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I’m not a user yet, but I’m going to be. There appear to be three choices. One is a system in which you rent the equipment and pay for the service. It’s $500US per month.
The second is offered by RACSA. It’s $3,000US to install the equipment, which you own, and $200US per month. They use a 1.4meter dish. And you get 750mb of “throughput” per month. After that, it’s $.10US per mb. The reviews I’ve heard are not good, and the excess throughput costs can mount up.
The third uses either a 1.2meter dish or a 2.4. Basic costs are $5,000US and $6,000US respectively. For 64/64 service, the monthly cost is $129US. I have a friend who has this system and swears by it. It’s the way I’ll go.
The latter two of these systems support VoIP. The first may as well. And all three can support wi-fi.
The general rule for non-citizens is that you may not compete with Ticos for a job. That is, you cannot work for wages. You may start a business of your own and you may work for yourself, however.
The attorneys associated with the Association of Residents of Costa Rica are competent and fairly priced. We used Romulo Pacheco who we would recommend to anyone. Tell him Dave and Marcia Murray sent you.
We, too, have had a good experience with Tri-Color. We’ve also been treated well by Avis and Payless.
Charge your rental on a VISA platinum card and the card will pick up the additional insurance so you don’t have to pay for it. It’s a substantial savings.
The fingerprinting is an integral part of the application process for residency. Without it, your application is incomplete and certain to be rejected.
Taxi drivers are not your problem. Nevertheless, the best approach is to carry very little cash. Your dentist will probably accept your VISA or MasterCard charge or debit card.
Don’t bring Travelers’ Cheques. They take forever to clear and most businesses don’t want them. The banks will cash them but it’s a half-day process.
Rely on ATMs which are everywhere. If your debit/ATM card uses the Plus or Cirrus networks, you’ll be fine, and most ATMs have an English-language interface.
Either bring about c50,000 from the U.S. or plan to cash maybe $50 at the money exchange in the airport where you will not get the best exchange rate. After that, rely on the ATMs.
Two other points: First, ATMs are everywhere in Costa Rica. If you have an ATM card from a U.S. bank that operates on either the Plus or Cirrus networks, you’re in. And you can withdraw either colones or dollars at most ATMs.
Second, you can maintain a U.S. bank account where your military pension can be direct deposited, if the military won’t send it to a bank out of the U.S. That’s my experience with my State of Michigan pension. Once it’s in the U.S. bank, you can either use Costa Rican ATMs, as above, or pre-arrange to have wire transfer privileges from that U.S. bank to the Costa Rican one. My U.S. bank charges $40 for each wire transfer, so we don’t do this all the time, but when the need arises we do. It usually happens overnight.
The rules for opening accounts in Costa Rica are not exactly written in stone. You have some choices. First, you’ll probably want to own your real estate in the name of a corportation. (Subject for another discussion.) So get a C.R. attorney to form a corporation first. Armed with that, you can open an account in the corporation’s name, for sure. But especially if you have a Tico “assistant” (maybe your attorney), you may be able to open an account in your own name. You’ll actually want two accounts: one in U.S. dollars and one in colones. You can open an account with $50.
Most folks seem to open savings-type accounts. Since your monthly bills will be paid at the bank, it’s easy to go in each month, withdraw $600US, convert it to colones (a requirement of your pensionado residency), pay your bills, then either pocket the change or deposit it in your colone account. Be sure to keep the receipt for the withdrawal that shows the conversion to colones.Immigration’ll want to see it when you reapply for residency in two years.
Most retail establishments will accept VISA and MasterCard as payment, but you’ll typically pay less if you pay cash (“effectivo”). The bank will issue you a debit card which you can use.
Can’t speak to your military retirement allotment, but U.S. Social Security payments can be direct deposited to a Costa Rican dollar bank account. It’s done all the time.
You can combine your remaining military retirement allotment with your wife’s Social Security payment to meet the monthly $600 income requirement for pensionados. Just be absolutely certain that you get all your documentation completely verified in the U.S. before you head down here. You need to make contact with a C.R. attorney who specializes in residency matters to guide you through the bureaucratic maze.
Hope this helps. Ask away.
Hmmm . . .
Phillip, your reply is fraught with conditionals. “. . . wait to see what happens . . it may be added or it may not . . If it is there . . .”
Has anyone actually let a ticket go? Do you have firsthand experience?
Thanks,
It is also true that if your income is taxable under the U.S. IRS Code and it comes from a source in the U.S. (a U.S pension, investment/annuity, maybe Social Security) it is also taxable regardless of the citizenship of the beneficiary.
ARCR provides several useful supportive services like mail forwarding, enrollment in insurance programs, referral to attorneys for residency applications, etc. Membership is $110 per year for non-residents; $60 per year for those with legal residency.
You can, indeed, apply for residency before actually moving to Costa Rica. We did it. But the response above is accurate about the need to gather and have blessed a myriad of documents, get fingerprinted, etc, etc, etc. Then, once your residency is granted, you must spend at least four months per year in Costa Rica (not necessarily contiguous) to maintain your legal status. In the case of “pensionados”, you must also be able to document the conversion of $600US per month into colones.
Once your residency is granted (and you have your ID card), then you can apply for the CAJA medical program.
Before you begin collecting the documentation, you need to have a serious sit-down with a Costa Rican attorney — preferably one wise in matters of residency — to be sure that you understand the process fully.
Geographic Note: When I looked at the climatic data for coastal areas, it reflected consistently hot and humid weather all year. By contrast, the Central Valley, where about 75% of the population lives, has many climatic regions ranging from hot and humid to downright chilly.
It all depends upon altitude. The higher you go the cooler it will be.
You can also get an AT&T prepaid calling card from Sam’s Club or Wal-Mart and use that from Costa Rica.
From any Costa Rican phone, dial:
0-800-011-4114
When you are prompted to enter “the number you have been given”, enter the 800 number from the calling card (no “1”) just as you would if you were calling from within the United States. Enter your card number, and when prompted, enter the Area Code and number for the phone you wish to reach.
I’m afraid I have to second the foregoing comment. Not only do women appear to do pretty well in Costa Rica, but the last thing that either the Costa Rican people or we gringos need is some gringo coming down here to mess up Tico-gringo relations. The Costa Rican people are warm, patient, tolerant, welcoming and universally helpful. We come down here to reform their society, to correct its shortcomings, and watch that all change.
If you have a remaining mission in life to straighten something out, for Pete’s sake stay in the United States. As compared to Costa Rica, the richness of its problems will make a much more fertile field for your endeavors.
