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Education is a double edged sword. It helps the buyers AND it helps the crooks. I work in a different segment of the Internet information business (blacksmithing), but some things are the same. We write articles to help buyers know good tools from bad. However, the crooks use all the key words and phrases (OUR WORDS) that apply to first class products to describe their junk.
I have seen some of the changes in the realestate sites. Many are those of the biggest crooks in the business. They provide lot maps with technical terms and the right key words. . . but no individual registration numbers. They point at articles (including Scott’s) that recommend a corporation to protect their investments and try to insinuate that buying into their corporation (rather than having an actual deed) is the same. Education has just risen the level of the BS and made the game trickier.
On the other hand I am sure that sites like this also help the honest developers do a better job. It just makes it harder to tell the crooks from the honest folk.
The difficult part is that there are far too many people that will get sucked in by the crooks before they get educated. I constantly remind people that in the recent (pre-Internet) past that the VAST majority of people in the world never met a flim-flam man. But since the Internet we (anyone with email) get approached by them every hour in the day (spam). There is a MUCH larger more accessible pool of “marks” or “suckers” and thus many more crooks.
No, it is never as simple as it seems.
Edited on Jun 20, 2007 09:46
ls6pilot,
I cannot help you but I do know that requiring volunteers to pay their own way is fairly universal. They pay for their transportation, meals, a place to stay AND often the materials to do whatever it is they came to do. This includes charities and religious institutions as well as individuals.
While this sounds odd, the point is that the volunteer should not become a financial burden on those they have volunteered to help. While “working for free” may seem like a big deal there is the question of what is that labor actually worth? Could it be bought cheaper than room and board by a regular employment situation? In countries with low wages this is very possible. There is also the problem of volunteers that do nothing and are just taking a vacation.
Normally the volunteer must seek financial help on their own for their “good deed”. They apply for grants and donations from individuals and organizations that support the things that the volunteer is going to do. They often work and save their OWN money for the same purpose. Many church organizations supply no money, just their name to the cause and sometimes means to raise funds by the individual.
Several years ago our blacksmithing organization provided funds to a fellow that was invited to South Africa to teach blacksmithing. He had sufficient funds to pay for his air fare to get there but needed money for room, board and incidentals. Although it is not our usual focus we made a donation so that he could do this deed. In exchange we got photos and an article about the trip and the school where he volunteered.
The length of time may be related to the 90 day max. tourist stay time. If the place wants the volunteer longer they must leave CR for 48 hours and return with both the exit and entry marked on their passport. The cost of doing that would also be on the volunteer.
One of the amazingly odd things I see in Costa Rica is foreign volunteers building churches. Costa Rica is a country full of churches large and small. If a village has a name it usually has a church. But these are mostly Catholic churches, and the volunteers are building other churches to push their brand of Christianity . . . There are many things Costa Rica needs help with, but building Churches is not one of them.
Edited on Jun 12, 2007 07:53
I operate a website where I am often in contact with people of other languages. Spelling is a big problem because I often must translate their letters OR mine using Bablefish. The problem I found is that bad spelling is a problem world over and that computer translation programs are not very helpful in this. It was easiest to notice when I translated my letters to other languages and many of my words in English did not translate.
One thing I have found that helps greatly is to use the Foxfire browser. It has form field spell checking (such as where this is being written). I think the spell check is available in several languages.
The other problem is the Spanish keyboard. It is not the same as the English keyboard and that few character displacement can make it a mess. Important punctuation that we use regularly (like the @ symbol) is moved and had to find. I suspect that you will find a mixture of Spanish and English keyboards all over Costa Rica. . .
BECAUSE of the lack of high tech regional weather stations in Costa Rica I have found that what many folks are calling “radar” is actually satellite photos which often do not tell you much. I use the weather at costarica.com. They have regional pages by city.
I have found that the weather forecasts are very general and used for large areas. As those of us familiar with Costa Rica know there are many micro climates and what it true on the other side of the hill (or higher or lower) is not true for you.
There are wonderful small (personal) automated weather stations that can be setup and hooked to the Internet. If you have one of these at your home in Costa Rica (and left it running with your Internet connection) you could check the weather from anywhere in the world. There are also web sites that collect and display statistics from this type of small weather station. It has been a while since I researched this so I will not list one at this time.Often you need to know just HOW MUCH rain fell on your property in a given time to make a judgment as to if the road will need fixing when you get there or if the bridge might be washed out. . . Everyone had different needs from their weather report. A personal weather station MIGHT answer those needs.
RULES CHANGE: Just several days ago the US State department has changed the rules for re-entry into the US due to the very long delays in processing new passport applications. Check the state department web site. As of January you had to have a passport to fly to/from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, you could still drive across the border with ID and a birth certificate. But because of the huge number of emergency applications and the the four to six month backlog they have rescinded these rules temporarily. However, this does not apply to Central America.
EMERGENCY APPLICATION: You can go to a regional passport service center and walk through the process in one day. You MUST call ahead for an appointment AND you must have plans (tickets in hand) to travel within two weeks time. A friend of mine who just became a US citizen and handed in her green card found out that her passport would not be ready when she needed to return to Costa Rica. She still had her German passport but no green card to get back into the US later as she had handed that in with her passport application.
PLEASE call and double check the rules. But I am sure that they were told that they must already have plane tickets and they could not ask for emergency processing until within the two week window. This is available only at the 13 regional centers so for most people this involves travel and some expense on top of the accelerated processing fee.
ALSO fill in your forms accurately in advance. How many of us know our parents city of birth (reliably)? Spouses parents? Even though I am close to my family there was always some debate as to where my father was born. I had to get the official story before filling in the form. Do this in ADVANCE!
Note that MOST U.S. forms including passport applications are in PDF format and can be filled in on you PC then printed with the information. This makes clear accurate easy to read forms.
http://travel.state.gov/passport/
Currently they have an on-line system that generates a special bar code on the PDF.
Also note that applications for renewals are running just as long as new applications. If you MUST travel in less than 6 months you should plan on going to a regional center for emergency processing.
Another reason for SOME of the backlog is that the largest regional passport processing center was in New Orleans and destroyed by Katrina.
HTTPS link and Security:
The S in that link is for a site with a secure certificate. Unless you are making a financial transaction all this warning meant is that either the site did not have a secure cert, the address was incorrect (www.sitname.com and sitename.com are different addresses to a secure cert) AND if the certificate is issued by ANY company other than a few that have deals with you Browser’s authors then it will be treated as “unfamiliar”.
In this case, IF you examine the certificate, it was issued by the DoD. This is not a “recognized” insurer of certs. All this means is that the government doesn’t have a “deal” with Microsoft and issues their own secure certificates.
Anyone with a server and the know how can issue a secure cert in their own name. The connection transaction is JUST AS SECURE as one from any “recognized” authority. The only difference is that SOME issuers do credit and background checks on the people they issue certs to AND they charge a lot of money. I bailed out of this game a couple years ago when I found that thieves could get a cert easier than I could because they had good credit! Now I use a cheap no-frills cert issuer who only knows that I do legally own my domain.
As to the safety of that particular URL. The .MIL ending is only issued to US military sites and none other. Its like .GOV. The U.S. holds the keys to the Internet and does not issue these domain extensions to anyone else. There is no such thing as a UK.GOV or UK.MIL or France.GOV. . . ONLY the US government can use these extensions (at this time).
What you DO have to be careful of when you go to various links is that the end of the URL is BEFORE the first slash / NOT a period. Phishers commonly embed trusted addresses buried in theirs like so
http://www.bankamerica.com.IAMATHEIF.ir.co/lots_of_confusing_paramaters/
In the example above the URL is IAMATHEIF.ir.co. NOT bankamerica.com.
Learn to read the URL’s and you will be much safer on the Internet.
TARGET CARS: Daihatsu Terios
I have rented one of these every time we have been in Costa Rica and have had not trouble. But then, we do not spend much time in the Central Valley and never leave valuables in the car.
We did have one of those peculiar moments when we got up for breakfast at the Linda Vista Resort near Arenal (nice place). The parking lot which had been empty the previous evening was completely filled with Daihatsu Terios and Rav 4’s as well as other look alikes. It looked like a rental car lot or afficiandos gathering!
While driving around the country we saw a LOT of these cars and many seemed to be being driven by Ticos. I suspect any rental is a Red-flag. Most are clean, all have luggage racks, no hub caps (they get stolen or pop off on CR roads). Models above these are relatively expensive making them a “red flag” as well. AND, no matter how long you have been driving there i am sure a Tico can tell a tourista by their driving style.
It is illegal for U.S. citizens to carry $10,000 or more in cash or financial instruments out of the country without reporting it to the IRS. Otherwise you can physically carry the cash (up to $9,999) without reporting it. Taking it out of the bank is another thing.
The Cash Transaction Report, CTR, (IRS Form 4789 / FinCEN Form 104) is required to be filed for any amounts withdrawn cumulatively from a US bank exceeding $10,000 for a single day. IF you ASK what the limit is then withdraw slightly less (say $9,000) then the bank MAY file a “suspicious transaction report” if you have made them suspicious. They can file this report for ANY amount that seems suspicious on your account.
So, if over a period of time you accumulate over $10,000 and carry it out of the country AND do not report it you have broken U.S. law. But people do it. . . I’ve heard of people carrying gold coins sewn in their clothing (back in the days before metal detectors).
You can wire transfer, or even write checks in far greater amounts. Since there are lots of computer records of these transfers the government does not worry about it.
BUYING A CONTAINER:
Talk to shippers FIRST: It is my understanding that personally owned containers cannot be shipped through US ports (without a great deal of difficulty). Containers must be owned by registered shippers and kept in their control. When a container is delivered to you to fill the container number, destination and date of shipping must be filed with the government. The container can only stay with you for a few days maximum. (According to one major shipper).
Among the problems is that once in CR the privately owned container can NOT be moved by truckers. It can be done but there are questions of legality. So most turn down the job. Those that do so charge a great deal more for “the difficulties”.
If you find out otherwise please let me know. I’ve researched this quite a bit and have had friends that shipped using personal containers with all kinds of complications. They said they would never do it again.
The reason I was interested in this was similar to your need. I wanted to build in shelving units (customize a container) so that items were secure as well as accessible here AND as at the destination. I understood there would be extra costs (such as paying duties to import the container itself into CR. But I did not expect to be thwarted entirely by various rules and laws.
The port of Limon is notoriously dysfunctional. If ANYTHING unusual comes in it can take months to clear customs. Often the people there cannot tell you why OR what you may have done wrong OR what you need to do next. I suspect that freight expediters really earn their fees.
Part of the problem is that I think Ticos TRY to follow all the rules and they have many conflicting rules. It is not unusual to have conflicting rules but I think they take it seriously in CR. In the US if there are two conflicting rules people see it as a choice and pick the rule that works. It is a different attitude toward authority. In CR no one wants to make that decision so things can and do often come to a standstill.
While Ticos like to avoid conflict on one hand it is not unusual for them to “denounce” their neighbor (make a complaint to the authorities) about something they are doing wrong. This can include operating a business without bathroom facilities for employees to leaving orchards unattended (possibly creating a situation where pests could thrive). And the authorities take these complaints seriously. I don’t think this is common of all Ticos but I have heard of a few that make it their business to make their neighbors miserable. I suspect this creates an air of big brother is watching among Civil servants. Who then will not make any decision on their own. . .
It is a different society. While it is slow and sometimes dysfunctional I prefer it to the Mexican system where any problem can be cleared up quickly with a few pesos.
There is no paradise for everyone. One advantage to Gringos living in CR is labor is cheap (relatively speaking). Almost any retiree moving to CR (or elsewhere in Central America and the Caribbean) can afford a full time live-in maid. But that cheap labor has a cost, poverty. With poverty comes crime. However, if you read all the news closely, spend some REAL time in CR and take a good look you will find that like anywhere else crime varies. In the cities you will find drugs, prostitution muggings like in any city in the world.
Everywhere in CR including rural areas crime is mostly petty theft and crimes against property. THIS is greater than in many places and something you must address in CR. An empty home is a prime target for this type of crime. So you put up bars like the Ticos do, OR you contract for really classy ironwork (I know blacksmiths in CR). You hire a caretaker to watch the property or make some kind of arrangements.
This is my chief complaint about CR. Here in the US I have lived in numerous places (mostly rural but also in cities) where I did not lock my doors, left keys in the car (at home) and never worried about theft. However, you could move a short distance from these places and you had better have GOOD locks. There are many such places in the US but this is a big country. Costa Rica is a small country and some conditions are universal. Theft of anything that can be carried away is one.
Those things aside, what makes Costa Rica a Paradise? The weather, no heating or air conditioning bills. The people, beautiful and generally friendly ESPECIALLY if you try to make friends. The people who’s children are quiet and respectful and generally well educated. The people who are hard working (making that low cost of living possible for retiring Gringos). The fresh food year round. . . that is relatively cheap. The soil where you can plant a stick and have a flowering bush or a shape tree in a year or less. If you like gardening you will LOVE it in much of CR. The affordable health care and beautiful landscapes. . . It may not be paradise but it is close.
FROM MEMORY:
The rules are that you have a return ticket OR leave a deposit with immigration of sufficient value to return home. This applies to both tourists and residents (all foreign nationals). That way if you are a bad egg they can send you home on your nickel.
The airlines may or may not enforce this dependent on the whim of the day as is often the case. The CR immigration officer may or may not ask to see your return ticket depending on his/her whim of the day. If you are passing through and have tickets to prove it I am sure that they would accept that as long as you have a plan and method to leave the country prepaid.
I have never been asked to show my return tickets. However, the airlines know who has and who does not and may give that information to immigration. But this assumes a level of efficiency in CR that may not yet exist. But it COULD.
The credit card era and buying (and canceling or changing) of tickets on-line has made these rules rather antiquated. On the other hand the integration of computer systems has also made it much easier for a country to check on your travel status IF they have the mechanism in place. If *I* were operating an international airport I would require the airlines to notify me of every non-complying entry. It is easy for them to do.
Try to address the cause of the car sickness. In general it is caused when children sit too low and cannot see the moving surroundings. The inner ear tells you that the world is moving but the eyes say no. The result is motion sickness. The same can happen to adults reading in an automobile.
With video games and movies becoming more common in automobiles the motion sickness can also a larger problem. On smooth US highways it may not be a problem but anywhere the roads curve and twist it can be. When traveling you need to get children interested in their surroundings. A 12 year old will beg to go on theme park roller coasters, they should not have motion sickness in a car.
You can see Arenal many times from various places on the road from just past the the high point at Laguna. Make it a game to see how many times it can be seen. OR play at translating road signs. If the person is interested in looking for things along the road they will not synchronize their inner ear to visual cues and quickly forget they feel ill.
After looking at the various problems and the unreliability of the local Internet connections I came to conclusion that the only viable alternative for a small business is a private satellite system. If you need fast two way communications and lots of band width a commercial connection is not cheap (about $300/month) but it will work. However, it IS illegal – technically.
As a private installation reliability may still be an issue. Due to the dense cloud cover in CR at times you will need a large dish. Hardware may also be a concern and I would plan to stock a duplicate backup system for a quick change out. AND without power nothing works, so you will need a power generator. You may also need to be your own “tech” person for all of this. . .
Places I have liked in CR were “off the grid” so all this would just be part of normal life.
This area of technology changes so rapidly that I cannot give specifics. I researched it heavily a few years ago and have not looked again since. I only assumed that either costs would go down or performance UP.
For that weight and content it would be best just to pay the airline for extra luggage. The fees will be the same or less the only headache being the individual handling them at the airport. But they will travel with you and as personal items would be exempt from import duties.
This would not take care of large items but it would certainly take care of clothing. Especially that needed for CR.
IF you think you are going to be making numerous trips back and forth to the US you can bring your maximum in international luggage down on each trip. If you have a home or relatives to leave items with in the US along with a change of clothes or two then everything you carry is your “freight”. Lots of folks move small expensive personal items such as kitchen appliances, tools and jewelery this way.
We also “courier” gifts and goods to friends when we visit them in CR. So far we have delivered a dozen hard back books, 1 set gas forge components, 4 humming bird feeders and a number of custom embroidered shirts and towels. We go down loaded with goods for our friends there and come back with Costa Rican goods for friends here. This year we brought back our weight limit in coffee. If you have friends or relatives that are going to visit you can always ask them to bring something along. . .
AND if you have ever flown TACA out of Miami you will have seen folks checking as luggage everything from wide screen TVs to large children’s toys (bicycles).
