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Bill, helping folks not be taken advantage of absolutely IS one of the objectives of this forum and I agree (and agreed) with everything you said in the matter. If I somehow offended you, please accept my apology.
All I meant to express is that if a newcomer confines himself or herself to those restaurants and other establishments that so cater to the expat and tourist trade that they post prices only in U.S. dollars, those newcomers won’t be exposed to the larger (and real) Costa Rica.
It’s as if to say that eating at McDonald’s in the mall is somehow like patronizing the sodas. Yes, they’re both small fast food establishments, but McDonald’s is hardly reflective of Costa Rican restaurants.
I think crf makes many good points above. It really is critical to become comfortable (or uncomfortable, as the case may be) with the real Costa Rica, the one you’d be immersed in if you really did make this move.
In another discussion thread, costaricabill mentions paying for meals at restaurants that post their prices in dollars with U.S. dollars. Makes sense to me. But that is not typical of Costa Rica and if you confine your visit to such places, you will not only miss much of the richness of this wonderful country but also some of the poorness. To appreciate what you’d be getting into, you have to get out on the street.
I must tell you that we first came to CR in January of 2005 for two weeks. Four days of that time was devoted to George Lundquist’s tour which we found to be invaluable.
After about three days here, we wondered aloud what we’d do for the remaining eleven days in “this very unattractive place”. It really was disconcerting. Then, a couple of days later, the veil lifted and we began to appreciate the place not just from a scenic perspective but also as regards the people, the government (no military was a great attraction), etc.
We moved here in September of 2005 and have been back to the U.S. six times since. Every time, we find that we miss the U.S. less and that we’re more anxious to come home.
Point is, a change of perspective can happen if you let it.
It seems to me that Sr. and Sra. camby would be best served by taking an organized tour of Costa Rica to give themselves a chance to fall in love with the place. George Lundquist’s monthly excursion for expats thinking of retiring here would be my first choice. If that experience doesn’t convince them, then they should make another plan.
Then, if they also want to sightsee, they could hardly do better than Caravan Tours’ tour of the touristy places.
But whatever Sr. camby does, it would be a terrible mistake to try to “persuade” his wife to relocate here. If she doesn’t fall in love with the place too, it’s a guaranteed round trip to somewhere in the States.
There’s an old saying that applies in this situation: “Happy wife . . . happy life.” Take it to heart!
[quote=”ddspell12″]I do not speak spanish. How much of a problem will this be![/quote]
I think beansandbooks makes good points. Our Spanish is “pidgin” and we’ve gotten along fine for seven years.
That said, anything you can learn would be helpful and it would show some respect for your environment. Too, I think an “academic” approach versus a “conversational” one is the way to go.
Spanish, for example, has fourteen verb tenses of which probably four or five are really necessary to understand. And because Spanish is what I would characterize as a “structural” language, knowing the verb constructions is important.
In English, for example, we identify who’s doing the action by a name or pronoun — [b]I[/b] eat salad. [b]You[/b] eat salad. In Spanish, the actor is identified by a verb ending — Com[b]o[/b] ensalada. Com[b]es[/b] ensalada. Sometimes, names or pronouns are used but not always.
So without understanding the verb endings, you really can’t tell who’s doing what or to whom.
[quote=”camby”]Might I beg another question-should I buy colones in USA? in CR? or use US bills when I arrive…..what is easier?[/quote]
First, notify your bank that you’ll be traveling in Costa Rica. Then, bring $100 or so in U.S. $10 and $20 bills — no $50s or $100s. $100 will get you started.
At your first opportunity, get to one of Costa Rica’s zillion or so ATMs and withdraw colones from your U.S. bank account. At the current rate of exchange, c100,000 is about $200US. At the ATM, express your withdrawal in colones.
You’ll probably pay an ATM fee and maybe a foreign currency conversion fee, but you’ll always get the current (and correct) exchange rates. The money changers in the airports, some hotels and businesses, etc will gouge you terribly.
While here, plan to spend colones. That way, there will never be any question about the exchange rate and your transactions will go more smoothly because no one will have to be calling the bank to get the current exchange rate information.
You can also use your American debit and credit cards at many, many locations.
Do not bring Traveler’s Cheques. They take forever to clear, so the banks and merchants hate them. And if you try to cash them at a bank, they’ll have to call American Express to verify that they’re not stolen. Just resist the temptation.
Interesting, Victoria. We did none of that.
We were instructed to number every item in our container. That is, every box, every crate, every bundle of garden tools or garden hose, etc. We put our name and the item number inside and outside each item.
Using a spreadsheet, we made a list of each item and disclosed the contents as “Used somethingoranother”. Our descriptions were intentionally vague. That is, the kitchen utensils, the dishes, and the pots and pans, for example were “Used kitchen”. The linens were “Used linens”. We gave no numbers and stated no values.
Some of our items contained electrical tools and appliances like saws and drills, mixers and hair dryers, etc, but we made no mention of any of it. We listed the VCR and stereo as “Used VCR” and “Used stereo”.
As the container was being loaded, we were told that we had to supply U.S. Customs with a list of what we were exporting complete with values. So we copied our spreadsheet list and added a “Value” column. We gave each a “distressed end-of-the-day garage sale” value.
And it all went through smoothly.
As always, your mileage may vary.
It is not true that only U.S. dollars are accepted for exchange. At Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (and maybe others), they publish an exchange rate for euros.
[quote=”lisamarie6987″]I am a 55ish woman desiring to move to CR. I have been advised to rent for awhile. I will have SS and some savings. Mybe I will meet a nice man in the future:oops:
Is there someone out there that can give me some advice?
Lisa[/quote]
If you’re like many of our fellow Americans, you’ll want to begin now to lose some weight and shape up. Then get a copy of the Kama Sutra and commit it to memory.
Is that the advice you were looking for?
Legal residents of Costa Rica do not enjoy any exemption from Customs duty on either household goods or vehicles. Nor do those who are not yet legal residents, including those playing the “perpetual tourist” game. Citizens, legal residents, tourists and perpetual tourists are all treated the same.
Because all the household goods which you would ship to Costa Rica are used, they are subject to a very low duty rate. Please DO NOT let the matter of Customs duty deter you from shipping your things. The duty charge will be a minor fraction of the cost of the move.
There is no evidence that vehicles imported to Costa Rica by any party (owners, importers, etc) are enjoying any reduction in importation costs. It seems unlikely that that would happen since to exempt newly imported vehicles would have the effect of greatly devaluing those already here on which the import duties were paid. The screaming would be audible throughout the Americas.
Make this be the dog owners’ problem or the problem of the owner of the farm.
If the dogs continue to bark through the night, call them. If that doesn’t help, call back. And if that doesn’t help, call again. Once the owners’ sleep is as disturbed as yours, they’ll take some action.
My father taught me early in life that misery loves company.
The Customs form the flight crew will give you shortly before you arrive in Costa Rica says that you must declare currency and other securities in an aggregate amount/value of $10,000US or greater.
Were it mine to do, I’d adhere to this very conservatively, were I bringing in something like precious metals the value of which might be open to question.
We always bring in a ton of merchandise that’s either not available in Costa Rica or which is more expensive here. Because the language of the Customs form is a little ambiguous, and because everything is for personal use, we declare nothing and, having retrieved our luggage, always go through the “Nothing to Declare” line at Customs. So far, we’ve never had a problem with medications, pet supplies, electronics or anything else.
A supposedly true story from a few years back is about a couple who landed in Costa Rica with $29,000 which was every dime they had and didn’t declare it.
Going through Customs, they were diverted briefly, and when they reached their hotel room the cash was gone! They searched everywhere but . . . nothing.
The following morning, they returned to Customs and raised holy hell but to no avail. The crew from the night before was long gone. The cash was unmarked and undeclared. There was nothing to trace and no one to accuse.
So they returned to their hotel, searched everything again, and found the entire stash in an outside zipper pocket of one of their bags. When one asked the other if s/he hadn’t searched that bag thoroughly, the response was, “No, I didn’t want to disturb the cat.”
costaricafinca makes a good point above about having an emergency fund, but that theme bears expanding upon.
While whether or not you can [u]live[/u] here on your Social Security depends on many factors, whether or not you can [u]move[/u] here is another very important consideration. Anyone who comes to Costa Rica expecting to stay will be faced with a host of mostly one-time costs that will add up to a substantial sum.
Those include at least the airfare to get here, making a run to Panama or Nicaragua to obtain a new tourist visa until your residency application is accepted by Immigration, bringing all or some of your personal possessions, finding and buying the household goods you didn’t bring but still need, obtaining the documentation required for a residency application, engaging an attorney to process that application, obtaining driver’s licenses, paying for medical care while your residency application is pending, paying for medical care that’s not available through the CAJA once you are enrolled in it, putting a security deposit on a rental home (maybe), buying and insuring a car (maybe), and a host of other “getting settled” expenses.
These are not trivial expenses that, for the most part, cannot be avoided.
