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Oy Vay! You are all brainwashed. Look no further than ‘the Man’. We are all working for ‘the Man’. If you want to stick it to someone, then stick it to ‘the Man’. Don’t let ‘the Man’ keep you down.
-This is an unpaid advertisement brought to you by the committee Against the Man
P.S. Lighten up people. You are in Costa Rica. Enjoy life. Pura Vida.
I’m expecting that soon there will be rash of license plate thefts as people adapt to the new legislation. You may need to use rivets to keep your license plate on your vehicle.
I’ve had my vehicle emblem stolen a number of times. I recently saw someone address that problem by riveting their emblems onto the car. What else can you do but adapt to the situations presented in Costa Rica.
Unfortunately my office is in San Jose. The side streets are normally snarled at rush hour and the buses play leap frog and pratically block any available lane. The traffic volume has appeared to have decreased. But the restrictions also make it even more difficult to do business in San Jose. Costa Rica will likely pay a price for this restriction in terms of decreased productivity. It may be more beneficial for businesses to move out of San Jose long term. What problems will that bring to San Jose?
I would have rather seen a true traffic plan with proper routes, traffic lights that are actually sychronized, and can we get rid of the notion/requirement that you can’t move your cars following an accident?
Also, is such a restriction really necessary? Gas is already going way up. Shouldn’t that rapid cost increase change people’s behaviours without creating the need to legislate a change? I feel sorry for those people living in San Jose with their cars. Will they get a reduction in their marchamo?
As with most government interference, it usually creates more problems than it solves.
There’s a saying here:
“If you want to be a millionaire in Costa Rica, come down with $10 million.”
This is a little off-topic but here’s my own catchphrase for Hotel Del Rey (someone put this on a t-shirt already):
-Hotel Del Rey-
“Where it smells like the ocean, but without the view”I was sent this just today from an acquaintance. Its in Spanish and describes an experience where potential robbers try a new trick with a person sitting and waiting in their car outside a busy shopping center. If you were in this person’s shoes and didn’t understand what the fuss was about, would you have gotten out of the car?
> Mejor prevenir
> >
> >Queria comunicarles a todos lo que me sucedio en el dia de ayer. A las
> >5.00 P.M
> aproximadamente llegamos al Centro Comercial Plaza Atlantis, ubicado en
> Escazu, donde esta ubicado el nuevo Automercado. Estaciono mi esposo el
> carro, en el lugar mas cercano a la salida, estaciono en reverso por lo
> tanto el vehiculo estaba listo para salir. El se bajo del carro y entro al
> Banco, yo me quede esperando en el vehiculo , en el sitio del acompañante
> ,cerre las puertas con seguro y estaba haciendo varias cosas en el carro,
> habia mucha gente y mucha congestion, cuando senti que me golpeaban en el
> vidrio una muchacha de alrededor de 27 años, Colombiana, con acento
> Antioqueño y empezo a gritarme insistentemente que me bajara del vehiculo
> que se estaba incendiando, volvia y me gritaba hay humo debajo, hay llamas
> y me pegaba en la ventana nuevamente me decia · Es en serio , bajese. Empezo
> a darle vueltas al carro y seguia insistiendo, esto sucedio durante 3 o 4
> minutos.
> >Yo NO me baje del carro, retire las llaves del encendido y espere a que
> >se fuera, paso la calle donde la estaba esperando un muchacho, pero no vi si
> se fue caminado o en algun carro que estuviera esperandolos, espere un tiempo
> prudencial me baje del vehiculo y busque a mi marido y notificamos al
> Oficial del Banco, pero lo cierto es que se fueron. Analizando la situacion
> creemos que nos libramos o de un robo o de un secuetro express, segun
> parece debe ser una nueva modalidad de asalto, creando panico en las
> personas.
> >Les escribo para que lo tengan en cuenta y tengan la precaucion del caso.Hey I take offense about the GATED community comment. I never thought I’d live in one, but I do here. And about 80% of the residents are Tico – go figure. Maybe they know something more about crime and security in our host country than some of you.
A few positives about our gated community:
– No need for bars on your house and walls around your property
– I can go away and not stress about if someone is burglarizing my home
– I get to meet and know my neighbors, just by walking my dogs in the community or by visiting the common area for a game of basketball or futbol
– I can walk my dogs without the stray dogs trying to attack
– I know that I don’t have to worry about my neighbors’ ability to manage their septic tank properly since we have a sewage treatment plant for the community
– The empty lot next to me won’t become an impromtu garbage dump or the latest shanty townAnd for my 2 cents, crime is getting worse in areas like San Jose. I can’t speak for the rest of the country, as my experience is in and around San Jose.
I just came back from deep sea fishing in Los Suenos, and I was required to pay the $24 fishing license (good for 1 year). You would probably need to do the same. Call your hotel as they may be able to direct you properly.
House Hunters International is a good show. It’s very interesting to watch. If you want people to check out Costa Rica to live (which you do since you provide real estate and information), then its probably a bonus for you. And if you get a special thanks to “Scott Oliver from http://www.welovecostarica.com”, then you’ll get more exposure.
Your cynicism seems off the scale here.
I’ve purchased similar items at Searson (south side of La Sabana) that were good. Also, check Pricesmart.co.cr online as they have a few choices that aren’t in their stores.
Thanks for recommending Melvin. He came by the house Monday and had my dryer up and running within 15 minutes after changing the thermostat and thermo fuse. This guy certainly has some skill. I don’t say it often, but I was impressed.
Those are all great corporate scandals, but I’ve never experienced such a blind (or accepting) eye to bribery and corruption that affect the average person since being in Costa Rica. Ask any foreigner and ‘gouge the gringo’ is a game that’s played nearly every single day down here – hence why some have very strong opinions on this issue.
The ex-presidents was a nice change for sure, but that’s more of a recent development than a historical representation on the stand against corruption.
That aside, Costa Rica is still a nice place to live.
I’ll recommend some other stores that may be useful for smaller home furnishings.
PriceSmart (Costco) – i think there are 3 locations
HiperMas (now majority owned by WalMart)
WalMart (new store coming soon in Escazu – across from EPA Home Center)Regarding bargaining… do it. Cash is king. Many merchants pay up to 7% for credit card processing fees, and cash also allows you to avoid other taxes. So 15% and up discounts are not unheard of and most places will automatically give you 10% for cash purchases-you just need to ask. You can only do this in stores that are not chains for the most part.
$50K is high, but maybe you also have expensive tastes? If you can make a trip to San Jose area, then there are many good stores such as:
La Artistica
Aliss
Cemaco
Monnry
Searson
Espacios (Santa Ana)We furnished our house from these places. Most places will deliver. They aren’t necessarily the “cheap” route but should be far less than the $50K you mention and these stores have articles that generally appeal to North American tastes.
If you have more time and patience, then you can do the ‘custom’ design route with various group in Sarchi. In my experience that can sometimes be more trouble than its worth.
At one point, we did consult with an interior designer and I thought her prices were definitely the ‘gringo gouge’.
As for appliances, I dealt with an Israeli guy named David. He was very good and honest, and had the best deals on new appliances with guarantees. He sometimes puts an ad in Tico Times.
