hola and pura vida from costa rica!

[Gato Moteado]

hey folks.....been way too busy to check in lately. i've relocated from hell (errr...i mean texas) to beautiful costa rica.

the rainforest is beautiful, the beaches are awesome, the chicas (known as ticas) are hot and the cervezas are frio.

we don't have all the amenities of the states down here, and that's fine with me. one of the best things is that the beautiful, peaceful, kind people here feel the same way about bushco as we do. that's right, no freeper filth down here!

[punpirate]

1. Ummm...

... I can feel the envy rising in me right now. :P

[arcos]

2. cool, where are you?

We may be a few miles away :hi:

[Gato Moteado]

6. check your message box

:)

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. Are you having a great time???

Enjoying the weather? Chicago may have a couple snow showers mixed in with the rain tonight. AAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

Here's a thread you should read. :hi:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3524742

[Gato Moteado]

5. thanks for the thread.....

been trying to reach him. i'll try again as soon as i get back to my packet 8 phone next week

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. You're welcome....

He is REALLY happy about this and will be well taken care of.

:hi: Good to see you online. Been thinking about how you are doing in the land of sunshine and warmth.

[DistressedAmerican]

4. Congrats! Heading To Mexico Myself!

As soon as it can be worked!

[faithnotgreed]

8. very interesting and thanks for sharing this

how incredible that you were able to do that

if i may ask (and if you have the time) i would loooove to hear all about how that happened for you and anything else you would like to share

for me i keep thinking of costa rica for the lack of amenities plus there are a couple quaker communities there that draw me

peace jude

[Gato Moteado]

9. it's been in the planning for years

finally sold my house and got the cash to afford the move. got a nice chunk of rainforest that i plan on preserving. gonna build a nice little house in the middle and forget about freeper filth and the fascists that run the world and instead watch the monkeys, macaws and toucans.

[faithnotgreed]

10. dream come true it sounds...

if you do get a chance just sometime anytime
could you tell me aside from the buying a place to live what were your costs to get entry basically

thanks and no hurry but i am curious to hear from someone who has actually just done this

enjoy life it must seem a wonderful dream for you

[Gato Moteado]

16. there aren't any costs for entry, per se.....

but it's very hard to get residency here unless you either have a lot of cash to invest in the banks here or you marry a tico or tica. jobs are also going to be difficult to find here.

if you don't have residency, you can still live here but you have to leave the country for 72 hours every 90 days. most people just drive into panama or nicaragua for a long weekend and then come back into costa rica.

head down for a visit and see if you like it before you decide to relocate here. also check out panama, where the cost of living is super low and attaining residency is easy.

[faithnotgreed]

19. thanks for the information

i would most definitely visit at least once before becoming serious about moving

its been a thought and i really appreciate the guidance. i was specifically interested in cr because of the quaker/intentional communities. i enjoy the idea of co operative living and organic foods etc

thanks again for the response and the suggestions... have a beautiful time as i know you are and i look forward to hearing more as time goes along

peace always jude

[Gato Moteado]

20. ah yes, the quaker communities.......

yes, there are at least couple of them here. in fact, i believe it is the quakers that do a lot of baking and then bring their baked goods into nearby towns for sale. wow. when they would come into dominical i would buy as much as i could....the stuff was amazingly delicious!

i think there's a quaker community up near monteverde. that would definitely be one to visit....monteverde is an awsome cloud forest reserve.

[faithnotgreed]

21. yes thats exactly where i was thinking

the quaker enclave in monte verde was just my ideal kind of thing

thank you for mentioning that. i wasnt going to get into it because i wasnt sure if anyone was interested but thats definitely the place/vibe

thanks. it definitely gets me thinking

[ScooterTramp]

13. How is the cost of living there?

I'l love to try it!

[Gato Moteado]

14. the cost of living is lower than the states....

....but higher than any place else in latinamerica. it's the price you pay to live in a place with a stable democracy, i guess.

rent is cheap. food is still pretty cheap. driving a car is very expensive here....moreso than the states. healthcare is free (i imagine the freepers and other redneck filth hate to hear about a place where healthcare is a basic right for all citizens).

if you're looking for really, really cheap living, costa rica isn't the place anymore. panama might be the best bet. i know some people that have moved there and they love it.

[ScooterTramp]

15. If I do move there, I'll be the girl with the red flower in my hair.

I will look into it. Thank you, and enjoy!

[Gato Moteado]

17. you'll never run out of red flowers here either.....

the hibiscus are always blooming.

once in dominical i saw a huge hibiscus that had been trimmed into a tall hedge and it was so loaded with blooms that there were at least a dozen hummingbirds buzzing around it. i walked by and the hummingbirds were unfazed by my presence. there were several species of them...some were smaller than a half-dollar and some were almost sparrow-sized.

[ScooterTramp]

18. Oh, I'd love to see them!

[LynneSin]

11. Glad you made it there safely

but don't forget all us gringos back in the states

:hi:

[Gato Moteado]

12. don't worry, i'm thinking about you all.......

just hold down the fort now that i'm gone.

[slutticus]

22. Dude!

When can I come visit? :)

[kitkatrose]

23. Where the hell have you been????

:hi: :hug:

[slutticus]

36. Hey!

I'm gettin' ready to move.

I need to make plans so I can go visit you and Gato in CR :D

[Gato Moteado]

25. manana?

or the day after that is fine too.

[slutticus]

37. Cool

I'll bring my machete. I've always wanted to slice through some rain forest :D

Do you really have waterfalls on your land?

[Gato Moteado]

38. yeah, man......two waterfalls.....

....and views of the pacific ocean. come on down.

[kitkatrose]

24. Where in Costa Rica are you?

I'm going to be down there for the summer at La Selva. People tell me I'm gonna love it and I just can't wait to go. :hi:

[Gato Moteado]

26. i'm all over the place here

right now i'm on the central pacific coast but i'll be in the san jose area soon.

whatcha gonna be doing in la selva?

[kitkatrose]

28. Some type of research,

thanks to the OTS (Organization for Tropical Studies). My mentor studies wasps, but I prefer plants. So maybe I can shift her to pollination or something.

[Swamp Rat]

27. ¡Pura vida tuanis!!!

Yo viví allá (San Ramón y Guanacaste), pero hace seis años desde fui para visitar. Tengo amigos (como familia) en San Ramón, San José, Cartago, Heredia, Playas del Coco (ex-inlaws) y Liberia. Voy a volver un día, pero estou enamorado com o Brasil agora! :D

edit: ¡Já já! Acabo de ver su nombre! :smoke:

[Gato Moteado]

30. maybe we should have a DU gathering down here.

where in guanacaste did you live? guanacaste seems to be the favorite region of so many ticos i know.

[Swamp Rat]

35. Playas del Coco

A ratty little fishing town. There are much better places nearby like Playa Hermosa or Brasilito. I've been all over Guanacaste, from La Cruz (at the Nicaraguan border and Rio San Juan del Norte in Nicaragua) to Montezuma. The ONLY place of some signicance I haven't been to is Puerto Limón. I much prefer the Pacific coast anyway. There are still areas near Golfito I have yet to explore.

¡Huey puta! ¡Quiero ceviche de dorado ahora con una Imperial! ¡Me falta bocas y cervezas MUCHO! especialmente ceviche de cambute.

[Gato Moteado]

39. que lastima!

looks like you'll have to come back down.

i hear they're importing imperial to california now. i had a couple last night, tho i prefer the bavaria golds.

[GOPisEvil]

29. Hey dude!!!

Good to see you're doing OK.

:hi:

[Gato Moteado]

31. yo bro.......

i'll see ya in about 10 days or so.

how's the garden doing?

[GOPisEvil]

32. It looks good. Pics inside.

Pictures taken 4/16.

[Gato Moteado]

33. looking good so far

ok....gotta head back to the jungle. i'll be back tomorrow to resurrect this thread once again.

pura vida.

[GOPisEvil]

34. Adios!

Take care.

[Gato Moteado]

40. by the way......

costa rican blue really is a popular color in costa rica. tons of houses are painted the exact same color as the walls in your guest bathroom. who'd have thunk it?

[funkybutt]

41. I love Costa Rica

I've been there twice. Each time for a months' stay. It's a beautiful country and I plan to retire there. The Ticos are a humble and noble people and I miss them. I had the time of my life down there.

My favorite area was Punta Uva (not too far from Puerto Viejo). We were offered to stay with a couple of american retirees when we were there (for free!) I'll never forget the feeling of waking to howler monkeys out your window.

You are a very lucky person. I wish you the best of luck. Glad to hear that the Ticos aren't keen on the shrub either.

[leftofthedial]

42. broadband?

lucky dog.

[Gato Moteado]

43. san jose has broadband

the rest of the country is mostly lacking it. the phone company here has a monopoly on internet connectivity and they're way behind in connecting the smaller towns with high speed internet even though the infrastructure is mostly in place. apparently that will change next year.

[leftofthedial]

44. I'm packing.

[phusion]

45. Man...

That sounds wonderful. Did you find a job there yet? Or, do you think there are jobs there that a gringo could get and live modestly with?

[Gato Moteado]

46. jobs are hard to get down here

as you would expect, they really can only hire gringoes if they have a needed skill.

most gringoes come down to retire or start their own businesses.

another option is to get a job with a US or european company that you can do from here.