Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes Is it true that gringos living in Costa Rica do stupid things? Hey, I found 16 stupid things. Maybe you’ll come up with a few more. Post them in the comment box, please. The first thing that I should do, in case someone misunderstands the term “gringo”, is to explain…
One of the most difficult things for me adapting to the Costa Rican culture has been the fact that Ticos are not really proactive. Of course, there are those who are, but they are an exception. Most are pretty reactive. If you wonder, yes I am still trying to adapt to a different culture after…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Did you know that the family in Costa Rica is very important for everyone? In Costa Rica, family sticks together, even if they can’t stand each other. Costa Ricans do anything and everything with the family as much as they can. They are very traditional in their family lifestyle and…
Of course, you want to find out about the 10 life changing facts or think twice before you marry a Costa Rican. I’ll tell you why. Most men who move to Costa Rica, except for the blind ones, agree that Costa Rican women are beautiful. In some cases, this can turn into a problem. For…
Cajón what? El Cajon de Grecia! Few imagine that is the name of one of the nicest communities to live in the Central Valley. It’s close to Grecia, not to be mistaken with Greece in Europe. I know El Cajón de Grecia reasonably well myself because I’ve joined Brooke Bishop, our Grecia agent many times…
“What about Deco Chunches? That can be a great name for your business” I told my friends. Years ago, I was just starting to work in Costa Rica real estate, I helped some friends who started a used furniture and decoration store to find a name for their store that people would recognize easier. Their…
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…
You are here to learn all about tipping in Costa Rica. In most countries, you’re expected to tip, even if you’re not happy with the service. In others, tipping is simply not done. You just arrived at the international airport in Costa Rica. As soon as you walk outside arrivals, 10 guys jump on you,…
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…