www.CostaRicaTicas.com

There are mail forwarding companies that give you a Miami address where you can have mail and packages sent and then they forward them to you in Costa Rica.

If you use a typical Costa Rica address (CNFL plantel ananos 200m este 50 m sur casa blanco porton negro) you may or may not get a piece of mail. It is kind of hit and miss. If you rent a post office box at the Costa Rica correos (10000 colones a year) you will receive your mail from the states there. (There have been reports of things not arriving but I have never had a problem.

Some banks/credit unions will mail to a foreign address some will not. I use USAA bank in the states and they mail me things in Costa Rica,

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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

I notice alot of CR hotels and other businesses have a Florida address for mail to CR. These must be mail drop/forwarding places, so google around and i'll bet you hit on something. I know that doesn't give you much but that's where I'd start.

I know several people who have used Areopost and been quite happy. Miami address then shipped here for pickup. They also take care of a lot of the customs headaches if you buy something online or ebay. They have quite a few offices all around Costa Rica. Website is http://www.aeropost.com

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The only thing that matters is happiness in all it forms...

Go to the Aerocasillas website. They provide you an address for mail ( a pob) and an address for packages. I have to use the pkg address for any institution that will not accept a pob. The addresses are Miami. Many locations in SJO to pick up. They send u an email to notify you to pick up.

You also can arrange for Aerocasillas to deliver your mail and packages to you at no additional charge. They send me an email that I have mail/package and deliver the next day (Mon-Fri).

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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

You need to have a physical address in Miami with a company that forwards mail to Costa Rica.
Shop around and you will find that you can do that without having to pay a membership or monthly fee. Cards, letters and other documents tend to take about 7-10 days to arrive by regular mail.
Try to look for up front pricing so that you don't get stuck with extra charges after you mail has arrived.

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Discrete logistics, shipping to Costa Rica for 8 years
Providing a Miami, FL shipping address for internet purchases
CRT VIP Discount Sponsor www.airmailcr.com
http://www.facebook.com/airmailcr/info

The mail system in Colombia is spotty at best. US mail has a 50% chance of making it to an address in Colombia, and it takes 2 - 4 weeks to make it if it does. Private couriers like DHL are reliable, but costly. I use this mail forwarding service in Florida: http://www.sbimailservice.com/ , and have been quite happy with it. St Brendan's Isle will notify you when mail has arrived via e-mail. You check your on-line mail box, decide what you want done with the mail: scan & view, hold, send or shred. You will have a street address, so there is no problem establishing residency, registering to vote and getting a drivers' license. You can also declare domicile in Florida (which has no state income tax). All of the above can be accomplished within 2 hours as the mail center, court house, driver registration & supervisor of elections are within a one-mile radius.

The cost for the mail service and on-line mailbox feature is $20/month. Any postage & handling to forward your mail is additional.

Very true... and that applies to about 99% of what arrives at my mailbox. But, it's the 1% (checks, financial, government & legal documents requiring signature, etc) that one needs to be concerned about.

Getting cards and letters is an expensive pain in the ass if you use a mail forwarding service. I have used a P.O. Box with Correos de Costa Rica for about 20 years now, and it is great for local mail as well as international correspondence. Internet shopping packages is a different story. There is only one company that will give you a flat price up front, and they don't charge a membership or monthly fee. http://www.airmailcr.com They speak english: 2290-0978

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Discrete logistics, shipping to Costa Rica for 8 years
Providing a Miami, FL shipping address for internet purchases
CRT VIP Discount Sponsor www.airmailcr.com
http://www.facebook.com/airmailcr/info

It's difficult to imagine that someone has gone through life and does not have one 'friend' who will let him use their address as a permanent residence.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

Do you know of any mail-forwarding companies that send mail to CA/SA free-of-charge off? If you do, please share the info.



I have no experience with this kind of stuff in CR, but Chase Bank did send me a replacement MasterCard (by DHL) to Colombia. I was not billed for this, and the card arrived in 4 days.



Yes, if I lived in CR, I would probably use a C de CR post office box. I've seen the dedicated US Mail trucks make the run from Puerto Limon to San Jose. I could live with 7 - 10 days delivery. It seems like US mail delivery in CR works well. In Colombia, it is a different story. To the best of my knowlesge, PO Boxes are available at the central post offices in each of the big cities. But the problem is, there are no dedicated US mail trucks like in CR. US mail delivery takes anywhere from 2 - 4 weeks to arrive in a mailbox in Colombia, and there is only a 50% chance that it will arrive at all.

With my mail forwarding company, I have the capability to hold the mail for me (for when I visit the States), send it to a friend or relative who will be visiting Colombia, send it someone in the States who will "handle it" for me... or if I need it in a hurry, I can have it sent to me via express mail (an expensive proposition).



Yeah, I hear you. But, handling someone else's mail can old pretty fast. That's why I chose to have "pros" managing my mail... even if it costs me $240/year. Every envelope that arrives in my Florida mail box is scanned and posted on-line the day it arrives. If I need to see what is inside it, I select "scan", and the next day the constents are posted as a .pdf. Sure, I give up some privacy, but it is a lot easier than going back and forth with a friend or relative, who is 2800 miles away, over every piece of mail. Mail that I know is sensitive and important remains sealed and is forwarded immediately. Some trade-offs have to be made when you are living in a foreign country, yet still have ties back in the "Motherland."

Amy idea why The Dunn Inn has an Austin Texas (512) phone number?

If they do, it's probably a courtesy call forwarding option for gringos, but I don't see it anywhere on their website which includes an 800# and a CR phone and fax #