Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Planning for a smooth long-distance move to Costa Rica? The world has become a lot smaller since I moved here. That was 40 years ago this year, and it seems like it was yesterday. There was no internet back then. And we spent 11 hours between flights, in the middle…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes More and more Canadian retirees plan of moving to Costa Rica in search of nice weather. There is always a learning curve when it comes to figuring out how to live in and adapt to another country. We all become used to the way that things work and operate in…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Who would have thought I would be telling you that you can have a safe life in Costa Rica a couple of years ago. For years, foreigners were moving to Costa Rica for many reasons. Living in Costa Rica was advertised worldwide as being close to nature. And for not…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes Did you know you can purchase property in Costa Rica remotely? Once you have taken the decision of moving to Costa Rica, you don’t even have to travel to make the purchase. You can, it isn’t so complicated to buy property remotely as you think. The most important aspect of…
Estimated Reading Time: 5 Minutes After looking around for months and house-hunting day and night, have you finally found your new home? Congratulations! Relocation is a long process, and after looking at so many different houses and apartments, I am sure you found the one you love most. But, you never know how everything will…
Don’t “fall on your face”, like so many who moved to Costa Rica before you, when buying or renting a property. Protect yourself, your family, and your money. Learn about everything you should NOT do when you buy, or rent a property in Costa Rica. Participating in this legal due diligence seminar is the best…
Estimated Reading Time: 7 Minutes Climate change and becoming Carbon Neutral is #1 on the agenda of some. For others, some of the largest nations, it’s not important. Costa Rica is in a financial crisis and the cost of living is more expensive than ever before. But Carlos Alvarado is trying hard to put the…
A participant in Christopher Howard’s Live in Costa Rica Tour asked me if Resident Registration of home address necessary in Costa Rica. Chris and I looked at each other, both thinking the same thing: great question! It’s really something I never thought about because home addresses are so messy here. It’s so bad, that if…
Angela Passman, a long-time supporter of the American European real estate network wrote an interesting article about proper pet travel on her Linkedin account. Thank you for allowing to use your article, Angela! Flying with your dog can be stressful and proper pet travel is important. Here is a 6-step checklist to prepare for property…
Starting a new business requires a lot of hard work, determination, and a learning curve. Starting a new and doing business in Costa Rica, as a foreigner, can be complicated, and often frustrating. But most of all, especially if the new business is your own, it takes balls. Big balls. I know, I started my…
Caribe Sur real estate is not for everyone. Some people just hate surfing, snorkeling or just lying on the beach and sip piña coladas. It’s all about a lifestyle! Do you know what the Caribe Sur in Costa Rica is? The Caribe Sur is Costa Rica’s Southern Caribbean region. It starts around Cahuita and runs…
I really enjoy reading discussions between expats if moving to Panama is a bad idea or not. I enjoyed Ivo’s blog about Bill who could not consider Costa Rica for retirement but prefers moving to Panama instead. I am not sure his neighbor in Vancouver has been to Panama recently, but I go quite often.…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes Future expats don’t know where to live in Costa Rica before they move here. So often they just send emails to realtors. “I want to live in Costa Rica, send me listings.” You might think otherwise, but it’s not so simple. Sometimes they don’t even realize that Costa Rica is…
Estimated Reading Time: 6 Minutes John Hepner, our commercial real estate affiliate, made me aware of someone promoting an island near Nova Scotia in Canada. The article has the title “Cape Breton when Trump wins the elections”. I have a much better plan for you: Move to Costa Rica when Trump wins the elections. Why? Because Costa…
It’s amazing how many expats find out too late that they bring too much household. When you move to Costa Rica, deciding what to ship and what not to ship is a big decision. Almost as big as the move itself. Before you ship your household, I recommend you get rid of what you don’t…
Can a surfer become a real estate agent in Costa Rica? It is vacation time again. After a couple of weeks of surfing and living on peanut butter sandwiches, who would want to abandon paradise? Usually, after such a vacation, nobody wants to go back home and thinks of making a living as a real…
