Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes I’d like to tell you about the decision making process before we purchased an Atenas property. Walt Disney said that “dreams really do come true.” Now we believe it – or at least we are starting to. Ten years ago, Katya and I first visited Costa Rica. We stayed on…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Last week, in my blog on Machismo in Costa Rica, I told you a bit about piropos or catcalling. They are like pick-up lines in English. A piropo is the Latin American way of giving another person a compliment and they are a tradition in Costa Rica, like it or…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Why must MacGyvering be used in Costa Rica quite often? In this blog, I’d like to recount an experience I had recently that is indicative of the way you’ll find product availability in this country. Learn more about MacGyver in Costa Rica now. My story is about buying lumber. It…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Machismo is part of the Latin American culture and though education and travel are changing this gender gap, you will still see a lot of machismo in the lower and middle social classes in Costa Rica. But what is machismo? Machismo is a concept of masculine pride, associated with men…
Estimated Driving Time: 6 Minutes Did you know that you need a Costa Rican drivers license when you have been in the country for more than 3 months? Nearly all obstacles to our residency in Costa Rica are in the rear-view mirror except for the matter of getting our Costa Rican drivers license. If you…
Is smoking in Costa Rica becoming outdated? I grew up in a smoker’s family. The ashtrays were huge in our house. To quit smoking, was the most difficult thing I have done in my life. First I tried patches, gum, acupuncture, and other methods. I quit by using Champix (also called Chantix). By then, I…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Did you receive your Dimex residency card yet? Our “moving-to-Costa-Rica” travails are pretty much behind us. Our recent focus has been getting our Dimex residency card (cedula de residencias) making us official full-time retired residents of Costa Rica. It was the biggest item and the one that has also taken the…
Estimated Driving Time: 7 Minutes I’d like to introduce you to a couple of Orosi Valley real estate agents: Carol and BF Wilkinson of Land and Homes in Costa Rica. Not that I want you to purchase real estate from them! It’s quite the contrary to that. If you are not careful when you buy…
Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes I titled this blog, “our tips for moving to Costa Rica” it easily could have been titled “our moving nightmare.” It seems that even when you are careful, get recommendations, and follow expert advice, everything still can go to heck in a handbasket. I have already covered some tips for…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Costa Rica lost the soccer game against The Netherlands! But the Ticos are still happy! But, it is no wonder Costa Rica is the happiest country in the world because the country has the highest life satisfaction in the world. Even when they lost the soccer game against the Netherlands…
In this blog, I will cover some specific examples of low costa skilled labor that make making things and repairs very affordable in Costa Rica. Pretty much every inexpensive good or service mentioned in this blog is a result of low-cost labor. In the States, we always wished that we could afford a housekeeper. We…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes In this blog, I will cover used and new clothing shopping as well as leather. When clothing shopping, you’ll learn that some of those are inexpensive comparing Costa Rica and North America. Costa Rica has quite a low labor cost. The result is inexpensive goods and services. Many more…