daveandmarcia

The income requirement really is absolute. $999.99 per month won't do the trick.In the U.S., most life insurance agents and financial counselors can guide your search for a lifetime (that's critical) annuity*. The question is, what annuity offers ... Read More

Above, you asked, "Must the TRANSLATION and NOTARIZATION of the SSA Awards letter be done in C.R. by a notary/attorney? -OR- Can it be done in the States and appended to the packet for permanent residency application (or another reason)?"No ... Read More

Official activities in Costa Rica which involve presentation of any legal documents which are not originally issued in Spanish require that those documents be translated into Spanish by an approved translator. Not just any Spanish speaker can ... Read More

When I last needed a confirmation of my Social Security income*, I did it through the U.S. Embassy website (as above). The proof I got from the Embassy came already in Spanish or it was pre-apostilled. So there was no need for further processing. ... Read More

edwinsamoron, above, you wrote, "I have nothing to lose by telling the truth...".When does that start? Read More

edwin, we've seen and read about that which you know nothing, but one is compelled to ask . . . Is there anything about which you do actually know? Do you actually have knowledge of anything at all, any skills, experience, education? Or do you ... Read More

edwin, Your unsubstantiated assertions serve only to make you look foolish and unreliable. Tell us how you know that, as you have stated before, 80.0% of aspiring newcomers to Costa Rica leave in the first two years. Show us the data. Cite your ... Read More

edwineamora, I protest because there is a significant risk that someone unfamiliar with your prattlings will take them for fact. Tell us your sources. Give us the data. Then, what you write will be credible. Read More

edwineamora, it maybe common rumor in whatever fantasy world you infest, but absent actual facts to support your assertion, it is not ". . .common knowledge {emphasis added} that just about all leave Costa Rica eventually and the majority in the ... Read More

Bank recommendations: First, open an account at Banco Nacional or Banco de Costa Rica. There, you can have your Social Security deposited on the third off every month. Also, many, many commercial establishments here have accounts at one or both of ... Read More

Don't believe everything you read and don't believe everything somebody says somebody said. Look for the facts. Ask for the data. Know the sources of those facts and data. Then, maybe, believe it. Read More

U.S. citizens pay U.S. income tax to the IRS worldwide regardless of the source of their taxable income. (If there is a local income tax that's applied, it can be offset on one's U.S. federal income tax return so that there is no double taxation.) ... Read More

Everyone wants to know how much it costs to live here. Well, the straight answer is, "It depends."In Costa Rica, there are many more opportunities to determine one's own cost of living than what we nordamericanos are accustomed to. For instance, you ... Read More

True in Costa Rica and everywhere else . . . You've got to be careful to understand what is included in any price quote and what is not. The "unincludedes" can add up big time (or, as someone we all love and admire says, "bigly").We got two price ... Read More

If you Google "U.S. Embassy Costa Rica", go to that site and look for the link to the "Federal Benefits Unit". There, you'll find a link to a page where you can request a letter that documents your Social Security Benefit. They'll email it to you in ... Read More