Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Do you have any drinking habits like this? “Hon, grab me another cold beer from the fridge, will you? God, it’s hot today and it’s making me thirsty”. It is only 10:00 am and John is ready for his 2nd beer of the day. What else is there to do…
IVO HENFLING | MAY 29, 2015 When I moved to Costa Rica a while ago, the last thing that came to my mind were cockroaches in my house. The first cockroach I met in Costa Rica was in my house in the Santa Ana mountains and the animal was huuuuge. I’m not so crazy about…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes It’s really easy to be an ugly American in Costa Rica if you want to be one. There is an ugly American in every country, (and I don’t mean physically ugly) not only in Costa Rica. The 1958 novel turned into the 1963 movie with Marlon Brandon has made such…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes For your information, we have lots of volcanoes in Costa Rica When I started selling real estate in Costa Rica, roads were less crowded and we were very few real estate agents in Costa Rica. It was necessary to take listings that were within 5 hours drive from your real…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Making the decision for your spouse to move to Costa Rica is probably not a good idea. Maybe your eyes see a different Costa Rica than your spouse does? As we all know, men and women see things differently, though they’re both looking at the same thing. It’s one of…
Costa Rica News published The real reason behind Costa Rica’s high product prices on April 8, 2015. This is a really interesting article about the fact that Costa Rican produced products are cheaper in neighboring countries than in Costa Rica itself. This article explains that commercial protectionism of certain Costa Rican industries, the high import…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Prohibition during Easter week in Costa Rica is something you should know about. I know, it’s like going back to the Stone Age, but we have this liquor prohibition or dry law here. Oh, and we also have a dry law, countrywide, on election day. The United States had Prohibition…
I was surprised to read a US Embassy security message from the U.S. Embassy in San José, forwarded to me by one of our real estate agents, who is an American citizen. You can read the US Embassy Security message at the end of this blog in case you haven’t received it yourself. In this…
When the weather is hot, you need to order a granizado, also called a copo. Summertime in Costa Rica is around the corner although we really have an eternal spring. The December winds are making overtime and we’re almost in Easter week or “Semana Santa”. Therefore, we still have a lot of winds. It keeps…
Have you noticed that Ticos have flaws, just like we all do? But let me show you that they have different flaws than you and I have. Sometimes these flaws are funny. And sometimes they’re quite the opposite. And that’s when you need to keep your cool! Costa Ricans, we call them Ticos, have a…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes When you live in the United States, as we do, you tend to take water for granted. In the 30 years we’ve been living in Washington DC we’ve had a water interruption only once. And the limits of our concern generally are the hope that the pipes won’t freeze at…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Disappointed about living in Costa Rica? All that glitters is not gold! Some who have moved here found out that is also true for Costa Rica. At least for a few. I personally think it’s terrible to have to live in a place that you hate, no matter where it…
Today’s turn is for the no passing zone and the lack of it. Como, qué dice? A no passing zone? What’s that? I have written quite a few blogs about driving in Costa Rica and strange and funny things you might find on the roads of Costa Rica and show you that driving in Costa…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Do you lock your house in Costa Rica well enough when you go away? It is summertime again in Costa Rica and that means trips to the beaches and national parks for all of us. For sure, you will have family and friends from back home visiting. They will want…
Beware of the brush fire during the dry season! If you own property in Costa Rica, you should pay attention to the windy months of December, January, and part of February. Brush fires are easily started and might be a danger to your property as well as to you and your family. If you are…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes If you’re an American expat, living in Costa Rica, you will love these 6 tax tips. According to recent statistics, Costa Rica is one of the best countries to live in. It ranks in top positions when it comes to the happiest and greenest places. The tropical paradise combines magnificent nature…