[davidd]

[quote=”maravilla”]you get used to it, and your body adjusts. now it seems totally normal to get up at the crack of dawn and be ready to go to bed by 8. it’s actually a much healthier rhythm for your body and mind. i thought it was odd at first, too, after the long long days we had in colorado, but now this seems normal to me.[/quote]

sprite

I understand this exactly. what I usually do is take care of alot of personal research, reading and writing at 3am. then at 5 I go to the gym

of course I need a little nap in the afternoon but this works for me.

I am in bed by 8pm.. LOL

[davidd]

[quote=”maravilla”]they don’t like us in the first place, so if they can blame us for anything, they will!![/quote]

David

your forgetting one of the most important influences

american companies that are here.

it’s no mistake that the new Black friday is slowly becoming a very popular trend.

american companies influences here big time and they are changing the culture here. especially with the young people. instead of a casado

now its bigs macs and wendys and subways, burger kings.. etc etc etc

look at the infiltration of walmart..

before walmart-pali had these strategic no frills large warehouses..

now they have these smaller palis that show up in commercial strips killing the small business

they also have now the maxi pali

they just want everything

here is the BIG MAC indes which shows prices of hamburgers around the world

interesting that prices are a little more expensive here than the U.S.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Big_Mac_index_50USD_2columns.png

these are all influences besides actual americans living here

which reflect increasing price

[davidd]

[quote=”maravilla”]everything david said is absolutely true. this is not a welfare state where people can live like kings on a pauper’s income. and it does take discipline to not fall into the trap of living beyond one’s means. i went 7 years without a car, not because i couldn’t afford to buy one, but because i just didn’t want to get into that trap and then spending a fortune on gas because i stopped being organized about my shopping trips. even now, i only go to town 3 times a week because my budget for gas is $20 a week and i refuse to go over that unless it’s absolutely necessary. we eat well, live well, have everything we need and want, and i still save more each month than we spend. that was my goal, and i’m sticking to it. but i know others who can’t live well on any amount of money and that will do you in here.[/quote]

Maravilla

thats great that you stick to your goal which requires a certain discipline.

everyone has different $$ thresholds that would feel comfortable with but the key would be as my dad would also say to me ( I love you dad)

live below your means.

you can spend alot of money in this country and I have done both here.

you find your own balance of items and where you get them that will help you live comfortably

[davidd]

[quote=”maravilla”]i had a run-in with someone who got his CAJA bill and it was $230 — he said that was outrageous. but he has an income of $2500 a month. i asked him how much he thought he should be paying and he said about $40. jajajajaja Those days are OVER, pal, I told him.

somehow they get it in their heads that things should be really really cheap, like electricity. i know someone whose bill was routinely over $200 a month. some ill-informed person told him he was paying gringo rates, so he went to ICE and complained. ICE just laughed and said no, there were no gringo rates, and he said, But i was told my bill would only be about $14 a month. then she explained that his electricity usage was 6 – 7 times what the average Tico uses. jajajaja that was priceless, i thought. it is real sticker shock when people come here and don’t change their consumptive habits.[/quote]

that is funny i can picture a gringo going to ICE and asking them why he was being charged gringo rates. this is exactly what I mean. people come here already with their preconceived ideas of how the world should be without actually doing any diligence except listing to soundbites of other people.

one needs to have an open mind and be willing to re evaluate their assumptions.

this takes experience.. my first 10 years I lived ina variety of places

escazu ( where all gringos start at lol)
santa ana
san jose
barrio mexico
desampardos
moravia
la guardia de moravia
tamarinddo
jaco
heredia

and rented until I got a good baseline.. then I finally found my place.

:lol::lol::lol:

[davidd]

[quote=”ddspell12″]And I suppose you were born there and never a newbie!!! My cash is just fine!!![/quote]

yes.. but I think I may have misstated my point.

and yes its selfish.. OK.. now you have the truth its a selfish reason why I would rather not have any more Americans come here

in the past 15 years I have seen alot of changes here and unfortunetly I do not agree with many of them but face the fact that it is what it is.

most recent is the commercial Black Friday concept that is now becoming a normal part of costa rica landscape.

and the more americanized this country becomes attracts more and more americans here and I mean more affluent americans that don’t speak or even bother to learn the language or customs here. they move here and replicate thier suburban life that they had back home.

this is the direction this country is going in alot of ways.

but again it is what it is. noting more or less

if you do decide to move here I wish you luck and hope the best for you.

we shall see how the future unfolds.

David

PS. I forgot to mention and it would also fall under the selfish category. there is 1 thing that i love when americans move here.

after a year or so they decide to move back and put all thier stuff on craigslist to buy for 1/4 the cost :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[davidd]

[quote=”ddspell12″][quote=”davidd”]this is great news!!! the less americans here the better.

[/quote]Then why don’t you leave smartA$$[/quote]

hahaha why should I leave??? I have a costa rican passport. I renounced my citizenship 3 years ago.. thank goodness

I have business here and have my kids that were all born here

I have been here now for over 15 years

how does this compare to the newbies looking to replicate their bubble life. wanting to move to another country without really knowing or preparing themselves. not even learning the language

it’s silly..
:):):):)

it’s good you have some cash.. now your objective is to protect that wealth.

and relocate it in some strong offshore safe instruments.

[davidd]

[quote=”Scott”]The cost of living in Costa Rica is certainly a topic we’ve discussed at length here and I would encourage you to use the [url=https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/cfmbb/search.cfm]’Search’ engine here[/url] to see more threads.

The cost of living has increased everywhere – including in the US – and let’s not forget that the buying power of the US dollar has also declined quite dramatically..

My question is if expats can’t live on their income – and for the purpose of this conversation, we’ll assume that income is more than $1,000 per month as per residency requirements – how on earth do you think the average family in Costa Rica seems to survive quite healthily on half that amount?

Scott

[/quote]

scott

if you make $500 per month.. you are on the poverty line my friend.. middle class here I would say starts at $1000 to $2000 per month and this will depend on where you live

[davidd]

[quote=”orcas0606″][quote=”davidd”]this is great news!!! the less americans here the better.

Ah, the We Love Costa Rica Welcome Wagon once again in action.[/quote]

orca.. you made me smile :):):) the welcome wagon

but scott is right.. the problem is NOT costa rica

the problem is the decline of the dollar’s buying power.. and since people living in the bubble that travle and think the dollar is supreme often wakes up from the dream state.

this happened to a friend of mine that recently went to europe and it cost him $20 bucks for a few slices of pizza :D:D

by the way.. I just came back from a small soda type restaurant and I ate a nice casado.. with beef and vegetables, platanos maduro, rice and red beans plus small salad and a cass natural drink for 2700 colones which is about $5.40 cents. not too shabby

also paid my caja insurance which covers myself and my 3 kids and wife.. $40 bucks. not too shabby.

btw the hospital in heredia is as good as any large public hospital back in the U.S.

i almost forgot. I just paid my property insurance on my house which sits on 2 acres and close to 4500 feet.. $600 for the year.

the feria is one of costa ricas gems.. pineapple 1000 for 2.

you can also spend alot of money here if you like if you dine in the fancy places. dining in the fancy places is nice when your single and your on the prowl or for couples

but once you have kids and family those places become irrelevant.

[davidd]

this is great news!!! the less americans here the better.

[davidd]

[quote=”camby”]I am interested in what you all have experienced that have moved out of your respective countries by your fellow countryman?

Anger? bigotry? charges on being unpatriotic? pity?blank “why would you go there” stares?

I have heard many say that if you expat out, for work, personal or retirement, somehow you are unpatriotic and anti-___ (usually american). At a work lunch the other day, a lady I worked with said this, about a fellow that moved to Belize, saying something like “hey, he chose to move out of the USA and turn his back on this country, so he deserves what he gets”
Bare in mind, this is a black lady, Democrat, Obama supporter and early 30’s with college 4yr degree, not a Red state flag waving white Republican, though have heard this from both “sides” of political/racial groups…

I know some are envious, but has anyone gotten grief, etc?[/quote]

why would you care what anyone thinks??

just making the logical intelligent decision to leave the Country puts you in such a small %% of people that you really should not waste your breathe speaking with the.

most of our society are walking around fully asleep like in a catatonic state.

when you try to have a civil discussion if your not attacked verbally with nothing more than unfounded emotion not based on anything then its a waste of time.

time that you cannot replace or ever get back.

there are no sides.. except the truth and what is actually going on.

it’s better to just stay in gridlock than anything else and let the chips fall where they may.

here is a great quote from john stossel that i agree with 100%

[b]Stossel thinks that, for the moment, gridlock will delay or slow down the mad race to total government:

My hope for now: gridlock. People say they like bipartisanship, but bipartisanship usually means politicians conspire to take more of our money and freedom. Bipartisanship gave us the Department of Homeland Security, TSA, PATRIOT Act, Import-Export Bank, war on drug users, ethanol subsides, TARP, No Child Left Behind, foreign wars and an ever-rising debt. When Democrats and Republicans come together, they put us deeper in debt.

Let’s have some gridlock!
[/b]

[davidd]

Scott

I have these conversations with my attorney. I educate him on all what really goes on behind the scense in the U.S. and he is speechless.

he visits the U.S. at least a few times per year BUT all of these truths are hidden to tourists.

when a new law comes into effect we usually have lunch and we discuss and compare costa rica and the U.S.

for example this “DEATH TAX”

when you have a farm that you built up all your life or you bought land and when you die. your inheritance will have to pay a large $$$$ tax.

this was to somehow counter the examples of idiots sons like paris hilton or something.

please correct me if I am worng

but the writing is on the wall folks

the U.S. is really more of multiple divded groups that believe very different things.

the independent ones that stay realize they must learn new skills and associate with like minded communities.

I have a friend that relocated to a small town in northern nevada where he and his family live in a very self reliant community where all neighbors know and help each other.

the masses and newly immigrated masses now receive a welcome packet with explains in detail all the goverment benefits of living in the U.S. that they now can access

http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/18/homeland-security-promotes-welfare-to-new-immigrants-in-government-welcome-materials/

welfare
food stamps etc

crazy world

[davidd]

[quote=”sprite”]Since we are discussing debt and money (in the case of the Dollar, one and the same thing), be aware that these concepts are not physical and as such can be manipulated right out of your possession by banks and governments (also pretty much one and the same thing these days). I keep only enough wealth in paper and digital form to cover my monthly expenses. Debit cards are digital, of course. I wouldn’t keep any additional wealth in a debit card beyond what my immediate needs require.

[/quote]

it’s only $5000 for pete’s sake.. geeez.. $5000 can’t buy you $5000 anymore lol

[davidd]

[quote=”sprite”]I have one credit card for car rentals. How do you buy airline tickets and car rentals and make hotel reservations? I tried a cash only and debit card only approach and it is impossible to do in this monetary paradigm.

Debt can be engaged and disengaged at will. Corporations do this as amateur of course all the time. If debt is looked at in this manner, it no longer has a controlling force.[/quote]

Sprite

I use debit for all airline purchases as I usually keep $5000 in that card at all time in the event i needed it.

embarrassingly… I have travled cuba, panama, Nicaragua, figi islands, costa rica, guatamala el salvador, bahamas, jamaica, and various parts of the U.S.

and I have never rented a car 🙂

[davidd]

[quote=”sprite”]Is the debt real? We are talking about slips of paper and digital journal entries between banks and governments. MONEY IS A CONCEPT, the main function of which is control. Debt is also a concept, the main function of which is control. In this sense, it is not real. We could just erase it all. It’s called a Jubilee and has been done throughout history.
[/quote]

sprite

ok now i am hearing some different perspectives. is debt real??? would there be any collateral damage to the people by just erasing the debt???

interesting control mechanism this DEBT.. I don’t have any personaly experience with debt because at a young age my father always taught me

Debt was a form of slavery

so all my life I always built business then bought things in cash. all my houses here and properties are all paid in cash.

never had a credit card.. debit card yes but no credit card

i have been taught that if i did not have the money to buy it I would either

augment my wants

or

save the cash to buy it.

so this whole debt thing is fascinating but dangerous tool in the wrong hands like currently

[davidd]

you know I have just come to realization that this…

all… this… crazyness

is intentional. call me paranoid

but I cannot believe that this is all due to innocent incompetence.

there is something going on and there is a specific direction that some group is taking the country.

intentionally

that movie clip summarized it perfectly

when you control debt you control everything

[Author]

Posts