Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Do you lock your house in Costa Rica well enough when you go away? It is summertime again in Costa Rica and that means trips to the beaches and national parks for all of us. For sure, you will have family and friends from back home visiting. They will want…
Beware of the brush fire during the dry season! If you own property in Costa Rica, you should pay attention to the windy months of December, January, and part of February. Brush fires are easily started and might be a danger to your property as well as to you and your family. If you are…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes If you’re an American expat, living in Costa Rica, you will love these 6 tax tips. According to recent statistics, Costa Rica is one of the best countries to live in. It ranks in top positions when it comes to the happiest and greenest places. The tropical paradise combines magnificent nature…
Not allowed to flush the paper down the toilet? How is that? Once in a while, people who visit me in my office, ask if they can use the restroom. Some, who have been staying in an older hotel or Bed & Breakfast or live in a rural location, open the door of my restroom,…
Who would have guessed that we have Black Friday in Costa Rica now too? Black Friday in Spanish is Viernes Negro, but almost nobody uses that. Last Friday, I saw no Black Friday signs on any Costa Rica real estate offices. I have asked a couple of sellers but they didn’t think I was serious.…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Moving to Costa Rica? Be smart and first take Christopher Howard’s famous Live in Costa Rica tours. Too many property buyers end up running all over the country without having a clue where to purchase or rent a vacation home or retirement home in Costa Rica. You have heard friends…
Sidewalks in Costa Rica? What’s that, a sidewalk? Who needs sidewalks anyway? Costa Ricans don’t use sidewalks, even if they have one. Costa Ricans walk on the road, mostly for lack of sidewalks or there are too many obstacles. A few weeks ago, I wrote about obstacles on the roads of Costa Rica. This blog…
Do you like bife de chorizo? I had never heard of this Argentinian restaurant in San Jose, though I had driven past it many times. I don’t go to San Jose that often anymore, but it looks like the city is becoming a good place for great restaurants again. Once in a while, when I…
Be careful when driving in Costa Rica, there are lots of road obstacles. Driving in Costa Rica can be overwhelming when you first arrive. I compare it to driving in Paris, Rome or Madrid, any Latin American city in Europe. It’s mainly the lack of discipline that turns roads into a madhouse, especial at peak…
Most people know a chorizo as a sausage made of minced meat and spices, usually dark red or brown and of elongated cylindrical shape. In Costa Rica, we have two types of chorizo, a legal one and an illegal one. Most butchers in Costa Rica make their own chorizo or sausage, some good and some…
There are a lot of die-hard American football fans in Costa Rica, and they go to a sports bar. I have to admit I belong to that group and when not working will be at a sports place – restaurant, watching a game. Some places are great because they have the ability to show 2-3…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes A water certification is needed for building permits and our building lot is serviced by the local Asada. My wife, Katya, and I speak some Spanish (though probably not enough). Still, we thought we knew the word “asada.” It meant “roasted” and frequently modified “carne” or, in a masculine form,…
Estimated Reading Time: 4 Minutes You are living in Costa Rica and need a new mailing address, which seems like a simple task. It can be a very simple task, depending on how easy you want to make it yourself. When ordering online, you’ll find that the space for the address is very small. Some…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Do Ticos love or hate gringos? You can read some nice and some not so nice comments on this same issue on Costa Rica Living Forum, where some tend to be a little blunt. Please leave your comments at the end of this blog, it will be appreciated very much.…
I published the first 3 tips on how to turn your Costa Rica house into a successful vacation rental last week. My wife and I purchased a house in Costa Rica before we were ready to retire. Now we are trying to cover the cost of the maintenance of the property by renting the property…
Did you know that water can be an issue when you request a building permit in an agricultural subdivision? Do you have a building lot in an agricultural subdivision in Costa Rica? Or maybe you are planning to buy one? If so, you better read this blog, so you can save yourself a lot of…