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Originally Posted by Chio The Pirate
YARGH! I be thinkin' of goin' for an *extended* vacation to Costa Rica. What's it be like there? I'd most likely buy property, but may rent. Any information on living, working, safety, in Costa Rica would be muchly appreciated.
AHOY! Me Sharky Farts! |
OK!! :-) Basically it's a good place to be - especially for webmasters. Forgetting the local latina's for a moment and hitting on more basic stuff - Costa Rica does not have any taxation on funds earning outside the country.. ie net earnings.
The average wage here is still under $1000/month and the general rates for a full time maid/gardener are around $200-300/month.
Currently... there are a number of people settling down here, - especially from Canada, US and EU. This is having an ongoing effect on increasing land prices. Tho.. there are plenty homes still vacant for letting in "gringo areas" and range from about $500 upwards, depending on the property. A three/four bedroom home with a pool would probably rent at about $1500-$2000 on short term, - tho ya can spend $5000 or more on some estate :-)
Internet/cabling is OK, tho it is operated currently by a monopoly (doubt this can be sustained, but they are trying to keep that monopoly). The spectrum of service is improving over the country... like, they have or are laying fibre optic to most regions of the country and it will probably be the best wired Latin American country when this is complete.
The laws of CR are not unfavorable to adult webmasters. In real life there are little problems unless content involves children in which case they don't like that much! :-) Basically, it's common sense that applies, but without the need to produce acts like 2257.
You really need to live in the country for a time before committing to property purchase. It offers a lot and each region is different - there are around 8 or 12 micro climates.
The people are laid back and friendly... in reality there are only around 2.5 mill Costa Rican nationals - the rest is made up of Nicaraguan immigrants and others from Canada, US and Europe. The crime rate is not actually high, - far less than in, eg, the US and is mainly involving Nicaraguan immigrants. But.. there is also an element of "US escapees" who seem to think they can hide here and continue committing offenses. They are usually chucked out or collected by a US govt LearJet back to US territory.
Overall... Costa Rica is a peaceful and stable country - the cops are actually "nice" and without an attitude. Costa Rica is not the same as most Latin American countries in that it is, in it's own way, wealthy (tho that's a joke!). In the longer term, it will probably continue to be stable but with many more immigrants escaping from "civilized countries" and setting up homes here.
This is all basic stuff.. but any help? :-)