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[quote=”johnnyh”]Yes I did see the 48 premiere. Not only did I see it but recorded it to show one of my aunts.
I have tried to be objective in my view, and of course one could say that there are women who kill, specially when there’s so much money involved. Nevertheless, you are swayed by the tears, which could be an act, of course.
There’s also the cane which she used for effect.
Now, looking at the case from a cynical view that she, or an accomplice did it, is that she made a fatal mistake in the execution of the murder, and that is she made it too complicated.
Like the prosecutor said, and if I was to commit suicide with a gun, I would put it in my mouth pointing upward, or I would aim it at my temple. From that viewpoint I’m not buying what she is selling.
She was given 22 years, and if I know Costa Rica law, I’m sure she will get off in 4 to 5 years. There’s also an appeal coming, so this is far from over.
[/quote]What was the motive? The money was in a trust, yes? As mentally ill as they both were, they loved each other it seemed and only wanted to be with each other. She voluntarily let him inject spring water into her which made her worse. I just don’t get any of it. From what I read online to what was presented on 48 hours, there seemed to be contradictions.
To me, it seemed there might have been his suicide attempt and she fought him over the gun and it hit him at a different angle. Cleary he usually shot using his right hand since he kept the holster on his right side.
To me it was a fascinating case–and one that will probably never know all the facts.
[quote=”Scott”]According to Randall Zamora our resident Costa Rica Tax Expert
“The official percentages applied to the reported monthly income go from 10.5% to 18.5%, so in order to reach a $1000 monthly CAJA payment the reported monthly income should be between $5405 to $9523.”
Why anybody would be voluntarily declare that kind of income is beyond me but there ya go …
If someone was to do that in other, less-secure countries your wife would be kidnapped 2 hours later …
Scott[/quote]
How do they determine contribution if you become a resident by investing the one lump sum of $60,000 so there is no recurring monthly income?
[quote=”Imxploring”]Another vote for the Lake Arenal area. All the same reasons listed above…. plus… the best pizza in all of Costa Rica! Try Moya’s Place on the corner across from the gas station. Great food, location, and people. The whole town (be it very small) is wonderful.
The views are fantastic and the lake is a big plus. You need to understand that the reason the area is so green and lush is because we get rain. Once you get that clear in your mind the many positives outweigh the wet stuff that falls.[/quote]
I think the Lake Arenal-ers have hijacked this thread. Yes, the pizza is great, but my favorite is their chicken with vegs and rosemary potatoes. As far as rain…yes, it comes down fast and furious…but there is also lots of sun, too. It’s funny, it can rain a quick 3″ and then dry up so quickly. The best investment I made was a $25 pair of tall rubber boots from Walmart! hahaha. To me, every place in CR has pluses and minuses…you just have to figure out what your priorities/requirements are and go from there. Mine were temperate climate, a more economical place to live, beautiful scenery (volcano and lake views), proximity to a town with various services, nice expat community, nice locals and, finally, close enough to a beach as well as airport.
Try to learn some Spanish if you don’t know any and get to know your local neighbors. It’s nice to interact plus helps you practice your Spanish and they’ll appreciate the effort the Gringo is making.
Stop in for a drink on our deck and have a long chat.[/quote]
Be careful, Miss V will offer to take you on a hike–more of a death march! hahaha.
We bought land in Lake Arenal after visiting it only one time…we had been up and down the west coast down to the tip of the Osa over 6 years and, while I love all of CR, the southern zone is very hot and humid and, therefore, expensive to run a/c year round. Lake Arenal (outside of Nuevo Arenal) is very beautiful, far less touristy, has many Americans and is just a very friendly place. It’s very livable, too…has everything you need and is less than 2 hours to the beach and to the airport in Liberia. It’s just beautiful. I can’t wait to one day build down there!
[quote=”CBCarby”]I have been asked to send a deposit for a rental via Western Union from Canada to Costa Rica. Is there any danger in that form of money transfer?[/quote]
Places I’ve stayed have either requested a deposit via Paypal or just pay in cash upon arrival. I have never heard that request. Is this house/hotel on VRBO, TripAdvisor or do you know of someone who has stayed there? Trip Advisor is excellent starting point for hotels and VRBO has a large selection of houses from which to choose.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]Growing and actually producing fruit is two different things.
When we lived in Turrialba, we had some huge mango trees and avocado trees but they never produced fruit…
[/quote]You must be missing some trace elements in the soil. If you have a mango tree that isn’t producing, you probably need to somehow amend the soil. I was told by an owner of a nursery you could tell how good your soil is by how well your fruit trees produce. We were told if they aren’t producing, then there are trace elements missing.
[quote=”jerry”]I moved here when I was 51… some 13 years ago… hoping I could get settled in and have a style of living I could afford when SS time came around. Now, I am getting by on that. Something that would have been a problem had I stayed Stateside and tried to survive on SS pension. I am debt free and living a style that would never have been affordable “back in the world”.[/quote]
You dropped out of the workforce at age 51 and you are now making enough on SS to be able to live? I can’t imagine benefits are very high when you had nearly 15 years remaining before you were eligible for full retirement considering you had so many years being unemployed beforehand. Possibly, you either started a business in CR or you had additional resources.
[quote=”ticobelle”]As a self-employed person most of my life, I knew very early on that I would be an ex-pat some day, somewhere. SS in the US just would not be enough. So my partner and I researched (before computers) for a couple of years and decided on Belize. He died and I moved back to be near my mother. Ten years later, after I had a major heart attack (Type A personality), and my mother died, I realized I could retire in a foreign country alone.
Started computer research and also realized that Belize was no longer an option financially. More research and I realized that Costa Rica fit all my requirements at the time. Climate, affordability, different value and tropical flowers as well as politically stable. I had planned to visit before moving, and when that fell through, I moved here in 2004 with 11 plastic boxes, and against all my family’s wishes, and with their dire predictions.
At first, people here would ask how long I would be staying here and my answer was always the same. For today for sure. And my mantra was “tranquillo”. Type A’s need that mantra here.
Now, 9 years later, I am still here. However, when people ask “would you go back?” my answer is “Not Today”.[/quote]
You are truly an adventurer! What a great story! And great advice for a Type A…take it one day at a time!
[quote=”costaricafinca”]You may want to consider the all inclusive [url=http://www.riu.com/en/Paises/costa-rica/guanacaste/hotel-riu-guanacaste/index.jsp]Hotel RIU,[/url] near Playas del Coco. Hubby was on the beach the other day, and said it looked very nice. Quite busy for the last day of school vacation.[/quote]
Or what about Playa Hermosa…love La Finisterra up on the hill (fantastic views and nice rooms) or the Belmar/Sevilla right on the beach (includes b’fast). Its location can’t be beat, prices cheap but the rooms are a little tired. And then you could do a little side trip to Guatil and buy some great pottery. After all the heat, you’ll be glad to get back home.
Another possibility…Brasilito. Conchal Hotel has a really cute set up. The 9 rooms or so are set around the pool. It’s all very private, tropical and secluded and quite nice. And there are lots of beaches in the area as well as restaurants.
I don’t recall contemplating who was in charge of gas prices. I simply said that it is very expensive to live and inflation seems to be more than is stated. I’m grateful gas is ‘only’ $3.70 a gallon instead of $4.00. what a relief. I think it’s still at least 10% higher than on jan 1. I’ll start ‘shopping’ for food. we have 3 chains here but please tell me where to get the $1.59 lb apples. The cheapest I’ve found is $1.99 per pound. Sorry, produce is very expensive and I don’t think $1.07 is very reasonable either. What does that equate to for cost in eating 5-7 servings of various fruit and vegs per day? I don’t know many people who could afford that for themselves let alone a family.
I am glad you’re part of the world is doing well. But our local economy is not. Things are bad enough here that the city is planning on closing down one of our much needed fire stations and the police dept is very short staffed. Our taxes are so high yet we were told that it still isn’t enough to even pay for the health care costs of the public employees.
It is what it is. I should correct myself. Our city is in bad shape–shouldn’t have spoken for the whole country.
My error.[quote=”imxploring”]I guess there’s an interesting question here…. who has more to GAIN by massaging the numbers and the resulting “truth” about current US unemployment, inflation, and current monetary policy…. right wing bloggers or politicians concerned about their next election?
It’s a rhetorical question…. no need for a lengthy retort Steve. LOL
I do agree with David…. perhaps you should move back a bit from the TV…[/quote]
Good point. I think this is all a moot point. No one is gong to change Sweikert’s mind. That’s fine. But he just sucks us in to the mindless debate and that is our choice. He talks about what he reads…not what he lives. “Because I said so”, is not how I live as he says. I based my opinion on what I see…not what I read. I wonder how he figures into the equation all of the people that are no longer collecting UI benefits. They are unemployed, right? So, those millions no longer collecting a nickel…what would that do to the 7+% rate? Hmmm. Inflation. Maybe, he doesn’t do the shopping. I go to the store and spend $1.50 on an apple or a green pepper–and they’re grown here locally. And, BTW, gas is still $3.70 a gallon here. And, yes, the stock market is doing well compared to the lows it hit.
It’s all a moot point. There are people with open minds and those that dig their heels in. Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”lvc1028″]
REALLY? Everyone I know had a job in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Now, I know a handful of people that don’t have jobs (or are underemployed), and I have another friend where she and others will be let go in a few months due to a consolidation in their company. [/quote]I’m sorry to hear about those circumstances. Of COURSE the personal experiences of you and the people you know are awful to you and them, but you can’t say that the health of the entire US economy should be judged by that, can you? There are ALWAYS people who fit into those categories, even when the overall economy is doing great. During the boom times of the late 90s several hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs every single week.[/quote]
When I knew of no one being unemployed a few years back to more than 5 currently unemployed or working temp jobs, I think that is a pretty good representation of the way things are overall…other than ND which is booming.
Things have changed drastically in this country and I really don’t want to debate that. I based my opinion on facts, not on how I feel. If you believe it’s great that a few low paying jobs have been created or those that are no longer collecting UI benefits because they have a 20 hour per week temp job is a good thing, than we have a difference of opinion on what is progress. Not to mention the unemployment rate–that 7+% includes those collecting benefits, not those who have exhausted all their benefits and are now just waiting for a job to be ‘created’.
[quote=”sweikert925″]I wasn’t going to wade into this thread because it is already wildly off-topic, but I can’t let the gloom and doom brigade have their say without trying to balance the picture out at least a little.
Yes, the US economy isn’t doing as well as most of us would like. But it is hardly “awful” as lvc1028 suggests. (If what we have now is awful then what would you call the situation in 2009-2010? Extra-special-super awful?)
REALLY? Everyone I know had a job in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Now, I know a handful of people that don’t have jobs (or are underemployed), and I have another friend where she and others will be let go in a few months due to a consolidation in their company. And, then, of course, I know people who are working part-time temp jobs because they can’t find anything–and I fit into that boat! So, I don’t know what you’re hearing about all of this job creation, etc. It’s BS. Yeah, I think looking for a job for 18 months and competing with 100 other applicants is AWFUL!
[quote=”Lotus123″]Anyone still buying gold? If you bought equities/real estate in 2009 you would be one giant step closer to being able to make a move to Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador etc. Today the sky is not falling, the present moment is a wonderful place to act/live in.[/quote]
That is painting with a very broad brush…I can speak for the many, many millions who are unemployed and the present moment is not a wonderful place in time. Maybe for certain parts of the country where real estate prices plummeted are they doing ‘better’ and off their lows, however, the economy is not good and I don’t know any who believes it to be. This is not a wonderful, prosperous time for most.
[quote=”crhomebuilder”]There are a lot of Americans who have wanted to purchase property in Costa Rica and now that the real estate market is improving in the USA, they can fulfill their dreams by selling their existing homes and moving to paradise. Good Economic News in the USA – According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales are at the highest level since November 2009. http://www.realtor.org/news-releases/2013/06/existing-home-sales-rise-in-may-with-strong-price-increases%5B/quote%5D
The economy is still awful in the US and true unemployment is really high.
