We had to call in a plumber this week as one of the hot water heaters went on the fritz. We felt certain we were going to have to buy a new tank or be told we needed to buy a new tank from whomever we brought into the house to look at it.
We got [...]
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Filed under: Domestic matters, Living in Costa Rica
Since rentista financial requirements have risen so much since the last law change in August it has made it impossible for many families to make this large of a deposit to obtain residency. At present for a family of 4 to become legal residents of Costa Rica under Rentista status they would have to put [...]
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Filed under: Living in Costa Rica, Residency in Costa Rica
You see them at all the peaje’s (tollbooths) and at selected semafaro’s (stop lights) selling anything from sunglasses to bags of mango. Dozens of them walking between cars trying to sell their wares. It amazes me that when things move so slow in Costa Rica, these guys can move in record time for a sale.
Imagine [...]
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Filed under: Living in Costa Rica
Citizens of the U.S. and Canada need valid passports to stay for 90 days. No visas are required.
All Europeans need valid passports; no Western European citizens need visas. Most Europeans may stay up to 90 days. Ireland, Australia and New Zealand citizens are given inital permission for 30 days, with a valid passport.
In Central America, [...]
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Filed under: Living in Costa Rica, Residency in Costa Rica
Most banks have ATM machines (cajero automatico in Spanish); most are part of the country’s ATH (A Toda Hora) or Red Total networks and can accept international cards. Check with your home bank for transaction charges and if your PIN needs to be converted for use here. Most times it does not. Lines of epic [...]
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Filed under: Living in Costa Rica, Money in Costa Rica
Costa Rica’s banking options include both private and public banks, with each alternative offering its benefits and drawbacks. The four public banks can be slower, with longer lines-especially durning the lunch hour, at the end of the day, and on pay day-but are making efforts to increase efficiency and tend to offer better access with [...]
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Filed under: Banking in Costa Rica, Living in Costa Rica
This past week, we were robbed by a scam that I knew existed just didn’t think it would happen to us. Someone called on our home for sale and scheduled an appointment to come see it. When they arrived in a taxi, I should have been alarmed but took him on his word that he [...]
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Filed under: The Dark Side
