i] Finally, a smidgen of common sense! But wouldn’t you say that is true for any place in Costa Rica? Isn’t the best advice for people planning to move here to come and try it first. If you aren’t sure about living in the Central Valley after a few weeks or months, pack up and go try another area.
[i][b]“There’s a reason why most of the population lives around the central valley and in the mountains.”[/b][/i]
Now there’s a brain f^*t for you! First of all, I think most of the people that live “in the mountains” live there because of the weather and the lifestyle, and they are happy because “the mountains” is not where “most of the population lives”. As far as the Central Valley is concerned, please do tell me what you think that reason is. Could it be because that is the Capitol of the country, and because it is the hub of the country’s economic activity or maybe because that is where most of the jobs are? Or maybe it is because that was the chosen place to settle way back “a long, long time ago” (language you may understand). That’s like saying “there’s a reason most of the people in Egypt live in Cairo because most of the rest of the country is nothing but a sandy wasteland!” duh!
Maybe “most of the population” have no choice but to stay in the Central Valley because of family, or job, or economic reasons that prohibit their consideration of relocation. One thing I can promise you is that down in the Valley (where “most” of them live) they sure there because of their attraction to the air quality! Sure, the temperature “in” the valley and “around” the valley, and “in” the mountains is more pleasant to those who prefer that climate, and I can’t blame them for feeling that way. It is their choice, just like it is my choice, along with many others, to live at or near the beach. And most of us that live on, at or near the beach were smart enough to do our own research before making that decision!
