Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
[quote=”maravilla”]of course it was irradiated. normal fruit would’ve rotten by then. and there are plenty of people who think this is a good idea!!![/quote]
They say the radiation levels are very low and there is no danger, the normal brainwash – bla bla blaaa ……..
Besides that, imported fruit does not really taste like it should (same like some over-fertilized local veggies). I remember the apples growing on our trees in Germany, those were real and delicious apples. The overpriced crap they sell here is a joke. Same for plums, peaches, etc. etc.
Better to find organic farmers and buy from them, or grow our own fruit and veggies.
Sounds a little low.
When we built our first pool, the pool company told us to be prepared to spend up to 100,000 Colones per month on quimicals and electric bill (just pump, no heating). This was in the mid-90ies. I don´t remember if we really spend that much, plus, I did the maintenance, add clorine, anti-alga stuff etc. every day, remove leaves, clean pool, rinse out the system etc. at least once per week. If alga overgrows, it needs special treatment.
If someone has exact figures, pls. share.
Not only GMO food concerns me. Also whatever they treat fruit and veggie with in order to make it stay fresh longer.
About 3 months ago I bought 2 Kiwis, I ate one, put the other one in the refrigerator and forgot about it. A few days ago I moved some stuff around and found the Kiwi again, it was just like I had put it in there. I would expect, after 3 months, that any kind of fruit should be rotten, even in the refrigerator. Must have been treated with some kind of radiation or something like that. Can this be healty ?
Are those methods used in Costa Rica as well ?[quote=”jmi82060″]Does anyone have a home with a swimming pool? I was wondering if you need to have it heated. If so how much is the typical cost of heating and maintaining a mid-size pool? Do you hire a local person to maintain it? How much do you pay him/her?[/quote]
I do not have a pool but I know is a little expensive, even more if you have to heat it and hire someone for maintenance. I did pool maintenance many years ago, it was a large pool 46 x 23 ft. I don´t remember the numbers but I remember it was not cheap to keep water and pool clean, plus the electric bill for the pump. It was not heated but it had not been a bad idea to heat it during rainy and windy season (Lake Arenal). Pools need maintenance, you can put a timer on the pump and clorine tablets in the skimmer baskets, but someone has to keep an eye on it. If you are living on the property you can take care of that. If you leave for a longer time period you would not want to leave the house and pool unattended anyhow. Maybe you will consider a solar system for pump and heating (off grid or grid connected, depends where you live).
[quote=”VictoriaLST”]Well, Aguacate must be ‘out-of-the-way” because there is a one room school house here with 11 students, and its right on the bus route.[/quote]
well I guess it is. You also wrote:
“….you will really want private schools if you don’t live in an urban area. Here in the rural areas, there are a lot of tiny (10-15 students) one room schools with little support for books/materials. You aren’t going to be satisfied with the quality of education you get…..”
This sounds like most public schools in rural areas are one room schools. You have to define rural first. In Costa Rica pretty much everything is rural, except the cities in the Central Valley, and cities like Liberia, Santa Cruz etc.
The Lake Arenal Area is rural but most pueblos have decent public schools with more then 1 room. Look at Tilaran, Tronadora, San Luis, Nuevo Arenal, Rio Piedras, Tierras Morenas, Sabalito, Parcelas………..
I would think that an expat-single-mother with 5 kids would prefer to live in Tilaran rather than Aguacate.I have never heard anything negative from any foreigners I have met so far. They all say how lucky we were to live in such a beautiful country and admire the courage it needs to make the move. Only unhappy and envious people would say something negative.
[quote=”VictoriaLST”]Yup, Dave and CRfinca are correct. And you will really want private schools if you don’t live in an urban area. Here in the rural areas, there are a lot of tiny (10-15 students) one room schools with little support for books/materials. You aren’t going to be satisfied with the quality of education you get.
Cost of living is also a huge issue – if you want an American standard. Look closely at your finances.[/quote]Victoria, your statement is not quite true. Tilaran for example is a rural town, the public high school has over 1000 students from all over the county, and there are several large public primary schools in different parts of the town. There is a private (catholic) high school with approx. 100 students and a private primary school with approx. 80 students (including kindergarden etc.). The same teachers that work at the private schools also work at the public schools, so there is no difference in education level. Private schools require the parents to buy books (expensive !!) while at the public schools the teacher has a book and makes copies (less expensive for the students). My children went to private school because their itinerary is better for single working mums (I am such too). Plus their English education is better. Nevertheless, if children already speak English, this is not of priority. They will have to learn Spanish in any case, and they will learn fast.
Those 1-room schools are mostly at tiny out-of-nowhere villages where no buses pass by.Rates “por contrato” are all over the place. The chain saw guy next door used to charge 4000 per hour, now it is 8000. The weedeater guys are quoting as low as 2500 per hour (there are too many of them so there is more competition). They bring the mashine and the gas.
I just heard that INS is offering an inexpensive (?) policy for temporary workers which would include those people, they can pay a policy themselfs as independent workers, but none of them does, this could be a problem in case of an accident.[quote=”maravilla”]no bank accounts, no permits, no driver’s licenses WITHOUT a cedula. whooo hooo. we’re getting more and more like the US every day.[/quote]
Would a Tico-Tourist with just a passport get all this in the U.S. ?
Not in Germany !!
[quote=”tatlop22″]Thank you for your feedback. I plan on finding a temporary apartment while I travel around and decide what will work best for me. I’ve heard great thing about the La Fortuna area and plan to check it out while I’m there. I appreciate your advice.[/quote]
Try out the Tilaran/Lake Arenal area as well, it is less “touristy” than La Fortuna, the town is nice and clean, people are friendly, there are great restaurants, a decent population of people in their 30ies (if you don´t want gringos only) and the security level is higher than at the areas around the “Big City”.
[quote=”vern1948″]My wife and i are retired and would like to move somewhere with a better climate,where our money would go farther.
The prices in Costa Rica that the realestate people quote are insane!
I’m beginning to think Costa Rica was a bad idea, at least for poor people ![/quote]
What do you consider insane and in which areas are you looking at ?
Tell me where in the world can you buy lake view property for less than $7 per meter ?
[quote=”aguirrewar”]It all depends what part of the Country you choose to live in. I have been looking at the Tilaran – Lake Arenal area. It is quite different from San Jose and surrounding areas.
Cheap real estate compared to other places, quite unexpensive for food, not congested, a simpler life style, less petty crime, etc.
On the other side; you do not have a large selection of goods and products to buy but in my Golden years I don’t need the night club life (been there-done that).
Coffe in the morning while reading the newspaper never worry about the 8 to 5 clock, retirement MODE for me.
[/quote]
😀
Nobody has to live in a gated community with equal looking gringo homes (I´m getting pretty tired of the thousands of “spanish” style homes built during the last 10 years). I would always prefer to buy a piece of land and build to my own taste and for my own needs.
Here at Lake Arenal are you can buy 5000 meters (1.25 acres) with lake view for 40 – 50 K, or a small home (1000 sq ft.) for 50 K. In 2006 those properties would have been twice as much.
Stiebel Eltron heaters are also available at “Importaciones Campos Rudin” the nice thing is, if it needs a repair, they lend you another one for the meantime.
What I would recommend for all on/demand heaters, install faucets that have hot and cold separate (no one-hand mixers etc.) because many times we do not pay attention when we open the water and put it to semi-hot, which kicks the heater on immediately. Turning on the heater is like turning on 90 light bulbs at the same time. I also used solar for years and was very happy with it. If I ever built a house again for myself, I would go solar again.There are 2 types of guards, the “sleeping guard” and the regular guard. The minimum wages are the same for both, but the regular guard is only allowed to work 6 hours per night while the sleeping guard can work (or sleep) up to 12 hours, for the same amount of money.
The sleeping guard is kind of a paid house sitter. He gets up if the alarm goes off or the dogs bark, or he hears something. It is mainly about to let people know that the house is not abandoned.
House sitters are an option, but someone on vacation will probably not want to be nailed down at one spot for months, plus they also may want to be able to travel or to go out for dinner etc. So a house sitter may be a short term option, changing house sitters every x weeks or months.
I have a friend at the beach, she put a Tico housesitter in her house. After she was gone the Nicaraguan girlfriend moved in. Besides a big mess, they left a $2000 phone bill after moving out (calls to Nicaragua mostly….). The guy is trying to work it off now, but it will take him years.
So, if you consider a house sitter, disconnect the phone, and/or get them a prepaid internet and cel.phone where you can call them in case of emergency.
