I Might Move To Costa Rica - Questions
 

I'm considering the move. We moved to Malta from the UK last November but for various reasons we're not entirely happy with the country.

I've narrowed the possible countries down and Costa Rica is now top of my list. What we'll likely do is have a vacation out there towards the end of the year or january next to get a feel for the place.

Question : How hard is is to enter Costa Rica? I have a British passport.

Any ideas?

Will it matter if I'm self-employed? Have any other webmasters here moved there?

Easiest thing for me was to just stay a tourist. I leave at minimum every 3 months (ends up being more like every 6 weeks), and avoid all the legal/immigration bullshit.

I read about people doing that. Honestly I'd probably be a bit chicken just in case they changed the laws. In fact I read on expatfocus they're tightening up on people doing that. Will consider it though if its the only option.

Smart move fuzebox. Costa Rica has become more tempting now :)

Do tourists get work permits, even if they work for themselves?

Haven't had any problems on 12+ entries... If they do change it then I'll see about applying for residency (costs about $50k), or just leave. Not really a big deal to me, IMO the immigration laws are made because of all the nicaraguans getting paid under the table (like mexicans in the USA), not gringos coming to inject new money into the economy.

A work permit to use my laptop? :1orglaugh

Work permits are for people who want to work for costa rican companies... (Minimum wage is $300/mo, do you really want to get a job here?)

Foreigners on a tourist visa can own a business and employ ticos if they want (in fact that's an easy way to get residency). They can also buy land and cars, and with a company do things like buy firearms.

Good luck. This is what you'll look like when you get back.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=05HZWveaZhs

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4H6CtEA4MAg

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

I've been in Costa Rica for 5 years now and I can say that it's great. I would advise anyone who is thinking of moving down here (or any other country for that matter) to make an extended vacation down here, like 2-3 months, to get a real feel for the place and what it's like to live here.

Remember, whatever it was that you didn't like about Malta, may also be true here -- or you'll find totally new things not to like. So it's definitely worth doing a test drive first.

UK passports fly by customs at the airport like they were VIP passes -- you should have no problem coming to Costa Rica.

Most countries will require you to either register a company or have a work permit, in order to use your laptop for any sort of activity that would result in economic gain.

That's reassuring and I appreciate the advice, thanks. My wife's birthday is coming up in Jan so I might kill two birds. The trouble is us having kids but I guess my parents can babysit for a couple weeks.

Spend some time down there, and talk with others who have done the same.

What didn't you like about Malta?

Why not Brazil?

I've never heard of this before.

Regardless, sounds like an honor system thing to me... I'm a travelling student with a laptop, so sue me.

Mostly the pollution and poor internet / telephone service. Aside from that Malta is pretty good. We moved here mainly for investment purposes. Property prices are rising rapidly and set to skyrocket over the next few years. But my health due to pollution has never been worse. The only solution is to find another home (we have two lol) on the sea but this has proved impossible for the areas we like.

I stayed for 3 years in CR, I even had my tourist visa expired and when I left, the immigration officer just took a look at my passport then handed it back to me. No problems at all.

You won't find much different in CR :(

Well if you live on the beach you will avoid the pollution but that's about it.

Thou hath no honour? :)

Panama's better, but visa's are a bit difficult right now until they fix the system at the end of the year.

Yeah? Rats. I'd hear pollution was low and connectivity good.

Well that's why I post here because I can get advice from people who actually live in CR.

Hey fuze, is there a lot of dengue/malaria where you are?

There was a scare a month ago in Limon, which is the shipping port town on the Caribbean coast, but I haven't heard much about it recently... There's no reason to even be in the shithole that is Limon unless you are passing through to go furthur south anyway.

I find traffic, pollution, and noise in the city to be a big pain in the ass. Not as bad as some american cities I bet, but a hell of a lot worse than Vancouver where I am from.

As far as internet goes, the best you can get is 4mbps and I believe it's around $160/mo... I pay $100/mo for 2mbps down / 512kbps up, and it randomly goes down for between minutes to hours at a time, at least every week or two. There's also the clusterfuck that is the government-run monopoly communications company that I don't really need to get into ;)

kristian, we have the Costa Rica bash at the end of February if you want to come to the show as well as visit the country.

You're making me glad I posted here. :1orglaugh

When you read write-ups on expat sites you get a totally different idea of the place. Coming from Vancouver (possibly the nicest, cleanest city in the world) I don't know how you manage anywhere else. I've lived in Lagos, Nigeria which is probably a lot worse than CR but I had thought things were better out there.

Right now I pay appx $128/month for 4mbps which goes down whenever it rains lol.

I'd be happy with a place on the beach, fairly good connectivity though.

Hi Rosa :)

I've had a bit of a reality check from fuzebox but would still like to check out CR. That end of feb bash sounds perfect so yeah that's a distinct possibility. Would be lots of fun!

I always wanted to check out Malta. When you say polution- is it like smog in the air?

I hear St. Kitts is nice also. I know some people who have moved their businesses there.

DAMN!!!!!!! Fuck that Move to Mexico, getting an FM3 is really easy. Cost about 120$. Just need a valid passport, a bank statement ( has to show like 3 to 4k a month income ) and a rental agreement.


Hit me up on ICQ if you want more info about it.

Brutal corruption LOL

Tell me about it! It was a shocker coming from boarding school in North Wales.

Everything works with back-handers and you need protection. We had guards on the front gate and walkaround bodyguards too. I was only a teenager at the time so it was just an adventure to me but id never go back.

CR in comparison is probably paradise. But saying that if its just like Malta i dont really want to move there, no point.

I'm not knocking CR btw for anyone who lives there. I just need to stay clear of pollution.

Malta is a lovely country really but for an asthmatic it can be hell. It's very close nit. 500K people on a small island. So yes, high smog, but you also have the problem of limestone dust in the air. All the buildings are made from it. It wouldn't bother most people.

It can be expensive here too but I'm used to that coming from the uk, what we call rip-off britain.

i hope you can make it and i am sure we can all answer a lot of your questions. The IwantU Crew moved here 4 years go and we all love it.

Sounds like you should probably move to either Scandinavia or Canada. But considering the fact that your main reason for moving was taxes, you probably won't make that move any time soon. :)

I think the expats just realize it's so easy to get laid that they don't really take anything else into consideration... :1orglaugh

Well that's just it, I'm spoiled so most cities will seem worse. Keep in mind San Jose is 2 hours from the closest beach, and 4 hours from the nice beaches... I like living here for the convenience, shopping, and nightlife, and hitting the beaches on the weekends. You just happened to mention pollution which is one of the only problems I have with San Jose.

Easily doable :) If you're looking online stick to the Guanacaste province, very beautiful beaches, some of the towns have high speed now, and it's an up and coming investment area (keep in mind the prices posted online will be hugely inflated).

Immigration doesn't concern me at all :) Plus I really like it here.

I just came back from a sick surf trip down there.

Thanks for all the info dude, I appreciate it. Yeah, I like the sound of that so I'm going googling in a minute. :)

C'mon now, is there anywhere else you can watch Santa Claus riding a horse ? :winkwink:

Kristian, here's my rundown after being here 4 years now.

Immigration

They really don't give white foreigners problems or care much in general unless you are causing trouble. They mostly have their immagration laws against the Nicas and Colombians who make up a large chunk of their 4 million population illegally and spread drugs, violence and crime. This is subject to change at any time though, but if you buy say a $200K house you can apply for residency (or invest $50K-100K but they have some rules on portions of the investment being for certain ecological reserves or stuff)

Culture

I'm definitely no fan of rice and beans and raggaeton, but that's what you will find here. Of course there are plenty enough bars, restaurants, hangouts that cater to foreigners (usually with increased prices though) so you never have to experience the local culture if you're not a fan.

People

This is my biggest problem with the country. The people are extremely lazy and are horrible in areas such as public service (bars, restaurants, taxis) sometimes to the point of retardation - even if you speak to them in fluent Spanish. They are also money-hungry for the most part, jumping to any job that will give them an extra buck or constantly trying to rip off tourists.

With all the recent TLC propoganda there has been a rise in hostility that I have noticed from Ticos against gringos; even though the majority don't even know what they are protesting.

In general though if you live on the beach, people are MUCH friendlier than in the city.

Real Estate

Still a booming business and you can invest cheaply here and still see returns of 100-300% within a year or two. I'd vote for buying land in the Liberia area where they are building the next international airport.

Amenities

Internet can be found almost everywhere but it does go down often, though usually for very short periods of time. Power outages are frequent too, especially when it rains. I have 4meg/sec and pay $100/mth but that includes their digital television too (which I really should downgrade since I have American satellite). Cellphones are available on TDMA or GSM networks but lines are sold out and released in small batches every 6 months or so; your best bet is buying an existing line from someone. Water + electricity + telephone are all dirt cheap though, which is nice.

If the TLC passes and foreign companies come here you might see a rise in quality of service, hopefully with not much cost rise, as right now those companies are all government owned monopolies.

Nature

This to me is the best part of the country. You have mountains, beaches, two oceans and a slew of outdoor activities to participate in. In this aspect the country is awesome.

Language

Since tourism is pretty much the big industry here, you'll find most everyone knows some English or broken english. Spanish is fairly easy to pickup too, so language really isn't an issue.

That's some general info from my experience living here the past 4 years, hope it helps. I definitely agree you should come here for 2-3 months to see for yourself. Finally, if you can make the dates work, you really should come to our Costa Rica Bash :)

Dude, you have to be one of the nicest guys I know in the industry. Thanks for taking the time out to make such an awesome post. I'm very keen on the idea of investing in land and property so I'll have a look at the area you've mentioned.

I would write more in response but it's gone 4am and I'm a little punchy. lol I really appreciate it though and all being well would LOVE to come to that bash.

Cheers :)

When the hell are we going rafting?!?!?!

honestly this is something I'm seriously considering...I just have to get the 15 year old through high school and onto college..and then bam...I'm doing it.

I'll be your neighbor

Would totally agree with Varius on this Kristian - a good summary :thumbsup

Only items prob worth expanding on are:

Avoid San Jose - it's a dump, but that probably applies to most cities. It's much better being 15 mins or so from the city or in the "real Costa Rica".

The people are very friendly and hospitable, but like most communities there are problem elements worth avoiding. Most people know who to avoid - they can be either nationals or immigrants - you can smell trouble at 100 yards. Apart from St. Maartin in the Caribbean, we have found the people to be among the most friendly and helpful yet encountered. LE is the same - a totally different attitude to cops in the UK or US - they are more friends than anything and no "attitude".

Immigration is a.... joke. The Immigration Department is up shit creek and clueless. You can elect to apply for residency and that's no big deal, but don't hold your breath waiting for your application to be processed - that can take years assuming they can find your paperwork. But... you can apply and leave the papers with them and this avoids the net to exit the country for 72 hours every three months - or, you can elect just to take a trip to Panama or somewhere local for 72 hours (min) every 90 days.

Real estate is a boom area and has been for around six years plus. We were expecting a dip in the real estate due to ripples in the US home market, but that has not happened and now appears unlikely to happen. People from other countries have taken up the possible slack and more "immigrants" are arriving from Canada and the EU. Real estate here can be priced in colonnes or dollars and there is an obviously a substantial advantage in currency exchange when people from the EU, UK and Canada buy here.

The pollution element is mainly around San Jose - the rest of the country is fine - where around 25% is apportioned to protected areas (national parks etc).

On taxation - there is no taxation on revenue generated elsewhere - eg net earnings, tho Costa Rica is not what would normally be known as an offshore area. There are taxes applicable on businesses resident within CR and catering to the local market (tho these are relatively low). Basically you can earn whatever from net activity and no forms, filings or taxation. A further extension of that if a real offshore is needed, (often used by nationals), is to have a corp in eg Panama and direct all revenue there.

I still remember when WEGCory and Brad Shaw told me Costa Rica was a 3rd world country like Ethiopia when I was looking at property there ;)

For what it's worth, someone in the biz looked pretty heavily in CR and ended up in Panama. Not that CR isn't great too - just a comment :)

It's definitely a third world country where everyone is starving and there are constant droughts Peaches, no healthcare and no education system :winkwink:

Seriously, both countries are very similar, but Panama probably has an edge from a business angle. Both Costa Rica and Panama have some of the best real estate prospects on the planet at this time - far, far above the general investment appreciation values of industrialized countries.

Tho it started before that time, we have seen capital investment appreciate 12-14 times over the last five years and 50% per annum is not uncommon. Not sure what basis Cory or Brad were talking about, but, to put it another way - dumping a million into eg CR six years ago would, - can say for certain that asset is worth around $15 million now.

It's hard to forecast the future, but there is no indication that this will change substantially over the next few years. It is now harder to locate potential investment areas at prices we are used to, but they do still exist.

I have a girlfriend from high school (in NY) who has lived in Costa for about 10 years now. Last time I spoke with her she had set up a business to help people interested in moving there navigate local rules, traditions and just make the transition easy all round.

If you are serious, feel free to hit me up on ICQ and I'll give you her email. Great person who would be happy to answer any of your questions :)

Have a great weekend,
Amy

Is CR as dirty as Mexico? Like leaving garbage and shit all over the place and not caring about it?