i plan to leave the US in less then 2 years which is why i'm asking these questions about areas where to live.i applied for citizenship to canada but i'm on a waiting list and can withdraw if i choose to do so. havent been down to CR yet, but from what i've read seems like a place i'd like.
where do you live? what do you do? how is your quality of life? whats the overall mood of people around you? how do you see costa rica in 10 or so years?
bro, with all due respect, get on a fuckin' plane already, and stop asking all these stupid questions..."what is the overall mood of the people around you"? wtf is that supposed to mean?
oh, so you're torn between canada, and cr? i've been out of the states for a while, but last time i checked, theres' about a million degree difference in temp.
get down here, drive the wonderful paved roads, bask in the 9 months of sunshine, er rain, take a tour of lyon 13, i'm sure they'll have some rentals available...
just get the fuck down here, and stop asking so many questions.
regards.
It's going to be one hell of an adjustment for me, but I know that.
Whether or not I can cope with it long term is the question.
I've spent a ton of time in Mexico(and a few days in SJ), so in general I know what I'm getting into. It will end up being what I make of it.
If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. I could easily end up in Europe or Australia.
Big world out there & I haven't seen nearly enough of it. Time for me to fly!
p.s. Despite running computer networks for 15 years, I never have taken the Crackberry jump-those things make people flat out neurotic....seriously!
Whether or not I can cope with it long term is the question.
I've spent a ton of time in Mexico(and a few days in SJ), so in general I know what I'm getting into. It will end up being what I make of it.
If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. I could easily end up in Europe or Australia.
Big world out there & I haven't seen nearly enough of it. Time for me to fly!
p.s. Despite running computer networks for 15 years, I never have taken the Crackberry jump-those things make people flat out neurotic....seriously!
FYI
<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=700 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>
After weeks of problems, suspicions, people falling ill and allegations of illegalities, the national water company still does not know where the water at Avalon Country Club in Santa Ana comes from, said a representative from the company Tuesday.
Residents of the condominium project continue to worry about their safety as some said they became ill from drinking the water.
Workers from the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantrillados company shut the water off Aug. 18 when they learned developers had been taking the water without permission before the project was complete, said Pedro Barrantes of the institute's Santa Ana office.
The water has not been turned on since, said Barrantes by telephone Tuesday. The only water the utility company is providing to the Avalon project is through a three-quarter-inch pipe meant to be used only for construction purposes, said Barrantes. The water from the construction pipe is potable, said Barrantes, but it would not be sufficient for all the residents in the condominium project. Barrantes said he did not know from where Avalon developers were getting the water for tenants.
A three-quarter-inch pipe would be the size installed to provide service to a medium-sized single-family home.
One resident, Marcia Jiménez, said she paid to have her water tested and that the results confirmed Wednesday that the water was potable. Ms. Jiménez said the water test made by Laboratorios Labin in Santa Ana put her fears at rest and she has no problems living in the development.
Other residents however are not so upbeat. Two residents said they received powder from the water company to test if their tap water had been chlorinated and the results came back negative, meaning the water has not been treated, they said
One resident, Bob Maillet, said he has had enough and plans to move out of the condominium as soon as possible. Maillet, originally from Alaska, said last month that he thinks the whole operation should be shut down by the board of health, that the water smells and that the owner
actually wanted residents to pay for the water trucked in after the water company shut off the supply. Maillet said he
</TD><TD vAlign=top width=350>doesn't feel clean when he gets out of the shower and that he would rather be back camping in Alaska than live in Avalon. He rents.
The Avalon administration has not been forthcoming in the case, and reporters have been unable to reach the owner of the condominium project, identified as Alberto Rampoldi. The project is supposed to have 350 units.
A receptionist at Avalon Country Club said Wednesday she did not know if the water was safe to drink and hung the phone up on a reporter. Residents say the former administrator, Margel Giacometto, recently quit as have a number of administrators before her.
The woman said to have taken her place, Hazel Vargas, did not return a reporter's call.
During the period that the water company completely cut its services off, Avalon Country Club residents did not have water for almost a week, they said. Residents received water for about two hours per day, said Ms. Jiménez. That is the time when her husband got sick.
After the water was cut off, residents reported seeing water trucks bringing in the water for about five days. That suddenly stopped and now no one seems to know exactly where the water is coming from, said a resident.
According to Eduardo Solano, a representative from Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, developers were never supposed to have moved people in before the project was finished.
Maillet said he and his wife were told when they moved in that the project was almost complete. The phone lines, supposed to be available right away, took three months, he said.
There is still a gym, a swimming pool, and three more buildings that have not been completed and construction starts at 6:30 every morning, he said.
On top of it all, both renters and owners paid a monthly condominium fee of more than $100 each month, they said. Part of that fee was meant to go towards the water, according to residents.
There is at least one group of homeowners that has hired a lawyer and wants to take the case to court to see the payment records, said residents. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://www.amcostarica.com/morenews3.htm
<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=700 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>
Condo project seems to have a mystery source of water
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=350>
By Elise Sonray
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff
After weeks of problems, suspicions, people falling ill and allegations of illegalities, the national water company still does not know where the water at Avalon Country Club in Santa Ana comes from, said a representative from the company Tuesday.
Residents of the condominium project continue to worry about their safety as some said they became ill from drinking the water.
Workers from the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantrillados company shut the water off Aug. 18 when they learned developers had been taking the water without permission before the project was complete, said Pedro Barrantes of the institute's Santa Ana office.
The water has not been turned on since, said Barrantes by telephone Tuesday. The only water the utility company is providing to the Avalon project is through a three-quarter-inch pipe meant to be used only for construction purposes, said Barrantes. The water from the construction pipe is potable, said Barrantes, but it would not be sufficient for all the residents in the condominium project. Barrantes said he did not know from where Avalon developers were getting the water for tenants.
A three-quarter-inch pipe would be the size installed to provide service to a medium-sized single-family home.
One resident, Marcia Jiménez, said she paid to have her water tested and that the results confirmed Wednesday that the water was potable. Ms. Jiménez said the water test made by Laboratorios Labin in Santa Ana put her fears at rest and she has no problems living in the development.
Other residents however are not so upbeat. Two residents said they received powder from the water company to test if their tap water had been chlorinated and the results came back negative, meaning the water has not been treated, they said
One resident, Bob Maillet, said he has had enough and plans to move out of the condominium as soon as possible. Maillet, originally from Alaska, said last month that he thinks the whole operation should be shut down by the board of health, that the water smells and that the owner
actually wanted residents to pay for the water trucked in after the water company shut off the supply. Maillet said he
</TD><TD vAlign=top width=350>doesn't feel clean when he gets out of the shower and that he would rather be back camping in Alaska than live in Avalon. He rents.
The Avalon administration has not been forthcoming in the case, and reporters have been unable to reach the owner of the condominium project, identified as Alberto Rampoldi. The project is supposed to have 350 units.
A receptionist at Avalon Country Club said Wednesday she did not know if the water was safe to drink and hung the phone up on a reporter. Residents say the former administrator, Margel Giacometto, recently quit as have a number of administrators before her.
The woman said to have taken her place, Hazel Vargas, did not return a reporter's call.
During the period that the water company completely cut its services off, Avalon Country Club residents did not have water for almost a week, they said. Residents received water for about two hours per day, said Ms. Jiménez. That is the time when her husband got sick.
After the water was cut off, residents reported seeing water trucks bringing in the water for about five days. That suddenly stopped and now no one seems to know exactly where the water is coming from, said a resident.
According to Eduardo Solano, a representative from Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, developers were never supposed to have moved people in before the project was finished.
Maillet said he and his wife were told when they moved in that the project was almost complete. The phone lines, supposed to be available right away, took three months, he said.
There is still a gym, a swimming pool, and three more buildings that have not been completed and construction starts at 6:30 every morning, he said.
On top of it all, both renters and owners paid a monthly condominium fee of more than $100 each month, they said. Part of that fee was meant to go towards the water, according to residents.
There is at least one group of homeowners that has hired a lawyer and wants to take the case to court to see the payment records, said residents. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://www.amcostarica.com/morenews3.htm
I live there...basically like the place, I was able to buy a 2 bedroom for $95k, but they're selling for about $125+ right now. I see alot of For Sale signs on the windows, so I suggest negotiating.
Pros: pretty good international crowd, hot Argentinian women at the pool along with some nice ticas as well, weather is usually pretty nice, good green areas and soon the gym and semi-olympic pool will be done, maintanance fee isnt too bad.
Cons: still under construction which isnt that bad if you buy a unit further away, administration is unorganized, size of the apts is a bit small.
in general i like it, easy to take care of and leave without too many worries, good for single guys that travel.
** as for the water thing, the guys that are testing the water themselves in the post above seem to be interested in taking over the admin and are constantly stirring up shit to keep people aggravated. I feel it has been resolved by the water company and there is no story here. the developer owns 40% of the condos, why the F would he want to purpose shoothimself in the foot and goof with the water.
Pros: pretty good international crowd, hot Argentinian women at the pool along with some nice ticas as well, weather is usually pretty nice, good green areas and soon the gym and semi-olympic pool will be done, maintanance fee isnt too bad.
Cons: still under construction which isnt that bad if you buy a unit further away, administration is unorganized, size of the apts is a bit small.
in general i like it, easy to take care of and leave without too many worries, good for single guys that travel.
** as for the water thing, the guys that are testing the water themselves in the post above seem to be interested in taking over the admin and are constantly stirring up shit to keep people aggravated. I feel it has been resolved by the water company and there is no story here. the developer owns 40% of the condos, why the F would he want to purpose shoothimself in the foot and goof with the water.
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I just spent the last 3 months looking around for a place to buy in Costa Rica. Although you may only be considering to rent the following information still applies.
I narrowed down my search to Belen, Santa Ana and Escazu. The main reason for this is because of the location and climate. There tends to be a lot of humidity in this country and certain areas are more prone to humidity than others. Belen and Santa Ana for example are dry areas and Escazu is ok depending on the area.
As others have mentioned the traffic from Santa Ana to Belen is awful and can take sometimes more than 45 minutes to get to your destination! If you will be working from home that might not big such a big deal, just avoid going out 7am - 9am and 3pm - 7pm. Althought these days there is really no good time of the day.
Keep in mind that each municipality has it's fair share of areas with lower income households so keep an eye out for that when your down here looking around, preferably you'll want to be further rather than closer.
Something else to consider is cable. Although in some areas both Amnet and Cable Tica offer service you will want to do your best to obtain a place within the Amnet area since they provide quite a few channels with SAP so you can hear the programms in English instead of Spanish. At least for me that's a biggie. Also their cable internet is very good and I rarely have problems with it.
Avalon Country Club is new and a lot of people bought there as an investment to later re-sell for more money. I think you get what you pay for and the construction isn't exactly top of the line. If your looking to rent then it really won't matter.
Regards, Nick
I narrowed down my search to Belen, Santa Ana and Escazu. The main reason for this is because of the location and climate. There tends to be a lot of humidity in this country and certain areas are more prone to humidity than others. Belen and Santa Ana for example are dry areas and Escazu is ok depending on the area.
As others have mentioned the traffic from Santa Ana to Belen is awful and can take sometimes more than 45 minutes to get to your destination! If you will be working from home that might not big such a big deal, just avoid going out 7am - 9am and 3pm - 7pm. Althought these days there is really no good time of the day.
Keep in mind that each municipality has it's fair share of areas with lower income households so keep an eye out for that when your down here looking around, preferably you'll want to be further rather than closer.
Something else to consider is cable. Although in some areas both Amnet and Cable Tica offer service you will want to do your best to obtain a place within the Amnet area since they provide quite a few channels with SAP so you can hear the programms in English instead of Spanish. At least for me that's a biggie. Also their cable internet is very good and I rarely have problems with it.
Avalon Country Club is new and a lot of people bought there as an investment to later re-sell for more money. I think you get what you pay for and the construction isn't exactly top of the line. If your looking to rent then it really won't matter.
Regards, Nick
I am Canadian and im living back in Canada. I can guarantee you one thing and thats that in under a year I will be back in Costa Rica. I hate Canada already cuz it's getting very cold, and everyone seems to think they are special and entitled to something? Fuck em all, CR is my haven, greatest place ever..
Whenever i live here i find myself traveling just to get away from it... family and friends here sure, but i have that in CR
Whenever i live here i find myself traveling just to get away from it... family and friends here sure, but i have that in CR
If you had $1300/month your living pretty damn good... if you make $2,000 ur pretty happy..
A 6 pack of beer is like 5 bucks, smokes are a buck, foods pretty cheap and you can get a very nice apartment or house for under $500/month.. bills are maybe another 100 bucks? (keep in mind all of you im comparing it to where i live in Canada).
