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: 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…
To nail it – dar en el clavo – is usually a miracle in Costa Rica, especially when dealing with a governmental institution. Things always turn out differently than you expected. Oh, and don’t expect them to be logical. Their logic is quite different from yours. When you finally think you figured it out, next…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes In Costa Rica, the ideal person to spend the rest of your life with is “la media naranja” or half an orange. According to Plato’s story the banquet in the Symposium, Aristophanes narrates that in the beginning, the human race was almost perfect, and they were spherical like oranges.…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes In Costa Rica, people have sometimes strange habits. They do a lot of things differently. When people ask me about Costa Rica, I talk all day, especially about strange habits. I just thought about a few more interesting things about living there and the house. We always thought the home…
I feel I’m a lucky guy every day when I wake up. It’s another day in Paradise. Of course, sometimes I do feel unlucky. But that only happens when my wife’s car was hit by a taxi. Or when my internet connection doesn’t work for 3 days. There are also days that I’m just lucky.…
I love galletas – cookies, I hope you do too. Because you know, GoDutch Realty is mucha galleta! To be mucha galleta, you have to be not only skilled, capable, and shrewd, but also competent. Fortunately, that is not hearsay. We can prove that many clients agree that we, at GoDutch Realty, are mucha galleta.…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Why do people move back after relocating to paradise? There are quite a few good reasons to relocate to Costa Rica. Try adventure, sunshine, lower cost of living, being happy, a better lifestyle, to mention a few. But what are the reasons to move back again? It is either a…
I’ve never been able to pronounce güiri güiri well. You probably won’t either. My wife makes fun of me when I try. That’s because you have to be able to roll your r’s. We Dutch have a hot potato in our throat, it’s an impossible task to pronounce güiri güiri correctly. In Costa Rica, güiri…
Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes You might think that the only traditional food in Costa Rica is Gallo Pinto. But Gallo Pinto is not the ONLY traditional food they have. The Spanish words traditional Costa Rican food is comida tipica Costarricense. Rice, corn, and beans are the main ingredients, but there are many vegetables here…
Bajarse los Pantalones is to give in on a dishonorable negotiation. If someone has lowered his pants when he accepts conditions that are clearly unfavorable to him. Now, that we’re in a tremendously difficult market right now. But don’t feel bad. Is there a lot of competition in your price range? Or is your property…
The Tica Zone, by author Allen Dickinson, was published in El Residente recently. I wanted my readers to also enjoy this beautiful story. Thanks Allen, for allowing me to share it. “You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries…
Amarrar el perro is to tie down the dog. But in Costa Rica, amarrar el perro is something that might happen to you if you’re not careful: Someone you know asks for a loan but will never pay it back. There is a good reason for not making that loan. The reason is that you…
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…
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.…
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…