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Cindy,
Were you charged a couple of hundred dollars by customs for everything or just for the appliances? Did you ship all your household items, furniture, clothes, etc.? If so, what were you charged by customs?
Did you pack your stuff or did Barry contract that with the shipper in California?
Thanks for your help. We are moving in December…
Jerry
I always rent from Meta Rent a Cellular. You can call Mario at 506-354-9427 or go to his website and fill out the form telling him when you will arrive; http://www.metarentacellular.com. He will be standing outside the terminal waiting for you when you arrive. He will swipe your credit card and off you go. When you get ready to fly out, call him and he will meet you at the airport or at Denny’s and close out your account. On my first trip to Costa Rica I thought it was really neat that my cell phone worked just fine down there until I got home and got the $1100 bill. Now the $50-$100 that I spend with Mario to be in constant communication with family in the States and make/receive local calls when needed is well worth it.
Good luck,
JerryIf you do have something stolen while you are in the San Jose area, there is one consolation. There is a good chance you can get a Tico friend to go to La Cueva and buy your stuff back for pennies on the dollar. It is a clearinghouse downtown for stolen merchandise. If you know the right people, you can place orders there as well. Last summer when we were in Costa Rica for a couple of weeks, we left our LAPTOPS in our car while parked in front of a friends house in Escazu. It didn’t take 30 minutes before our stupidity was rewarded… Unfortunately, we had to leave before the laptops surfaced at La Cueva but my wife tells me it was quite an adventure looking for them there. She is Latina and can pass for a Tica so she went with our Tico friend. Have any of you out there had experiences with La Cueva that you can share?
GringoTico,
I should have been clearer. I bought a 1995 Galloper Turbo Diesel that is registered, insured, and resides in Costa Rica. I would have waited and bought something when we arrive in December but we have three small children and I want to have a vehicle ready when we land. I will also be down a couple of times between now and then and will have something to drive. This opportunity came up with a friend who after living in Costa Rica has returned to the US and needed to sell their car. We have a place to keep it for the next few months.
I have been advised to follow the one asset per corporation plan and will heed everyone’s advice on that topic.
I am in the car business here in the States and look forward to learning about the costs, taxes, and process of importing vehicles into Costa Rica. For now, I am very happy flying under the radar with our used Galloper…
GringoTico from reading your posts over this past year, I wish you luck in getting back to Costa Rica as soon as possible…
Sincerely,
Jerry
Freddy,
I too am so sorry to hear of your loss and can’t imagine how difficult it must be… I wish you the best as you make this life change and take on the challenge of raising these children.
My wife and I are moving to Costa Rica in December to raise our three children. When we move their ages will be: 4 yrs 11 mo, 2 1/2, and 2 1/2. For the reasons that GringTico so eloquently enunciated, we are excited to provide this opportunity to our children.
We have found a school just east of San Jose called Talarke. Their website is in spanish and it is at http://www.talarkeschool.com. All classes are in English until third grade and then they are taught in both languages. The class sizes are very small and the staff is incredible. We can’t wait to get them all started in January of 2008. I encourage you to contact Susana Cabezas at 0115062733353 or email her at talarke@racsa.co.cr for more information. You may also contact me off list at jdtj777@yahoo.com. The area East of San Jose is beautiful and life moves at a different pace. There is a modern shopping mall and several restaurants nearby. You are 40 minutes to the airport and 15-20 minutes from Clinica Biblica hospital. If you want to research the area, look at Curridibat, San Ramon de Tres Rios, Guadalupe, Sabanilla, and Coronado in your searches.
If you end up moving and we can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to ask.
Sincerely,
JerryThanks for your posts. My reading and participation in the Forum has decreased significantly due to the continual and unnecessary US bashing and conspiracy crap. It has amazed me how often innocuous posts about Costa Rica inevitably turn to US Bashing. I hope that the anger and bad attitudes about the US aren’t reflective of the typical Gringo living in Costa Rica…
GMAC does allow for their leases to be assumed by a credit worthy lessee after the first six months of the lease for a $595 transfer fee. Vegas would not be liable for the lease after the assumption and the new lessee would have to follow the mileage restrictions and other terms of the original lease. They don’t allow lease transfers into or out of Arizona. Since Vegas has prepaid his lease payments, he would have to work out either a lump sum or monthly compensation to be paid to him by the person assuming the lease. Note that a pre-paid lease is a little unusual and I have not been involved in the assumption of a pre-paid lease but think it should follow the guidelines outlined above. You might also look at SwapALease.com or LeaseTrader.com. Vegas, if I can be of assistance with this, please let me know off list at jdtj777@yahoo.com. I am very involved in the vehicle leasing industry. Good luck on your move! Jerry
Deb,
We have visited Talarke and are moving to Costa Rica and enrolling our children there in January of 2008. San Ramon de Tres Rios is about 15 minutes from San Pedro and 25 minutes to San Jose. I hate traffic so we will locate ourselves very close to the school. Tuition is approximately $315 per month including home cooked meals and materials. It is a family run school that evolved from homeschooling. We spent two weeks in Costa Rica in June specifically to visit schools and stopped our search when we visited Talarke. Currently Talarke goes through 6th grade. This semester they have 63 students. It is very near the Marian Baker, the Methodista, and a couple of others for middle school and high school. The Director of the school is Susana Cabezas and their number is 506-273-3353. You can mention that Jerry Thompson referred you. If you want to contact me off list, my email is jdtj777@yahoo.com. I am not sure what is up with their website but it has been down for a few weeks. If you want something with larger classes that is a little more traditional, another excellent and challenging school on the East side is the Liceo Franco tri-lingual school. Good luck to you and your family. JerryKim,
If you are still looking at schools, take the time to visit Talarke School in San Ramon de Tres Rios (East of San Jose). Call Susana Cabezas at 506 273 3353. Tell her Jerry Thompson referred you. Learning about Talarke made all the difference for us in deciding to move to Costa Rica with our three very young children. I have personally visited with four different sets of parents that have or have had their children there and all feedback has been extremely positive.
Jerry
DC Bob,
You should contact Randall Zamora Hidalgo of Costa Rica ABC. I have found him to be prompt, efficient, fairly priced, responsive, and knowledgeable. In addition to his accounting and business skills he seems to be a problem solver who knows his way around. I have worked with him for a few months and thus far he has done everything that he has said he would and seems straightforward and trustworthy.
Here is his contact information:
Randall Zamora Hidalgo
randall@welovecostarica.com
http://www.CostaRicaABC.com
Accounting & Business Center
(506) 356-8992
(506) 261-4283
Good luck. JerryTony,
We really like the school Talarke (www.talarke.com). It is east of San Jose in the San Ramon de Tres Rios area. We are moving down in December of 2007 and would not be coming if we hadn’t found Talarke. We did LOTS of research and visited several schools in June. If you would like to talk, contact me off list at jdtj777@yahoo.com. Good luck to you.
Jerry
Scott,
Please tell me that you think the implication of the following excerpt is not only crap but it is absurd and offensive to the memories of those murdered on 911 and to their families…“the US authorities that caused the twin towers to collapse will probably not allow that much phyiscal damage to be caused again…”
So, I guess the US government is in cahoots with Osama? Oh, it all makes so much sense now… Jerry
Scott,
Allowing this crap to continue is really diluting the quality of your forum. Your idea of setting up a seperate forum is a good one. I seem to remember this being about Costa Rica not about slamming the US and spinning conspiracy theories…
Jerry
Wayne,
Are you or someone in your group a fluent spanish speaker? Make absolutely for sure that you do not have a firearm or even one round of ammunition. Make sure that everyone in the group understands the danger involved. HAVE A GREAT TIME!!! It will surely be one of the great experiences of a lifetime. We look forward to hearing all about it… Jerry
