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[quote=”costaricabill”] My reason for asking has nothing to do with my committing any capital crime, I only want to know because my quad isn’t exactly street legal and so far the local “blue shirts” have not had an issue with it, but now we have 2 Turisticos in town full time and more frequent visits by the Transitos.[/quote]
Only the transitos can issue traffic tickets but don’t get on the bad side of any of the others. They can make sure you stay put until transito arrives.
We have several jackasses riding as fast as 70 in Colon on their outrageously loud quads zipping in, out and around traffic in Colon and I’d like to see them ticketed.
Your best bet…get it licensed.
[quote=”vanderlinden”][quote=”costaricafinca”]Changed my post, since I misread your post.
I suggest you contact Charles Zeller,
E-mail: shiptocostarica@racsa.co.cr.[/quote]the e-mail is not correct[/quote]
Try this one: info@shipcostarica.com
Charlie Zeller is a top-notch shipper who handled our shipping in 2007. He apparently has a lot of fans.
[quote=”GEEGEE”] Same in coming back in from Panama. We waited for 3-4 hours coming from Panama, because they decided to have a STAFF MEETING AT 1:00 in the afternoon.
SILLY US….:) Common sense is rare here in C.R.and the Government is worse for common sense or logic. [/quote]This is not directed specifically at GEEGEE but to all who complain about how things are and how they are done in Costa Rica.
We are guests in a beautiful country and live among wonderful people for the most part. Some will take advantage of a Gringo at the drop of a hat but that should be expected in a poor country.
The problems that you perceive are due to the differences in culture. I have seen various claims saying that up to 40% of expats end up leaving because they cannot deal with the culture. You can learn to live within the culture or you are constantly aggravated by it. My first year here was stressful to the point of losing 25% of my bodyweight but the benefits of the country, climate, and the people and where we live far outweighed the problems that we went through.
Although my wife belongs to the Newcomers Women’s Club and a book club of English speakers, I have no association with expats other than here on welovecostarica.com
If you read the following you will have a better insight into what you are facing.
[url=https://www.welovecostarica.com/public/731.cfm ]Culture Shock & Cross Cultural Adjustment[/url]
[url=http://www.hillquest.com/community/lairarchive/lairabout53.htm]The Adjustment Period[/url]
[url=http://forums.kiplinger.com/archive/index.php/t-7414.html]PopGoesWeasel[/url]
When you are on the welovecostarica.com web site, on the home page, do a search for “Eric Liljenstolpe”. He has a good take on cultural differences. He also has four videos on youtube.
[quote=”davis2″]Would beg to differ about Grecia. We were there last year. Small downtown area is very crowded, small unmarked roads and streets that don’t show up on GPS, insane drivers, kids begging for money, [/quote]
Some of us will never understand that we are guests in a poor country and will forever complain about all that they see is wrong in trying to compare Costa Rica to the U.S.
As a primarily agricultural nation, many of the smaller towns are centers of the agricultural communities and considering that many of the Ticos shop for their food on a near daily basis the town centers can be quite lively.
The Tico method of giving directions depends on landmarks rather than street names, which are useless under the circumstances.
Costa Rica is not at the top of the list of priorities for the GPS map makers. You find your way around by living here, not by visiting for a couple of weeks.Insane drivers??? I am referred to by many Ticos who know me as “Gringo Loco” when I get behind the wheel. I have had a lifelong habit of paying attention to the road to the exclusion of everything else. It is a habit that stood me in good stead in the States and serves me well here. The vast majority of Ticos are inattentive to the road, paying much attention to their friends and neighbors or parking in the middle of the street to chat with their friends. These are farming communities and the habits here are much as they were in the farming communities of the U.S. before WW II.
As in any poor nation there are far more beggars in the streets than in the U.S. Unemployment is very high in Costa Rica and at any stop light in San Jose you are apt to find vendors, beggars, jugglers and other entertainers trying to make a living from whatever they are capable of doing.
[quote=”davis2″]and if it IS the cleanist city in Central America I would hate to see the dirtiest, Don’t believe all the hype. Don’t believe the lovely pictures you see in travel guides or on the internet. For example the lovely park is a dump. It may have been a nice little place at one time but don’t be fooled, times have changed. You will not understand this until you go there.[/quote]
I live near Ciudad Colon and I consider it a clean town. We have people who drop their trash as they walk or drive along as if they were in the local dump just as people do in the States.
Although the municipality has maintained a clean-up force in the streets since before we moved here, for the first time my property taxes will include maintenance of streets, parks and public places.[b]We live in a beautiful country filled with wonderful people. If you cannot see that forest for the twigs in front of you I have to wonder if it is worth living here.[/b]
[quote=”costaricafinca”]Harping on an old(er) subject … me :roll:… with regard to trauma care, at a CAJA facility. I was discharged after an overnight stay, with no follow up instructions and/or care after suffering a multiple fractured pelvis plus other injuries requiring total immobility for 5 weeks. Elsewhere, according to a friend who is a nurse, I would have been kept hospitalized for up to 2 months.[/quote]
I have always questioned after care, even in the States. Private hospitals tend to keep you just to inflate the bill. Caja, on the other hand is trying to provide the best service at the lowest possible cost.
A team of doctors evaluates you every morning and decides what is the best course to take. Then is the time that you have to ask questions about home care.
After a surgery I had all the right questions regarding cleaning the surgical wound but even so I ended up with a septic infection because we were not aggressive enough in the cleaning. I ended up with another 10 days in the hospital. I blame myself rather than the Caja system for my problem.
We are living in a society that is vastly different from where we came from. One thing that we expats have to remember is that Ticos bow to authority. When they are told by a doctor to rest they assume total rest. We expats tend to be more aggressive and push to get going again.
[quote=”Disabled Veteran”]This question may be slightly off track, however, have any other veterans or friends of veterans in Costa Rica utilized TRICARE Latin America and The Veterans Administration Foreign Medical Program?[/quote]
When it comes to the topic of medical care and where to get the best services at the best cost I don’t think anything is off track.
These questions have to be asked and answered, if possible. As we get up in years medical service becomes the most important aspect of our lives.
[quote=”Camby”]
true enough, seems that some countries seem to respect older people then others..some offer older people more benefits..etc..[/quote]One thing about the Ticos is that they do respect the elderly. I was in San Juan de Dios for a burst appendix in December 2010 and a couple of the men were over 90 and getting the best of treatment.
I can’t argue Maravillas parts replacement comment but everyone gets treated the same as far as the care is concerned.
One of the young men (30-35) had his chest crushed under a load of sacks and hung in for five months in a coma before passing away.
[quote=”sueandchris”]I know that you have had good experiences with the CAJA. Do you know of any way to avoid that lo-o-o-ong wait in the emergency/waiting area that goes along with admission for an approved surgery or treatment? Can your local CAJA doc help navigate that issue?[/quote]
What we face is the difference in the medical culture. You may have to wait the same length of time in the private practice but you are provided with comfortable seating and a variety of magazines to pass the time but Caja does everything in the most cost effective way possible. You get to sit on uncomfortable benches or plastic chairs with nothing to pass the time.You may pass the same amount of time but it is made more bearable in the private industry and you pay for the comfort. Be prepared with a pillow if necessary and something to pass the time.
There are two things that get you faster service in the Caja system…age and a true emergency. I’m 70 years old so get priority when waiting for preventive care at the local clinic.
My wife is in HSJD waiting for cancer surgery right now and I have to go see her now but I will be back this afternoon to add to this.
Is there a minimum length of time that an employee must work for you in order to receive any severance?
Aguinaldo is a given even if they work for one day.
[quote=”sueandchris”]Our good friends moved to Costa Rica. One of the most important reasons for the move was that they were unable to obtain ANY insurance for the wife because of a chronic condition. So getting CAJA was a real godsend for them. Recently (just after getting residency/CAJA approved), she had to have an emergency appendectomy. The local clinic did the initial diagnosis and sent them to the Alajuela hospital for further testing and the surgery.
Waiting in the emergency area was very long and arduous, especially since the husband possesses limited Spanish. They were really helped by many Ticos (strangers) who were also waiting. It took almost two days for her surgery to happen. The surgery was successful. They had to learn to exist in the eight-room wards and communicate with the nurses and docs as the recovery week ensued. It was a week fraught with challenges and learning to use the healthcare in a totally different culture.
However, when she left the hospital after nearly a week, a successful surgery, medications, many tests and a long-aftercare to watch for infection (as opposed to “treat ’em and street ’em” even in good hospitals in the States), they walked out with a wave and not one penny owed.
What they learned will help all of us who may need the CAJA for more intense care in the future. For instance, they found out that they could hire a nurse for private duty to stay with a patient at night..making sure that good care is received 24 hrs per day.
Is it different? Yes. Is it slower? Yes. Did it work….absolutely.
We know folks who blend their private INS coverage for private hospitals with their CAJA coverage.[/quote]
My wife and I depend solely on Caja and have learned how to work within their requirements. We do not wait in long lines at 5AM to get a non-emergency appointment. We go in late morning or afternoon and the appointment has never been more than two days later.
My wife has been treated for two unrelated cancers, heart stents and suffers from diabetes with neuropathy, fibromyalgia, arthritis, gout and elevated blood pressure and cholesterol.
We have been totally satisfied with our care and preventive care. With a total of just over two months in hospital we have never found it necessary to have someone babysit. The nurses are very good and very dedicated to our care.
My Spanish is passable and my wifes is non-existent but the doctors all speak English and there is always someone nearby who can assist with translation for the nurses and receptionists. If you learn to work within the system the results areas good or better than the medical syste in the States or private care here. 😀
By the way…Hospital San Juan de Dios is one of the top cancer centers ib the world.
[quote=”PatFromTX”] My question is this: Am I insane to think I could move there totally alone with nothing but Social Security to live on?[/quote]
The cost of living is rising but you can make it easily on $1,000 if you are not addicted to a totally American lifestyle and can “go Tico” for housing and food. For transportation, the bus system here is incredibly good when you learn the routes.
We live near Ciudad Colon, San Jose and there is at least one retired single woman living in town who is doing quite well in a nice rented home. I’ll see if I can arrange a way for you to communicate with her.[quote=”PatFromTX”]I should add that I am certified to teach English as a 2nd language, and while I have only very basic Spanish understanding, I am workinkg to improve on that now.[/quote]
There are many Tico English teachers but there is a need for those who can teach proper pronunciation. I do so on a sporadic basis and am not certified. Costa Rican certification is probably a good idea.Your comments would be most appreciated.
Thanks!
Pat from Dallas, TX[/quote]
[quote=”debbieincr”]Love him or hate him, it is difficult to disagree with what Ortega in Nicaragua says about drugs in the U.S.
Ortega said the spread of regional drug violence was rooted in the U.S.’ inability to control its drug consumption.
“Why don’t they concentrate their resources on controlling the consumption of drugs in their country?” he added. “While they continue to fail to control the consumption of drugs, they continue to contaminate and poison this region.”
From Fridays Tico Times.
Would you agree or disagree with this?[/quote]
I have to agree with him.
On one side legalizing Marijuana would serve several purposes…
1 ~ Make marijuana a domestic product. I have heard that what is grown in California is some of the best in the world.
2 ~ Reduce the costs of prosecution and the prison population.
3 ~ Tend to correct the import/export balance.On the other side considering the damage done to society maybe a mandatory death sentence for dealers in the harder drugs might tend to slow the trafficking. 😀
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]Every place I look on the Internet says that Social Security will mail forms 1099-R to Social Security recipients on January 31st which means that ours will arrive sometime mid-April (maybe). You can also print them online, but not until January 31st.
Does anyone know a more immediate way to download this information?[/quote]
I’m waiting to get the payor information for our SS and as far as I know the only thing we can do is wait for them to supply the info on their web site.
[quote=”caliskatari”]I recently had my wallet, passport, etc. stolen and now I am left with no form of ID, etc. My Costa Rican drivers license which was stolen, how does one go about replacing this? I got the license by showing my US license at the time, I did not have to take the driving tests, etc.. Will the office simply make me a new copy, or do I have to go through the process all over again?[/quote]
I have no idea what you are going to have to go through but my best thought is to find your local Trafigo and tell him what the problem is and ask him what you need to do. These guys are very helpful in my experience. 😀
This is an issue that I hadn’t thought about. I have just copied the pertinent information for my drivers lisence and cedula into an excel file that I keep for important information. Thanks for the post.
