Casey

Well, the tax will not apply to a home you have lived in for the last two years, modeled after the U.S. But, yeah, 15% on top of the high transfer fees, lawyers, notary, etc., it's going to take quite a bite. If it were a thriving real estate ... Read More

josefbh is asking if there is a difference between driving it in versus shipping it in. Logically, it would seem there is no difference, but logic has little to do with the way taxes, duties, etc. work here in CR. Typically, they write laws/regs for ... Read More

Have you thought through the implications of rentista residency, esp. wrt the Caja? Caja premiums are based on your income on a sliding scale up to 13%. I believe you are required to withdraw $2500/month as colones and this is what they count as ... Read More

All those links are to sites selling CBD, so I didn't take their word for it. Instead, asked my doctor who is also my former legislator. It is legal, can be shipped here. Read More

More drugs are available at private farmacias than at Caja anyway. And, much of Caja's medicines are of dubious quality. They won't give you a choice of brands. Even when you have residency, you will need an appointment with a Caja doctor to ... Read More

SimCityAT's google search undoubtedly turned up dozens of links saying it is legal, but of course all those sites *sell* CBD so naturally they have no liability in selling it to you and they are hardly likely to know all the details of ... Read More

Nalini, I can't imagine anyone relocating to another country without feet on the ground first. Yes, it is mostly a very beautiful country, but it is probably very different from where you live now. Here are some pros/cons off the top of my head ... Read More

All those cool weather plants grow here somewhere, but it's best to use local varieties adapted to the climate and the constant length of daylight all year. For instance, most broccoli you'd bring from the States will grow like crazy here but never ... Read More

First I've heard of growing asparagus from seed. Cool! A Dull Roar Read More

labup, I don't think the gringos are going to add much to the large amount of pesticide, herbicide and chemical fertilizer use that the Ticos already engage in. We are a drop in that ocean, but I agree we shouldn't contribute to the situation. I ... Read More

I extol the virtue of renting over buying even though we did not. There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but which didn't fortunately. Just dumb luck in our case though we weren't totally in the dark. Another piece of good advice ... Read More

Just stay below 5000 feet elevation or you are going to be spending a lot of time in the clouds. You also need to ask about wind conditions wherever you are looking. It's not unusual to have a strong breeze come up in the afternoons in some places ... Read More

Wow Jerry, those prices seem astronomical to us here in Pérez. The most I've heard of for a nice house on a bus line is under $500, 3 bd, 2 ba. Most are half or a third of that. We are a family of three and live on about $22,000/yr but we own our ... Read More

Sherry, Costa Rica is a beautiful place to retire, but do a lot of research on costs here. It is one of the more expensive, if not most expensive locales in Latin America. Housing is cheap, medical/dental is cheap, but that's about where it ends. ... Read More

ExpatDave, Well, up in your area I can believe those numbers are true. :) Here in Pérez Zeledón, it's not the case. I only know of two people (out of about 100) who have moved back to the States, and both had other reasons than not liking it here. ... Read More

labup, Actually, it is not difficult to find Ticos that speak some English, and that's increasing every year. Larger stores usually have at least one person on staff who speaks some English. You are on the right track to learn a little bit. Poco a ... Read More

Those are cane toads aka bufos aka sapos. We seem them now and again here in Perez Zeledon. Ugly, ugly, ugly. They won't go out of their way to poison anything, but if your cats start to really bother them, they will exude poison from their skin, ... Read More

Yes, the tax rate rises as the car gets older, but overall it diminishes. There is a database you can access online that will tell you the exact amount. Maybe someone else has the URL? Read More

That's a lot of nonsense about the rationale for the hybrid approach. We know doctors personally that work in both private and public clinics and they are quite honest and professional. There really are not enough medical resources in some of the ... Read More

I think that if you want to optimize importing a car to Costa Rica, the best way is to get a car that's at least 10 years old and make sure it's in very good mechanical condition. That way you'll pay the lowest duty and still have a great car. That ... Read More

Just whacked him with a shoe. Normally, I leave the critters alone unless they are known poisonous or doing some mischief inside the house. That one was poisonous. Here's a more pleasant blog post that I just put up. :D Hummingbirds on Holiday Read More

Well, of course you can bring in a used car. It's just that with shipping and duty it might not be worth it. The schedule for the amount of tax to pay is incredibly detailed. They basically take the VIN and can figure out engine size, all options, ... Read More

Bryon, I haven't yet seen any spiders as big as my hand, but nearly. Twice I think, in 4 years. Here's a picture of one on my blog (brace yourself, and remember it's only a photo). I've probably seen a dozen snakes in that 4 years also, that I ... Read More

After your extension runs out can you get another one without leaving the country? Read More

Very true, only the gringos use a tumble dryer. We brought one down, too, but rarely use it. It's handy sometimes when the rain goes on a long time and nothing gets dry, but that's not often. If you look on my blog you can find a picture of a little ... Read More

Electricity rates here are graduated. They start out at around 17 cents per KWh, but very quickly the rate rises. Over 300 KWh you are paying about 33 cents per KWh. Most Ticos however don't use a lot of electricity and cook on gas, so their bills ... Read More

Dear Hermeuto, Perhaps we can exchange information? :) I have a great interest in Uruguay, your neighbor. Perhaps you can tell me your impressions of that country and I will tell you what I know about Costa Rica! BTW, I recently put up a post on ... Read More

All depends on where you live in Costa Rica and what kind of living accommodations you want. You need to narrow down your preferences to get a meaningful answer. On the coasts, yes, it's hot, but you don't necessarily need A/C if there are breezes ... Read More

We don't have a public urgent care facility down here, just the emergency room at the hospital. Caja distributes its resources very unevenly I think and so far Pérez is getting the short end of the stick. - Casey A Dull Roar Read More

I review two of those 3rd party re-shippers, including ShippingCR on my blog (see below). I've used the latter, but there were problems that look like they are going to be unresolved (undelivered items and now no answers to e-mail or phone). Just ... Read More

Melody, Assuming that you own your current home another way to find a rental is to do a home exchange. There are many sites on the 'net where you can search for homes you may want to occupy. We have friends who do this and they have had great ... Read More

I always use Dollar Rent-a-Car, also near the airport. They have very sturdy diesel Montero Sports that can go just about anywhere and are very comfortable. Casey - A Dull Roar - Moving to, Retiring in, and Living with Costa Rica Read More

Hi Armand, If you already have a driving license in your country, it is good for 90 days here. If you leave after 90 days and come back, the clock is set to zero again. If you stay more than 90 days then you are supposed to get a CR license. The ... Read More

Well, since this question has been out there for nearly two months without an answer I guess I can at least give some hearsay evidence. :) I don't have personal experience in Ecuador, but have spent time in Peru. I know they are different, but I ... Read More

Sensei, "advertised on the Web..." - this is key. First, go look at those Atlanta homes in person, check out the neighborhood. You are judging them just by price and a nice picture on the web. Second, realize that the RE market here is very ... Read More

Well, it all depends on what you are trying to ship down here. If you're shipping a whole household then a container is really the only way to go. There are also partial load services (see my blog post here: How To Have Christmas in May about two ... Read More

The Pacific side's rainy season is generally from April/May to Nov/Dec. The dry season is earlier further north. The Pacific side has many more beaches than the Caribe side due to it just being about 3 times longer than the Caribe side, but the ... Read More

Kalpesh, It's a little difficult to estimate your cost of living without more information, such as where you will be locating (presumably in San José). It also depends a great deal on the standard of living you expect to maintain. Despite that I'll ... Read More

Jamiebrwstr, You could start a landscaping company and manage all the workers you want, legally. There is no point in an experienced landscaper doing the work himself when he can hire peones for about 2 bucks an hour who will work hard and long. ... Read More

Kenneth, Costa Rica is about the size of W. Virginia, but it is incredibly diverse in climate, topography, and cost of living. You really have to cultivate a different mind set to live here that I dare say 90% of the people in the States and Canada ... Read More

hello my name is Steven. i am seriously debating moving to Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Ecuador or Nicaragua permanently and within the next 6 months to a year but i do not know anyone there. i am hoping to find expatriots there to converse with ... Read More

Jenni, Don't even think about driving to Central America alone. Unless... you are an extremely confident person and fluent in Spanish. Even then I wouldn't recommend it. People do it, but it's a hassle, especially if you are carrying a lot of ... Read More

While, technically, you can't hold a job without residency, you can have a business and manage it, so there's really no impediment to gainful activity. Many, many transactions are in cash besides and not reported. For better or worse. I think, ... Read More

By coincidence I just got some seeds in the mail yesterday, Lacinato Kale. Each month a friend forwards mail from the States (mostly junk unfortunately) and inside was a small packet of these seeds. We've grown it before here and it does great! It ... Read More

Most people have a natural fear of bugs and snakes. We did, too, but it has been greatly reduced after living here. You learn how to deal with them, appreciate them, and that they are just trying to get by, too. They don't have it in for you! :P In ... Read More

Air Conditioning Post Maybe Humberto can help you if you live in his area or maybe he has some pointers to other folks. Pura vida, Casey - A Dull Roar - Moving to, Retiring in, and Living with Costa Rica Read More

Stephen, All I can tell you is that the Uvita area is very nice, lots of good beaches there. Check out Las Ventanas and El Tortuga beaches, especially. The prices at the Tucan Hotel look very reasonable and I'll bet you can get a ton of good tips ... Read More

The idea to rent for at least several months is a very good idea. A large percentage of people who move here end up not being able to adapt and go back home or move to a different country. If you buy land/house here then you could have a more ... Read More

This fellow can help you out: Mike Rappaport - 506-2573-8767 or on Skype rappmike1, or e-mail rappmike1@aol.com Give him the VIN and he can look up the duty and he can give you a good estimate on what it will cost to ship the car here. The duty on ... Read More

Thomas, Except for #4, Costa Rica fits nicely with your criteria. The trouble with getting around is that it's a very mountainous country, but it's small! :) We have no mortgage and live on $1700/month easily (3 of us). CR is by no means the ... Read More

Just visit my blog and you will get more pictures than you probably want, lol! Or just click on the slideshow in the margin. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9uZTKLrewc/T8PoBKYMg1I/AAAAAAAAIRw/ABCf5EWZnyw/s200/loading.JPG - Casey A Dull Roar - Moving ... Read More

I don't have that insurance, just heard about it. I have a friend here who has it for his son. It might just apply to Costa Rica. I'm skeptical myself that it can pay much at that monthly rate. I recall reading about some kind of universal insurance ... Read More

I don't miss the ever-present and smothering marketing machine in the U.S. that is on 24/7 and in your face. So many have become immune to it that they don't realize it's even there. :rolleyes: Read More

Exactly Julie. Often officials don't know the rules, which can work to one's advantage also. :lol: It's also possible that some types of seeds they don't allow, but my wife has brought them in on her last two trips North, they looked, the said go ... Read More

Yes, we know Sheelagh and John well! Casa de Las Celts! :) All those things (except maybe artichokes) are in the farmers market so it must be possible! Tomatoes are a little tricky as it's easy for them to get blossom-end rot. I would think brussel ... Read More

really? We were led to believe that seeds are highly frowned upon. I'm truly glad to know that's not true. There are a number of vegies I want to be sure we can grow. San Isidro de General is also our targeted area. Don't know what it is but ... Read More

Things, especially Migración, move slowly here in CR. That's both good and bad. Yes, they have raised the income minimum from $600 to $1000 a month for Pensionado, but they did that in Panamá, also. It will cost you roughly $2500 total to obtain ... Read More

We will be in Costa Rica for 4 months. I wanted to grow some veggies and herbs while we are there. Does anyone know if you are allowed to bring unopened seed packets from the US into Costa Rica? Thanks. LauraYes, you can bring in commercial ... Read More

What if you are on tourist visa living in Costa Rica? What kind of health care can you expect?Well, of course, you have all the private side available to you, the pharmacies and clinics. Most larger towns have 24 hour urgent care facilities, too. ... Read More

You basically have three types of access into health care here. Number uno is the social insurance, nicknamed CAJA. It is the universal coverage from the government (truly universal). As TerrynViv noted most people have a local clinic they are ... Read More

... Found my way downstairs and drank a cup ... :cool: One thing a lot of people don't understand about success is that you will very likely fail a lot before you latch on to something worthwhile. We're naturally afraid of failure, but it happens ... Read More

My wife has become an ex-pat twice. 15 years ago she left Ukraine to marry me and she had a terrible time the first year. She was actually losing her hair! But, she is a person who makes friends no matter where she is and it wasn't long before she ... Read More