Estimated Reading Time: 10 Minutes Looking for free apps you can use in Costa Rica? If you’re a tourist or an English-speaking resident, this blog should interest you! You’ll be surprised how much assistance these free apps can give you in Costa Rica. Many of us now live with our phones in hand, all day…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Costa Ricans still dress quite conservatively in public, although they are not as prudish anymore as they used to be. Costa Rica is not that 3rd world country where I moved to in 1980 anymore. Although, of course, television and foreign influence have opened their minds tremendously. But there are…
Estimated Reading Time: 11 Minutes These are the most read live in Costa Rica blogs 2021, of a total of 615 published since 2010. It all started when I realized how many questions our website visitors ask that I could respond to easier by writing a blog about it. The hard part of writing a…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes This week, we had the monthly ARCR seminar, part of the Christopher Howard’s Live in Costa Rica Tour. Elizabeth, one of the participants, asked me about Dutch cooking, and we ended up talking about vegetables and Tico Cooking. So I thought to re-publish this article. In 2015, I felt an…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes No matter where you live in the world, you need tolerance to live in peace and harmony with your neighbors. Therefore, if you want to move to Costa Rica, YOU have to adapt to the local culture and not the other way around. To be able to adapt, you will…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Suicide Showers, Surfer Hotels, and Other Things to Avoid on Your First Trip to Costa Rica. Unless you want to go native and adapt to your new home country. In this blog, I’m trying to cover things you may not hear or read before you visit Costa Rica for the…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Getting around this relatively small nation is pretty straightforward, but you should know a few things. Costa Rica has more than its share of national parks, outdoor activities, beaches, wildlife, laidback lifestyles, and many cultural activities. You should be aware that driving times and speed limits are slower than you…
Estimated Reading Time: 9 Minutes I was updating this blog about vehicle restriction or tag day and realized that the government started implementing this restriction on the 6th of April, 2013 for the first time. So, it’s about time for an update, especially with all the Covid restrictions. For a realtor, before Covid started, vehicle…
Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes Would you like to learn how to handle culture shock when you move to Costa Rica? Did you know that culture shock is good for you? Honestly, I didn’t either. George Santayana explains in his article that you should try culture shock to keep the mind nimble, kill prejudice, and…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes I have thought about writing to you to say how much our life in Costa Rica meant to us. First of all, I want to tell you about another special experience we had there. When we moved down to Costa Rica, I purchased two Isuzu Troopers to take with us. …
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Waking up early morning is horrible for many of us unless you’re a farmer. Normally, people who live in a colder climate go to bed late and wake up late. Some have a really hard time adjusting to that when they move to Costa Rica! Nonetheless, when you live in…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Did you know that you can get a foot in the door by investing in Costa Rica using your retirement funds? Of course, there are some rules. But most think their IRA or 401(k) can only be used to invest in stocks and bonds or in real estate in the…
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Of course, everyone says they have done their due diligence before they buy a property. Unfortunately, many think they do. They end up buying in the wrong place and say it’s everyone’s fault, except their own. This happens more often than you think. That’s one of the reasons I always…
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Ethical Traveler keeps supporting countries working to maintain strong environmental, human rights, and eco-tourism values. This nonprofit organization, Ethical Traveler, started placing Costa Rica in its Top 10 in 2011 of the best ethical destinations worldwide. Costa Rica did it again in 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Ethical…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes In this blog, I’m not going to solve the problems you have with bad neighbors. I’ve heard complaints from readers, who often forget that back home there are bad neighbors too. Everywhere! Hence the decision of writing this blog, so you can pick any of the 7 ways to deal…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes The definition of a soda in Costa Rica is different from soda in North America. The word soda has different meanings here, but they are easy to tell apart. Quite often, expats move to Costa Rica without taking the time or making the effort to learn the language of the…