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In the central valley cabs are plentiful with competitive fares. However, in GTE, cabs are not as convenient. I would check with your hotel. Sugar Beach is far enough away from everything else that you may feel stranded without a your own vehicle. If you are planning on a quiet vacation, Sugar Beach is a great place to chill out. But if you envision going out frequently, you will need to plan for round trip transportation. If you enjoy staying out late, a cab ride back to Sugar Beach, late at night, may be difficult to find and expensive. To find out more about the area where you will be staying, Google, Flamingo Beach, Costa Rica. Have fun!
Flamingo Beach is much closer and has a Banco de Costa Rica branch with an enclosed ATM. Sugar Beach is a great spot! It’s very quiet out there, so if you plan on going out to have fun, it would be wise to rent a newer model, preferably a 4×4 vehicle, for the trips you will make to and from Sugar Beach. The road from there to Potrero Beach is full of back breaking potholes and narrow bridges. Have fun!
Many folks have said that timing is important to the success of a business. Exporting coffee beans and other crops is hardly a new concept and the existing companies in that market are strong.
According to yesterdays La Nacion, imports during the past 12 months surpassed $14.6 million while exports during the same period amounted to only $9.6 million. The difference between the two figures accounts for the deficit in the trade balance, which over the past 12 months reached $5 billion, an increase of 56% over the last year.
http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2008/julio/22/economia1630099.htmlThe export business is probably a tough market to enter at this point. However, energetic entrepreneurs are rarely deterred by realistic advice. You may want to conduct some research at, http://www.american.edu/TED/coffee.htm and http://www.lucidcafe.com/cafebystate/crforum.html#exporters. Good luck!
Additionally, in order to legally carry a firearm, you must be a Costa Rican nacional or a resident.
10,000 colon bills here are like $20 dollar bills. And if you are vacationing in Guanacaste, you’ll probably need plenty of them. Have fun!
Visit following threads to read more about pre-fab construction.
https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/forum/openthread.cfm?forum=1&ThreadID=1598
Over the past fifteen years, many foreigners have asked me what to look out for when purchasing property in Costa Rica. I always advise that due diligence is necessary, before purchasing property anywhere in the world. People talk about Costa Rica being a third world country, full of potential problems. If you think Costa Rica has problems, read the following story about an Orlando, Florida neighborhood, where residents are living on top of an old bombing practice range. Live bombs have been found on the local school grounds. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/30/backyard.bombs/index.html
Over the years I have been hired by several foreigners to inspect the construction of pre-fab home systems because the purchasers were not satisfied with the finishing of the walls. The initial cost and time to assemble the packages is attractive. Unless you’ve worked with a lot of concrete finish construction you could not anticipate the challenges to finish the plastering of the interior and exterior walls. Unfortunately, for the owners, the costs to finish these thin wall panel, pre-fab designs has always been more costly and time consuming than they anticipated because the purchaser was envisioning smooth finished walls like they have been accustomed to living in for most of their lives.
Additionally, the electrical conduits are pre-installed in the columns so the location of your electric plugs is limited by where you position the columns. The finished panels and posts have a difference of 1″ to 2″, that needs to be compensated for with plaster in the rooms that you would like to be smooth finished. Perhaps in your garage it would not be important to have normal looking smooth plastered walls but most folks want to live in finished rooms.
Take a look at the photos at; http://www.escosacr.com/galeria-vivienda-e.htm. If you can envision yourself being comfortable in a home like this then go for it. Just like with anything else anywhere you go, you get what you pay for.
Visit following threads to read more about pre-fab construction.
https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/forum/openthread.cfm?forum=1&ThreadID=1598
https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/610.cfm
https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/405.cfm
If you have a home interior design with a lot of decorative interior columns and have been able to incorporate the pre-fab system into the supporting columns for the ceiling and roof structure then the pre-fab system could work well for you.
Don’t forget the pre-cast wall panels are only 4″ thick versus block wall of at least 8″ thickness.
Now they issue account holders with a Clave Dinamica card that has 50 numbers on it, like a lottery scratch off deal. Each time you want to make a transfer out of your acount you need to enter three of the numbers. To access your account and check on your information you don’t need it, but to make transfers out of your accounts you must now use the new Clave’s. It seems much more secure than the old password for thirty days system. In light of the internet fraud cases over the last year here, this is positive preventative maintenance.
As far as the San Jose bureaucrats are concerned, we will always be involved with them, because that is where the CFIA, http://www.cfia.or.cr, and INVU, http://www.invu.go.cr, are located.
We need to create our construction plans and pay the CFIA to establish the value of our projects before the permitting process begins.
Then we must submit the plans along with preliminary approvals for water, electric and sewage to INVU in order to get the permitting process started.
Following approvals from these bureaucrats, then SETENA, ICT and the Municipalities get a shot at our checkbooks.
Just because we left industrialized nations, doesn’t mean we can avoid bureaucracy.
Bureaucrats are of the same blood-sucking species, worldwide.I know of an American down in that area with the equipment to shore up construction with the, http://www.RamJack.com system. His name is Pepper Bonsib 506-786-5243 and his partner is Francisco Padilla, ramjackcr@yahoo.com
To the best of my knowledge, current regulations state that projects under 300 m2 do not require filing of the D1 form, (evaluacion ambiental) for SETENA approval. http://www.setena.go.cr/pp_tramites.html
There is a new proposal being evaluated by the government whereby the municipalities will handle the permitting process for construction up to 1000 m2, but currently it is not in effect.
The bottom line is that building costs are determined by the building contract, construction specifications and working blueprints that have been agreed to between the owner and the builder. If you’re serious about building in Costa Rica, hire a professional with whom you can communicate in your own language to provide an architectural design adapted to your building site and the Costa Rican construction materials and installation methods currently available. Once the working blueprints have been completed and your building site has been inspected by the professional offering to quote a price to construct your housing, then you will have realistic current pricing to complete the dwelling you have envisioned.
There are many variables you must consider when planning a construction project.
Certainly, in a foreign country where you may not fully understand the language and culture, these variables become more challenging. Fortunately, you have the benefit of the most informative site offering advice about everything you need to know before purchasing land and constructing housing in Costa Rica.You can read more about what you need to consider when building in Costa Rica at:
https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/1093.cfmChinatown in San Jose – According to the Municipality of San Jose and the Chinese-Costa Rican Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the south side of San Jose will be dedicated to Chinese business, food, and culture. Last year, when Costa Rica renewed its diplomatic relations with Beijing, the Chinese announced their desire to enhance their cultural presence here. Additionally, the National Stadium has been demolished and the Chinese have agreed to replace it with a new modern facility that will become the hub of the Chinatown project. Chow Mae!
