www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Irish Drifter, Dr. Mario, El Silencioso & CRGolfer

Thanks for the advice! I feel better about giving CR a real try with each reply.
I am still working full time here in California for the time being, but I expect to retire within the next 6-9 months, but my retirement may come as soon as Aug/Sept if I recieve a buyout offer.

I plan to take a trip to CR in the Fall, (after the rainy season), if I dont retire before then and I will spend at least part of this trip at the SL and part of it on my Dad's farm in San Vito.

When I do retire, I plan to just "get down there" as Dr. Mario and CRGolpher advise.

I own a nice home in Florida (near Daytona), that could work as my retirement "sanctuary", but living in CR, hanging with like minded expats and the occasion trip to exotic locations like Medellin, Panama, Nicaragua etc seems much more appealing and exciting to me.
CRGolpher, thanks for personal background, very neat stuff. Back in the day, I spent some time in the Mid-east also.

I will keep you posted on progress with residency.
Slinky

Moving to CR has to be about what you want out of life. What works for one person could be hell on earth for another.
Get a furnished apartment for six months to a year. Test it out. Don’t cut your ties in the US until you are sure you want to stay in CR. And don’t bring anything down unless you are willing to leave it when you leave.

DO NOT let some woman move in with you unless you really know the laws. This is an area where you really need to know the law and its ramifications.

As to the disposition of a corpse, deaths and funerals are not like the US. Bodies are often dug up or removed from graves and a new body is interred in the grave or crypt. The bones of the previous tenant are simply scattered. I paid to have the remains of my mother-in-law moved to a plot on one of the family’s finca because the cemetery was going to disinter her remains and scatter the bones.

I know nothing about the harvesting of body parts but I do know they bury you immediately, within 24 hours in most cases. So if you are sliced and diced, it is quick.

I guess it is a matter of cemetery policy. At the cemetery in San Antonio de Escazu where there are only mausoleums no in ground graves if the remains are removed, which can only occur after a period of at least 5 years from interment, they are placed in a concrete vault at the foot of the mausoleum. The plaque bearing the individuals name and dates of birth and death is then removed from the front of the vault and relocated to the top front of the mausoleum so there is always a marker indicating those interred there. No ones remains are scattered at that cemetery.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Don,t Go to panama!!!

The question was what actual fact do you have to back up your assertion? Paraphrasing Greengo as a source is hardly comforting. Greengo spends his time penning deprecating posts about various facets of life in Costa Rica but provides no empirical evidence and in spite of his obvious dislike of Ticos and life in Costa Rica he continues to live here. If I lived any where in the world and found the conditions there as unappealing as Greengo paints CR I would be out of that local in a flash.[/quote]


Classic!

You have gotten a lot of good advice; give it a whirl; in 6 months or a year you will likely know whether CR is for you; keeping the place in the USA was great advice.

Given a 4k a month budget, I'd think you will be fine. Candidly, though, you sound a little naive (no offense intended) so do not hesitate to take advantage of the offers of assistance.

My situation is somewhat different; I now work from home for a great health care company and contrary to popular belief, working in your gym shorts from your personal office in mi casa has few drawbacks, so I have been thinking, if I can work 2 1/2 hours distance from the corporate office, why can't I do it from CR. I think the discussion with the boss would go a lot better if I could phrase it that I actually have property in CR, as it would add an element of actually living somewhere that renting just doesn't entail. My question therefore is whether or not a sale of a condo in CR is a relatively simple matter or is it just as fraught with problems as other real estate deals. As I was thinking that if I could pick up something cheap, furnish it and then rent it out part of the time and occupy it the rest of the time. Any thoughts?

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“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

Rent first. Don't buy. Make sure it (doing your work from CR) will work for you before you invest.

Buying, owning, renting and selling property in Costa Rica can be a nightmare. And never let a female put clothes in your closet because soon it will not be your closet. You may even be sleeping on the street.

Sounds like a lot of trouble becoming a property owner and landlord in another country just to hopefully make a discussion go better...besides why do you have to actually own property in CR to say you have property in CR? I left a box of condoms in storage so I have property in CR.

You also need to consider the cost of a mortgage here in Costa Rica. You will not believe how much interest they can charge. In the US we call it usury.

Then you have to consider the fraud that goes on where properties are literally stolen from people; massive white collar crime. Go to AMCostaRica and do a search.

I am not trying to be a turd in the punch bowl but you really have to know what you are doing or you will lose and lose big.

Finally, finding the right lawyer is everything.

Good advice on seeing if working from CR would actually work, so of course that would be Step 1. What is internet dependancy being key.

In a past life, I used Facio & Canas. I am sure that in one form or another, they are still around. I am as anecdotally informed as most of the readers of this board about the many perils of ownership, however, there are owners who are satisfied with their purchase and I would love to hear from them. As far as the element of white collar fraud, I am well aware, so it would have to be thoroughly researched. I would not use a mortgage, but would buy outright. They tell me title search is everything. Still, I would love to hear from actual owners who can tell me whether the process was worth it or a ripoff or somewhere in between.

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“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

No, actually to be truthful and in conjunction with a desire to continue traveling to CR and staying in a place I own as opposed to a hotel, but also for investment purposes. Some CRTers seem to think it is a decent investment and have strongly argued the subject on this board, if you do your homework. But that is much more actual information than your facetious response is worth, so how is this:

I really can't help you with the condom question, do you feel like you own property in CR?

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“Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” And we are the guys that keep them in Eggs & Grits

I think a really important thing to understand is whether the real estate market in Costa Rica is going up or going down.

People who sell real estate will tell you it is going up. People who want to sell tell you it is going down.

To be honest with you, I am not sure if it is going up or down.

But like any other real estate market it is all about location, location, location.

There is a huge difference between living in a hotel near the gulch and living on the west side in the Escazu, Santa Ana areas and living one the east side. There are even more differences when you leave the metro San Jose area and move either to the country or to a place like Cartago or to the beach areas. And beach areas can be significantly different based on whether the community is on the Atlantic side or the Pacific side.