Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes It’s not every day that you move to another country, so here are some must-read moving tips for you. There are many reasons for expats to move to Costa Rica, from its unique and beautiful natural appeal to the rich and diverse cultural heritage and business opportunities. One thing remains…
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…
There are a lot of die-hard American football fans in Costa Rica, and they go to a sports bar. I have to admit I belong to that group and when not working will be at a sports place – restaurant, watching a game. Some places are great because they have the ability to show 2-3…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes A water certification is needed for building permits and our building lot is serviced by the local Asada. My wife, Katya, and I speak some Spanish (though probably not enough). Still, we thought we knew the word “asada.” It meant “roasted” and frequently modified “carne” or, in a masculine form,…
I published the first 3 tips on how to turn your Costa Rica house into a successful vacation rental last week. My wife and I purchased a house in Costa Rica before we were ready to retire. Now we are trying to cover the cost of the maintenance of the property by renting the property…
In this blog, and another one next week, I will provide some tips to turn your house into a successful vacation rental. These tips may assist you to increase your success rate if your intent is to purchase a property to rent out part or all of the time. This is based on my own…
We decided to use our home as a Costa Rica vacation rental property. It has been some time since I reported on my experience with buying property in Costa Rica and living there. I thought it would be useful to give you an update. My wife and I are not yet at the point of…
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: 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 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…
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 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…
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 just never could find a way to fit it into our budget, even if only twice a month. We are now retired in Costa Rica…
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…
In this blog, I’m going to cover some food for a healthy diet that is in abundance and an inexpensive way to have a healthy diet. So, let’s eat. I’ll also mention several other specific examples of where to save money. This, in a few cases, means to go native. I can’t remember if I’ve…
Now, let’s talk about being a homeowner first. When comparing with homeownership in North America, it is, perhaps, the largest single savings experienced. The cost of being a homeowner by comparison to the States is much cheaper in Costa Rica. It depends on what you buy and where you buy. Remember, the real estate saying,…