Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
[quote=”colleen.1″][quote=”Scott”]When I lived in New York City on the floor right above ground level (gringos call it the second floor and Brits would call it the first floor or is the other way around?) on 72nd street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, the traffic noise 24 hours a day was horrendous… And yes! Those little silicone ear plugs were my saviour![/quote]
Because of security reasons we cannot use ear plugs. They do make a difference and having lived 100 meters from the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey for 5 years noise is not a new comer to my life but theses dogs go beyond belief. We checked on every level before we built our home in the Central Valley. All was wonderful for the 3 years and now. Somethings we have no control over such as future building or future renters in tiny obscure unused farm house.[/quote]Why not buy a ‘white noise’ machine. Marpac dohm-ds dual speed sound conditioner is supposed to work wonders for snorers, loud music, etc. I don’t know if you can buy it somewhere in CR, but it can be bought on Amazon. While it doesn’t stop the barking dogs, it’ll at least neutralize the noise inside.
[quote=”Scott”]The stories I am hearing from buyers and Realtors about the increasing difficulties in sending money from “back home” to Costa Rica to buy a property get more ridiculous by the day …
The walls are going up and I’ve said it before although I’m sure most people thought I was nuts – although not so much nowadays – I would not be at all surprised if in the not so distant future, our North American friends will have to apply to retire outside of North America “for your protection.”
Scott
[/quote]
When I just closed on my property a few months back, neither the lawyer nor the realtor would let me wire the funds to them. They wanted nothing to do with it due to the difficulty. I had to send money through Stewart Title Insurance (and pay a fee) even though I didn’t buy title insurance. And, it was, in fact, ok to bring blank checks into the country.
As everyone else has said, if you have to ‘convince’ your wife that CR is for her, you are setting yourself up for disaster. I’ve met two couples (only acquaintances) who started out in CR together, but it was more of the husbands’ dreams than the wives. Needless to say, one guy is still here alone as his wife wanted to go home to be near the grandchildren. The other wife went home to work and the husband stayed here alone–the house went up for sale and he has since gone back.
It just doesn’t work unless both are on board. It’s like a couple deciding to have children…it’s either 2 yes or 1 no.
Those ‘convinced’ against their will, are of the same opinion still.
Don’t take her to beautiful, wealthy areas…take her to the real Costa Rica where she gets to mingle with the locals, eat the sodas, etc. She wouldn’t be happy with a ‘bait and switch’.
Keep us posted.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]While I realize that you want to take boat tours because of your interest in building boats, this will [b]not[/b] give you the insight of living in Costa Rica.
There are no tours offered to tourists that explain unexplainable procedures and how to deal with bureaucracy that one has to get used to … :roll:[/quote]I agree. I suggested the boat tour/booze cruise as he was looking for a boat cruise. We went on a large catamaran from, I think, Flamingo Beach (included transport from hotel in Brasilito). It included some food, lots of drinks, snorkel gear. Lots of dolphins, snorkling, and swimming. A nice, fun, day to be enjoying the water and sunset.
If you want to look at various areas, an SUV will be necessary. And since the country is do diverse, lots of driving will have to be done to see it all for yourself.
Maybe concentrate on one area per trip. Just have fun doing it!
[quote=”lisamarie6987″]I am a 55ish woman desiring to move to CR. I have been advised to rent for awhile. I will have SS and some savings. Mybe I will meet a nice man in the future:oops:
Is there someone out there that can give me some advice?
Lisa[/quote]
Why do you desire CR? How many times have you been to CR? Which areas do you like? It is a very diverse country and you will have to do a lot of driving to figure out what area appeals to you most. After driving from the north to the tip of the south for quite a few years, we decided to buy in the Lake Arenal region. I knew it immediately when I got there. It is a very liveable region, with temperate weather, is non touristy and is about the prettiest place I personally saw in CR, plus the people were very friendly and with a nice mix of Americans. I love all of CR but this area just spoke to me.
Meeting a man? Ehh. Don’t make that your goal! Ticos aren’t that big into monogamy and I don’t know how many single ex-pats are there that aren’t either looking for a tica or just hanging out at the bars drinking. Not to say that there aren’t any great single guys there, but just don’t make that you’re reason for moving to CR.
[quote=”donella”]Does anyone know the name of a company that gives daily tours,when in Costa Rica last time there was a company with white vans that did it. We would apppreciate any help in a name and how to contact one[/quote]
There are so many. Just do a Google search ‘day tours Costa Rica’ and you’ll find many. I’m not sure of the area from which you are looking to depart, but there are many to choose from. If you then go to Trip Advisor, people will rate the individual tours and companies.
how far is that boat from hermosa? happen to recall teh name of company or a link? Thanks![/quote]
I’m not quite sure of distance. I know we were originally staying in Brasilito (catamaran tour was close to there) and then had to meet our lawyer in Cocos, and spent the night at Hermosa instead of Cocos. Everything was quite close to each other. Sorry, I’m about as specific as the Costa Ricans in regard to directions/times!
If you look up Conchal Hotel in Brasilito, it gives a list of excursions, one being the catamaran tour. Since we stayed at that inn, we booked through them. Simon can give you any info that you might need and can book it for you, whether or not you are a guest.
Can’t wait to hear what you think of CR!
[quote=”rosiemaji”]Was that Nokia a 3G or a 2G phone? Did you have to have residency or a corporation to get it? If you got a 3G phone for $110, that would be amazing.[/quote]
I apologize, but I am a techno-dud, so I have no clue if it is a 2 or 3G. I looked at the phone and it says C2-01 and 3.2 mega pixel, if that helps.
We do not have residency but do have an inactive corp, however, that was not required. I can’t recall if they needed just a passport and/or driver’s license.
I can look for the invoice and get back to you when I find out something specific. But we did go through ICE in Tilaran and it was a very quick(by CR standards)process. Plus she spoke wonderful English!
Sorry that I couldn’t be of more help.
[quote=”evrodd”]I think I read that you have to have your residency to get a cell phone. Is that true? If so, can you just bring an unlocked phone from the US and buy SIM cards as needed?[/quote]
On our last visit, we bought a Nokia phone with minutes at the local ICE in Tilaran. We were told by several people that was the easiest and best way to go. CR minutes are cheap and, between the minutes and phone, we paid about $110 if I remember correctly. The whole transaction took about 45 mins to complete and now communication is so much easier when we’re there!
Playa Hermosa is a beautiful beach. We stayed at La Finisterra there and had the most gorgeous views. We were there is early Nov and it was so hot. I’d rent a compact SUV while there and do some exploring. We had a very good experience with Budget in Liberia.
We booked a boat tour/booze cruise out of Brasilito, which I think departed out of Flamingo Beach. It was a nice cruise where we got to see so many dolphins, snorkling, etc., and dropped anchor and could swim to an island. I neither drank nor snorkled but had a great time anyway…so pretty out there!
one young lady even suggested we promote corporate losses 🙂
I must have missed that one! BTW, who was that?
“Look to sum up, Arenal and Monteverde in October is nuts. I can’t belive no one else cammented on that. Stay away. You will not see the Volcano due to clouds and Monetverde which is a cloud forest will be cold and rainy and the road is windy and may be inundated with water in places. Crazy as your time frame is limited.”
A few years back, we stayed at AOL in Arenal in late October for 3 nights and the volcano was totally free of clouds much of the time. I thought the best time to view the volcano was in October? It’s not really erupting these days, is it?
I’ve lost long posts, too, when trying to send. Now, I copy and paste it prior to sending just in case I have been logged out.
Yes, October is a very rough time to visit…but it will certainly be an adventure! If you can handle it then, you can handle it anytime! The farther south we went, the more challenging it became. I remember driving through Parrita a couple of years ago in the middle of the flood, and being stranded in Manuel Antonio with 4′ of rain. That trip was one of the scariest–nothing since has compared. Bring some tall rubber boots!
[quote=”elindermuller”]Dear Scott
I just wrote a long comment to this subject, but when I pushed the send button I got dumped and all my text is lost. I probably went over time, but it is not possible to post a decent text in five seconds !! 😈 specially if I want to add some links etc. Could you please extend the time to be logged in to an hour or so ? I am multi-tasking here and do not want to logg in every time I jump back on your page.[/quote]That has happened to me quite a few times, too. Very frustrating. What I do now, is after I write it, I copy and paste it in Word just in case it drops it upon sending.
Now, in your spare time, why don’t you actually go out into the community and join the legions of job seekers, whether you’re employed, retired or whatever, just to see what it’s like. Let’s see you compete with five of the unemployed for every available job. When job seekers exceed jobs available by a factor of five, the likelihood of any individual being hired is pretty slim. Go try and let us know how you do.
[/quote]My dear friend, I do. Because, you see, I am unemployed. I know what it’s like. Touche.
You have a great day in sunny Costa Rica, and I will continue to pay my taxes and my bills…my fair share. God bless!
