Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Could someone tell me where “The US will put immigration controls in place within the next ten years so that people will have to apply to retire outside of the us – FOR YOUR PROTECTION” came from? If this is in fact true and supported by a credible source, then our plans will change.
You can also pay for it at any Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), which to my knowedge is the only bank that provides this service.
I have little doubt that not observing the safety rules is much more prevalent in Panama City than in Seattle, primarily due to enforcement. Steel worker’s, however, are notoriuos for being the rebels of the high rise industry and observing any rules. For instance, in Seattle the State Labor & Industries Department would fine you roughly $3,000 during routine periodic inspections or complaint inspection and it would affect your “Experience Factor” rating for 3 years. This would typically increase your workemen’s comepensation rates from roughy $2.70/HR to $3.00/HR X 112,000 annual labor hours (my company) = $33,600 per year more for 3 years. Thus, the fine are the “actual damages” and the rate impacts are “punitive damages”. The entire cost could be as much $110,800 over three years.
In the US, many workemen’s compensation systems have “participants” than act as a pooling of funds. If the amount of these pooled premiums is greater than the cost of the permiums for that year, the surplus pool gets proportionate distributed among the “partiipants”. We call this a “retro-refund” in the construction business. As with all balanced measrues (there are so few), it works both ways and you can profit by being safety concious.25 construction workers have died on high rise projects in 2007 in Panama, which is 3 times more than die in high rise projects in the entire US. Apparently, the construction workers are deeply concerned about the lack of job site safety. Unlike the US, if someone dies on your job site it will be a struggle to save your business due to insurance and phenomenal workermen’s compensation rates.
Montezuma is our home away from home and the best restaurant, hands down, is Playa de los Artistas. It is often cited as the best restaurant in CR. The chef is absolutely awesome and the beach side ambiance is incredibly romantic. Closed on Sundays.
The rental car companies in CR will not allow entry into Nicaragua. What they will do is pre-arrange an exchange of cars at the border. I asked the question on one of our trips and that is what I was told. I do not know if it works the same in reverse, but would surmise it does. However, with Ortega in power and the recent incident with an american falsely imprisoned for murder, I am reluctant to set foot in Nicaragua.
If you go on a Friday or weekend day, be prepared to wait for the next boat. There are plenty of food and wares vendors to keep you busy and you can entertain yourself watching the kids dive off of the towers. The schedule is accurate and they are generally on time.
The National Geographic Map is the best one we have found. It is two sided (larger scale) and quite detailed, which helps when you are lost.
I would bet that Nicoya or Santa Cruz where there is a college would have a supplier. Not sure about Puntarenas and it is not an inviting city to begin with.
If you make bowls, plates, vases, etc., we are always interested in pottery and will be returning to Montezuma in March. crsundevil86@yahoo.comThe shortest drive is over the highest pass in the country @ Cerro Chirripo 12,530′. The downhill portion to San Isidro is not for the faint of heart (you will note all the drivers side dented vehicles). San Isidro is one of the bigger cities in what would be the start of the southern zone. The drive from San Isidro to Dominical is absolutely beautiful dropping down through a valley from mountains to sea. Good luck and you will want a 4WD if you will be driving north or south of Domincal very far.
On our first trip we put nearly 1,800 km on our rental vehicle and hit every corner of the country except Tortugero. On our 2nd trip, we picked our 3 favorite locations and stayed 4-5 days in each. By our 3rd trip we had decided where we would like to live based on several parameters (bank, medical facilites, veterinarians, beach access, wildlife, no resort development, access to San Jose, etc.) and stayed there the entire 2 weeks. It is a process to determine what works best for you, however, an all inclusive resort is by nature insulated from the local culture. It is very difficult to get the true flavor of Costa Rica without visiting the smaller communities that have not been transformed for tourism purposes like Tamarindo and Papagayo.
Exterior envelope repairs are not just limited to CR, but are prevalent in the Pacific NW. An entire industry is centered around these types of projects, more specifically multi-family and condominiums. It is not uncommon to spend more on the reapir than the original project. In the Seattle area you will often see multi-story buildings totally clad in a weather tight, heated, enclosed scaffolding system. This is a big business and only stresses the importance of correct application the 1st time. As a construiction professional, the problem is significantly more prevalent in the US than Europe where identical product types are used, but the care and time taken in the application process is significantly higher in Europe. Keep sharing your expertise CRhimebuilder, it is very informative.
Thrifty rents the Toyota Hi-Lux 4WD Extra Cab Pick-up. It has the 3.0L diesel and the best all-around rig we have found in CR. Not sure if there is a Thrifty in Liberia. RAV4’s and the smaller SUV’s just don’t have the clearance for some of the deep rutted roads we encounter. I don’t think Totota Rental actually rent the Hi-Lux for some odd reason, but the Prado is a good SUV with the same engine.
There was a very good article in Tico Times this week. Please see http://www.ticotimes/business. It was regarding how CAFTA has impacted all the current signatory countries. All but good old CR and Panama.
