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I agree with Kimball as far as the influences. We’ve been all over Tamarindo, Jaco, Manuel Antonio, etc. with our kids & no one messes with us. We are generally in by 8 p.m. so I think we miss the trouble (plus we aren’t looking for any trouble, so trouble doesn’t find us).
Jessica
Telecommute for a US-based company or start your own US-based company that can be managed via the internet.
Jessica
I have Cable Tica internet access where I live in the Central Pacific (near Playa Esterillos). Other than getting internet through a cell phone, I don’t think you could find any consistent service as you describe. The problem with the cell service, of course, is whether you can even get reception. My cell phone doesn’t work in my house, rarely does it work in my neighborhood, sometimes it picks up a signal on the beach…I only have consistent cell signal in either Parrita, Quepos, Hermosa/Jaco as far as what is in my area.
We were told by JJ (attorney) that it was the roads that caused the problem with the titles. The municipality didn’t want to recognize them as public roads. Overall, I’m quite pleased with how our house turned out as well as the development. We have a great mix of people who own in the neighborhood but very few full-time residents. My main complaint is that we’re the only full-time residents in the neighborhood with kids. If I remember correctly, you bought in Columbus Heights? We’ve driven by there a few times when we’ve gone off exploring on the road the development is located on. Last time we were that way, they were working on some kind of condo looking thing at the front of the development.
Jessica
Lotus – I own a property in this development & am friends with the owners of the house for sale. We do have titles. If you are interested, I’m sure you can contact Dave (who I also know) & he could give you the info to look the property up on the registry.
Jessica
If this is your first time paying the marchamo, I think you have to present your passport as well – my husband had to show his passport the first time he paid it.
I’m going to go out on a limb & say that neither sprite nor savedbyzero live in Costa Rica currently & possibly have never lived in Costa Rica. They sound like the “looking through rose-colored glasses” tourists who have fallen in love with Costa Rica & just don’t have much real experience here, waxing nostalgic over what are very real, very serious issues to Ticos. Read the newspapers & watch the national news & you will soon see that violence & corruption are a part of the fabric of society here. But you will also learn that most Ticos have no tolerance for it & are looking for ways to curb/eliminate both. Changes are being made – hiring more police (500 or 1000 was the number I read, I think?), more judges holding court sessions 7 days a week to process/penalize criminals faster, putting officials in jail who are caught accepting bribes or committing crimes, detaining corrupt police, not to mention the former presidents who are in trouble because of bribes they took over cell phone contracts…none of this sounds like a culture that is accepting/tolerating corruption!
I think the point of this is that the bribe appears to be geared towards the gringo/tourist – hence, they write “$20” on their notepad when trying to solicit the bribe & make a big deal about how much trouble the ticket might be, when in actuality my understanding is that there are no points assigned to your license if you are stopped/ticketed & there is no court appearance for a simple traffic violation. You simply go to the bank & pay the fine. I think tourists can actually pay it at the car rental agency when they turn their car in. But if this is your first time in Costa Rica, you speak no Spanish, & a policeman offers to let you go on your way if you just pay him $20…well, I think there are a lot of tourists willing to do this because they don’t know better & it certainly seems a lot less painful than what the alternative might be. These policemen know this & are taking advantage of unsuspecting/unknowing people – & I’m sorry, if I want to donate “charity” then it will not be to line the pockets of a corrupt official. Maybe I do have preconceived cultural ideas, but I refuse to believe that in order to assimilate here, I should just go with the flow & accept that corruption is not only okay but should be rewarded by giving in to it. That doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t think that refusing to pay a bribe, or asserting that it is corrupt/illegal for these policeman to solicit bribes, is even close to “unforgiving fanaticism.” It is a problem recognized at the highest level of government in Costa Rica & steps are being made towards rectifying the situation. Will it ever happen? Who knows. Until then, I may not get things accomplished as quickly as some – I may even some day get a speeding ticket – but I will not line the pockets of anyone to try to get ahead. Period. If that is due to my own cultural bias, so be it.
I live 30 min south of Jaco & go there weekly for grocery shopping/banking. The speed limit through the area where they normally are set up is 60 kph. I’ve gone through there at 55 kph & still been flagged down so they could check my documents/passport. When the officer saw my residency papers, he moved to the next car before I could even explain what I was holding! I’ve been asked for a bribe every other time I’ve been stopped in this country & I’ve never once paid one. In my experience, I tell them I will simply pay the ticket at the bank & for some reason I get a reprieve. I don’t know if it is because I’m a woman, or because I speak Spanish to them, or because I have residency, or because they don’t want to risk me filing a complaint, but once I refuse to pay the bribe they are even friendlier & eager to send me on my way than they were to stop me & ask me for the $20!
You have to deposit your money first. Then you apply for temporary residency as a rentista. After 3 years of meeting the requirements (4 months in the country, exchanging the dollars to colones), you can then apply for permanent residency. Once you have permanent residency status, you do not have to meet financial requirements. I think you only have to enter CR once a year to stamp your passport & you renew every 5 years. I’m only halfway through my 3 years as a temporary resident so I’m not 100% sure of the info on permanent residency. Of course, these rules can always change so you should check with a competent attorney or organization that specializes in residency if you want the most up-to-date info.
Jerry – It is my understanding that the Inversionista residency category does not extend residency to dependents, only to the investor. I also read that the immigration law is under review again & that the new proposed amount is $2000 per month & will cover all dependents. Of course, until it passes you’d still be subject to the law as it is right now ($60,000 per adult & $30,000 per child, I believe).
We applied as rentistas before the law changed because the new amounts were out of reach for our family! We barely made it – our application was accepted about 2 weeks before the new law went into effect.
Jessica
My house is in Florida…it went on the market in mid-January & we had only 1 showing between then & this last week. Since Thursday, I’ve shown the house 3 times in 4 days so I’m definitely seeing an upturn right now! I’d love to think the house will sell soon – my husband is already in Bejuco & I’ll be there next Monday with the kids!
I don’t think it will be quite so easy – I’m copying & pasting info regarding this issue, so not my own words…
“As a foreigner in Costa Rica (a non-resident) you are allowed to drive a car with a tourist permit for 3 months without paying duty. Your initial three-month permit to drive your car in Costa Rica may be obtained at the customs office at the port of entry. Documents required are the title, and registration of the car and proof of having paid the local minimum insurance. (It is important to understand that this insurance does not cover any vehicle or any damage. You cannot obtain additional insurance locally while driving with this permit.) Mandatory liability insurance from the Instituto Nacional de Seguros is $10 for three months.
Another three-month extension is usually granted, but after six months the vehicle must leave the country or the duties paid. To get the one-time three-month extension you will have to leave the country prior to the three-month limit for 48 hours. Upon re-entry your passport will be restamped, allowing you to drive the vehicle for three more months. Warning: Do not drive the car if the permit has expired—it will be considered an abandoned vehicle and can be confiscated.
When your second 3-month extension expires, you have to either leave the country or store the vehicle in a customs storage facility until you pay the customs duties and purchase your Costa Rican license plates. Any person who brings a car to Costa Rica and pays all of the taxes, may keep the car in the country indefinitely as soon as all paperwork is completed. One advantage to bringing your vehicle yourself by land, is that you don’t have to pay taxes immediately as you do when you have your vehicle shipped by sea. Warning: if you have permanent residency status and bring a car by sea you will have to pay all of the taxes almost immediately before you can get your car out of customs.”
As far as the $60,000 deposit – we had to make the deposit in order to get the letter from the bank. This was submitted with our application, then our residency was approved. I don’t think you can get your residency approved without making the deposit first (unless you have a bank in your country of origin that is willing to certify your funds – our credit union would not do this).
Jessica
