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[quote=”maravilla”]there is certainly a lot to whine about “up there.” i’ve given up that it’s going to get better any time soon; in fact, the predictions are that it will get a whole lot worse. so i can totally sympathize with anyone who wanted to bail out to a place that is not likely to impose martial law or spy on its own citizens (which they’ve been doing since the 60’s in breach of the CIA’s charter) and just live a simple life free of some of the stresses that our own gov’t has imposed. if there are NOT idiots running the country, then how did it get to this??? calling them idiots is actually too kind IMHO![/quote]
Thank you Maravilla, I’m glad SOMEONE understands…I guess there are fully indoctrinated Liberals everywhere……Absent that, I still hope that the info keeps flowing….. We’re hoping to get down there after April, whenever the rainy season has ended…..you might educate me on that too……LOL
I’ve gotten a lot of good information these last two days, to make the trip is our most anticipated next move.
Dan.
[quote=”pauldthomas”]Dan,
Sorry you are so frustrated with the U.S.A and as you call the idiots that are ruining the country. I totally believe its people like you that need to find their happiness somewhere else. Good luck where ever you end up!
Best wishes,
Denise[/quote]Sorry Denise if you took my comments to be too harsh, and I’m also sorry that you seem to be out of touch with the reality of what’s going on here……Are you in CR full time?
As I mentioned, I am a Veteran, and as such I am very aware and FAMILIAR with things going on here that you probably can’t fathom, I’ve been privy to things I’m sure you haven’t, and I’m glad for you that you [b]haven’t[/b] but I don’t want this to be about Politics, although you should TRUST me on that subject. I would rather get back to the discussion of what it takes to avoid the numerous pitfalls and hurdles facing one who wishes to come to Costa Rica for a change of air, and for the thrill of interacting with such a wonderful society and Country.
Still warmest regards,
Dan.
[quote=”pauldthomas”]Thank you so much for your last paragraph! [i]I agree he and his family need to pitch in and try to help the U.S. not just whine and run away.[/i] He might get to Costa Rica and realize the U.S.A. wasn’t so bad after all. His whole family needs to go visit Costa Rica for awhile before they go complaining about the U.S.A. Both countries have a lot of good and not so great things to offer families!
Thanks,
Denise[/quote]Denise, sorry, but I take exception to your characterization here, no one is “WHINING” and you HAVE NO IDEA what I personally have done to help improve things here in the US, so please think before you make such statements, not everone frustrated with things here is “WHINING” about it….I am offended.
To hear your post, all you have “HEARD” of what I said is that I am whining and running away from the US…..get a grip.
I’m not exactly the dullest tool in the shed, so please give me the courtesy of not jumping to the conclusion that I am not conscious of the fact that there is good and bad in BOTH worlds, so forget about the politics, we want a different life, PERIOD.
My wife is killing herself in a dead-end job so that we can just keep up, and I don’t want her best years to pass her by…. We BOTH long for a little adventure, and to see the places that most people only read about…if we can live on just my income, then it would be a step up for us……But don’t mistake our reasons for something mamby-pamby and so shallow as to be running away just because the American People seem to want to elect idiots to ruin the Country for us, that is a point of frustration, NOT a reason to leave.Regards,
Dan.
[quote=”jdocop”]Prior to asking whether or not that might be adequate for you and your family to live on, you need to ascertain whether or not your pension is acceptable to the government of Costa Rica for the purposes of obtaining legal residence. They require a written certified statement indicating the amount of your pension, and it must clearly state that the pension is payable for life. If the VA is not willing to give you such a statement, I don’t see how you could ever hope to qualify for legal residence.
2) Not sure I understand your fixation on whether or not you can buy a home. For one thing, you will find many, many Gringos here who insist it is flat bad to buy here, when rents are so cheap, and rental laws favor tenants. But, fyi, we were able to obtain a 30 year mortgage from our local bank, with a truly horrible interest rate, but that got our home built. As for buying a home already built, I can just about guarantee that you will find prices to be on the steep side, just because you are a gringo.
3) Since it appears that you have never visited CR, I would suggest that you are getting ahead of yourself. Despite whatever ability you all might achieve in speaking Spanish, and despite whatever preparation you might be doing now, if you have never visited, you have skipped the most important step in your process. Get here first. Look around. Then, think about whether or not Costa Rica is right for you.
4) Air fares for $200, or less, are becoming more and more rare, and when you do find them, you have to know that they are, as Maravilla said, mostly from points of departure that simply are not convenient for the average visitor. Live with it. Beyond that, you should know that without a credit card, you will likely miss out on most of the better fares, anyway.
5) The matter of not having a car can be addressed in a couple of ways. First, as Maravilla says, you could learn to live without one. Most Ticos do, and they do very well. Public transportation is actually very good here. We bought our car using a credit card for most of the cost, and agreeing to pay the balance within six months directly to the CR dealer. Again, no credit card might be a problem for you. Also, you should know that cars are very expensive to buy, to maintain, and to operate – way more so than in the states.I could go on, but bottom line for me is this: if you can’t find a way to at least visit CR, either learn to live where you are, or find somewhere that you can visit – and more than once – before you move your family anywhere.
Finally, one other thing that bothers me about your posts is that you say, among other things that the U. S. is in serious trouble. So, why is your answer to run away, rather than to pitch in and try to help? Do you seriously think that all of us who now live in Costa Rica live here because we hate the U. S., or felt like it was a drowning ship, or something? I’m sorry but the political climate in the U. S. was not the reason my wife and I retired here. Hell, if that was true, we would have left Texas when ‘W’ was first elected governor![/quote]
Thanks for your post John, but I think you misread our intentions…Politics IS NOT our sole motivation, it is just a factor….NOT the reason.
And it looks like you missed that we fully intend to visit before we make ANY kind of leap, but I appreciate your concern….your points surely are valid.
Like I acknowledged in an earlier post, I am cognisant that muhc adjustment in thinking is necessary, like where a car is concerned, and if I don’t ask kind folks like you before we come, how would we know what to expect?….your posts are much more valuable than I think even YOU know.
It seems that a few minutes HERE has effectively answered the few remaining questions we had.
First of all, NONE of this maters, until we actually plant our feet on Costa Rican soil, we knew this, and are SOOO looking forward to making friends.
Second…SCREW the credit/buying a house idea, we will be happy to rent.And while a vehicle would be nice, we have read over and over how good the public trans is there, and can live with that until such a time as a car becomes NECESSARY…..How’m I doing so far?
…But PLEASE don’t believe that I/WE hate the us, we only hate what’s being done to it while good people sit idly by and watch….I’m a Veteran, my Son-in-Law is in Iraq RIGHT NOW, I have family who work for the “Government”, I consider myself a Patriot, so leaving here has little to do with the politics of this errant government…rather it is about quality of life, giving my kids the gift of being more well-rounded by learning and LIVING a different culture, and while I loved Florida, I long for a similar climate only not so hot, and NOT beseiged with rude, self-important “Snowbirds” all winter.
Then there is the matter of Health……No McDonalds on every corner, I want to indulge in the wonderful fresh foods, people, scenery, and apparently altogether HAPPY culture that we have heard so much about.
We also like San Ramon, but my wife just pointed out that we are unsure more than ever about schools…..”Bilingual” doesn’t always mean “English Spoken Here”, and I am concerned about my kids becoming frustrated and unhappy before they can assimilate the language. (Us too, to a lesser degree)
I know that the people on this forum and this thread represent a wide range of locations, and determining the right one for us will be the most important consideration.
As for my income, I am a 100% permanently Disabled Vet, and my income exceeds $4000 with VA and Social Security combined, with SS, being the smallest amount, and I don’t have ANY concerns about being able to verify it, so I can check THAT off the list.
Keep it coming folks…Maybe someone else has similar concerns and this thread might help them as well…
Dan.
[quote=”maravilla”]forget credit. why would you want it? the key to real financial independence is to ditch the notion that credit improves your life. it doesn’t. it’s a noose around your neck. you didn’t mention kids in your first post. i don’t know what it costs to school them here. i don’t know what you mean by bare essentials. for me not having a TV is a [b]luxury[/b]. there are so many other things to do here for kids besides watch TV, and what do you mean by “gringo comforts”? if that’s a bunch of high-priced packaged food, well, i don’t know anything about that either, i just know i would never spend $9.00 on a sack of Oreos, mainly because i don’t eat them anyway. if you’ve read other posts on this thread you will see that i have said that my husband an i live on about $800 a month down here, but then our house is paid for. we have high speed internet, but no TV. we do whatever we want to do, which isn’t much really, eat gourmet food, entertain, have nice clothes, good sheets (that’s a luxury for me!), i don’t know what else there is in life. we don’t have a car, but right now that’s by choice. with kids i guess it’s different. it would be nice to wean your kids off the grid of american consumerism. most kids here don’t have gameboys, xbox, or whatever all the stuff is, or even a computer — the internet cafes are filled with students when school is in session. whether you can survive on two grand or four grand will depend on what you really deem important to the quality of your life. $4 grand is more than most lawyers or doctors make here. it’s surely a lot more than my dentist makes, but only you will know what you can and cannot live without.[/quote]
WOW…thank you once again..
I guess that AS MUCH reading and thought adjustments we’ve made already, we still have a ways to go…. I need to stop thinking about what is all around us here, $9 OREOS? I will surely perish……….LOL
I guess our concerns about credit only extend to whether or not we will ever be able to buy a house, other than that, we have been denied access to what others deem “normal” credit for so long that it is only important where a home is concerned. AGAIN an adjustment must be made, and like I said and am WELL AWARE of, we MUST come down and spend some time.
Please, I don’t mean to hijack this thread, or defer from others’ concerns and questions, but please, as long as your patience will allow, keep it coming, it’s GOOD to hear the kind of information that comes from those who KNOW.
[quote=”maravilla”]first of all, it’s the high season so airfares are expensive right now. but only two or three times in 17 trips did i ever get an airfare less than $500 from Denver. the cheap flights are usually out of florida, but that’s not close to where you are.
you can live very very very well on $4000 a month, and in fact, if you aren’t extravagant, you can probably live better than you are living now on half that amount, giving you two grand to stash every month. there should be no problem finding a lovely place to live for less than $600 a month, probably even less.[/quote]
Thank you Maravilla, I have enjoyed reading your posts…… I’m not afraid to go back to Florida for the less expensive airfares, but I still haven’t found them…no matter WHAT time of year, but will keep looking.
I failed to mention that we have a 15 year-old Daughter and 9 year-old son as well….we KNOW that schools will be important, and have done our due diligence researching them….. We, after exhaustive reading, like Grecia, but KNOW that until we’ve been there, and I mean Costa Rica in general, we won’t know where we want to be.
Like I said, we worry about being able to have a home…..YES we will rent, we’ll HAVE to, and we’re USED to renting, but don’t want this to be the trend for the remainder of our days…….I want t be able to leave something for my kids and wife.
With kids, I am sure that it’s more advantageous to have a car as well, and are looking for those answers too.
If you are telling me that we can live ok on $2000 a month, does that mean bare-essential, no TV (Remember, I have kids….LOL), and NO Gringo comforts? Don’t get me wrong, I am ready, I can simplify with the best of them, but when you add kids to the equation, it may mean needing “SOME” of the comforts of home, after all, it is THEY who have to adapt as well.
Reading the VOLUMES we have read, it is still best to hear from someone who is “LIVE AND ON THE GROUND” so to speak, so respective of things like the rainy season and all, what time of year would YOU recommend to come?
Also, do you know how credit will affect our ability to do the things we want to do?
Thank you SO MUCH for your reply.
Dan.
Hi everyone! Try THIS one on for size.
We have NO FEARS, we LONG to make the move. What holds US back is not knowing how to handle certain situations…. I am a 49 (50 in April) year-old Disabled Veteran. I have a disability income that SHOULD make life bearable ($4000+), but some hurdles have been thrown in our path for quite some time. We survived Hurricane Charley in 2004, and were ruined financially by FEMA’s “HELP”, and the ensuing years since then have not seen anything improve but our ability to pay our bills (My wife makes fair money). What kills us is that we have nothing saved up, and have a very hard time being ABLE to save….everything went/goes out the door. For us to live, everything has to be in CASH, as our CREDIT here in the US is RUINED now, and recovery will take YEARS UPON YEARS. Credit, because of a very prejudicial and un-decipherable credit reporting and scoring system here in the US, is all but IMPOSSIBLE to correct in the course of ONE human lifetime.
My wife is HUNGRILY reading everything she can find, learning Spanish, devouring all the advice and information she/we can find, yet we haven’t found the answers that will allay OUR fears. We are afraid we WILL NOT be able to buy a house, We don’t have money for $40,000 down on a house, and if we DID, what then? Will we even be able to have a car? If we do, will SO MUCH of our income be consumed, that we can’t afford to live on my income alone, even in that wonderful place that has so much to offer?
I think we have MOST of our questions answered except THOSE. We are eager to embrace the life down there. We want to get away from the deterioration of our lives here in the US under what soon will be Communist or perhaps Sharia rule….we have a usurper in the White House, and the American people have been lulled to sleep by their own apathy.
We have searched far and wide for these few answers, but have yet to find them, therefore we hesitate. Is my income enough to make a decent life there? Will we be limited to something akin to a hovel to live in? will we be able to travel when we wish, or will we be worse off altogether?
For those who inevitably race to judge, we are no trailer trash, we are NOT irresponsible with our money and credit and ARE NOT looking for an easy way out…. We have been dealt some serious blows (I haven’t told it all here) and are just sick and tired of the deck being stacked against us….. Here in the us, the FIRST hint, first INSTANCE of not having normal credit, and it’s “DOG PILE ON THE GUY WHO IS DOWN” you are KEPT at a disadvantage, until/unless you have help of some kind, and we’re fed up.
The US is in serious trouble, and the people will sit idly by and let it happen………….we want out.
So, until we can have answered these last few nagging questions, we will REMAIN in a holding pattern……We HOPE to be able to come down sometime this summer, but here again…WHERE ARE ALL THESE INEXPENSIVE AIRFARES that people throw around so liberally when talking about visiting CR? I’ve never seen the likes of some of these prices, and I consider myself somewhat CAPABLE when searching for such things.
We live near Nashville TN and we’ve looked at departure points ALL OVER the US and STILL can’t find anything cheaper than a THOUSAND DOLLARS for two, round-trip……Where do all of these people FLY from who get airfares less than $200? Are we seeing a lot of BS or hype?
SOMEONE…..PLEASE help set us on the path! HOW do we get the answers we need?
Best wishes to all! (Or should I have said “Pura Vida”?)
Dan.
