Is smoking in Costa Rica becoming outdated? I grew up in a smoker’s family. The ashtrays were huge in our house. To quit smoking, was the most difficult thing I have done in my life. First I tried patches, gum, acupuncture, and other methods. I quit by using Champix (also called Chantix). By then, I…
This week, I’m going to continue with a partial grocery shopping list of our hard- or impossible-to-find gringo food items. Again, I expect to elicit a sizeable reaction from readers informing me where they found gringo food items I said we couldn’t find or couldn’t afford. Maybe you missed my blog 2 weeks ago? Then, I’ll…
Do you think you will miss your customary delicacies after moving to Costa Rica? If you are going to reside in Costa Rica, there is one adjustment you are probably going to be required to make. It is learning to find or invent substitutes for delicacies that don’t exist here. Other delicacies are so obscure…
Estimated Reading Time: 3 Minutes In the United States, Daylight Savings Time (DST) 2014 is on Sunday, March Nine and in most European countries on March 30. In Costa Rica, Daylight Savings Time was used for the first time in the summer of 1979, once in 1980 (from February until May), and in 1991 from…
A Costa Rica real estate client asked me to write about medicinal herbs in Costa Rica. This, fortunately, comes pretty easy to me. That’s because my dad, together with his partner, Hendrik Stins, opened La Buena Hierba in 1986. This was the first real medicinal herb store in Costa Rica, although you could find medicinal…
A car accident is never fun nor is it ever convenient. One Saturday a couple of months ago my husband was driving through Barrio Mexico, going to a Little Theatre Group rehearsal. He stopped at a stop sign as required and was thinking about whether he should go straight or turn right (he wasn’t familiar…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Like you don’t know how to do your laundry, right? Well, the best way to do your laundry in Costa Rica is to hire a maid and have her do it. I have written lots of blogs about the difference in culture between back home and Costa Rica and I…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Culture shock or culture bumps? That depends on the experts you hire for your move to Costa Rica. Recently, we have been publishing blogs by ex-pats TicoNuevo and FloridaTico that our readers seem to like. Why do readers like them? Because they tell you the truth! Because they don’t only…
Let’s talk about cultural differences today. I’m going to spend this blog on small items of note and a few observations. Some of it similar to the culture we are used to being part of in North America. Some of it is a derivative of the Spanish influence and, while I am no expert, some…
Estimated Reading Time: 8 Minutes Have you ever tried to do your own dishwasher installation in Costa Rica? Ralph did! Ralph and Gloria have lived in Costa Rica in the nineties and moved to Florida. Now, they miss Costa Rica a lot. Ralph loves to read Ivo’s blog every week Ralph has some great stories…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes We have lots of bugs in Costa Rica, so for those who have a bug phobia… My first meeting with a monster spider, made me ask myself what I was doing on a coffee farm in Costa Rica. Gradually I adjusted to my new life in the tropics and learned…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Do you know what a MacGyver in Costa Rica means? TicoNuevo wrote a blog about hardware stores in Costa Rica this week. I would like to go a bit deeper into the matter. He said: “be prepared to substitute or make do with something other than the perfect solution”. If…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes How difficult is driving in Costa Rica? I am now assuming for a minute that you have a valid drivers’ license. The kickback style of Costa Rica’s citizens is reflected in the posted speed limits throughout the country. Remember, I said “posted” speed limits. Sometimes, even I find it hard…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes It’s time to eat in a Costa Rican restaurant or soda, and learn to read the menu. Once you move to Costa Rica, you will want to eat out once in a while. Depending on where you are going to live, you will be able to read the menu or…
Speaking bad Spanish is better than no Spanish. If you want to live in Costa Rica and you want to communicate with the locals, do not be afraid of speaking bad Spanish. Most people, when they are learning a new language, they are afraid of making mistakes. When I started learning Spanish, I used to…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes What to bring when moving to Costa Rica? I bet you don’t know! There is stuff you love and there is stuff you think is important. When you’re asking what to bring when relocating, you should probably make a list. Well, The house is sold, Also, the cars are sold,…