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As David noted you may want to maintain a US bank acount. To do this in the post 9/11 world has become more difficult. Banks and the government want a physical address, not just a PO box as your address. Once you have that account setup then if your address changes. . .
But you need to do this prior to your move. Many people use mail box and forwarding services in Miami, FL to handle mail then from most of the world you can manage your bank accounts on-line. However, in CR the systems are usually in Spanish.
Mail boxes, even US PO boxes must be kept paid up or you can lose that address. The USPO only alows payment for 1 year. Private systems may accept longer contracts.
One of my US business accounts (I could not find which one when I looked) offers a special credit card to give to overseas clients in order to make payments to them. You transfer the money to a special part of your account then it can be taken out overseas. This avoids wire transfer fees which run about $30 per transfer. This is not much on large transfers but is a lot from a social security check or other modest retirement plan. This is similar to using a check card at an ATM but the amount that can be withdrawn is limited to the part you set aside for transfer.
There are a variety of methods to handle this. A lot depends on if you are maintaining ties in the US. Are you going to maintain your US drivers license? Keep any accounts in the US? Have business with US based mailing? You need a long term plan that answers these questions.
We were in CR in January and rented a little 4 seat Diatsu Terios from Europacar via. Tico Travel for 3 weeks. It cost $1200 total including minimum required insurance with other damages on my CC. This was the second time I rented from these folks and I was very happy.
However, this is nearly the bottom of the line in a 4WD 4 passanger car. Larger cars cost more. The back seat is designed for small people or young children. It DID have luggage space in back and a rack on top. If we had been 4 adults traveling together we would have had to have been very very careful about luggage OR brought a tarp and tie downs to put lugage on the roof (plan on bringing your own). We wanted the extra space for friends that live in CR (no luggage)
Rates vary depending on if it is high season (dry) or low (wet). Jan-Mar is peak high season.
You can get a similar car for $35/day ($735 three weeks) from http://www.renta4x4incostarica.com. However, they were all booked up when we tried to get reservations AND they are smaller cars than you want.
I’d expect to rent the size car you want during high season for $800/week including insurance.
Buy in Costa Rica. There are many reasons.
1) You don’t really save anything. The extra cost of the local tax must be paid in either case.
2) There is a huge amount of paperwork (certified international emissions testing, Spanish translation) that must be processed. There are costs involved and you will likely have to pay for duplicate tests in CR.
3) If you purchase a vehical that is not available in CR how are you going to keep it maintained?
4) To drive to CR is almost 10 days through places that you will end up paying bribes to various officials just to pass. Add $1500 cash to the cost of the car plus fuel and your time.
5) Once there the vehical has to be “nationalized”, put into there system and pass all the tests listed above. You could spend weeks chasing paperwork.
If you are moving to CR then you should start supporting the local economy. One of the things required for you to stay is to convert so many dollars to colones and spend them in the local economy each year. An automobile is a good start.
Senta Etal,
Crime in Costa Rica compared to the United States.
There has been a flurry of statistics flouted about on these things and here are some of the problems.
US cities, especially downtown areas do not reflect life in most of the United States. Although the statistics for US crime in cities is higher than in Costa Rica few people in the US live in homes with walls toped with razor wire and steel security bars on every window and door. You DO ocassionaly see this in MAJOR US cities but it is not so prevelant as in San Jose.
Rural and smalltown USA is much more peaceful and secure. For all my life in the US I have been able to leave the keys in my cars, leave doors unlocked, leave valuables out in the open. I have never had an automobile broken into and never worry about where I park. Millions of US citizens live without fear of crime their entire lives.
Even in rural Costa Rica you have gates, burglar bars and all the realestate gurus (including Scotto) warn you not to leave your home unattended for an extended time. Guards or grounds keepers are a requirement.
In the US my parents used to have a vacation home on a lake where it was remote but within 100 feet of a well traveled public road. Over a twenty year period they only lived there about 50% of the time and never worried about breakins. There were no burgler bars and the locks were marginal. That is life for most non-urban US citizens (even in the “crowded” Eastern corridor).
The majority of crime in Costa Rica is theft (thus all the burgler bars). The reason for the prevelence of propery crime is poverty and the low wages which are also one of the reasons people want to move there, it costs less to live there. As long as there is this huge difference in wealth there will always be property crime. The same is true in the US. The poor flock to cites thinking there are more opportunities and find less. Drugs are also a more prevelent problem in US cites and drive up crimes of all sorts but especialy property crime.
To put things in perspective a friend in Costa Rica pointed out that I should be more careful about leaving my new digital camera laying about, even at his home. Although he trusted his employees, that camera represented a year’s wages for most of his workers and could be a great temptation. He prefered we did not flaunt our comparitive wealth and he was right. In the US that same camera might be a target but it would only pay for a drug addict’s “fix” for a few days, not let him feed his family for a year. . .
A friend from Chile told me a story about when he first moved to the US. He was invited to a subburban backyard barbeque. While there he looked into the open garage and the wall covered with tools. He thought he worked with his host but did not understand all these tools. He asked the host what other business he was in. The host did not quite understand the question and my friend did not quite believe the answer of “none”. My friend said that in Chile he would have been rich to have that many tools and would have had many employees working for him to use those tools! Here it was just the typical middle class homeowner collection of rarely used tools proudly displayed on the garage wall. . .
Most of us that plan to move to Costa Rica for retirement or other reasons are immensely rich compared to the average Tico. The simple things we think of a normal necesities of life are extravagances for many of these people. However, if the economic standard of living was the same as in the US we would not be moving there. . .
You could list dozens of urban places in the US and without having been there I could tell you they are not a place most US citizens would want to live. I could also give you a list of thousands of places with low crime and peaceful living. And perhaps YOU would not want to live in those places because there is no public transportation, no Kosher deli or YMCA within walking distance, no daily Fed-Ex pickup, no night clubs and no pizza delivery. Most of the US lives without night clubs, bars, live theater and world class museuems. If you want these things then where you live is YOUR choice and it will come with higher crime. The places YOU chose to live are no worse than similar places anywhere else in the world.
I know if I move to Costa Rica I will lose some of the safety and security I have now. But I will gain the lack of winter, cooler summer, the ablity to live well on a modest retirement, have a nicer home than I can afford in the US and even have a full time housekeeper!
The only problem I see with Costa Rica is that it is a very small country and the problems of urbanization may quickly overtake the entire country. AND, If the economy improves too much it will not be as economical a place to live. . . Maybe I need to look at Tonga again. . 😉
Note that the vara (a length unit) and the manzana (area unit) derived from the vara are different in each country that use them (a very few agree). If you check more than one Costa Rican realestate site with a conversion table or calculator you will find they many do not agree, WITHIN Costa Rica.
When I last looked I could not find an “official” Costa Rican conversion factor for these units. I am sure there is one but I would like to see it from an official government source.
Knowing the approximate conversions is good when discussing land because everyone in Costa Rica uses these terms (and others as well). But when you go to buy have the survey in Meters if you really want to know what you have.
The problem with non-standard units still troubles many industries (such as sheet metal in gauge or weight) and it is recommended to use either the Inch/Foot or Metric system as both are recognized international standards if you want to be absolutly certain about dimensions.
Personaly I do not care about fine details of area but I DO want to see properly marked metes and bounds with metal or stone monuments that can be found and that the neighbors agree are correct. Wooden stakes are something that is easily moved and that you pay for over and over.
Did you know that you can walk into most Tico Ferreaterias (hardware stores) and purchase metric OR english fasteners? Most Tico workmen can also work in both metric and English units. This is something few people do anywhere other than Central America.
First, See Scott’s post. Then consider the offer above of a guide.
Folks that have investigated this claim that Mexico is most of the problem but the “Police” in all the countries you are passing through are NOT your friends looking out for you as they do in the US. It is my understanding that petty graft may cost you $1500 to just pass through Mexico. And it is an art to handle.
Everyone will tell you NOT to try to bring a vehicle into Costa Rica. It is much easier to buy one in country. However, if you are driving down and BACK then it is much less of a problem. The dogs could cost you a several week wait at every border.
Paying a professional mover is most economical unless you have multiple container loads of stuff to move. The cost from the port nearest you may be no different than from Miami. Containerized freight does not consider distance as much as other factors (port fees, loading. . ).
CAFTA:
Without the US this would be a good deal for Central America where most of the countries are on an equivilant economic level and have the same problems. But add the US to the mix and all fairness is myth.
The big problem Costa Rica will have is that the majority of its revenues come from import taxes (just as did the US’s prior to WWII and the Income Tax). CAFTA seeks to remove most of those import taxes. This will force Costa Rica to tax something else and in the meantime there will be an economic mess.
The fact is that Globalizing forces have hurt Costa Rica and they have begun to fight back. The move to reforest with indigenous species is a big step in that direction. It is the result of the World Bank saying cut trees, raise cattle. . . then to stem the errosion and flooding. . reforest using North American fast growers. . . another disaster that on top of everything else LOOKS stupid. This is Central America, NOT Idaho.
Years ago National Geographic published an article about Costa Rica titled “Cost Rica stears the middle path”. The title refered to its politics and economics. I think Costa Rica is enough different, and enough better than the rest of Central America that it should continue to seek its own way.
Edited on May 16, 2006 14:04
Costa Rica is not Mexico or just another “Bannana Republic”. It is THE Peace Loving (and that means Law abiding) part of Central America.
In general in CR you can trust the Police as much as you can in the US. On our last trip to CR we were stopped on a very rural road at a license check. After funbling for the rental papers I handed the non-English speaking officer my US driver’s license. He glanced it over and said, “Virhinia”, (the best he could pronounce Virginia) and smiled and I said, “See, Virginia”, and he handed back my license and waved us on.
We were on a low traffic rural road, the perfect place for a hold up. In any other central American country I might have been worried, but not in Costa Rica. We were not stopped because we were in a rental car (they are not clearly marked as such), we were stopped because they were stopping everyone, just as is done all over the US.
The fact is that in most of Costa Rica the police are way understaffed and you are less likely to have trouble with them than driving on US highways. Costa Rica also takes malfeasance at any level of goverenment very seriously. They recently jailed an ex President for taking bribes. . imagine what they would do to a police officer!
Dr. David Viquez R., Clinica Dental del Norte is very good. He has two offices, one in San Jose'(I think) and the other in Cuidad Quasada. My lady friend just had dentures made there and is going back for post implants to hold the lowers in. He is also my friends’ dentist there and they have been very happy with him.
He speaks English very well. His clinica is on the edge of town on the road to Aguas Zarcas (from San Jose turn right at the end of the block that the Catedral and park is on).
506-560-2585 or 460-7181
Cuidad Quasada is the the regional center about a 1-1/2 hour drive from the San Jose airport. Its a small town on the slopes of volcan Platanar. It is on the way to Arenal one way and the northen lowlands the other. If you want to enjoy the real Costa Rica this is the place.
There are hot springs all over the country. There are several near Aguas Zarcas, AL on the road from Cuidad Quesada just before you get to Marina.
One is a nice little place that the locals go to and the other is a fancy high dollar tourist place. The small place was enjoyable but a long walk down a steep paved path in the rain forest. Entrance was about $7 each. This is real Costa Rica and highly recommended
The fancier place is a “spa” and I have not visited. If you want to go to a high class place that is no different than any in the world go here.
If you look up and call the zoo in Marina they can probably help you with specifics.
Lonely Planet does not list them but has others.
In the tourist industry I have run into all kinds of people working at resorts and B&B’s. At one place at the beach we were served by a young lady from Oklahoma (US) and overheard a conversation of another server in German. Both young ladies were multilingual and I think this was the key to their employment.
I do not know the rules but the fact that you speak French and English may make you a good candidate for working in the tourist industry as they need both and although there are many English speaking Ticos I suspect there are few that speak French. This would put you in the category of there not being a Tico to fill the job. This may be your legal “in”. Check with the local tourist places and emphasize this point. They may have a job for you.
Note that working in the Tico economy you will earn Tico pay. It is not much compared to what we are used to in North America. However, it would give you a great opportunity to practice your Spanish.
It takes some serious shopping and planning ahead to get cheap rates. Right now (March 27) there is a non-stop flight from Charlotte, NC (CLT) to SJO CR for $381 leaving and returning on a Wednesday (generally the cheapest days) and booked for May to June 14 (US Air). We are looking for a week later but that is too far off for the cheap rates yet. The regular rate still posted through expedia.com is $656 for the week later. In the next two weeks we expect the price to drop to our range. As soon as it drops we will book it (10 – 12 weeks in advance). But if you want to book farther out it is going to cost you the full rate or nearly the “I have to go today” rate.
Where you leave from makes a big difference. From Washington, Dulles (IAD) during the same time frame there are dozens of flights for $390. On the other hand, if I want to leave from my home town the “cheap” rate is around $1,000 and the flights leave at terrible hours and there are long layovers in the connecting air ports. . . End up in San Jose after dark. Ariving after dark in no longer a problem for me but we have a two hour drive after we get there. Its nice to be there in mid afternoon and have a relaxing drive when you can SEE the cows in the road!
I’ve gotten good rates on TACA (The Central American Airline) but my recent searches have been high. Could be their cheap days are not Wednedsays. I tried some San Diego SAN flights and the lowest I got was about $500. But I did not change a lot of variables.
I’ve been using the on-line services like expedia.com for a while with pretty good results. However, there ARE agents that specialize in cheap rates. If you find one tell them you fly regularly and may be a repeat customer.
We were told by THREE representitive of Verizon that after turning on international calling our phones would work in Costa Rica. . I had my doubts and was not surprised when they DID NOT WORK. DO NOT believe what a US carrier says unless they can be very specific about their service in CR.
We had a nice discussion with the Verizon rep when we got back. I think the problem may be many people do not know the difference between Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. . . But folks dealing with international services in the US SHOULD.
On the other hand calls on the plan are pretty cheap from the US to our friends in CR.
Yes, the bridges in Costa Rica can be a real adventure. But rest assured that if the road is paved some VERY heavy trucks have crossed that bridge before you. And if the road is unpaved and wide it is probably maintained by the local fincas and crossed by heavy agricultural trucks.
My friends live in a place with a low water ford that floods regularly during the wet season (sometime for weeks) and must access the property by foot across a swinging bridge about 100 feet long. The ford is a fine dry concrete construction that is often dry. But recent fllods dropped a few tons of rock on it that had to be removed. . .
My first day in Costa Rica my friends took me for a local tour and we crossed a swinging bridge with an automobile. . . A bridge that I would have thought several times about before crossing on foot. It rocked and bounced just like a swinging rope foot bridge! Small tractors pulling carts of sugar cane crossed this bridge regularly.
The next day we went to look at a piece of property and the public bridge built of two huge logs with a wood deck was half fallen and had been so for a couple years. One end of one log had dropped down and the bridge was twisted to a 45 degree angle at one end. The family that lived on the property (including small infants) crossed the bridge on foot every day.
On the road to Cuidad Quesada there is a new bridge next to a large road side grotto (Catholic Shrine). To the side and slightly below the new bridge is the old bridge which you can walk out on and look down from. The innocent highway bridge that seems to cross a small river in a typical tree filled ravine in fact crosses a narrow gorge that must be over 300 feet deep with vertical sides. In places you cannot see the bottom. If you missed the guards at the end of this bridge you would easily just dissapear and maybe not be found for months. . .
This year we went to look at a property that I had visited last year. At that time we crossed a very narrow but well travelled wood and earth bridge on what appeared to be a public road (it is hard to tell public from private roads in Costa Rica but private ones are often better than public). This year the bridge was missing and replaced with some scrap lumber that a resident was now hand carrying everything he needed across and up the road on his back. The earth the boards were supported on was crumbling. . . His truck was blocking the end of the road and surrounded by fuel and water containers that he was apparently hauling by hand. Life in rural Costa Rica. . . All I could think of at the time is that maybe the land I looked at would be cheaper since it lacked access. . .
And yes we crossed that major highway bridge in Limon on the road to Cuhuita where part of the concrete highway deck is missing and you can see the river below. . . looks scary but the bridge is structuraly fine.
In the three weeks we were in Costa Rica this time we traveled some 1500 kilometers and crossed hundreds of bridges. Most were good. Many were narrow and many needed maintenance or replacing. However, none except the two farm bridges on roads marked as horse and cattle paths on topographical maps were out. In a country where it often rains 200″ in a year in places bridges are numerous and old ones often wash out. When they do Costa Rica puts in new bigger bridges. It is part of the cycle of life in this country. You learn to take it in stride.
I worry more about meeting cows head on in the dark (a common and serious hazzard) than the pot holes or bad bridges in Costa Rica.
Wood working machinery is in demand in Costa Rica due to the burgeoning furniture business. Good machinery is available localy but most is expensive imported German machinery. Used machinery is where you find it (as in the US) but will be harder to find in Costa Rica.
A friend of mine that is setting up a personal wood working shop says he would bring machinery down again. However, he just bought an old heavy duty band saw for $300. But it WAS 3PH which lowers the price in Costa Rica just as it does in the US. He has a phase converter in his shop and is fine with 3PH (to his advantage). He also had a Tico negotiate the price. Asking price was $500.
Bringing tools and equipment into the country is a chalange. Customs in the port of Limon is said to be practicaly non-functional. Containers with complicated mixed loads can be held up for months. Then as with any port anywhere when the load is released it must be moved immediately or acrue significant storage fees. Find a good mover before considering this.
There are fantastic tropical hardwoods in Costa Rica like nowhere else in the world. Experts have spent a lifetime learning the local woods and never learn it all. It is wood worker heaven.
Edited on Mar 03, 2006 15:58
