Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
For those of you on the East side, try the Pizza Pasta across the street from the Mas X Menos in Sabanilla. It is excellent. We get a loaded up large (familiar) and it only costs 7200 colones. Jerry
iandwg,
I am a temporary resident of Costa Rica that lives here and works for my US Company. A programmer can live here and work on programming projects and be paid in the US as a consultant or employee. You can have the best of both worlds. In addition, I need programming assistance. Keep in mind that I can get programming done by very competent folks here for $15-$50 per hour depending on the skill level required and difficulty of the project.
Thanks, JerryWe used Javier Zavaleta of Residency in Costa Rica to obtain residency last year. I give him and his sister the highest possible recommendation. They are knowledgeable, professional, connected, and fair.
P. O. Box 86352, Los Angeles, CA 90086
1125 East Broadway Suite 484
Glendale, CA 91205
Tel: 323.255.6116 – Fax 323.344.1620
On the Web at http://www.residencyincostarica.com
Tel in Costa Rica: 506.226.0755 (En espanol)
Good luck, JerryLeavinTexas,
I just read in a local real estate magazine about a little farm with a Hot Spring in the Orosi Valley. My wife just cleaned the office and threw away the magazine. I will try to find the listing on the web or find out which magazine it was and get back with you. Where in Texas do you live? We moved here from Georgetown, TX a little over a year ago. Good luck, JerryThey are exceptionally knowledgeable and capable. They just completed Rentista residency for the five of us. We chose them after reading a reference from “Maravilla” last year and we haven’t been disappointed. We submitted our app on December 29th of last year and we took our photos for our Carnets this week. We have three children five and under and we can’t imagine how we would have navigated the appointments without Mayanye leading the way. Her brother Javier takes care of all the paperwork in the US and Mayanye does all of the paperwork and appointments here in Costa Rica. I can’t recommend them enough. I truly don’t think you can find a better team.
Good luck,
JerryI have used ShipCostaRica.com on two occasions. I dealt with Barry, Ray, and Arden and found them to be fairly priced, efficient, knowledgeable, and responsive. I recommend them highly to anyone shipping anything to or from Costa Rica. They also have extensive experience “nationalizing” vehicles and have delivered two vehicles to me door to door and handled everything all the way to screwing on the new metal plates. Barry can also be easily coorced into showing you the local golf courses…
Thanks,
Jerry ThompsonSprite,
You seem to be a reflective and studied individual. If you haven’t done so, I highly recommend that you read “The Power of Now” and/or “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle
Obviously, from this and other posts, Lotus has read them and is putting it into practice. “A New Earth” is an easier read, is more detailed, and was written for a broader audience. Don’t let your mind keep you from reading and learning from them.
JerryHow do you guys see the availability of credit to Ticos playing out? Are they going to borrow themselves into huge credit card debt and vehicle debt or is there a cultural bent against doing so? I see lots of bilingual young people getting jobs in call centers with $800-$1500 per month take home. They live at home and have few expenses and at the same time they are getting credit offers.
As far as living expenses are concerned, we have lowered our expenses over what they were in the US and have added the quality of life that a maid and a gardner allow. I have also been pleased with the price and quality of medical care, haircuts, massages, facials, car mechanics, and service in general. I look at Sprites numbers and realize that my house rental and related expenses are more than the take home of the top 10% and we don’t think of ourselves as being on the top tier of the spending spectrum but I guess we are. Not to mention private schools, car insurance, food, diapers, medical care, cell phones, internet, etc… My hope is that the spending of people like us will trickle down through the economy and lift the Tico standard of living up instead of pricing them out of the market.
ECASTRO,
We moved to Costa Rica in December of 2007 and live above Sabanilla. We drive through the area daily. As mentioned, bus service is great. You have a Mas X Menos grocery store several bank branches, pharmacies, minor emergency clinic, hardware stores, etc. Within 10-15 minutes drive or ride, you have malls, restaurants, a HyperMas (Walmart), Office Depot, etc. The east side of town is a little slower moving and has a slightly cooler climate than on the west side. We are very happy living on the East side. As Scott mentioned, if at all possible, you should come here and see it for yourself before renting or buying. If it would be helpful, you may contact me off the list (jdtj777@yahoo.com), give me more info on what you are doing, and exactly where the apartment is and I will drive by and look at it for you.
Pura Vida, JerryZoom X5. You can get one at Cococo which is on the road behind Taco Bueno on the Circunvalacion across from the Universidad de Costa Rica in San Pedro. Ours is working great. I am using a Linksys wireless router with it. Jerry
eehorobec,
Check with the airline and see which days of the week have the lightest travel and plan your trip for one of those days to increase the likelihood of there being room for your dog. With all the planning you have already made, don’t let a little thing like floating travel days discourage you. Where are you traveling from? What airline are you using? Have you checked other airlines and their policies? As far as the Visa question is concerned, if you have filed for residency in Costa Rica you are allowed to stay here without leaving until they decide whether or not your application is accepted. We moved here in December and it is even better than we had hoped. One way tickets are cheaper than round trip tickets and once you live here if you want to go back to visit the States you will need a round trip ticket originating from here. Good luck! JerryRita,
We too are using Residency in Costa Rica and they are doing a great job for us. They have made the process completely painless and hassle-free. We had enough details to consider when moving here from the USA that it was nice to have competent professionals handle this for us.
Jerryuptik,
I moved my family here last Thursday (wife, and children ages 2.5,2.5, and 5). I have limited time to reply at the moment but will summarize the decision process for us. Always remember that it is not a terminal decision. You can always move back and your life will be immesurably enhanced by the time you spent here in Costa Rica. And, while you are here there are income tax exclusion benefits that may pay for your trip. As far as reasons to move, you need to assess your life experience and remember that this is your physical life. It is not a rehearsal. Why not move?! Be the person that took the road less traveled. Costa Rica is ripe for entrepreneurship so look at your skill set and see if you are the type of person that can create and/or act on business opportunities. You already have some money saved and you own some real estate so you have a cushion to give yourself a great start in a new and exciting adventure. If you are “on the fence” Take a couple of weeks, or better yet, a month or two, and come down here and live with the idea of not only enjoying the people and natural resources but at the same time, identify opportunities. The upside is infinite and the downside is you spent a few grand on a great trip. Additionally, and most importantly, considering all of the above, pray about it, or meditate about it, whatever floats your boat but go above the noise that the mind creates. I wish you the best of luck in your decision and in your life.
Sincerely,
JerryStraight from the horses mouth… http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i5471/ch01.html#d0e51
I guess I need to file one too…
Jerry
