When the food is awful, you say guácala. But when it’s great you say esta riquísimo! The word guácala means horrible, disgusting, distasteful, yuck, dreadful, gross or nasty. Even if you’ve never had anything like it, and they serve you a Gallo Pinto, don’t say guácala. Just tell the host or anfitrión, no, pero muchas…
It’s amazing how many people have enjoyed our bi-weekly Live in Costa Rica blogs 2019. What’s even more important is that blogs written 6 years ago get so much attention. Imagine that #10 was written in 2012. The #1 blog even had 32 views per day during 2019! I still enjoy writing Ivo’s blog and…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Do you think you can survive doing business in Costa Rica? Well, it’s easy for some, but for others, it’s more difficult than they think. Of course, nobody wants to talk about how difficult it can be to do business in Costa Rica. But here we do because we want…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes As soon as you arrive in Costa Rica, you’ll hear the words, Pura Vida, all the time. Keylor Navas, the famous Costa Rican goalkeeper uses Pura Vida all the time. Costa Rica might be famous for its nature, the beaches, and its coffee, but everyone is learning about Pura Vida.…
I’m not a golf player myself, but would I live on a Costa Rican golf course? From a real estate investor’s point of view, yes, I would. I’m also quite sure my wife would love a Costa Rican golf course as her landscaped backyard. Studies show that only 30% of the residents of a golf…
Watch out, Chris Schoo of Dutch Grecia Realty doesn’t belong to our real estate organization. He is not our friend, partner or employee. The only thing we have in common is that he carries the Dutch Nationality and that he works in the same city as Brooke Bishop. Why this warning? Because we have a…
Thinking of buying or renting a condominium in Costa Rica? Then you should know about some of the condominium bylaw restrictions first. Maybe there are restrictions that won’t allow you the living comfort as expected. Bylaws are very important when you live in a condominium. Actually, they can give you a lot more living comfort…
A casino resort is normally a big-time real estate investment involving millions of dollars. The latest such mega casino establishment to grace the gambling world will not be inaugurated in Las Vegas or Macau. It will be inaugurated right here in Costa Rica. A $ 400 million project known as Casino City Caribe is currently…
You’ll ask “what’s Guaro? And what’s Chiliguaro?”. Well, it all started with simple guaro. Guaro is a sugar cane – made clear liquor, similar to aguardiente. It was once the moonshine of Costa Rica. Now, it’s fabricated by the state-owned FANAL or Fabrica Nacional de Licores, in Grecia. It is marketed with the name Cacique…
Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes Buying property stress-free is like being a mom raising your first kid. It’s almost impossible to keep it stress-free unless you know what you’re doing. Just like parenthood, becoming a homeowner is wonderful, but challenging at first. But most of all, it’s exciting. If you know what you’re doing. It’s…