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At the very least, you’ll need your current passport, something like a utility bill or a rental agreement that shows where in Costa Rica you live, something that proves the source of your income such as a Social Security award letter.
It’s getting more and more difficult to open an account here, so be prepared for more bureaucratic hoops to jump through than you’ve ever experienced before.
Interesting stuff, sprite. Please say more . . .
What’s the specific data that proves, “We are NOT in a recovery.” (Specific data . . . numbers)
And exactly, precisely do you mean by “default”? What are the data that demonstrate that “The US government has already gone into default.” Just what do you mean by “default”? What’s the source of your hard data? What are the numbers?
How can you predict in advance that something (anything) “. . . will NOT happen”? What’s your proof? And when won’t it happen? 2014? 2024? 2114? 2124?
What is the exact “. . . limited lifespan . . .” of Social Security once this inevitable collapse happens? What will happen if the funding mechanism, eligibility criteria, benefit formulas, etc are changed? What if only one? What if all three? Please give us a date specific.
If you think that a vote for one or the other party makes no difference to you, to me, or to Goldman Sachs, then don’t vote. You have every right to abstain. My guess is that it’d be better for the outcome.
If “Many . . . are already crowding for the exit . . .”, just where are they headed — specifically? And how many? Surely you must have numbers, right? You wouldn’t just make this stuff up, would you? (This isn’t the “headed for a new life on a distant asteroid” bunch, is it? Or maybe it is!)
(Or is all this just another “Chicken Little” rant?)
[quote=”costaricabill”]David – ’09 was my first full year on SS, so I was really paying attention to it. Congress voted themselves a raise that year and the funding language was that their increase would be paid for by the freeze on COL increases for recipients of SS.
I couldn’t believe what I read – [b]i think I may be able to find it.[/b] [Emphasis added.][/quote]Well . . .
bill, if you “. . . couldn’t believe what [you] read . . .”, you also shouldn’t have.
You’re allowed to bring in a ninety-day supply of meds for your own use. As a matter of practice, no one will count your pills.
Most meds that are available here can be bought over the counter without a prescription. Exceptions include narcotics, sleep aids and some antibiotics. For those, you should have no problem getting scripts.
Peter, Dra. Jessica Gonzalez is our regular family dentist and we love her. So do all our friends.
I once chipped a tooth at lunch and went immediately to the clinic. Dra. Jessica wasn’t available but one of the brothers (I can’t remember which) was and took me right in. He, too, seems to have done fine work. The restoration has held up for about four years. What’s not to like?
I know a couple of folks who have had implants there and no one has seemed to be disappointed with the process, the results, or the cost.
As always, your mileage may vary . . .
Scott, I want to add this about your concern for warrantless murder of Americans . . .
I have a theory which simply states that in any conflict, the aggressor defines the terms of the aggression. If you and I get into an argument and you punch me, I punch back. Shoot at me and I’ll shoot back. It’s the same in warfare.
When Al Quaida has attacked the U.S. or its legitimate interests (see U.S.S. Cole, the east African U.S. Embassies, and the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center for examples), they defined the terms of the conflict — sneak up unannounced, strike without warning, use unconventional means, and do all the damage and take all the lives you can, innocent or not.
How is a strike from an unseen drone materially different from (say) a 747 strike?
When American citizens ally themselves with that enemy, that behavior, they have no right to expect more consideration than they afford.
(None of the foregoing means I like it.)
sprite, if you leave for Costa Rica, you’ll be that much closer to the bridge. Why not come now and avoid the sky falling on your head?
Scott, Presidents at least as far back as Bush the Lesser have been writing memoranda of intent to Congress in which they state what of the laws they will or will not comply with or enforce. That’s nothing new. Nor is the warrantless indefinite detention or murder of citizens whether of the United States or any other country. I think this behavior goes much farther back.
What we have seen in recent decades, however, is a general abdication of power by Congress to the Executive branch. And the more power they give up, the looser the reins on the actors. To be certain, the decision to murder anyone without trial or due process, whether face-to-face or by a missile fired from a drone, is a usurpation of power by those who wield it.
The question is, however, whether it’s really getting worse or just assuming a different form. How, for example, is it significantly different to murder a U.S. citizen than to conscript him into the armed forces, ship him off to a war no Congress has ever declared, leave him underarmed and underprotected, and get him killed for no good reason? Isn’t he pretty much just as dead?
How is it different to put an innocent person on trial for a capital crime, afford him grossly inadequate counsel, withhold exculpatory evidence, sentence him to death, and execute him for a crime he didn’t commit as a (sometimes mentally ill or retarded) juvenile? Isn’t he pretty much just as dead?
You don’t have to convince me that the U.S. and state governments wield too much and too arbitrary power. I just wonder if it’s really getting worse or if it’s simply assuming different forms.
And in some respects, things are better.
That looks suspiciously like the bridge we cross on our way to Atenas from Grecia via Santa Eualia. If so, I can provide GPS coordinates so that those in the know can get a head start.
I can’t speak to the situation in the U.K. Certainly at the very extremes, some freedoms have been affected in the U.S. Such things as the airport screenings come to mind. But the question remains, just how great an imposition is that? A pain in the ass? Fer shure. But hardly unbearable.
And, of course, the illusion of privacy has been just that for my entire lifetime.
In order to address the destruction of democracy, you must first begin with an assessment of where we were. For example, for as destructive as the baseless voter identification laws that (far too) many states have passed, it is easily arguable that the democratic right to vote has been eroded.
But from where did we begin? In the early days of the republic (the U.S., that is) only property owners could vote and of them, only the males. Then the property ownership restriction was removed but Jim Crow laws (including the poll taxes in the south) discouraged voting by minorities. Then universal suffrage (male and female, that is) became the law and ultimately the Voting Rights Act outlawed poll taxes and granted a pretty much universal right to vote. And that was the law of the land until the past couple of years.
So, do the voter identification laws which solve no problem, which protect us against no observable threat, serve to destroy democracy? Unquestionably, the answer is a resounding “Yes”. But look how far we’ve come . . .
But by the time this all comes to pass, sprite, won’t the sky have already fallen? And won’t the dollar have decreased in value to zero, so Costa Rican banks won’t exchange them for colones? And won’t we all be shackled together at the ankle? What good will Costa Rican residency do if you can’t get out of line to relieve yourself?
Seems like we should just all jump off the bridge now and avoid the rush, no?
Bring your stuff!
As you approach Costa Rica, the flight crew will give you a Customs form on which you must declare what you’re importing, but their real interest is in things that have commercial significance — anything that’s meant for resale or sales samples, for example. None of that will apply to you.
Whenever Marcia and I travel to the States, we shop like crazy for things we can’t find here or which are expensive here. We go up with one large duffle bag of our personal stuff, two carryons, and a second duffle bag with two more inside.
When we return, we bring all four duffles stuffed to the gills plus the carryons. Most of it is new, but out of the packages, and all of it is intended exclusively for our personal use save for some things we mule in for friends. All of that has included electronics, tools, medications and supplements, pet supplies, clothing, kitchen stuff, and a host of other things.
In six trips, we have been pulled aside once when the Customs officer saw a TV tuner in the x-rays. The officer who opened our bags looked into the first five, found nothing, and sent us on our way. The tuner was in the sixth bag.
Don’t sweat it. Bring your stuff.
No, you do not have to be a legal resident of Costa Rica to have the once-every-six-months Customs duty exemption.
Those same attributes apply to many areas in the Central Valley as well. At 4,200 feet, we rarely see temperatures above 78 degrees F or below 60 degrees F.
In seven years, we’ve never had an unpleasant experience, much less been exposed to any crime, and we do not live in a gated community with “guards”, guard dogs, or bars on our windows and doors.
Not having lived around Lake Arenal, I can’t compare directly, but from our home in Grecia, we’re an hour or so from all the amenities that the greater San Jose area has to offer including the best shopping and the best medical care.
