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De nada Kathleen, Let us know about your experience w/them. I think we’ve all grown way too attached to our cell phones, but they do make life much more convenient…I usually kidnap my sister’s cell when I’m in there 🙂 Enjoy your trip to CR! Rebeca
Kathleen, try these. I also seem to vaguely recall a fellow Brit Scott once mentioned in the Forum, but you will need to search the Forum & the articles because I can’t recall the name or contact info. Best of luck!
I really think you and your family will love living in CR and CR will love you right back just from some of the posts you have written. My passion for CR has not faltered in 26 years and although the social and literal landscape has been somewhat altered, CR’s spirit remains the same. How can I stop loving CR just for that? Now who hasn’t changed a bit throughout the years 🙂 Doing your homework, knowing yourself and being flexible goes a looooong way when relocating anywhere…
Sprite, that’s the point, out of how many? Well, based on what? The issue is that it happens and it doesn’t seem to be corroborated (unless someone can bring up a study done on this). In any case, your original concern wasn’t about the people that left CR, but about the number of expats moving in and whether you would start to feel it was becoming overcrowded like what has happened in your hometown…I can most assuredly tell you, it’s a lot more crowded now than it was back when I fell in love with the place (80s) and it will probably be a lot more crowded in the near future (lol)– People become intoxicated with CR and I can certainly understand their passion, but just like a torrid romance, things don’t always work out for a million reasons and the things that originally made you fall in love with the person/place later drive you mad….Take good care!
We can gather a list David, I personally know of 6 people including myself due to my daughter’s medical needs, but that has been over a 26 year period–I couldn’t give you a per year number and that info would still be anecdotal since we don’t really have a baseline to compare it to. Not even the census really takes into account all of the expats currently living in the country because there are so many that live there and still don’t have their legal status formalized which might not have been taken into account in the census. So there’s a response bias and how would we determine that percentage? Per year, as of a certain date, based on the total number of expats that ever thought they would move there/actually lived there (How would we ever come up with that number?) or based on the total number of expats that applied for residency? Costa Rica has historically been a bridge environmentally & for populations, but we keep talking about US citizens so would we only consider US expats? It’s really a very difficult number to assess because even if they took into account the number of expats who have had residencies that they let lapse/or gave back who left the country, etc. it still doesn’t include the fairly large group (I speak anecdotally of course) of expats that start out and sometimes remain for many years in CR NOT as legal residents, but who certainly live there and some may choose to go elsewhere after a while. Not to mention, that if we’re talking about retirees, the age bracket alone would require that we consider mortality rates since some may have “left” CR not for their country of origin, but for even further horizons…Of course, I’m no statistician, but I would assume that this task can be accomplished in spite of the limitations. I agree with you, I also don’t believe that it has been done in any formal way in CR and that it’s more of a gut feeling that some people have perpetuated….In any case, I guess now the list stands at 7… 🙂
Imexploring, I don’t know where that 40% figure comes and I have never seen it in print, but it’s obviously a number that gets used often and I wouldn’t imagine putting a number on it for many reasons–it would truly be a difficult number to quantify. However, the 2% expat population that I mentioned comes from the last census completed in CR. Of course, like I mentioned, this will not include those expats living in CR on “extended” tourist visas (in & out every 90 days),all of those that just live there seasonally nor does it include the Nicaraguan population which is the largest expat pop living in CR. I agree that there must be a good amount of people that just “fall in love” with CR, move w/o doing their homework and then become disenchanted and move back, but also like Alfred mentioned, there are those that for other reasons (such as medical) are forced to go back to their original countries.
In the 80s very few people knew about CR in the US and many thought I was talking about Puerto Rico and now just about everyone has heard of it here and in Europe. Not to mention that there should be another wave of interest coming in from Asia now that China has linked itself so closely with CR. In spite of CR’s ever growing popularity, the recorded expat population is still only at about 2% (not incl the Nicaraguan people) of the national population. Sure, there are a lot more “unrecorded” expats and expats that come to CR only seasonally, but there are still many places that are not crowded nor overly developed. Besides, from everything you have posted, you don’t want to come to CR and become part of an elitist enclave so you should feel very much at home once you land. I’m sure the locals will soon treat and care for you as another neighbor because your intention is to enjoy their country & way of life and you don’t come trying to impose something on them…Those that think CR is just a cute resort country or just a bunch of easily manipulated group of people akin to the ‘banana republics’ of the past either must stay within resort walls or soon realize that they are not in Ticolandia and adjust or leave. Costa Rica has wonderful aspects and other things that we, as expats, may not be accustomed to, but are well worth the trade offs. It’s not what some may expect so there are some that change their minds once they live in CR for a bit and prefer to return to their familiar places than adjust — Everyone should expect some adjustment time and if you’ve come to CR knowing some of it’s everyday shortcomings and it’s philosophy on life (as it seems), then you should be fine–I actually have to adjust every time I come back to the States (lol)…
David & Alicia, Scott’s book is really imperative when thinking of buying, investing and even to give you an idea of what living in CR entails…Plus it’s a very amenable read. If you would like to learn about the Atlantic Coast of CR (Talamanca). This book is important to understand the flavor of a land and a people that are not always understood nor portrayed fairly by the folks in the Central Valley area.
http://www.amazon.com/What-Happen-Folk-History-Costa-Talamanca/dp/0970567839
There are other books about other areas and different times in CR. Do you read Spanish?
You might also do some searches on this site. There have been some pretty intense dialogues regarding the culture and expat interaction with Ticos/as. However, the best way to get to know CR is by being there. Although you will hear the expression, “I fell in love with CR” over and over on this forum and now more and more around the world…When you come down to it, people fall in love with CR for some similar things and some reasons that are just very personal….Hopefully, you and Alicia will be one of the lucky ones that also gets to love it’s people not just the landscape as you make friends and create an extended family setting in CR. That has been my experience since 1982.
Lastly, CR, along with many places in Latin America, still exudes an enormous amount of magic realism–the most unexpected & wonderful things can happen as can some of the oddest and not so desirable circumstances…Therefore, keep doing your homework regarding the legalities and take heed in the reality checks, but if you both visit and know in your hearts & souls that this is where you would like to LIVE, then dare to imagine it because I have experienced first hand and I have also seen many people do the most interesting and lucrative things in CR while meeting their needs and most certainly surpassing them….Oh, if you decide to get married in the US, make sure you have all of your legal docs (incl marriage cert, degrees, etc.) authenticated by the CR Consul in your area so you don’t have to go back for stuff like that. Best of luck and enjoy the journey of this possibility!
Editer, You need to give them a call to find out if this is a possibility. If I was currently in CR, I would call them for you, but I’m not. Maybe they’ll just make him pay for an extra seat, but I don’t know. As you may know, you can buy tickets in advance, but I don’t think they sell on the weekends–plze ask about that too so your brother doesn’t get stuck. I hope he enjoys his trip to CR!
MUSOC Bus Station in San Jose Downtown next the Carit Maternity Hospital. Telephones:
506-222-2422 SJ
506-223-0686 SJ
506-771-0414 Perez Zeledon office
506-771-3829 Perez Zeledon officeIf the legalality is not an issue, there would be plenty of work for an art major and someone that is industrious. There are schools where she can teach art or become an English teacher and NGOs that use art as a medium for some of their projects, not to mention selling her own art and many other things she can do, but David of Olympia, I would seriously suggest you speak with the CR Consulate in Washington about the labor/residency restrictions because as far as I know, pensionados are not allowed to work. My sister is a nationalized CR so my residency allowed for me to legally work in the country, but unless you and Alicia can somehow get that type of residency–I don’t see how you will be able to legally work there (even if it doesn’t preclude you from actually finding work…) Also, there are an enormous amount of rural areas in CR that are quite beautiful and affordable—as with everything, it’s going to depend on what will be the best fit for you and Alicia. You’ll know better once you come and take an exploratory look around…As far as living on $15,600/yr in CR, that is feasible as long as you know you will not be living in the lap of luxury and plenty of Ticos live on half of that or less. Everything will be about your expectations. Best of luck!
Also, whether Alicia would be legally allowed to work in CR would depend on the type of residency status you obtain. I would also expand the restaurant selection from the gourmet to the Asian group since they use many varieties of mushrooms…Now, whether this could be a profitable business in CR, for that you’ll have to do a feasibility study (even of the most informal kind) so that you can see if there would be a market that would pay you enough to cover your costs and leave you with a profit. The climate sure is optimal in many areas of CR…Best of luck!
Hi Tracy, I would most definitely suggest a gated/organized community for safety since you’re just starting to get to know the place and if you’re looking for a rental home near the beach then, will your children need schooling or will this be during their vacation period? If you need schooling than you will have to consider an appropriate school which may limit your areas a bit (although there are many beautiful areas in Guanacaste that have access to a few good private high schools, some of the other beach areas in CR don’t have as many good academic options for teenage kids, but if you will be in CR during their vacation time, then you have a lot more options….Let us know so that someone can better help you. Best of luck, Rebeca
eehorobec, I wish you the best on your trip. US citizens (that are not currently CR residents) visiting CR are legally allowed to be there for 3 mos/90 days and that’s why most airlines will only sell you up to a 90 day ticket unless you have a CR permission to stay longer (visa extension, etc). That said, you can get a ticket for much less time that could be changed once you are in CR. You can leave the country (go to Panama, Nicaragua, San Andres for a short visit) before your first 90 day period is over and then re-enter CR which should give you another 90 days stamped on your passport and then you can re-schedule your ticket back to the US (of course, there will be surcharges and make sure the ticket you purchase allows for re-scheduling), but be advised that the CR gov’t does not want US citizens to do this every 90 days indefinitely and if you do try to do this too much, they may catch up to you and make things a bit difficult for you to re-enter. I actually had to do this once while I was waiting for my residency to be granted. Best of luck, Rebeca.
I agree with everything David said, but I also wanted to add that I’ve know of people that drive into CR. They come in as tourists with their vehicle and just have to leave the country within their assigned visitor’s time. You should check with the Costa Rican Consulate in the US (usually one nearby and if not you can call the nearest one or the D.C. one). Best of luck!
Koty, Costa Rica has quite a few language schools in different parts of the country. I recommend this one because not only can you learn in a relaxed and loving environment, you can also choose to be part of a group that is helping one of the most invisible groups in Costa Rica, the indigenous Cabecar people….and you don’t have to be religiously affiliated nor will they badger you about this…They are truly a relaxed and loving group of people with a sound language program.
This project is located in Tuis, Turrialba and I’m sure you can call them arrange something with them. You can talk to Hector or Daniel and tell them that Rebeca from New Jersey (or Tita as Danny calls me) sent you…They have local families that provide you with home stays and being part of this project has been a life changing experience for many….Last time I was there there I saw some families with a few children taking classes. All the contact info below. Best of luck!
Mission Que Clama in Turrialba – CISA Language School
Voz Que Clama MissionApdo. 28-7150
Turrialba, Costa Rica
(506) 531-3061/(506) 822-6752
