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CAJA is only good for emergencies. Unfortunately, once you become a resident, you have to pay into CAJA, no matter what. If you need non-emergency health care, such as knee surgery for torn miniscus, be prepared to wait months, or even years for the surgery. The CAJA system is so overcrowded that nothing happens very fast. I’ve been in need of a knee operation due to a torn miniscus since February. It is now September and I haven’t heard a “peep” out of the hospital here in Perez Zeledon. The surgeon who is supposed to perform the surgery told me to be prepared to wait for up to 5 years. By that time, I may need a whole knee replacement. Be warned.
[quote=”costaricabill”][quote=”waggoner41″][quote=”maxdevil”]I have applied for my CR residency and have proof of my application. I am waiting for my application to be approved. I need to do a second border run in order to be able to continue driving my car on my California Driver’s License. Do I still need to show an airline ticket back to the US and $500 in cash at the Panama border? I did do that the first time I went to the Panama border, but it is a real pain in the neck to get a airplane ticket and then request a refund. Can’t I just show proof of my Residency Application at the Panama border?[/quote]
Why not just obtain your Costa Rica drivers license?
I did this in 2008 while my residency was in lengthy process and never left again. I still have my CA drivers license in case I go back but the CR license is also valid in California.[/quote]Unfortunately, under the current traffic law you must have residency to apply for and receive a CR drivers license.[/quote]
Thank you CostaRicaBill. You have answered for me. I wish I could get my CR driver’s license, but I can’t until I become a resident. This law is so silly, forcing an applicant for CR residency to become a perpetual tourist for the length of time it takes to become a resident.
[quote=”Doug Ward”]Tell them you need to get back to the orphanage ASAP ![/quote]
I have no idea what you are talking about!Wow, this is a loaded question. Sheets and towels are usually not very good quality here, unless you shop in some very expensive store in Escazu or one of the expensive neighborhoods in San Jose. Depending on where you intend to live, in a Gringo built home or Tico built, you will find that large appliances may not fit in a Tico-style house. Houses tend to get dirty quickly here, no matter how many screens you have on all the windows and doors. Bugs get in no matter what you do. I hate bugs and I am really frantic about closing my doors immediately after I or someone comes in the house, but I still find them dead or alive. Many houses here don’t come with closets. Small closed areas tend to encourage mold and mildew, so opened closets are much better suited to this climate. I have had shelves installed all over my house, and yes, it looks messy but I can always put a curtain in front of all my shelves to hide what’s behind. I might do that at some point in time. OK, that is it for now. Maxine
Although I speak French fluently, which should help with learning Spanish, I am not fluent in Spanish yet. Nevertheless, I am making the move now, before the United States goes down the drain.
I am an extremely driven person, and I give myself 6 months in Costa Rica to become fluent in the language. I did the same thing when I arrived in Los Angeles directly from Montreal. I could barely speak English, but learned the language of the country as fast as I could. Survival makes you do the things you have to do.
If you are open to suggestions, I would close the business ASAP and get to CR. Once you are in CR, you don’t have a choice but to learn the language. There are numerous schools you can go to, and many people who can teach you the language.
Don’t put your move off just so you learn the language first.
It’s just another excuse. Maxine
The number of gringos living in Costa Rica is going to grow by “one” at the end of May because I am moving in. I happen to be both a Canadian citizen and a U.S. citizen, so does that count for “two”? Anyway, I am extremely happy to leave North America, the U.S.A. to be more precise.
Having had my own small business in California for 20 years has made me downright hostile to continued life in the U.S.A. I believe that the U.S.A. actually should be called C.S.A. instead, for “Corporate States of America”.
Instead of catering to its small businesses, which have been the biggest contributors of jobs in this country, the government, both Federal and State, have catered to big businesses, which have been the biggest exporters of jobs in this country.
New regulations and laws have essentially put me out of business by making it too expensive to be profitable.
So it is with regret, I have to say honestly, but also with great anticipation, that I am ready to begin the next phase of my life in a paradise called Costa Rica.
Adios North America and Hola Pura Vida, Costa Rica.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”maravilla”]30-45 minutes from WHAT town???????[/quote]
That was my question, maravilla.[/quote]
Hello to the people who will be visiting CR in November. I have traveled all by myself all over Costa Rica in April, May, Sept. October and November over the last 5 years. I found that having a 4-wheel drive works best, whether you are close to any town or not. Close to town does not mean you cannot get stuck in mud. A regular car might not do if you want to visit different beaches or mountain towns. Taxis work well when you are staying in town (whatever town that is). But to go from one area to another, a taxi would not work all that well. Buses can take you just about anywhere in the country, but you have to know their schedule. Having a rent-a-car allows you to depart whenever you want, and you go wherever you want. Yes, it’s more expensive but the freedom that it gives you is priceless.
Yes, Mr. Sprite, you are right. I enslaved myself in many ways, but I thought that was the American way to buy a house, use my credit cards to buy stuff, etc. How wrong I was. However, slaves do and have started revolutions. When people have nothing to lose anymore, they get very desperate. I realize things will get very ugly before they get better. To just escape before the shit hits the fan feels like being a rat escaping a sinking ship. I have been a fighter all my life, but at my age, I don’t know that I still have some fighting in me. I am angry at what has been done to this country. When I moved to the Corporate States of America in the late sixties, I had so much hope. I went through a variety of occupations, from clothes designer to radiochemist to being an attorney. I lived, observed, learned and became increasingly disgusted by what America is doing not only to itself but to other countries. All around the world, Americans have become disliked and even hated. They are seen as arrogant, cruel and have become unstoppable killers all in the name of money (oil, natural resources, etc.) I wish it was different, but at this point, I am ashamed of being an American and want to revert back to being a Canadian again. Although I will never live in Canada again because my retirement will take place in Costa Rica, I would prefer to be known as a Canadian rather than an American. It has been a long voyage, not finished yet, but hopefully, a peaceful retirement is on the horizon. But will I have to fight my way there for the next 4.5 years?
Hello: I am in accord with everything that has been said in this article. In fact I have known about this since the late 2007 when the crisis initially hit. I have been railing against the War machine/Financial and corporate monsters in this country for a few years already. I want to run away, but I can’t. I am stuck in the Corporate States of America for another 4.5 years. We need to do something about this, but what? How do we organize? I realize that the “shit” is going to hit the fan pretty soon. No, the recession is not over. It is getting deeper and has turned into an economic depression since last year already. I don’t know why Obama is not hip to this. He is not a stupid man, at least not as stupid as his precedessor, who was an idiot of the first degree. I realize that with the Republican house of Representatives, the government and the Washington establishment is going to be going backwards (not gridlock, backwards!). But what do we do? How do we wake up Americans? How do we organize? It is time for action. We need a leader who can express the best way to go about it. We need this leader now! Maxine de Villefranche
Just what CR needs: The US military machine. Here I am hoping to move to CR in the next few years after buying a nice little farm close to Mt. Chirripo, and I am still going to have to deal with the US military? I live less than 50 miles from Edwards Air Force Base and China Lake Navy Base right now, and the military presence is constant all around here. I am so sick of this macho bullshit, I was really hoping that I would get away from all of this soon. I truly hope that CR is not going to allow the Corporate States of America military machine to disrupt my retirement. I want out of this craziness once and for all, and true peace and quiet! Maxine
I have visited CR so many times that I long to move there as soon as I can. Unfortunately, I cannot close up my practice (I am a lawyer in a small town in the mountains of California) without some kind of income. I have to wait 5 years before I can collect social security benefits (til I am 66 years old) and I would not have any income to live on until then. I can’t sell my house because of the depressed real estate market. My retirement savings are practically nil. It is not a pretty picture. I don’t speak a whole of Spanish, but I speak French and I’ll learn Spanish. It is not that different from French. I want to buy a small farm in the Talamanca mountains above San Ysidro de El General, and grow my own organic food. I am a single woman, and if I had the money to buy my little farm and be able to make a living for the next 5 years, I would move to CR with my two golden retrievers lock, stock and barrel. I know the area, know really good people there and looking forward to making a lot more friends there. I am dreaming of CR every night. I even bought a CD with the sounds of CR and fall asleep every night with it on. It is just a matter of time, but I know it is going to happen. Maxine de Villefranche, Tehachapi, California
