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THE LOUSY WEATHER:
We realized just how spoiled we were by the Costa Rica weather when we were sitting around one evening complaining how cold is was at 70°F rather than the 72°F it had been most of the day. . .
I’ve stopped making most of my complaints about Costa Rica in fear that someone will FIX them and prices will rise along with the country becoming more crowded. . .
I have 3 maps of Costa Rica and all are pretty much the same as to accuracy. The National Geographic “adventure” map is very good, water proof AND flexible. The other, a plastic coated map I have is hard to use and I expect would break down from much folding. I think the map I purchased through Scott got “borrowed” by another tourist. . .
IF you are looking at land you really need topographic maps of the area. These are not easy to obtain as they are published by the Costa Rican government and not always available. I bought one from a reseller in the US. It took months to obtain and arrived after my trip that year.
Be aware that roads on CR topo maps include farm roads (the ARE honestly labeled “cattle and art paths”) that are rough even as cattle paths. I’ve been on several that would be classed as “most difficult” in a 4 wheel drive rock climbing competition. Bridges on such roads may or may not exist as they are maintained privately.
Also note that while maps are VERY helpful you need to keep your wits about you. I THOUGHT I could navigate anywhere with a map, but when there are no road signs or signs identifying small towns as is the case in much of Costa Rica then traveling can become a REAL adventure! This is the reason most travelers are advised NOT to travel at night in Costa Rica. It is a good recommendation unless you are looking for serious travel adventure.
A GPS unit along with a map could be very helpful.
Glad I could help.
Another thing non-technical folks don’t think about is the fact that the works in the toilet tank and the toilet itself are two different things. Cheap, modern plastic control mechanisms in toilets are usually the problem, not the heavy permanent ceramic tank and bowl.
Many years ago I went to replace the “works” in a toilet that had worked perfectly for 30 years and then finally wore out. At the plumbing supply the counterman handed me a nice box with plastic works with a picture of the OLD style brass works all green with corrosion that proclaimed how much better it was than the old brass works! I asked the counterman how long the plastic works lasted. “Oh, a couple years”. he replied. But THIS one has lasted 30 years I countered. Do you have the original? He grumbled and came back with an old dusty box and stated it would cost twice as much. Hmmmmmm twice the cost for 15 times the service! AND, I REALLY HATE working on toilets. . .
You don’t always have a choice. So, it helps to know this. Modern plastic works are VERY sensitive to grit or debris in the water. Very fine mica or other minerals that you cannot see in a glass of water can clog the valves OR get caught in the sliding plastic parts. A whole house water filter can prevent these problems and is much easier to replace than the toilet works. While the filters cost more you may change them yourself rather than calling a plumber to fix the toilet. These also prevent similar problems in washing machine valves and hose filters. I prefer AquaPure filters from AMF Cuno.
Another problem is the bleach or chemical “fresheners” that hang in the toilet tank. Never use these! In normal daily use they generally do not hurt the parts in the toilet BUT if the toilet is not used daily the chemical concentration builds up to where it can do damage. In a guest toilet or if you live in a house part time the chemicals will reach a point where they attack the rubber parts, particularly the “flap valve” that dumps water. These become rough and will leak so that the toilet appears to be “running” constantly.
Its these stupid little things that make “modern life” the pain it can be.
Toilet efficiency is almost always related to pipe size and arrangement. I lived in a place for 30 years that had the worst plumbing on the planet EXCEPT they had put the toilet on a 4″ pipe with few bends. Even though the drain went slightly uphill for a distance and we had kids in the house that flushed who knows what down the toilet it never, ever, clogged.
Now I live with a friend in a new cheap American “modular” home with cheap (factory engineered) plumbing. Both toilets clog on a regular basis without abuse. I’ve seen tests on toilets and its NOT the toilet. . its the pipes.
Low water use toilets exacerbate plumbing problems. They are great for saving water on public water systems but if you have your own water system (well, stream, spring) then saving water may not be a priority. A higher volume of water flow keeps pipes clean and can be better for a properly designed septic system.
Little things done by the plumber like chamfering the inside edge of plastic pipe to make a smooth edge can make a big difference. Most plumbers don’t do it.
In Costa Rica a LOT of the plumbing is far below “standards”. Undersized pipes, cheap pipes, irregular septic systems, no vents. . . (don’t forget seismic activity that cracks and misaligns pipes). In rural areas it is not unusual to see grey water flowing into roadside ditches.
In a proper septic system Ridex can be a great cure. But it can also cause problems in some improperly designed systems.
There is always more to this kind of story than anyone will ever know. The woman was probably already suicidal before she left the U.S. To do so without a plan is an act of desperation. It was a plan with a low chance of success but when someone is desperate and grasping for straws the odds are not a big concern in making the decision.
The other side of the story is the person that invited the lady into the situation. What were his motives? What did he expect? Did he think it through? On the surface the invitation may sound like a good hearted act but there were probably other things going on. He had to know the woman was desperate and possibly have emotional issues. But this is all speculation that we need not get into.
One lesson to be learned is that inviting a stranger into your home can have significant consequences. Even friends that you think you know may take advantage of the situation or not be as good a friend as you thought. What can start out as an act of compassion can end up being a nightmare.
Another lesson is that no matter how comfortable you are living in a foreign country you are always a guest of that country and should always be on the best behavior. This means no illicit drugs, no weapons, paying your taxes and being above reproach.
Members of this forum all know that such a move requires research but most would not be in Costa Rica if they did not have a significant streak of spontaneity.
This sounds like a bonanza for the many petty thieves in Costa Rica. Knowing that the trunk (boot) of EVERY car has jumper cables with copper or aluminum wire that is easily sold as scrap (or as merchandise) will be a bonanza. Once open then anything else of value will be a target. Otherwise, breaking in to car trunks is a gamble with no assurance of any return.
Creating a useful (forget standardized) first aid kit is also quite difficult. Open most small first aid kits and you will find almost nothing useful for your immediate need. The most basic things called for in a standard first aid course will not be there OR in too small a quantity to be useful. If it has ever been opened for any minor injury the odds of needed items being there later are about zero.
I’ve studied standard first aid kits and tried to design my own for shop and auto use. It is very difficult, rapidly gets expensive and the size is always more than convenient. In a serious emergency you need triangular bandages for slings and immobilizing broken bones. A simple head wound which will bleed copiously will take yards more gauze, tape or cloth bandage than will fit in a small kit. Simple liquids for flushing wounds or burns such as saline solution are useless in quantities less than a liter. Besides consumables you need small scissors, tweezers. . .
My goal was to fit a first aid kit into a standard “ammo” case (about 4 x 10 x 10″) which is double or triple the size of the average “kit”, has a water tight gasket and is very durable. It fills up very rapidly. A small suit case or a fabric “gym bag” is closer to the needed size to be useful.
The emergency triangles (it takes more than one) and a cheap reflective vest are a good idea and have little value to a thief other than providing government required safety equipment. . .
As we Gringos say, Sounds like a boon doggle to me. . .
The closest thing we have to this in the U.S. is in boating safety laws. Fire extinguishers, life jackets and emergency paddles (oars) are required on lakes and rivers, more on the ocean. However, the only thing that makes this work is constant inspection by the authorities. Boats are stopped often and the required gear inspected. Out of date fire extinguishers or a damaged flotation device will get you ticketed.
While this sounds well and good people still drown every day. Most often it is someone with no swimming ability that gets into their own boat without wearing a life jacket. The law says there must be one for every person on the boat OR for the rated capacity of the craft. However, it does not make people wear them.
Edited on Aug 25, 2009 16:47
Your documents will need to be certified copies that the Costa Rican embassy can accept and then have translated into Spanish. In the U.S. most of these things can be handled by mail. Mexico is a different story.
Documents you used for your U.S. citizenship and passport should meet the requirements. If you don’t have a passport the documentation for that will be a start. This requires an authenticated (usually embossed or stamped) birth certificate.
We’ve only shopped in the markets in the “provincial” areas of Costa Rica and found a LOT of things hard to find. Most noticeably any kind of selection of cheese is missing. No real cheddar, no Swiss, no hard cheeses. Wine is pretty sparse, especially white (blanco) or rose’. And these are off-limits (not sold) on election days and many holidays. Also a variety of beans. For a rice and beans country the choice of beans is surprisingly slim. Nuts (besides peanuts) in quantity are also rare.
On the other hand there are fruits and vegetables that you won’t find anywhere else. The selection of fresh seafood is typically Mediterranean including things you won’t find in 99% of U.S. markets such as squid and octopus. You can also buy pina’ (pineapple) at wholesale prices if you know where to go. A luxury in the states that can be had at every meal in Costa Rica at 1/5 the price.
Be careful purchasing spices in the the little packets. If you don’t know what they are you could get in trouble. There are dyes, borax, lime (for canning) and many things I did not recognize for cooking as we know it but remember from the chemistry set I had in my youth. . .
Its all part of the adventure.
Note that when we called our phone co (Verizon) they didn’t know the difference between Costa Rica and Puerto Rico (a U.S. territory). They told us our phone would work. . . (I knew better but my better half HAD to ask. . ).
Costa Rica’s communications system is a government monopoly and they generally do not support foreign phones. That may change but I would not count on it.
You might be able to find wi-fi connections in the Central Valley and some of the tourist destinations but there is a LOT of Costa Rica outside of these places.
You can rent a local phone with your car if you MUST be connected all the time.
Many people who live in Costa Rica are permanent tourists using the 90 days, then out, then 90 days. Your boyfriend wouldn’t need to leave since his work will have him out of the country more often than necessary. Travel to neighboring countries is easy. Its only a couple hours drive or bus ride. You can also travel home for a few days to visit family. Note that there are significant U.S. tax benefits if you live outside the U.S. full time (check with the IRS).
IF you are from the US or many other countries no visa is required. You simply enter on your passport and stay for a long vacation. You can buy property, enter contracts and other things as a foreigner. For some things you may want to setup a corporation to hold property.
Like most countries you cannot legally work in Costa Rica unless the job cannot be filled by a local citizen. The wages are also very low and you would probably not want to work in the local economy.
There are several ways to become permanent residents. These include retirement with sufficient funds OR with a sufficient deposit in a local bank OR investment in a local business. Its easy if you have lots of money and work with attention to details if you do not.
So, pack your bag and come on down!
To reinforce the above:
“Abandon hope all ye who enter here” should be posted over the doors of all the customs offices in Costa Rica. There are no lists. . .
I have friends that have imported cars, trucks, machinery. . . Now through both Caribbean and Pacific ports AND by truck. The rates follow no logic and the bureaucracy has no logic. The rules seem to be made up as they go along, nobody is willing to make any decision and WORSE, they are relatively honest in CR and you cannot just pay someone and go. Folks would be HAPPY to just pay the fees. But besides not being able to get a straight forward answer to fees there are often long delays getting things out of customs. The delays and unknown release time can be more costly than the customs fees. My friends now know that they can expect nothing to work and just make sure their schedule is flexible and pay the fees as they come up.
If you need an approximate rate on import duties try to compare the price of a car in the U.S. to the same model in Costa Rica. Note that if you are thinking about importing an older car that they proportionately charge more for older cars meeting lower air pollution standards and this can negate savings on importing a used car.
Costa Rica operates primarily on import duties. They need this tax revenue. The low wages and low taxes you will directly or indirectly pay for years will easily offset these those import duties. Pay them and enjoy the benefits.
As noted by others, you cannot just move to Costa Rica and go to work in any trade. Besides which the wages in Costa Rica are VERY low compared to even minimum wage in the U.S.
A Hair Brained Scheme: On the other hand, you ARE allowed to manage your own business affairs in Costa Rica. If you were to import a couple containers loaded with new or used wood working machinery and setup a business in Costa Rica where you hired Ticos to do the work you can profit from the business you manage (but do not legally work in). The country is loaded with beautiful exotic hardwoods and there is a significant wood working industry (and machinery shortages). There are many skilled and unskilled workers (you could teach). It sounds like you have many of the skills necessary to operate and promote such a business.
One note. While the woods in CR are fantastic, they are often unstable due to the high humidity (and lack of central air/heat). If they stay in CR they hold up well but when exported the shrinkage problems can be tremulous. SO, you may want to stay in the local market. Small Items we have brought home have held up (crafty carved items), but I’ve seen problems with heavier pieces.
You might look into other business possibilities. So long as Costa Ricans do the bulk of the work you should be OK. Normally you setup a corporation, the workers work for the corporation and you may profit from it and manage it. Please check with a local (CR) lawyer on any scheme of this nature.
ORIGINAL TOPIC:
I have found most Tico businesses to be quite honest and they always have a calculator and will show you the amount using the current exchange rate. In this case it was an Italian business reflecting poorly on Tico businesses. Scott’s form of public pressure is what keeps many businesses honest.
That is not to say that I have not been cheated in CR. But the only time I remember was by an old lady and her daughter selling fruit on a roadside. They doubled the price to the non-Spanish speaking tourists who could not really argue the point. But it IS well known that there are Tico prices and Gringo prices in Costa Rica.
$100 bills have been an issue in the U.S. as well and some of the forgeries are so good that banks have inadvertently given customers bogus bills. If you do not discover the error before leaving the bank then YOU are the one that is out of luck. This is not a frequent occurrence but it HAS happened more than once. On the other hand $20’s, $10’s and even $5’s have been found counterfeit.
Where I have a problem with the “No $100 bills” policy is when the price being paid for goods or services is frequently close to or over $100. Fuel prices late last year were such that you could pay nearly $100 for a fill-up even in small cars and min-vans. It is also not hard to hit the $100 in a good restaurant.
In Costa Rica I carry both Colones and US dollars. If the price is in Colones I generally pay using Colones and the same with dollars. On expensive items I will occasionally check the difference if both are given which is rare.
On the other hand I LIKED when the exchange rate was an even c500 per dollar (or close to it) because it was easy to calculate in your head. I can still do it at 540 or 550 but not so easily
Simple Answer, Latitude and Longitude. Even with the GPS you had better know how to read a map have a good one, and a scale to measure with, AND know how to navigate.
The biggest problems navigating in Costa Rica are:
A) Lack of road signs indicating the highway number on even major highways. Once you get out of San Jose signs are a rarity. – Use the GPS and the lat and long to figure out which road you are on.
B) Lack of city/town signs. Unless you ask, it is difficult to know. The smaller villages have telco signs with the village name. Those without a pay phone do not. Large ones. . . Use your GPS and the lat and long.
C) Duplication of place names and use of local names different than on the map. This is true everywhere but in a country with few signs it is even worse.
D) The affore mentioned “address” system. You need to know North from East even in the dark and your GPS will tell you that. But you REALLY need to ask to find many of the landmarks.
All that said, I have not had too much trouble navigating CR without a GPS but I AM taking one the next time I go. Its just TOO easy. But we have been lost when the road we wanted was, well, under our feet! Paid a taxi to lead us. However, that was my second visit. On my first my friends took me everywhere and you really don’t notice the details when you are not driving. And don’t get me started on driving in San Jose. . . I am NOT a city boy.
I thought I navigate ANYWHERE with a map until I went to Costa Rica. 😉
MORE:
If the digital maps Google Earth uses are any indication of those used on a GPS then the GPS is not going to give you the clear concise directions you are used to most of the time in the US. If you look at how the road maps align with the satellite photos in CR there are many places with significant differences.
Edited on Feb 14, 2009 15:48
Percent of US Passport holders.
While it is not the same as international travel we in the U.S can spend a lifetime traveling within the U.S. and see as much or more variety of geology, topography and culture as many that travel the world. Costa Rica is often defined as being about the size of West Virginia, a relatively small state in the U.S.
At nearly age 60 I’ve traveled a lot in the U.S. for business and for pleasure. I’ve visited New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Washington D.C. and many lesser known places. I’ve lived in Virgina, California, Kentucky and North Carolina. While it may not be considered as “exotic” as traveling the globe you could spend your entire life exploring the people and places of the U.S. and not know 1% of it.
I do not think folks in the U.S. are “isolated” or disinterested. There is just a LOT of the U.S. to see. In California you can Ski in the mountains in the morning and swim in the Ocean in the afternoon. . . but to drive it from North to South can take three or four days. In Virginia where I have spent most of my life the forests have trees as tall and areas just as inaccessible as any in Costa Rica. In the U.S. we have mountains with year round snow caps and deserts just as inhospitable as any in the world. We have moose, elk, numerous deer varieties, bears, wild cats, wolves, and dozens of smaller mammals. When you add the birds and fish it totals up to a very diverse bio-system.
The U.S. is not like Europe where you can travel though a dozen countries in a few days. Many of our states are as big as many of those European countries and with the exception that we all speak roughly the same language we are often just as diverse.
SO. . while I have a passport and use it often, I still have a lot of the U.S. to explore. I doubt I will ever visit every state. So why travel internationally if you haven’t even thoroughly studied you own country?
