Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
How did I do it??? I sold everything I had, kept an African Grey and an Aussie Shepherd. Packed up my ’64 Chevy truck with all it would hold, boxed up the rest, and came on down. Never had been here before. Didn’t even speak Spanglish. I had about $15000 once I landed here. The first 5 years or so I ventured North to work a few months and save enough to come back for as long as the money lasted, then went North another few months. I came back with about $12,000 each time, stayed another 8 or 10 months on that. I tried working in call centers here a couple of times…. BUMMER. Not recommended. Got married to a Tica 10 years ago, the boy came along 7 yrs ago, the early SS came along 2 years ago. We all get along pretty well. SS pays me about $1400 a month (incl dependent boost for the son). I live Tico style (ducha shower… old car… minimal driving… little or no dining out). A very minimal odd job opportunity at chopping with a weed eater or carpenter work rounds it all out. I even get ice cream once a week or so. LOL. Look, I live in the rural mountains near Turrialba. I see my neighbors with NO car, NO ducha, kids, a scroungy dog… They pick coffee or cut cane, or SOMETHING, and they seem to manage, and do it happily. A LOT of the gringos I see here are comparatively quite rich and all they do is piss and moan. Look around, get a little more basic, a little more down to earth, and they’d be amazed at the benefits of simplicity. Simply said.
I moved here when I was 51… some 13 years ago… hoping I could get settled in and have a style of living I could afford when SS time came around. Now, I am getting by on that. Something that would have been a problem had I stayed Stateside and tried to survive on SS pension. I am debt free and living a style that would never have been affordable “back in the world”.
I found the above recommended map very suspect. The roads are not labeled, and in my area not accurate at ALL!!! Ask Scott if he still sells the Toucan road maps for around $10… best I have found in 12 years here
[quote=”dundalk1″]I recently rented out my condo again in Tamarindo, shocked to get the electric bill today which is $320 for the last month.
I know Aprils a hot month so lots of air con being used but that seems outrageously high. Is that normal for the area ? Thanks[/quote]
OK… I see LOTS of high users here. I live in the mountains near Turrialba, have 2 TVs, a computer, fridge, lights, ect., and my bill runs $30 to $40 a month. Get real, folks, get down, go Tico if you live hereor take your high usage NORTH.
[quote=”waggoner41″]Stupid is as stupid does…Forrest Gump[/quote]
I do not even remember when I learned to swim. Before my earliest memories, actually.
Listen up… YOU DO NOT NEED TO LEARN TO SWIM TO SURVIVE DEEP WATER… JUST KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOVE WATER.
How???
1)Keep your cool… PANIC KILLS.
2)Kick your feet gently and wave your hands front and back, called “treading water. You can do this for hours without tiring.
3)Call for help when possible, again, keep your cool.
The MOST important advise…STAY CALM, PANIC IS THE KILLER, NOT THE WATER
I personally prefer the route of “living Tico”. I live out of town in th mountains amid the campos and am very comfortable there. I do not have to deal with the “tourist issue” unless I choose to travel to a tourist zone, yet I am not so far from it that travel is a logistical problem. Prices are as reasonable as you will find and crime is something to be aware of but not depressingly threatening. I do not need more than the fingers on my own two hands to count the Gringos within 15 kilometers of me, and most of them are a reasonable bunch. As to what all gringos living in Costa Rica have in common… we all think a little (or a lot) “out of the box”. We would not be here if we had no desire for something a bit different. I am happy on the way-outskirts of Turrialba.
Paradise??? My property has no mortgage on it, and my utilities are fairly cheap. Even if all my other expenses match U.S. standards, I AM in paradise. No mortgage??? AAAAHHHH!!!!! SO glad I am not behind the 8-ball in the States. KISS is my prime rule (Keep It Simple Stupid, for you acronymn uninformed)
Odd no one is pro-Land Rover. A get there vehicle. I have never been stumped in mine. You will not get there quickly, BUT… you will get there. Screw the rain
You MAY find all of the above around Puerto Viejo on the Carib side. 10 acres could be a stickler, and elevation/ocean proximity will be a problem anywhere.
I can highly recommend the Turrialba area. C.A.T.I.E (an agriculture/botanical studies place, world renown) has a bi-lingual school there that is excellent, and runs about $70 per month for enrollment. Turrialba, also, is out of the mainstream tourist areas, so it is both safer and cheaper to reside here… yet it is within easy bus distance of San Jose should need of city become necessary.
You lose nothing from the VA by being here. In fact, you can apply for dissability from here. I have done so, my medical exam set up through the embassy at CIMA.
Scott, A few years ago, I stated I was living on $250 a month here. Times have changed!!! I now have a wife and child, so, here is my update: I pay Suguro for the wife and baby (9000 colones a month) I own my house and 74 Land Rover, so no expense there. Phone (house and cell combined) usually about 7000 colones. Electricity, 5,000 to 7000 colones. Food… not sure. Water, 1000 a month unlimited use. Fuel for the Rover, about 10,000 a week, and rising constantly (I do not do a lot of driving). All in all, dining out, driving around, eating and living reasonably Tico-style with a large dash of Gringo, I use close to $800 a month… Including any car repair and house fixin. Mind you, I live sorta in the sticks outside of La Suiza de Turrialba, so I do not have the city or tourist zone inflation to deal with
JerryLibre Condicion residencias are indeed given out now. I have the CC type ID, and it says Libre Condicion right under where it says Residente Permanente.
There are some half a dozen or so of us in the Suiza area… will b happy to sit around Alvaro´s and chat. Lemme know when you are in the area.
And to respond to my statement as to “viscious” snakes… pardon my poor vernacular. Viscious is not a true definition… maybe “quick to use a lethal attempt at defense” is better, but longer. I know when I am defending myself, “viscious” works very well. It has been a long time since anything like that has been necessary, gracias.
Jerry in La Suiza
