MJ?

[layinwood]

MJ, are you still down in CR?

I'm about 6 years away from both of my kids going to college. My wife and I are in serious talks about moving south when that happens. Her sister has a place in Mazatlan and loves it, as does my wife. I would like to go a little further south to somewhere like CR. Even though it's 6 years away I want to go ahead and start planning so we're thinking about renting a place this summer for a month and all of us going down there. Did you get to see many areas? I want to be near the Pacific ocean so we can go to the beach and surf as a family. I've been looking and don't know if there are any differences between the north, central and south western coastlines. Did you rent a car there?

 

[MadJack]

MJ, are you still down in CR?

I'm about 6 years away from both of my kids going to college. My wife and I are in serious talks about moving south when that happens. Her sister has a place in Mazatlan and loves it, as does my wife. I would like to go a little further south to somewhere like CR. Even though it's 6 years away I want to go ahead and start planning so we're thinking about renting a place this summer for a month and all of us going down there. Did you get to see many areas? I want to be near the Pacific ocean so we can go to the beach and surf as a family. I've been looking and don't know if there are any differences between the north, central and south western coastlines. Did you rent a car there?

I'm back home. You better stay for at least a month to get a feel for it and move around to different areas, there are lots of differences between the different regions. One month isn't enough time, IMO.

I'm getting ready to go out for a couple hours and will post more when I get back or later tonight.

I don't think it's for me personally but a lot of people really like it there so it just depends.

I'll also ask Pug to help you out in this thread because he's been there a few years, I think, and he lives near the beach and knows a lot about that area and other areas as well.

:0008

 

[MadJack]

I have a few minutes, waiting for my phone to charge some before I go.

When I got back home I really realized how much I like the US. Some things; the food and food selection in grocery stores. OMG, I really didn't care for what CR had to offer. I was excited before getting there to go to their weekly produce markets and here's what I didn't like. The corn - no taste at all. No sweet corn in Costa Rica. The strawberries - blah. Nothing like the strawberries like you get here. The beef? Forget it, nothing like the states. I couldn't even find a hamburger I liked even if I bought my own ground beef and grilled my own. I just gavce up on eating beef and stuck with chicken. It's just different. That's only a few things, the rest of the fruits and veggies are about the same as here.

The selection in the grocery stores suck unless you want a huge selection of beans and rice, they sure have that covered. Spices? LOL

Prices? Almost everything costs more in CR. Like 12-16 bucks for a 6 pack of Budweiser for example. The food that gets imported there is all more expensive. Cars are 3 times more than they cost here. Electronics? Forget it. TV? LOL

I didn't rent a car because a lady let me use her POS but cards will cost to rent about $35 a day. There's no way to get around buying the insurance that runs about $25-$30 a day. And be careful driving, it's fucking nuts there, a free for all. No rules are followed. The most aggressive driver wins or you get hit.

It was nice to get back home and have english spoken everywhere I go. It was nice to drive my car again on nice roads and rules that people actually follow. It was nice to get the food I like and go to restaurants I like. I missed the US a lot more than I thought I ever would.

I stayed in a house that cost me $1700 a month that would be about the same as the US but in Indiana it would sell for about $200K and they wanted $500K for it. Many nice houses to rent because the people that bought them can't sell them. Don't buy unless you KNOW you like it there and are going to stay because you'll never sell it.

I'll have more later.

 

[REFLOG]

Almost everything costs more in CR. Like 12-16 bucks for a 6 pack of Budweiser:scared:scared:scared:scared:scared

 

[MadJack]

Almost everything costs more in CR. Like 12-16 bucks for a 6 pack of Budweiser:scared:scared:scared:scared:scared

You have to make changes. No Mickeys either. :facepalm:

Vodka is about the same but the selection is small. I was drinking wine that costs double in the states. I doubt I was there long enough or got around enough to really know. You do have to know where to go, that's for sure. The language barrier is worse than I thought but if you live near or around San Jose I think more english is spoken. I think I would like in in Escuzu but the traffic there is unbearable. I'll be going back and check out other areas. I'm not going to the beaches because it's too damn hot there for me. I hate hot weather.

 

[REFLOG]

Look forward to the rest of the trip report:0074

 

[IE]

internet sucks unless your in san jose, correct ?

healthcare is cheaper there, correct ?

http://www.curacao.com/en/

used to be more expensive, i wonder if it stills is ?,lot of sportsbooks going there now.

 

[Wineguy]

I have a few minutes, waiting for my phone to charge some before I go.

When I got back home I really realized how much I like the US. Some things; the food and food selection in grocery stores. OMG, I really didn't care for what CR had to offer. I was excited before getting there to go to their weekly produce markets and here's what I didn't like. The corn - no taste at all. No sweet corn in Costa Rica. The strawberries - blah. Nothing like the strawberries like you get here. The beef? Forget it, nothing like the states. I couldn't even find a hamburger I liked even if I bought my own ground beef and grilled my own. I just gavce up on eating beef and stuck with chicken. It's just different. That's only a few things, the rest of the fruits and veggies are about the same as here.

The selection in the grocery stores suck unless you want a huge selection of beans and rice, they sure have that covered. Spices? LOL

Prices? Almost everything costs more in CR. Like 12-16 bucks for a 6 pack of Budweiser for example. The food that gets imported there is all more expensive. Cars are 3 times more than they cost here. Electronics? Forget it. TV? LOL

I didn't rent a car because a lady let me use her POS but cards will cost to rent about $35 a day. There's no way to get around buying the insurance that runs about $25-$30 a day. And be careful driving, it's fucking nuts there, a free for all. No rules are followed. The most aggressive driver wins or you get hit.

It was nice to get back home and have english spoken everywhere I go. It was nice to drive my car again on nice roads and rules that people actually follow. It was nice to get the food I like and go to restaurants I like. I missed the US a lot more than I thought I ever would.

I stayed in a house that cost me $1700 a month that would be about the same as the US but in Indiana it would sell for about $200K and they wanted $500K for it. Many nice houses to rent because the people that bought them can't sell them. Don't buy unless you KNOW you like it there and are going to stay because you'll never sell it.

I'll have more later.

That was damn well written Sir. Thanks for the info. This could be your first installment for your blog. :SIB

 

[Wineguy]

You have to make changes. No Mickeys either. :facepalm:

Vodka is about the same but the selection is small. I was drinking wine that costs double in the states. I doubt I was there long enough or got around enough to really know. You do have to know where to go, that's for sure. The language barrier is worse than I thought but if you live near or around San Jose I think more english is spoken. I think I would like in in Escuzu but the traffic there is unbearable. I'll be going back and check out other areas. I'm not going to the beaches because it's too damn hot there for me. I hate hot weather.

So you are saying I would be just fine there??? Except the cruddy beef would drive me crazy.

 

[pug]

MJ, are you still down in CR?

I'm about 6 years away from both of my kids going to college. My wife and I are in serious talks about moving south when that happens. Her sister has a place in Mazatlan and loves it, as does my wife. I would like to go a little further south to somewhere like CR. Even though it's 6 years away I want to go ahead and start planning so we're thinking about renting a place this summer for a month and all of us going down there. Did you get to see many areas? I want to be near the Pacific ocean so we can go to the beach and surf as a family. I've been looking and don't know if there are any differences between the north, central and south western coastlines. Did you rent a car there?

I live just outside of Jaco beach on the Central Pacific coast. My wife and I moved here 2 1/2 years ago and love it. There are many different areas in CR, even along the coasts. I would be happy to help with any questions you might have. Feel free to get my email from Jack if you want to.

 

[pug]

internet sucks unless your in san jose, correct ?

healthcare is cheaper there, correct ?

http://www.curacao.com/en/

used to be more expensive, i wonder if it stills is ?,lot of sportsbooks going there now.

I wouldn't say the internet sucks. It's not as fast as we had in the US but it's fast enough to play streaming video.

We pay $72 a month for healthcare and everything is covered with no co-pays. However, it's a government run system so there are waits if you need a specialty doctor. Alternatively, you can buy a private medical insurance policy for about $100 per month with low co-pays. Also, you don't need prescriptions here. You can get almost any drug by just buying it in the pharmacy. Therefore, the need to actually see a doctor is very reduced.

 

[pug]

I have a few minutes, waiting for my phone to charge some before I go.

When I got back home I really realized how much I like the US. Some things; the food and food selection in grocery stores. OMG, I really didn't care for what CR had to offer. I was excited before getting there to go to their weekly produce markets and here's what I didn't like. The corn - no taste at all. No sweet corn in Costa Rica. The strawberries - blah. Nothing like the strawberries like you get here. The beef? Forget it, nothing like the states. I couldn't even find a hamburger I liked even if I bought my own ground beef and grilled my own. I just gavce up on eating beef and stuck with chicken. It's just different. That's only a few things, the rest of the fruits and veggies are about the same as here.

The selection in the grocery stores suck unless you want a huge selection of beans and rice, they sure have that covered. Spices? LOL

Prices? Almost everything costs more in CR. Like 12-16 bucks for a 6 pack of Budweiser for example. The food that gets imported there is all more expensive. Cars are 3 times more than they cost here. Electronics? Forget it. TV? LOL

I didn't rent a car because a lady let me use her POS but cards will cost to rent about $35 a day. There's no way to get around buying the insurance that runs about $25-$30 a day. And be careful driving, it's fucking nuts there, a free for all. No rules are followed. The most aggressive driver wins or you get hit.

It was nice to get back home and have english spoken everywhere I go. It was nice to drive my car again on nice roads and rules that people actually follow. It was nice to get the food I like and go to restaurants I like. I missed the US a lot more than I thought I ever would.

I stayed in a house that cost me $1700 a month that would be about the same as the US but in Indiana it would sell for about $200K and they wanted $500K for it. Many nice houses to rent because the people that bought them can't sell them. Don't buy unless you KNOW you like it there and are going to stay because you'll never sell it.

I'll have more later.

I wouldn't say everything is more. Some things are more and some are less. Also, it depends on your lifestyle. Let me give some examples:

1. Cars. 60% higher
2. Houses. It depends but I'll call this even
3. Food. If you insist on eating a lot of meat or US products than 25% higher. if you eat a lot of fish, fruits, vegetables and CR made food, than 25% less.
4. Electricity 50% higher but the solution is to get solar power like I have or live in the mountains where you don't need heat or ac and then your bill will be very small.
5. Phone. 25% less
6. Internet. 25% less
7. Satellite tv. Same price and channels as US but you have to buy the dish upfront for $700
8. medical. 80% less
9. Veterinarian. 80% less
10. Yard care/ maid. 70% less
11. gas for your house. No such thing here
12. Gas for car. 75% higher BUT most people drive much less here. I spend 80% less on gas here because I drive much fewer miles even though gas costs more.
13. Property taxes. 80% less
14. Sales tax. No such thing here but we do have a 13% service tax
15. income tax Much less (10-15% on CR income) No tax on investments here
16. clothes. 25% higher
17. Restaurants. Similar cost
18. car repairs. Similar cost unless you have a US car and need to ship the parts from the US
19. Water. Similar cost but mine is zero since I have a well
20. Car/house insurance. 25% less
21. Car registration. 1000% higher (10x US prices)

 

[MadJack]

I wouldn't say everything is more. Some things are more and some are less. Also, it depends on your lifestyle. Let me give some examples:

1. Cars. 60% higher
I think you're low but you know more about that place than I do. I guess that depends on who you know too.
2. Houses. It depends but I'll call this even
Agree
3. Food. If you insist on eating a lot of meat or US products than 25% higher. if you eat a lot of fish, fruits, vegetables and CR made food, than 25% less.
Agree. I'm sure your seafood selection and quantity and quality is better where you live than it is in Atenas.
4. Electricity 50% higher but the solution is to get solar power like I have or live in the mountains where you don't need heat or ac and then your bill will be very small.
It's much lower where I was staying compared but I was in a much cooler climate. $250-$300 in states, ~$75 in Atenas.
5. Phone. 25% less
agree
6. Internet. 25% less
I'd be will to pay double for better speed. In Atenas they only have wifi internet and it sucked and I still paid $120 a month.
7. Satellite tv. Same price and channels as US but you have to buy the dish upfront for $700
8. medical. 80% less
I was renting so that was not an option.
9. Veterinarian. 80% less
yep
10. Yard care/ maid. 70% less
Yep, but I don't use those services.
11. gas for your house. No such thing here
yep
12. Gas for car. 75% higher BUT most people drive much less here. I spend 80% less on gas here because I drive much fewer miles even though gas costs more.
yep
13. Property taxes. 80% less
yep and that's huge if you're retired and living there full time.
14. Sales tax. No such thing here but we do have a 13% service tax
the import taxes drive the price of many things we are use to having available for purchase way up.
15. income tax Much less (10-15% on CR income) No tax on investments here
no clue
16. clothes. 25% higher
if you're 6'4" tall and weigh 230-250 good luck.
17. Restaurants. Similar cost
but the food sucks
18. car repairs. Similar cost unless you have a US car and need to ship the parts from the US
I would think being about to speak the language would help not gettong ripped off. or know somebody who knows somebody.
19. Water. Similar cost but mine is zero since I have a well
water was free and good
20. Car/house insurance. 25% less
I guess
21. Car registration. 1000% higher (10x US prices)

Thanks for sharing. I always meant to hook up with you while I was there but it never happened. The next time for sure.

 

[layinwood]

Pug, were there any other Central or South American countries on your radar when you looked at moving down there?

 

[SixFive]

I just don't ever seeing myself retiring in another country, but the future is very uncertain, and it could happen.

 

[pug]

Pug, were there any other Central or South American countries on your radar when you looked at moving down there?

Yes. We considered a lot of countries and visited 15-20 of them. In Central and South America we checked out: Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia.

I've also been to the other Central American countries (Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador) but never gave them any consideration due to crime.