Live in Costa Rica Blog » Useful Address

Floridas Promoting Costa Rica for Retirement, I made the news again…

Christopher Howard — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:15:26 +0000

Published: Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 3:48 p.m.

Rudy Matthews of Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties shows an Atenas hillside home site to Lanna Mingo, a Colorado woman who is considering making the move to Costa Rica.

THE NEW WORLD

Christopher Howard may be the Christopher Columbus of the Americans-to-Costa Rica movement. He discovered his new world and moved to the Western Hemisphere’s second oldest democracy in the late 1980s from San Francisco.

He began his guru career by writing “The Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica” in the early 1990s. “In those days, it attracted a lot of eccentric-type expatriates,” he said of his earlier efforts.

Howard has been updating his book ever since, and using it as a springboard for tours. Seven gringos, including a reporter and the Lynches, participated in one of Howard’s more recent relocation and retirement tours.

Guests spend a couple of days in intensive seminar sessions, learning about everything from containerized shipping to BUPA, a health care plan aimed at expats.

They get a whirlwind tour of sample residential properties ranging from the $750-per-month rental home that the Lynches took to high-rise condos in the ritzy Escuzu enclave that go for $500,000-plus.

Both Costa Rica and Panama have gradually acquired a safe-haven status in the minds of a growing number of Americans, even though both have a higher rate of petty theft and break-ins than most Americans are accustomed to.

The fact is that it would be tough to travel through Costa Rica for even a few days without meeting a few Norte Americanos.

While Mexico has more U.S. retirees than any foreign other country, Howard notes that it is a nation of 100 million. The Association of Residents of Costa Rica, a nonprofit expat group, estimates that there are at least 50,000 U.S. citizens — or about 1.2 percent of the Costa Rica’s population — living there, many of them from Florida.

Howard hooked up with a real estate firm specializing in selling property to Americans: Costa Rica Retirement Vacation Properties. One of its key agents is Rudy Matthews, who hails from Tampa.

“Most people who come here, they are looking for a less expensive style of living, which is still here,” Matthews said. “What is driving people out of Florida are the property taxes and the insurance, whether they are going to the Carolinas or to Costa Rica.”

While it was once true that a beachfront home for $40,000 could be had in Costa Rica, only countries like Ecuador or Nicaragua could provide those prices today.

“Those days are long gone, but if you are selected and give yourself time to look around, you can still get a reasonable value,” said Matthews, the Tampa Realtor.

Read a complete version of this article: http://www.heraldtribune.com

Using Fed Ex in Costa Rica

Christopher Howard — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 19:02:00 +0000

MAIN LOCATION – Cariari:
From the Pista that you take from SJ to the Airport – get off at the Real Cariari Mall exit (NOT one of the 2 little ones before & that go into it with NO signs!! I don’t believe there’s a sign there [surprise!!]) – head East/RIGHT if you’re coming from the San Jose direction.

Pass the mall & just after the light that takes you into it, you come to a “Y”/split/fork in the road – veer RIGHT. Go down 800 meters/8 blocks (you’ll be in the “Free Zone”) to Metro Park – turn LEFT into it. At the guard station you’ll give them your drivers license & goforward/straight. Turn LEFT at the first DRIVEWAY (which is AFTER thefirst street). There’s Fed Ex.
HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-5pm

SAN JOSE – Downtown
ON Paseo Colon in the War Service Center – 100 meters East from Monument of Leon Cortez (the guy with 2 lions, next door to the Soccer/Futball Federation) – at the beginning/West entrance to Paseo Colon closest to Sabana Park. Go up 1 block & they’re on the corner on the right side – next door to HSBC (formerly Banex). Walter is REALLY helpful & speaks GOOD English!
NEW HOURS as of Aug. 15 – Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-5pm
(Tel: 255-2657)

CALL CENTER (this # is NOT in CR – it’s in Mexico)
800-463-3339 (do NOT put a 1 or 0 in front!!)
Press 2 for English. 0 for the Operator

THEY PICK UP FROM YOU:
PRICE – Start at 18,407 for pickups through much of the Central Valley (call for pricing for other pickup locations) to the U.S. (depends on where it’s going to) for a document that’s under 1 pound (approximately 50 pages). You must call before 11:30am (pick ups are from 10am-5-6-ish).

YOU BRING THE PACKAGE TO THEM:
PRICE – 18,589-c (so it’s MORE EXPENSIVE for you to take it to them than for them to pick it up

Heredia’s Historical Central Park

Christopher Howard — Sun, 16 Apr 2006 15:56:00 +0000

My home town of Heredia has one of the most beautiful parks in the country. A colonial-style church built in 1797 faces west onto the park. It has stained-glass windows and bells in the campanario (bell tower) which were brought from Cuzco, Peru. Cobblestones and a beautiful fountain adorn the park. Dozens of mango trees provide shade and add to the park’s unique ambience . On the east side of the park is a bandstand where an occasional concert takes place.

On the north side is the old post office, a building that once served as a school an old fortress called , El Fortin. This part of the city with its abundance of colonial architecture provides a glimpse of the Costa Rica of centuries past.

What I like best about the park is the people watching. I often find a shady spot and sit and observe the people. Hundreds of people walk through the park everyday to catch a bus to San Jose at one of the nearby bus stops.

On Saturday and Sunday afternoons the park buzzes with activity. Children play around the fountain, venders sell ice cream, families and friends sit together and talk on the many benches. The atmosphere is very lively and festive. There is corner of the park where a group twenty or more of elderly men gather every afternoon. to talk about everything from soccer and politics to the “good old days.”

If you have never been to Heredia’s Central Park. I encourage you to visit.