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…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Driving habits are different because most drivers in Costa Rica probably don’t have the discipline you might have. Learn about Costa Rican driving habits before you move to Costa Rica. In my opinion, the reason is that the Latin-American mindset when driving is different. Some might think I’m trying to…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes The word is out! Grecia home rentals are among the most affordable in the Central Valley. It seems like lots of US citizens are running from something. YES, you can find Grecia home rentals for around $500 – $600/month already. Our agents don’t make much money on it, but you…
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…
Are you moving to Costa Rica so you can go to a Costa Rican college? An application essay is a crucial part in the admission of students a Costa Rican colleges as well as it is in other parts of the world. The importance of the essays is well known and it proves to be…
Estimated Reading Time: 11 Minutes Now you probably say “40 smart steps to take before renting a home”? Why so many? You would think that renting a home in Costa Rica is easy. It is when you already live in the country, and if you speak Spanish, it’s a piece of cake. But when you’re…
Do you know how to write a resume that hits a home run? I bet you don’t! Getting a job in another country can be a daunting task. When the country in question is Costa Rica, it becomes twice as hard. However, working in Costa Rica promises one an encounter with an intriguing culture and…
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…
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…
Buying in the wrong place can change your life tremendously. Honestly, I’ve met people who have wanted to hang themselves, because of it. I’ve written a blog about that before. Unfortunately, I get listing requests from people who purchased in the wrong place all the time. Of course, they are desperate to sell! You have…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Which type of expats in Costa Rica do you belong to? I saw an interesting survey about types of expats worldwide on InterNations. In 2018, Costa Rica scored # 7 on the best expat destinations. That’s pretty awesome if you see that we’re #7 out of 68 countries. Of course,…
Yes, there is a marijuana friendly real estate broker in Costa Rica: me. I saw this article about Denver residential real estate agent Bob Costello. He launched a Marijuana friendly real estate broker advertising campaign in January 2014. That’s when the state of Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use by adults 21 and over. Great…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes Let me tell you all about kissing and greeting in Costa Rica. Not that I’m a kissing expert… But I do know that people kiss a lot more in Costa Rica than you might be used to. The title of this blog should really be “how do people in Costa…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes We were victims of a professional, well-planned home invasion. It is everyone’s worst fear of any crime because it happens in your home while you are there. The criminals were in our home for over an hour looking for a safe and money that was not there. This is not a…