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What’s your timeline? We will soon be starting our main house having already built a one-bedroom guest house. Once the main house is finished, the guest house may be available,
We’re in Grecia which is about 35 minutes from the airport in San Jose. We actually live about 7.5km outside town and 500m from the paved road where the bus runs. As near as I can tell, this is a pretty safe area.
Cindy, we used Animals Away which, among other things, handles all the pet transport for the Big Three automakers. There are alternatives. They and their competitors are members of the International Pet Transport Association which you can probably find with a Google search.
Animals Away was cheaper than the other one from whom we got a price quotation and their service was excellent. You can contact Susan Denzer at animaisaway1@aol.com
Mark, we looked into chartering a flight when we were thinking of bringing our four cats, one of whom has a very bad heart and probably couldn’t tolerate the flight even in an air conditioned, pressurized luggage compartment. One firm offered to meet us in Charlotte, NC and fly us directly to San Jose for just $45,000. Yup, that’s the right number of zeros. I found another outfit that would fly a smaller plane for substantially less — $25,000. A third was “cheaper” still but offered a six-seater prop plane that would be some 23 hours in transit and require two or three fuel stops. We weren’t sure the six-seater would carry all of us.
A problem for charter flight operators (and thus for you) is that this is strictly a one-way flight for them. They fly back to the U.S. empty. So basically you’re paying for round trip. And it’s very expensive for them to land in San Jose.
We also looked into buying our Labrador and our cats their own seats (First Class, if necessary) in the cabin, but the airlines would have none of it.
Some airlines have stopped flying live animals, so it’s important to check well in advance. The general rule is that if it’s forecast to be 85 degrees F or hotter anywhere along the proposed route, the animal cannot fly. My understanding is that the airlines do their own weather forecasting six days out, so that’s your window of opportunity.
When we looked into this, we got excellent information from the Costa Rican Embassy website in the U.S. You must have the animal vaccinated *at least* 30 days in advance of the flight (incubation periods) and there must be an International Health Certificate completed by your U.S. vet and approved by the “Veterinary Service”.
The Veterinary Service is the USDA’s chief veterinarian in each state capitol. So if you’re flying from Florida, your International Health Certificate (which only your vet can get) must be sent to Tallahassee for endorsement before you fly.
The airlines are supposed to adhere to standards for the crate the animal flies in, too, although we know of large dogs who have not flown in crates as large as prescribed.
You can fly a crated animal as an additional piece of luggage if the combination of animal and crate does not exceed 100 pounds. The airline baggage manage we consulted said they’d weigh the package, and if it were 101 pounds they wouldn’t take it. Anything larger goes as air freight.
Air freight must be at the freight terminal at least four hours prior to scheduled takeoff. That helps to explain the 85 degree rule.
Given all of the above, and the prospect of trying to get our Labrador through C.R. Customs, we opted for a professional pet transportation service. Nobody said “cheap”, but his trip from Detroit to San Jose with an overnight stay in Houston and a veterinarian’s escort through Customs came off without a hitch. Peace of mind’s worth something.
I no longer ride, but if I did, I wouldn’t be riding a heavyweight in Costa Rica unless I planned never to take it off the autopista. The roads here are too unpredictable. The combination of poor surfaces, tight turns, and traffic laws that exist mostly in the minds of lawmakers would combine to make horsing a Gold Wing or a big Harley around a nightmare. What’s more, motorcycle riders here get much less consideration than they do in North America. For the most part, they’re relegated to the shoulder of the road and given no right to the lane itself — hardly a comfortable environment for a Gold Wing.
You might consider a large dual sport, such as one of the big BMWs, but consider, too, the matter of parts and service.
Oh! And this is not a place where you’ll be universally comfortable in a good set of leathers.
Wspeed, I would strongly recommend that you go very slowly on this project. First, things are done differently here. The earthquake code probably imposes some restrictions and requirements that you’re not used to, building materials are somewhat different than for most of North America, and your needs will likely be different depending on just where you locate.
What’s more, unless you find the “perfect” location, your building plans will have to make some account for the setting. If there’s a slope to contend with, you’ll need to plan for more excavation than you might guess, and the house itself may have to be planned to allow for the limitations the slope imposes. None of that is to suggest that it can’t be done, inexpensively and successfully, but you have to play the cards you’re dealt, and here they’re different.
My recommendation would be to tentatively select a site. Then consult an architect and maybe an engineer to determine if it’s really buildable. Take into account topography, soil composition, availability of utilities (telephone, electricity, water, TV cable and Internet access), condition of access roads, etc.
I would insist on a new survey with marked boundaries so that you’ll know, beyond any point of discussion, that the land in question is what you mean to buy. Have an attorney do an on-line title search in the National Registry to be sure that the seller is, in fact, the owner, and that there are no liens.
Once all that is done, design or have designed the house you want to live in. If you start generically (three bedrooms, two baths, two-car garage), etc, then develop the layout, you can fit the building to the site.
I’m not so sure that it’s fair to characterize all or a lot of the attorneys in Costa Rica as shady, Angela. What is true, however, is that like attorneys everywhere they tend to specialize, and not all are as painstaking as they should be. I have full faith in the attorney who did our residency and have brought other work to him. By the same token, we have accepted the recommendation of another attorney closer to home from friends and feel good about her service, too.
Yes, ARCR is affiliated with lawyers who do residency processing for a living. One of them, Romulo Pacheco, handled our pensionado application and it went very smoothly.
It is critical that you understand the process and that you obtain your documents,with all authentications, approvals, notarizations, etc as early as possible. Go to the Costa Rican Embassy website (Google search it), look under Tourism, and click on Immigration.
Curt, the rainy season (at least in the Central Valley, where about 75% of the population lives) runs about May through October, more or less. Some days it rains bucketsful; others just an afternoon drizzle; and sometimes not at all. But folks mostly carry umbrellas all the time.
Most building in Costa Rica is masonry. Reinforced block is the most common, but there are systems that spray concrete on a Styrofoam core, prefab wall panels, etc. Masonry is much stronger than wood framing, fire- and termite-proof, etc. If you have any choice in the matter at all, opt for a metal roof framing system versus wood. Again, it’s stronger and more durable.
You’ll need the services of an architect to get plans drawn. S/he will either also be a structural engineer or involve one in the technical side of the plans, so you need not know a whole lot about the earthquake code. We’re building our second house here and have opted to have the architect continue to supervise the process even though an engineer owns and manages the company that’s doing the building.
You must be careful that your electrical and plumbing systems are up to the standards you expect and that the builder follows the plan. Typically, an electrical engineer will do the electrical system plan, but you and your architect need to be sure that it’s followed. We’ve learned the hard way that this is a “caveat emptor” component of the building process.
Due in part to the convenience of having a car waiting for us when we arrived, we opted to go the new car route. Arranged the whole thing via the Internet. I’m not sure we got much of a discount from list price, but I still can’t tell if new cars here are ever discounted.
The shocks (2) came when we decided to go for the optional insurance and when we paid this year’s “marchamo”. The optional liabiity insurance (public liability and property damage) were cheap, but the collision and theft insurance were heartstoppers. Still, the risk of losing this expensive (to us) car and having no coverage made it a no-brainer.
The “marchamo” is the annual cost of renewing your registration. It includes the legally required minimum (and very minimal) public liability insurance and a handful of taxes. The taxes are based upon the value of your car. The more valuable the car, the higher the taxes. You can’t drive without paying the marchamo, so there’s no use crying about it.
I think I know that the marchamo goes down a little each year as your vehicle declines in value and that the optional insurance declines, too, if you make no claims. Sound familiar?
I have to caution you about “. . . old world charm . . .” in a house. Here, that would typically mean low ceilings, small and cramped rooms, minimal lighting and electrical service, a kitchen from the U.S. in the 1890s and likely no hot water. Typical Tico houses simply aren’t up to the standards you would aspire to.
It might be fun to camp out for a while in one (maybe), but to make one’s permanent residence would require a huge step back from what you’re used to or a major rehabilitation job. The latter could well be more expensive than building from scratch, and you would still be stuck with what may be questionable architectural design (always a limiting factor).
Too, such a house certainly would not meet the current earthquake code which you would certainly like your house to meet.
A shipping container (20- or 40-feet) can be arranged by moving companies here in Costa Rica, or you can consult with movers there in Vancouver. My inclination is to use a Costa Rica-based company, as they may be better able to get your household goods through Costa Rican Customs with fewer headaches.
Having been here a full eight months, I can unqualifiedly endorse the Grecia area. We’re within an hour of everything of consequence in San Jose. Up in the mountains, it’s very temperate. Decent buildable land is available (I know a real estate agent or two whom I could recommend). Grecia is a fairly modern city with decent shopping, medical facilities, etc. Oh! And it’s beautiful.
There is a much less well developed B&B here in el Cajon, about 7.5km from downtown Grecia, that’s less expensive. It’s also less posh, and there is a 20-month old little one. You can e-mail Tim and Jenny at yecasita@yahoo.com for particulars. Again, tell ’em Dave sent you.
Tim and Jenny are just finishing a three bedroom, three bath house they hope to rent. It’s here in el Cajon. You might ask them about it.
Hope this helps.
Edited on Aug 29, 2006 15:24
What you say is true, Dwayne, as long as you don’t have enough other stuff that you want to bring to justify a container, and as long as you are comfortable with the style of furniture that’s commonly available here. If your tastes do not run to the traditional, then you can find some things in a few places, but prices are comparable to the U.S.
If, on the other hand, you have more than a small crateful of things you want to bring, you may as well get a container and you may as well fill it up.
As you consider what to move and what to leave and replace, bear in mind that any significant quantity of anything that you have crated up and shipped as a partial load in a container with other folks’ stuff may cost almost as much as if you just went ahead and rented the entire container. If you go for the container (20- or 40-foot), then the cost of sending it and its contents is fixed. You pay the same whether it’s full or empty.
So if you commit to a container, you should fill it up. You’re not leaving the antiques, the art and the family heirlooms behind, right? Then bring the sofa, the dining room furniture, the hoses and yard tools, the tile saw, the everyday dishes, the cookware, the linens, etc. If whatever is in your home today continues to have utility, bring it along. It will likely cost far less in Customs duty, if any, than the cost of replacement once you get here. Remember, once you’re committed to the container, the shipping charges are fixed, full or empty.
The information in this discussion is pretty accurate. If your husband has a permanent (preferably governmental) pension of $600 or more per month, you and he can qualify for pensionado status.
But be warned, Emily, as a pensionado you cannot work in the Costa Rican economy. That is, you cannot compete with Costa Ricans for a job, so you won’t be working as a nurse in a hospital here. You can work for yourself or establish your own business (or buy one), however.
