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The people I think of as true Ticos – though there are surely many other types as well – are those who live in the countryside and know a lot of stuff.
They know the names of trees and weeds and snakes and lizards and birds and all kinds of things about those.
They know about the weather and planting and insects and basically – everything in their natural world.
I really admire their knowledge of all these things in their natural world and they are a treasure trove of info on these things.
However when it comes to plumbing, electrical and other such things – I’m not impressed.
Different strokes for different folks.
[quote=”orcas0606″]Please tell me where I can find the $ CDs at 7%? The best I can find is abour 3.75% for a 36 mos CD. Also commercial banks (BNCR, BCR, Scotia etc.) have to charge a 15% tax. Cooperativas are exempt from this tax.
[/quote]LOL. So you get 7% but pay 15%? Really?!
[quote=”costaricafinca”]There is a few here, one is located just before the turnoff to Grecia. It is called [url=http://storageincostarica.com/directions.htm]Lion Share Bodegas[/url][/quote]
I checked the web site, and I have to say their security does look very good plus they say the area ” is surrounded by a 7 foot concrete wall. We have many motion sensor lights, alarms and 24/7 cameras. There are 3 large dogs that always patrol the grounds night and day. Our gates are always kept closed, except for when our customers are here. ” And they claim no thefts in 8 years and show pictures as to why that is true.
UPDATE:
However they charge $150/month which is as I figured – way too high. I guess if they’re the only game in town for secure storage, they can command it.In fact the guy told me he rarely had an availability. Hmmm. Sounds like a good business to start up! Build some secure storage, provide a trustworthy on-site manager, some guard dogs and security cams, and rent out 15 storage units for $150/month… let’s see, that’s $2250/month gross. So build 20 instead of 15 units, that’s a cool $3k gross per month.
[quote=”orcas0606″][quote=”costaricabill”][edit]
If you have all of that sitting in a checking account you could be earning some good interest if you desired. 7% +/- in a dollar savings CD and 12-14% in a colone CD at one of the “cooperatives”. Check out the rates and terms at Coopenae.[/quote][/quote]
My question is, are these CD’s completely safe as they are in the USA or is there a risk of losing one’s money with a CD in Costa Rica? I ask because it seems they pay more than in the USA and I am wondering how/why.
[quote=”elindermuller”]Therefore I never withdraw or transfer more then $ 9990 in one single transaction and per day. Otherwise they have to fill out a stack of papers. Stay below the 10 K mark and there is no problem.
Regarding bank accounts, one of our clients just opened a bank account at BNCR, he has no residency yet. One of the requirements was to prove that he has been a property owner for more than 1 year and he had to bring financial statements from the U.S. (he owns several businesses).
[/quote]
Elindermuller, I have no doubt what you are saying is true for your client but I do have doubts as to whether that is generally true for most non-residents who wish to open an account.I will find out the next time I’m in Costa Rica as I will myself go to BNCR and try.
However I talked to ARCR, I talked to 2 attorneys, and I spoke with 2 different people at BCR and all of them told me I could not open a bank account because I am not a legal resident. This, even THOUGH I did previously have an account at BCR which was frozen and then closed because I could not come down in time to save it from being closed.
I hope BNCR IS giving accounts to residents with property but as I understand it, that is against the law.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]There is a few here, one is located just before the turnoff to Grecia. It is called [url=http://storageincostarica.com/directions.htm]Lion Share Bodegas[/url][/quote]
Thanks for that, costaricafinca. I will try to find out what their prices are and if they are truly safe. I imagine robbery of these would be a major concern in Costa Rica! They’d pretty much have to have armed guards who are trustworthy enough not to help their friends rob them. (I’ve seen this happen in gated communities where the guard helped friends rob the empty homes.)Anyway it’s worth checking out. I wonder if they’re outrageously expensive like they are in some parts of the USA…
[quote=”Rf2cr”][quote=”costaricafinca”]You can purchase it at any pharmacy.[/quote]
Also available in the spice section of most supermarkets.[/quote]
Probably a dumb question but why is boric acid in the spice section?? ;-D[quote=”Joel”]Who knows about buying shipping containers to use for storage units? Is there a good place to buy them in Costa Rica? Is it better to buy one in the US and ship it to Costa Rica and then keep it? Thanks, Joel[/quote]
Wouldn’t stuff just completely COOK in a shipping container in Costa Rica?
Which brings me to this question I’ve been wondering for a long time:
Does Costa Rica have any “storage units” like they have in the states that are safe and guarded with various sizes to rent? If so how much do they run for, say, 12x6x8 feet and if they don’t have these why not? (Seems like it would be a good business there.)[quote=”elindermuller”]The “update” button on the BNCR page is quite new and they apologize with new webpage design etc. My friends in Germany have the same problem, they have to do it in person once they come to Costa Rica in 3 weeks.
For Corporations, a person with POA generalissimo can probably update the info.[/quote]
I would not put all my stock in the advice “not to worry” about it. And you are lucky you are just NOW getting this treatment. I was forced to update my info about 3-4 years ago (by a different CR bank) and when I could not get down there to take care of it they FROZE my account. I luckily only had a small amount of $ in it so it was no big deal but if I’d had more it would have been a big deal.
Unfortunately all this invasion of privacy is about Uncle Sam getting his from the little guy – even though of course many corporations legally pay zero in taxes.
I too had a corporate account and now you can’t have one unless you are a resident. So if you have one the best bet is to find a way to not let them freeze it because if they freeze it you MAY (?) then no longer be allowed to have one.
I first came to Costa Rica in the late 90’s to check it out after a friend had vacationed there and told me about it.
I loved it and after that I made many more trips with friends and by myself. A few years after my first trip I came for a long term stay and ended up living in Costa Rica for nearly a year with a short return to the U.S. in between.
My decision to eventually move to Costa Rica permanently was simple: I liked it there better than the USA.
As the years rolled on and I was not able to move there for various reasons (mostly not having the $ nor being able to work there), I wanted to move there more and more for political reasons. For me it’s not “Bush” or “Obama” but rather the entire system which has become “corporatism”, and is becoming close to fascism at this point. But this forum is not the place to debate politics, I’m just answering the question that was posed.
Finally I was able to buy property but still could not afford to build. I then lost my job in the great recession of 2007 or whenever it started, and was unemployed for almost 3 years. Being an older American I couldn’t find a job in the recessed economy and had to spend most of our savings to just pay rent and survive in the U.S.. Just being a great worker with a ton of great experience is not enough, anymore.
As a result I had to sub-divide our Costa Rica property and put lots up for sale and now am waiting to sell a couple before we can afford to build our retirement home. But with the real estate market slow in the U.S. this isn’t going so well either.
As for it taking gumption to move to a foreign country, I guess that is true but I never felt that way. To me it seems “no big deal” and in fact I always recommend people who complain about their lives in USA or who can’t afford to live well in the USA on their social security to move to Costa Rica (or some other country of their choice) and I am always surprised when people are often immediately resistant to the idea as if it is beyond their imagination to do something like that. I don’t get it because to me it seems like a very good and logical thing to do. I know people who bitch about their jobs to no end, yet COULD sell all their assets and have half a million dollars or so to set up their lives in Costa Rica, and live like kings without having to work at all, and then get a good social security in a few years as well. But they won’t do it and I just shake my head and wonder why. I WISH I had half a million dollars in assets! I’d have moved years ago!
[quote=”sweikert925″]
Could you expand a bit on what those changes are? I understand it’s not as much of a bargain to live in CR as it may once have been, but what are you referring to specifically when you say culture and govenment?[/quote]
You have to read between the lines. We were asked not to get into political discussions so I refrained from the line of thought I was writing.
[quote=”crhomebuilder”]Costa Rica is the fifth best country in the world to retire, according to the [url=http://www.topretirements.com/blog/international-retirement/10-best-international-places-to-retire.html/]10 Best International Places to Retire[/url] – the annual index produced by International Living as well as the publication Top Retirements.
[/quote]
Isn’t International Living one of those sites that’s always pushing one area in which they have a lot of investments, or am I thinking of a different site? In any case I wouldn’t put too much stock in this list.
These lists are always subjective, based on the criteria chosen and there is always some level of subjective preference in the mix, I think.
From what I hear it’s very expensive to live in Spain, Italy, etc. and while I haven’t done research on it recently, the last I heard was that these countries in Europe – and New Zealand – are very hard to get into as a legal resident. Maybe that’s changed, I should read the article I suppose.
Glad to see CR made the list but I agree that the Americanization of the world is underway and if things keep going CR will not be THAT much better than the U.S. in another decade or less. I’ve been visiting CR (and lived there for months at a time) for 25 years and what I see is not good imho. Oh, that’s right, we are not supposed to get political. Okay well I’ll just say that CR is not as attractive to me (and many others) as it once was, due to “changes” in the culture and government and economy. Take your best guess as to the root of those changes.
The number of obese people has increased in CR just as it has increased in the USA. The most likely cause: CORN SUGAR, SUCROSE, HIGH FRUCTOSE etc – all those artificial sugars which are like poison to our systems and cause diabetes. And hydrogenated fat – another poison. And let’s not forget: aspartame.
[quote=”sweikert925″]
Why would they publish incorrect figures? What purpose would that serve?[/quote]Yes, that is the question I am proposing.
Maybe it’s because I live in the USA where nothing the government says or does can be trusted any more imho.[quote=”sweikert925″]The full report on which the La Nacion article was based can be found here:
http://www.migracion.go.cr/Informe%202012%20version%20digital.pdf%5B/quote%5D
Thanks for the link to the full report.While we offer no proof I find it very interesting that quite a few Americans living or who have lived in Costa Rica seem to agree that these results are wrong. (I am basing that on this and one other thread I have read on this subject; not exactly a significant sample. But I am betting that if you polled all Americans living in Costa Rica the vast majority would say the results don’t seem right.)
I smell a skunk.
Maybe it’s to someone’s advantage to keep the # of retirees as a lower figure?OR, maybe those who were in charge were just too lazy or uninterested to do the job thoroughly and accurately.
[quote=”dustymar”]We are coming to Costa Rica this summer to see if it’s the place to retire (I’m so hoping it is). I’m wondering how hard it would be to rent a Tico-style small farm — very simple living, but a place where I could grow my food, and raise horses and goats (and who knows what else?) in the Central Valley.
We’ll be mostly living on Social Security, so we’re not looking to buy a coffee plantation or a fancy place in a gated community. We currently teach ESL and would probably like to do some kind of volunteering in that area.
I’ve looked on Craig’s list and a lot of the real estate sites, but I’m not finding what I feel really is available — I guess I just don’t know how to track it down.[/quote]I think your BEST bet would be to move to an area you like and start asking around. The type of deal you are looking for is going to be easier to find by asking around than by ads or web sites imho.
If you speak Spanish that’s going to make it a LOT easier. If you don’t then find or make a bilingual friend in that area.
I know that in the San Ramon area there are Ticos who have houses for rent where you could grow food. Another area to look would be Puriscal. A lot of time the realtors in the area do know of such deals though there’s not much in it for them to help you but you might ask anyway.
If you speak Spanish just talk to everyone you see, at grocery stores, clothing stores, taxi drivers, etc. etc.
