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Basset Hounds Get Frequent Flyer Miles

September 26th, 2006

We have been back from California for awhile. Before we left for our trip, I made a list of what we had to start doing. I used the Real Costa Rica suggested list that Tim has online, and edited it to fit our situation. I refer to it simply as The List, many times accompanied with a descriptive expletive, and it is taking on epic proportions. I can’t imagine trying to do this move without it, though. I am feeling overwhelmed today by all we still have to do. Continue reading »

I Heart Colorado

September 12th, 2006

I am home, but wrote this while we were still traveling…

I am writing this from Highway 70, somewhere in Colorado. We have driven through desert and mountains and have seen the best and worst the US has to offer, I think. I will start with LA – which pretty much is the best and worst all rolled into one! My son lives in Ventura, about an hour north of LA on the coast. I like it there, it is beautiful and I love the ocean. The town itself is cool, a little funky and fun right now, but they are trying to make it more upscale like Santa Barbara. I think it will probably be ruined in the process, but I hope not. The downside is that it is not very affordable to live there, at least compared to the Midwest and the weather is cooler than I like.

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Considerations on Moving to Costa Rica – Part One

September 1st, 2006

Actually, this is probably better titled: “Considerations on the Expatriate Life”. Certainly the things I am going to discuss apply no matter where you plan to go.

As you might expect, I get a lot of email from people who are either making the move to Costa Rica or are considering such a move. Some are baby boomers realizing that they may not be able to afford to retire in their home country… others are younger, asking about employment opportunities and lifestyle. They ask my advice on a variety of things,and I give the best answers I can. But over time, I have come to realize that there are a some questions that are never asked, but certainly should be asked, before making a move of this magnitude.

So here are my thoughts on this.

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Considerations on Moving to Costa Rica – Part Two

September 1st, 2006

Here is Part Two written especially for the under 50 crowd.

Under 50

Everything I wrote in Part One (for the over 50’s) is certainly applicable to the under-50 crowd of course. The biggest difference as I see it is that this younger group may not have financial independence, and thus they have to work in order to live here. With that in mind, their needs are clearly different.
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A Post from the Road

August 31st, 2006

Well, it has been an eventful week – not much related to our move, though. But I will try and find a connection. I am writing this from California, where we are visiting my son Michael, who is a student there. We flew out and we will be driving his car back to Missouri to get it inspected and licensed, he is flying in next week and driving it back. When he comes home, it will be his last chance to go through the house and rescue what he wants before we sell it all. And that is the segue, I guess – we ARE selling pretty much everything.

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The Countdown Begins…Day 80

August 24th, 2006

Hola! My name is Nora Schild. My husband, Dan and our two dogs – Hannah Banana the Satanic Basset and Toby, the kinder, gentler three-legged Basset are about 80 days away from making our move to Costa Rica.

We are both in our 40’s and visited Costa Rica for the first time a scant 3 1/2 years ago. It was a fluke that we wound up there, it was winter and we wanted a beach vacation. It was the first out of the US vacation we had ever taken, and we wanted a country that was interesting and not necessarily “touristy”. We did not want an all-inclusive resort, but something we could explore without feeling like we were taking advantage of a poverty stricken populace – we wanted to relax, not get bummed out and not feel guilty.

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Fresh Blood!

August 24th, 2006

As you can probably imagine, I get a ton of email from people who are thinking about making the BIG MOVE. Some are just sticking a toe in the international waters while others are in various stages of living the rest of their lives as expatriates.

Of course I made the move here some years ago and I remember I experienced the excitement, fear, doubts and panic that attend such a decision. I said my goodbyes to friends and family (my daughter did not believe I was really leaving until about ten days before I actually left). It was/is a scary thing experience for just about everyone I know who has done this.

So when I received an email from someone who was in the process of packing HER family and actually experiencing the emotions above… and when she further told me she wanted to BLOG her experiences, I jumped on it immediately! Welcome to Nora Schild who will be chronicling her family’s move to Costa Rica.

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Mother’s Day – for babies

August 14th, 2006

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. Costa Ricans take this holiday seriously! And somewhere, tomorrow, 12 year old Carolina will be celebrating her third Mother’s Day having given birth at age 9.

A couple of months ago, I was chatting with one of my employees, a 20 something young lady who was working for me as an intern. The subject got around to young girls getting pregnant in high school (colegio). She told me that before she graduated eight girls had become pregnant. Her class size was twenty-nine.

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Earning Interest in Costa Rica

August 8th, 2006

This is another reply to a comment or email that I thought would be of interest to my readers. It concerns money and that should get everybody’s attention. I also get asked this same question though in different forms from a lot of people.

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SALA IV Rules for accessible buses

August 7th, 2006

handicapsign.jpegLey (law) 7600 ((Igualdad de Oportunidades a las Personas con Discapacidad)) was approved ten years ago and required that all buses be equipped to transport handicapped individuals.

Not too surprisingly, the bus operators decided to wait ten years to see what was going to happen. What happened, of course, was that the law is now being (sort of) enforced and bus drivers are being ticketed whose vehicles are not to the new level. To date, only 12% of all buses have handicap ramps installed.
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