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That’s right. It is accepted practice in CR to maintain the utilities in the name of the property owner.
Am I completely out of it now? Have things changed that much? The 72 hour rule is for immigration, not customs. The customs exoneration is available to all, Ticos and foreigners alike, every 6 months. When I applied for my residency, the proof of submission had the immediate effect of legalization, without any further issues.
Sounds like it’s all changing now, but those were the previous rules.
Conclusion: Don’t listen to me or anyone else, unless they’re a CR attorney who specializes in immigration.
So, Goodwill gave you the comforters for a song, and the Ticos in the storage outfit took them off your hands for free once they accomplished their mission. Such a deal!
Plan for the theft, and when it happens, your plan will have worked. Brilliant!
aquirrewar,
The old rule is you can extend your personal stay only one time before you have to leave the country for 72 hours. I don’t think they ever changed that.
My question is, if you have a Tica wife, why not just apply for residency? It is “in force” as soon as you apply, regardless of how long it takes to be processed. It does have to be renewed annually, at a cost, so I’m not sure which is more expensive. It is, however, much more convenient. It may also afford you a tremendous tax break with the IRS.
Just remember, while the FDIC covers your deposits, up to $200,000, in all banks and S&Ls in the U.S., the Costa Rican government only insures deposits in State-owned banks, (BCR, BNCR, BCAC and BICSA). That said, I can’t remember a single private bank failure in CR over the last 25 years. Anyone else heard of one?
Ione, Why so intolerant? Can’t people say what they think without being told to
go back to their (parent’s) homeland? What’s that about?Scott,
WLCR has tremendous value to a lot of people, for different reasons. I’m certain that all of us, regardless of our ideology, would like to see that value preserved and nurtured further.
To do so takes money, and frankly, deserves money. I could definitely see how some parts of the site could be monetized.
As a matter of fact, thanks for the free lunch all this time!
I, however, will remain honorably anonymous. I am humbled by Scott’s courage to say what he thinks so openly (no matter how outlandish!), but I would never choose to do so myself. Cowardice? Wisdom? Who knows. Probably a little of both…
Sorry for the apparently (and unfortunately) arcane reference. Your said first they restrict your driving, next they’ll say you can’t drive an SUV. It’s a classic political argument against anything status quo, and is being used heavily in the case for universal health insurance now (let the government establish a public option, and the next thing you know all health care will be nationalized). The “Domino Theory”, as its called, is used by both liberals and conservatives equally as a scare tactic to put the kybosh on the opposing party’s agenda.
I don’t believe in it. I think that politics and policies are a sliding scale. Sometimes the pendulum does swing pretty widely (like from George W. to Obama, or worse yet from Batista to Castro), but most of the time it just inches a bit to the right or left, as it should.
You’re right, obviously, that they should have been thinking about this many years ago. Unfortunately, the buildings in San Jose were constructed back in the days of the horse-drawn carreta. Making SJ more transitable will eventually mean tearing down a whole bunch of buildings – like Napoleon did in Paris (was that Napoleon?). I think it’s more likely that the city center will simply become pedestrian only (as parts of it already have).
I am, however, surprised you think that roads are easy to fund for a resource-starved country like Costa Rica. I don’t think your idea of tolls to go through downtown will fly either.
It’s a tough nut to crack.
It would cost a lot less to put flags on “safe” beaches, but even those aren’t safe at times. The fact is that there are unlabeled dangers of all sorts throughout Costa Rica. People have to decide for themselves what is safe and what is not, without anyone telling them. If you want to walk around the rim of the Irazu Volcano, no one will stop you (unless they changed the rules in the last decade).
The up side is this is one of the things that make Costa Rica a freer society than the U.S., where our elected representatives believe they should write more and more laws to “protect” us. This overkill results in bourgeoning bureaucracy, a diversion of police services to enforcing petty ordinances instead of concentrating on real crime, and a general reduction in liberty.
Costa Rica is still the “Wild West” in this sense. More dangerous, more free. Everything has its price.
Playa Espadilla, like almost all Costa Rican beaches fully exposed to the ocean, is indeed very dangerous. I avoid it completely, opting for the incredible beauty and tranquility of the beach on the other side of the park.
Kimball – Slippery slope? Yeah, and if South Vietnam falls, all of Asia will fall. I don’t go for that domino theory anymore.
Obviously you’re right though – it is a “restriction in travel”, despite what David said. However, the infrastructure requirements to solve the situation are way beyond the reach of the government coffers (as David correctly noted), and anyone that drove in San Jose before and after the implementation of the law will tell you that the difference was huge. The fact is that without it, San Jose is totally gridlocked for several hours each day, and nobody can get anywhere, except the curriers. I totally agree with David that the negative economic and environmental impact of these extraordinary traffic jams, not to mention the inconvenience (oops, I guess I just did…), greatly outweighs the relatively small problem of finding another way into town once a week.
Just confirming my friend. What’s true is worth repeating. orcas06’s comment seemed to leave some doubt.
I got all my money back after the Banco Anglo went down.
And since the Banco Anglo Costarricense was State-owned, like Banco Nacional & Banco de Costa Rica, all depositors were indeed FULLY compensated, just like the FDIC would do in the US. Private banks operating in Costa Rica have no such government guaranty.
I disagree Sprite. Theft is endemic in Costa Rica, affecting both rich and poor alike, nationality notwithstanding. The only difference is the value of the particular items stolen. This is nothing new for Ticos, and they have their ways of coping. However, expats must be made to recognize the primacy of the issue in order to counter the prevailing “it won’t happen to me” or “he’s exaggerating” attitudes (like Maravilla and others had before they were hit, and like I had as well, years ago), and seriously commit to developing a strategic approach to mitigate the problem, both in economic and psychological terms.
What is more recent is the violence. There used to be extremely little (pre-Sandinista/Contras era). Now there is much more. How much, or how it compares to other places is up for debate, but any Tico will tell you to have a few thousand colones on hand at all times (and not much else) so you have something to surrender if accosted, and thus (hopefully) avoid a licking.
I don’t particularly believe there’s more violence in Costa Rica than elsewhere (although I do feel it’s getting worse), but in this respect I think Sprite is closer to the mark. I’m much more confident in my ability to avoid a violent confrontation in Costa Rica (particularly since it’s never happened), than I am about keeping my things from walking (which was a regular occurrence).
Maravilla,
I’m sorry it happened to you.
You can’t say you weren’t warned MANY times.
You did the right thing by keeping little of value.
I understand EXACTLY how you feel, the personal violation, the ire, the loss of faith.
I’m amazed at your total about-face on matters of violence. Give yourself some time for the trauma to wear off. But my God woman, you weren’t even in the country when it happened! Get a grip!
I repeat, for the nth time, the best possible advice for anyone thinking of moving to Costa Rica:
BUY A CONDO IN A TRULY GATED COMMUNITY.
Even then, furnish & equip it cheaply, and drive a common (but not popular) used vehicle.
