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May I suggest that you contact SETENA personally (Technical Environmental Department of MINAE) and ask them if they officially have a ‘fast track’ process–They have a somewhat tedious process and I would wonder what anyone means by ‘fast track’, but SETENA will certainly be able to inform you if there actually is a legal ‘fast track’ procedure.
email: setena@minae.go.cr
phone: 506-234-3367 (ending in 68 and 69 also)
site: http://www.minae.go.cr/setenaHi Janice, The Costa Rican post office speediness or lack there of has actually come a long way in the last few decades (it used to take about a month to get a simple letter from the US to the central San Jose office in the 80s and to Limon it seemed like an eternity), but it’s still very slow in general. Even today, when mail arrives in SJ in within 10 days, you need to add to this that it still needs to sent to Limon City(Limon, what some call the forgotten province of CR) and then further on down to Puerto Viejo so please consider that they may not be giving you your December mail, because they did not have it in their hands prior to that. The area you’re in is one of my very favorite places in the whole world and I just came from a too short of a visit there. Enjoy the laid back atmosphere of this absolutely ENCHANTING place and thank your lucky stars that we now have Internet for communication so that you can always be in touch with your loved ones via this communication medium. Pura Vida…and when you wake to the call of the birds and howler monkeys, please give them my regards and tell them I miss them so very much…
If you’re looking for someone, you might want to contact that person’s country of origin’s embassy in CR because sometimes they will have contact information for expats in the country…Best of luck…
Although there are certainly people that choose to move to CR and then for one reason or another they also then choose or have to move out, there has certainly been a steady increase in the expat population of Costa Rica in the last few decades. In part caused by expats that have lived there for many years. Right now there are slightly more expats than indigenous people in Costa Rica (indigenous are 1.7% of the population and foreign nationals according to the 2000 census are at about 8% but since about 75% of those are Nicaraguan then other “expats” make up about +/- 2% of total Costa Rican population–see link). It is by no means a total revolving door and you must also consider that we’re not immortal so there will be some loss of the expat population due to the inevitability of death.
I absolutely agree, I don’t know of anyone that visited CR just once–I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been there. It’s a wonderful place to live and to visit…
As far as for sale signs, they don’t have to mean that people are leaving–there are many reasons people put their property up for sale–they very well could be trading up or down. I have never seen so many “For Sale” signs in my life in NJ and I assure you that population is not looking to head elsewhere…The real estate market so far in CR seems to be much healthier than the one we’re experiencing in many areas of the US.
http://www.laprensa.com.ni/archivo/2005/junio/17/migrantes/ regarding immigrants in CR
Windsorww, While there are orgs (see one of my posts above on this thread and there are others) that are working on the conservation and environmental education programs for the local populations about this issue, I can tell you that more damage has been caused by the loss of turtle breeding habitats and contamination of the shoreline due to hotel & residential developments along the Costa Rican coasts than by the local population. In order to see a leatherback in 1992 you had to walk thru a mangrove, take a little boat thru the estuary, walk onto Langosta beach, sit and wait for one of those massive creatures to come out of the ocean and watch her make her nest and lay her eggs — All of this was done by the light of the moon and a red flashlight in order not to disorient the turtles. Today, there is a large, beautiful hotel complex with condos, etc and there are NO turtles to go see even if the hotel allowed you to to “trespass”!
Regarding Limon, the law allows for the Caribbean culture to use sea turtle eggs and even eat some turtle meat because it is part of their culture, but I assure you that although this has an impact and I agree that people need to be further educated so that they understand what is at stake…We should be careful with begrudging a local trying to put food on his table when the real damage is caused by those that know better and still choose greed and development over conservation….
Simondg, just an update on the Century 21 issue, corporate headquarters has given me the name & contact info of the C21 person that needs to be called regarding the misleading information that was offered regarding the ocean levels rising. As soon as I speak to him, I will let you know what he says…
There is a real difference to Aduana agents between importing for your own home use and importing for commercial purposes. If you import 10 dining tables, well, then they might not be so inclined to see your cargo as personal, but they are much more lenient when it comes to personal home items, especially when they are used. It’s certainly like a ‘box of chocolates’ in Aduanas as far as length of process and fees, but they’re not looking to punish anyone for moving to CR. When I moved back to the US, customs randomly picked my container to be checked for illegal transports & drugs and had the nerve to ask me to pay for the extra cost of doing this. I told them that I did not have problem with them checking every item with a fine tooth comb since they were only my personal effects, but that I certainly wasn’t about to pay $1,500 extra for them to go thru this process. Therefore I don’t begrudge the CR Aduanas people– although part of a cumbersome bureaucratic system, they certainly are working under a much more welcoming concept for the regular homeowner that is moving to another country.
Gilgreen, It has been my experience that there is no definite cost you can count on per item at Aduanas and there are a lot of factors that seem to come into play including who you happen to get as your inspector, but if the furniture is yours and used (please remove all tags), the expense is usually minor. The worst part is the time spent in Aduanas (sometimes more than one day) to get your items out. However, if you really love your furniture, take it with you since you probably will not find it in CR. There are some high end furniture stores in the San Jose area, but very few. I’ve seen some that carry modern lines and there are a few others that carry more formal, conventional styles, but have very good quality. You certainly have to watch the quality especially when they use certain softer woods such as pine (in rustic furniture). I bought some beautiful chairs with forged metal inserts in a lovely and expensive Escazu store that are poorly designed for sitting (especially heavier people) because the backs are just too straight and I have had more than one of them break in the same place. I brought those chairs back to NJ because I do love them, but every time I have had one fixed, it’s been over $100 here so they’re certainly not cost efficient. 🙂 Best of luck in your move!
That’s true, UPS will take your package to and from CR, but the year before last I wanted to send my sister a Christmas package and the shipping rates from New Jersey to Costa Rica were so expensive that it was actually more than the cost of a plane ticket there for a not too heavy, medium sized box. I have found that UPS is not very cost effective when shipping larger items….
Hello ssure, When I left CR, Dr. Starke gave me all the paperwork I needed to bring my daughter’s cat and her puppy back to the US which both rode alongside my seat on the plane on two separate occasions. He was always a good vet and made sure I had all the paperwork I needed.
I did not use any connecting flights, but I can tell you that I had absolutely no problems bringing them in. I would check with the airlines to see how they handle the plane change. Here’s the info I have for him:
CLINICA VETERINARIA DR. STARKE
San Pedro del Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, 100m Sur y 125m Este
Costa Rica – San José, San Pedro de Montes de Oca
Telephone: (506) 253-7142 Fax (506) 225-5555
E-mail:drstarke@racsa.co.crHi cindyc: I never found a dog fence installer in CR while I lived there, but there are web based companies that you can buy the system from and install it yourself. Here’s one: http://www.pet-super-store.com/html/Category-9-0.html and I’m sure there are others. You can bring the system in and have an electrician help you set it up in CR. I hope this helps in case you can’t find someone who installs these fences in CR…Best of luck y Feliz Año Nuevo!
I always paid my property taxes in January too for properties in Barva (Heredia) and in Guadalupe (San Jose) and I also never had a problem with that arrangement…Maybe because I was paying the full year in advance… I guess each municipality can treat things slightly differently, but it’s always worth asking them to avoid problems down the road…
Maravilla, in Costa Rica some friends found M&M knock offs and I would bet they were from China! I really would have never thought that was on the “knock-off” list, but I guess candy is a lucrative business these days. The thought of it is hilarious although I seriously would not suggest ingesting those little colored candy imitations considering all the toxins associated with painted items coming from China…Oye!
No problem Michelle, it was my pleasure to help out–I had to do a lot of asking around in 92 when I was looking for schools for my daughter, I wish I would have had this site for info back then!…I hope you had a wonderful holiday and next year brings you wonderful surprises where you least expect them! Pura Vida!
I just got home from my family’s Noche Buena & Christmas celebrations in South Jersey to find this lovely card, thanks for sharing it crhomebuilder! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones…Feliz Navidad!
Foremost, as I mentioned before, anyone looking to move to CR needs to speak with CR Consulate in their country of current residence regarding the requirements for CR residency–the rest would be immaterial if someone can’t legally reside there. I did those “little trips” for a while until my residency came thru (since my sister is a Tica) and it was not only expensive and disruptive (especially with a school aged child), but from what I hear today, CR immigration is cracking down on this practice which doesn’t make that a viable option right now…Pura Vida y Feliz Navidad!
