Foreigners but not strangers...

[Ernie]

...especially not to forums! 
We're a Swiss couple, living in Connecticut (New England, USA) and start thinking of a nice and affordable place to retire.
Heard only good things about Costa Rica (Switzerland of South America and such...) and we would like to know, if there are German speaking Members in this Forum. Would makes it definitely easier to communicate privately.
Otherwise, we would like to read, to communicate and to learn here as much as we can about Costa Rica.
We probably go into semi-retirement in spring 2009 (or as soon as the US of A has another Government   

[rod]

Welcome! How about it? I'm sure we have some German-speakers in the forum!
As for "The Switzerland of Central America," this always chills my blood. Although Costa Rica is traditionally neutral in international disputes, this is not always the case. The country is unilaterally unarmed, while Switzerland has an army--I've heard it said that Switzerland IS an army, due to the fact that after participating in the universal military training, a young Swiss man takes his weapon home in order to have it at hand in case of invasion. This, of course, was the only way Switerland could avoid becoming involved in the European wars of the last few centuries, since it is so strategically located. The tactic (a successful one) was to make the country as prickly as a porcupine and invasion more costly than the country was worth, aided by its rough terrain, which its citizen-soldiers are trained to use cunningly.
Costa Rica avoids a bloody nose by sitting on its hands...
---Rod

[Ernie]

Hi Rod,
Thanks for answer. My apologies for setting Costa Rica to the South. Of course, it's Central America. People probably think mountains, streams, valleys or other 'natural' things, by explaining CR as the Switzerland of Central America.

I could be one of those guys with a weapon at home. Born in the Fifthies, I refused to join the swiss army. Instead of spending 21 weeks of drills and orders,  I went to Paris and was joining probably every Sit-In in all the universities I still can think about in Europe. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah: it was a wild time.

We left Switzerland in the late Eighties. After working in different countries around the globe, we finally arrived in New York City (1990).

We're just checking out some warm, sunny and breezy places, because my gut says that we may have not enough of this printed paper, to afford places like, let's say Eleuthra or those English, French or Dutch 'virgin' islands, three hours south from here.

A few different opinions about an open breezy little villa in a Costa Rican Valley would be highly appreciated.

See ya later. Jack Bauer is waiting...

[rod]

Oops! Here I was lecturing you about Switzerland when you know so much more about the place than I! Your response interests me. Sounds as if you are fairly allegic to matters military. You'll get along well here.
Rod

[Russ]

Here are some likely spots for breezy villas with mountain views:
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Atenas Homes
Atenas is a nice town close to San José and the airport. 
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Homes at Lake Arenal
Lake Arenal boasts a fresh climate, many homes offer lake AND volcano views.
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Coronado Homes
Coronado is not for everybody, but since it backs up to the Braulio Carillo National park and also has a high altitude it offers some of the freshest, cleanest air on the planet.  ditto for San José de la Montana
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Tucan Realty - Heredia or check all the listings by Dana Gribble, they specialize in Heredia which has many different towns with panoramic city views, and moderate climates.
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Quintas
From your post it sounds like you might be interested in living on a quinta.  A quinta is a "hobby" farm, that is they are generally located in a rural area, but they aren't large enough to be used for commercial agriculture.   Quintas range from a minimum of 1000m2 and can be as large as 3 - 5 hectares (50,000 square meters)  One acre is about 4000 square meters.  A hectare is 2.47 acres.  The smaller size gives you enough room for a vegetable garden and ornamental plants and room for your plant-compatible dog to run around.  A larger size gives you even more privacy and room for larger animals like horses. 
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There are many other areas and new ones open up all the time, anyone reading this can perform their own searches from
Search for all homes

You can search by area, price or particular features of the home.

[Ernie]

Thanks Ross, for great infos. I'm still a slave, bound to a couple of jobs but I'll promise to check out your recommended homes and places over the weekend.

I'm a lazy dog and maintaining a "hobby farm" is not exactly what I'm looking for. But it is good to know, that I left the impression as an energetic person. 

After researching your homes and places; I'm able to put us in the right directions and can explain and deliver ideas, how I see me/us living in CR.

Can't wait for my next post

See ya... Ernie

[Jogi]

Hi Ernie,

I just saw your post and I'm willing to help as you are looking for a german speaking person.... Blubb-switch beep.... Nun Euer oder wenn ich "Du" sagen darf: "Dein" englisch ist sehr gut, und eigentlich kein Grund auf Deutsch weiterzumachen denn in englisch bekommt Ihr weit bessere und objectievere Antworten. Aussererdem wir es von mehr Leuten gelesen.

Wie Ihr sicherlich wisst, gibt es auch ein Deutsches Forum von jemand anderem: www.costarica-form.de

Ansonsten bitte gerne auch eine private Nachricht falls Ihr Interesse habt weiterzumachen und etwas zu kaufen sucht. schaut mal auf unsere page: www.abccostarica.com
 
Gruss jogi