[Vmc]

[quote=”maravilla”]wearing shorts in a cathedral is extremely BAD taste. other than that, almost anything goes. for women, you can be nearly naked but your nipples had better not be visible. this is, after all, a catholic country, and there ARE rules, subtle as they might be.[/quote]

Thanks to both you and David….I wouldn’t wear shorts in a church really, and I PROMISE to keep my nipples covered….Well, MOST of the time anyhow. LOL

I can’t tell you how much the information you have imparted to me over the last several days has laid to rest most of our concerns….SERIOUSLY, my Wife is ready to get on a plane RIGHT NOW. She’s all for SELLING everything, or sticking it in storage, BREAKING our Lease here (I don’t like that idea), and making a serious LEAP.

….FOR ONCE, I am the voice of reason and advocate taking it slowly, it’s USUALLY the other way around, I am usually the impulsive one, but I think we BOTH want the Tico lifestyle so badly that she is having trouble taking it slow.

I know that at least for the last two pages of this thread, my questions have dominated the scene, I don’t mean to be a hog, but I sincerely hope that some of my stupid questions have helped someone else along THEIR journey, please, keep it coming, and I’ll try to ask intelligent questions along the way…..yeah, right…..LOL

[Vmc]

[quote=”sloth”]WMC,

We’re a family with kids living in San Ramon, and find the place great. Has all we need of shopping, a good hospital, and several good school otions.
If we can be of any assistance please feel free to give us
a call at 506 8702 1109.

Best regards,
Lou[/quote]

Most kind of you Lou, thank you…..WILL DO!

Dan.

[Vmc]

[quote=”maravilla”]but where are those properties? San Ramon? i do know them and they are very nice. and i believe they can be trusted from what i know.[/quote]

Yes, they have several in and around (within a few minutes) San Ramon….. I’ll be SURE to talk to them on your recommendation, thank you.

Also, I read something (Trivial to me), that said that wearing shorts was considered bad taste in some areas, is this so? (I only OWN two pairs of long pants that don’t go to a suit…LOL)

[Vmc]

[quote=”maravilla”]have a link for paradise management? is that steve and janet in la paz? if so, i know them. if not them, send me a link and i will see if i know who runs that site.[/quote]

I believe it is…Here’s the link:

PCR-CRPM Realty

They have some nice properties listed, we may try to get a look while where there.

Dan.

[Vmc]

[quote=”maravilla”]come on, we don’t have THAT much fog. north of san ramon is worse than san ramon proper, but that’s because we are just below a cloud forest. it’s great for your skin. lol some days it’s a little foggy in the early morning but it burns off around 9 or 10. this morning it was clear as a bell.

i have a friend who has a paragliding company and he goes to Caldera every weekend with clients.

as for insects, i hardly have any at 3300 ft elevation. in fact, i have more spiders in colorado than here. occasionally a few ants will scurry after some detritus that didn’t get vacuumed up, but for the most part my house is bug-free. we do have bufo toads when the rainy season starts, but my dogs aren’t interested in them. they can kill your pet. i also haven’t seen any snakes, but then i have no habitat for them.

as for spending significant amounts of time here before deciding to settle in, i guess that’s the norm for most people. i am not the norm. i bought property on my 5th day here, and started building on my second or third trip, just a few weeks later. i never had any qualms that this was the right place, but then the foreign doesn’t bother me, and i already spoke some spanish, and had lived in mexico and the yucatan. it’s 5 years later and i still have no regrets, although it did take my husband some time to adjust to my impulsive behavior. he’s glad i’m a little crazy, because in colorado right now it’s 22 degrees and snowing, and he’s running around here in shorts, a hawaiian shirt, and a panama hat. yes, indeed, life is good!![/quote]

Wow……I was at the Air Force Academy in 1975, my Niece is a nurse and lives in Fairplay (South Park) What a beautiful (yet COLD) place to come from…I am a big fan of the same apparel choices you mentioned. I’m glad to hear about the fog, because SEATTLE, I couldn’t stand. Even here in Tennessee, I have only seen the SUN a handful of times in the last THREE MONTHS, and this is just downright DEPRESSING! San Ramon is on our short list of places we may want to settle in, so thank you.

We are trying to plan our first trip down VERY SOON, and I too am somewhat impulsive, my poor Wife is just FED UP, and we are counting the days till we get there!

P.S. Any experience with Paradise Management?

[Vmc]

[quote=”costaricafinca”]I will go further than another responder in saying that there is a whole lot of venomous and nonvenomous snakes, thousands of different creepy-crawlies here, including scorpions, tarantulas, many different types of ants, etc. If you [i]cringe[/i] at the [i]idea[/i] of insects, this is not the place for you.
San Ramon, although a nice place, will suit you fine if you like cooler temperatures but with lots of low-lying fog for the better part of the year. A little like Seattle. After a time, it can get to you….
While we have both meat and egg chickens, I do purchase the chicken here and have found it to be very tasty. We also purchase pork, veal and beef and have no problem with that either.
I [i]do not understand[/i] why you feel you may become a vegetarian after residing here. The ease of purchase, variety and price of veggies is good though, and I do cook many meals that do not include meat.
Over at the Pacific beaches one can see paragliders, go here for some [url=http://www.paraglidecostarica.com/launch.html]Launch Sites[/url].[/quote]

Again, I offer my thanks, I know about Fer De Lance out in the bush, I’m not worried about scorpions, etc……. It’s just that I have heard such VARYING accounts, that I wanted to hear more….I realize that a lot depends on altitude, etc.

For the record, I’m not worried about it, I was just very curious. Many people have declared that their homes don’t really belong to them, “they belong to the ants” Not sure I love this idea, but there are ways to deal with them…Hell, I lived in South Florida for cryin out loud……LOL

Thanks for the food info, I hadn’t declared my intention to go Vegetarian, but I DO like the great variety of fruits and vegetables that are found there, so if for no other reason than to just eat healthier, I will eat more vegetables, but it’s good to know I can get everything else if I so choose.

You guys are a wealth of info and I appreciate it, and as for Corrand, I wish you all the best, I hope it all works wonderfully for you!

Bags just a little more packed for us now…….

Dan.

[Vmc]

[quote=”DavidCMurray”]Dan, you asked above about insects, snakes and other crawlies. Well, in words of one syllable or less, they’re here.

What the environment holds is very dependent upon temperatures, and temperatures are very dependent upon altitude. In the main, most of the country is wet during the winter and dry during the summer. The variable is altitude.

The higher up you are the cooler it’ll be and the fewer insects and snakes you’ll encounter. At our home (4,100 feet above sea level), we’ve actually seen one live snake and two dead ones in four and a half years. We see an occasional misquito, but none of them reminds me of your ex-wife. We have some toads that we regard as being toxic and thus dangerous to our dog, who is brainless. Otherwise, there’s not much obnoxious wildlife except some biting gnats that inhabit the grass.

Unlike maravilla, we do eat commercially available chicken, pork and fish and cannot actually attribute any of our eccentricities to them. Beef is another matter. The molido is great. For a steak, we go to our local steak house where they do it right.[/quote]

Nice David, thank you…….I’m more confident every day here……. I have a question for [b]everybody[/b] next.
….FLYING, I am a pilot, and I love ultralight flying and Paragliding, much word from anyone on these sports?

Dan.

[Vmc]

[quote=”jdocop”]I’m sorry, but I just cringe when I read posts like VMC’s………we visited CR over the course of ten years before we moved here. We planned our move (or, our retirement) carefully during that time. I simply recall too many instances over those ten years of people talking, dreaming, wishing, and then failing to do the one thing most important for a major change such as moving to a foreign country: VISIT! Just once, but visit………stop saying you’ve been looking forward to moving until after you have at least seen the place. And, no, 7-10 days is not adequate, especially when you consider the cost of one round trip!
Finally, since you say you have been researching, you should be aware of the very high percentage of gringos who do move here, and then give up and go back within the first year of so of residency! Think very carefully before you commit yourself to this.[/quote]

Thanks John….I AM aware of the high percentage of Gringos who fail to be able to adapt to the lifestyle, and although reading can’t tell you everything, I feel that we are fairly well armed against at least SOME of the pitfalls…..It will only be our FIRST visit that will last 7-10 days, we aren’t rushing ourselves to make this leap, and plan to take 1-3 years before we start selling our stuff here.

Believe me, when we step on Costa Rican soil, we will have made a plan and will be talking to a lot of people who we have either read about or contacted over the last couple of years. We’ll consult the ARCR, and every Oracle we can find. The first trip will be more brief than we want, yes…… But we will make as many as necessary to be comfortable and SURE we are making the right move.

I appreciate your concern….thanks for expressing it.

I WOULD like to meet you at some point, I have much to tell you about the Veteran situation mentioned in another thread….YES, there are HOMELESS Vets, and it took me [u]in[/u] [u]excess[/u] of TWENTY YEARS to see my disability claim to this point….and I still have to fight the VA. The VA has a policy of Deny or DELAY till the Vet either just gives up and walks away, or dies during the process…Dead Vets receive no benefits.

I hope you will re-think your stance, or belief that every Vet is being taken care of. It’s often a long bloody fight, with the VA as our greatest adversary.
YOU have helped me and others by providing good information, I just HOPE I can return the kindness.

Regards,
Dan.

[Vmc]

[quote=”maravilla”]you can walk to everything in san ramon as well. the entire town is twelve blocks long and twelve block wide with the concentration of businesses right in the center. san ramon is a cow town. it is not as slick as grecia which is why i like it; people still parade through town with their cows or horses in the back of their truck. the shopping is adequate, too, with everything you need. i don’t shop anywhere else so i know what’s here and where it is.[/quote]

Maravilla, Ii know you are a vegetarian, but we like chicken a lot, and every so-often a good steak or some burgers on the grill, or even Bar-B-Que….I know this might not be your area of concern, but for us omnivores, do you know if meat and chicken is good in the markets there? I EXPECT that our own diets will shift more toward vegetarian once there, and I welcome this, but my kids are voracious……I may have to feed them grubs and roots and stuff………..LOL

[Vmc]

[quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”vmc”]David….can you tell us more about living in Grecia?[/quote]

Whew! That’s a pretty broad question, Dan. Can I use more than one hundred words??

Grecia is very comfortable for us. It has all the amenities that other Central Valley towns have — shopping, medical care, etc. And we have shoe stores, used car lots and fereterias to pave hell a mile. The people have been universally warm and welcoming.

Grecia’s downtown is much more compact than San Ramon’s. That means that we can park in one place and walk to everything we need. It also means that there’s more congestion, more hustle and bustle, than in San Ramon. I like it.

We’re effectively about as far from Santa Ana and Escazu, the gringo shopping meccas, and San Jose as is San Ramon. We’re farther from the autopista than San Ramon is but closer once you’re actually on the highway. The time’s about the same.

We actually live 7.5km from town center in the barrio of [i]el Cajon[/i] which we like very much.

Not having children to educate, I can’t comment on schools.

Does that help?[/quote]

Yes, every tidbit of information helps…my Wife has all but packed our bags, we’re just awaiting the opportunity.

We’ve been talking about this for about 2 years or so, and Grecia is one of the areas we are GOING to look at while we’re there. I just hope that 7-10 days is enough time to look and not be so blinded by the looking that we fail to see some of the sights and places that make living there what we want to do.

I am curious about one other thing….And this isn’t a sticking point, just a matter of curiosity, but insects…..tell me about this.

we have read that ANTS are inescapable as well as other insects, but how much of a battle IS there, and I hate mosquitoes, they remind me too much of my ex-wife……Are there many to deal with?

And finally, what if any, dangerous insectae or other crawly-types should we be aware of?

Thanks again!

Dan.

[Vmc]

David….can you tell us more about living in Grecia?

I won’t need a job…thank the stars, but we are trying to get a sense of what living is like in certain areas….we like San Ramon too, but reading about it in a book isn’t everything…..Often too much sugar-coating…..What is the reality?

Dan.

[Vmc]

[quote=”CostaRicaDreamin”]Dan, I for one want to Thank You for your service to America. And Thank your son who is in Iraq for his service also. I have my eyes wide open as to where this country is headed, and wish you and your family all the best in the pursuit of Happiness! Please write back after your trip and honestly tell those of us who can’t go right now what you’ve found out. Debra[/quote]

Thank you Debra…… We Vets get little recognition , but honestly, most of us don’t SEEK it, most are just guys who did what they had to or needed to do.

I solemnly promise to write an account of our trip once we return, and remember…..Keep your EYES open and your POWDER DRY!

Some days I look around and ask “Where are we going, and WHY are we in this HANDBASKET!!??”

The US is in SERIOUS trouble, I just hope the Sheeple wake up soon…….and that’s all I have to say about that…

Dan.

[Vmc]

Looks like flights out of Tampa, Orlando or Miami are indeed the best deals……..I’m going to go start packing……LOL

[Vmc]

[quote=”maravilla”]the rainy season ends in december. it starts up again in mid-may.[/quote]

Gracias Maravilla, I hope we can target Mid-April then..If not sooner….We’re eagerly (Sarcasm applied) awaiting 1-3 inches of snow here right now, which will close schools for DAYS…I need some warm weather and warm-friendly people to pull me UP from this deep blue funk……LOL

[Vmc]

[quote=”*Lotus”]I think you sound reasonable enough Dan, and hell if you did want to criticize the US, who cares? That is a hard earned right of every American, especially a Vet!

Dan I don’t live in CR but have spent quite a bit of time there and have many friends, Tico, Gringo who live there full time.

On 4K a month you will live a grand life, send the kids to school and be able to buy yourself a good used car. Now get down there and see if you like the place!

From NYC to SJO I just payed $283 round trip on Continental in December. I know from Florida the tickets are much less out of Miami and can be double on the West Coast(I may have that backwards?) so set up a alert on Kayak.com with all surrounding airports.

Pura Vida[/quote]

WOW, Lotus, your reply has been MOST REFRESHING! but I thank you all equally, I hope this thread, as I said in an earlier post, helps someone else too.

Make me a recommendation on a good time to get down there, and please, I know that there are people all over, but recommend good places to live with a family…… Is San Ramon a good area? I think my wife likes what she’s reading about the area, but you can’t tell everything from reading, especially if the articles are dated.

We may only have a week or 10 days to spend, and DOUBT that we will be able to get it all done, but by Jiminy, we’re going to try.

THANKS AGAIN!!

Dan.

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