Costa Rica: Cheap carriers from USA to Costa Rica:

Check flights on sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz or Kayak. Also keep in mind that some lesser known airlines often have better fares than the majors. Other airlines with service to San Jose include Jet Blue, Spirit Airlines, Frontier (Denver), Lacsa, TACA, Air Canada and AeroMexico. Copa, Westjet, Iberia (from Spain) Every major US airline other than Southwest flies to San Jose Costa Rica including American, Delta, US Air, United and Continental. Steve Linder Pacific Lots of Costa Rica www.PacificLots.com 305-295-0137 direct 877-481-0300 US only toll free Read our blog: www.PacificLots.com/Costa-Rica-Blog/ Photos of our Developments http://picasaweb.google.com/pacificlots

Costa Rica: honest answers:

Pato23 - this site you link to is for thoe most part a bunch of rubbish. I can surely identify who I am and post statistics from the state department, the OAS, the the UN office of drugs and crime that will surely put El Salvador's crime rate WAY ABOVE that of Costa Rica. I understand you want others to come live in El Salvador with you but let's be honest about ES. This website on Central America you have sited is one person's blog, a very distorted view of the area. I travel throughout the region, was in Managua in January, Panama City just yesterday, Costa Rica in February in March, will be in Mexico in both Cabo and the Riviera Maya in April and May respectively, speak Spanish and have degrees in international business in both undergrad and graduate school. I suppose the reason why Intel, American Standard, Proctor and Gamble, GE, Gillette, Abbott Labrotories, Colgate Polmolive, RJ Reynolds, UPS, Eaton Elelctric, Boston Scientific, HP, ACER, Panasonic and a long list of others have chosen to locate in Costa Rica (AND NOT IN EL SALVADOR, NICARAGUA, GUATEMALA, PANAMA OR HONDORAS) is because the teams of MBA's these firms have hired could not asses risk as good as you can. They must all be wrong and you are clearly right. I'd prefer if you spend your time writing on the El Salvador forum and get off the Costa Rica forum, you obviously have some "issue" with Costa Rica and come to bash every chance you get. In my analysis, I was able to find out only that you own a doublewide trailer in the St Petersburg Florida area but I guess that makes you a smart investor and someone we should all respect?

Costa Rica: Relocating to CR:

yes the state department did issue a warning about visiting ONE SPECIFIC AREA in Costa Rica - Puerto Viejo. For anyone to spin that to mean the state department issued a warning about visiting Costa Rica in general is like telling someone that Detroit and LA are the same as Boca Raton Florida and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Costa Rica: HOW FAR DOES $3500/MO GO?:

Xinia, Guess you need to go to the states before you speak so candidly. I go back and forth from the US to CR all the time. Seems you have not eaten out in the US, realize that the 23% that you pay on meals at restaruants in CR INCLUDES THE TIP. I guess you forgot that the tip alone in the US is 20% and then you can throw on the meals tax, 7.5% where I live so now we are at 27.5%. I guess you have not bought groceries in the US lately either. Fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, chicken, all cheaper in CR especially if I go local to my farmers market, local butcher, fish monger, vegetable stand, etc. Try paying 8.99 for a watermelon (todays price in the US), $2.49 a pound (not a kilo) for lousy tomatoes, $1800 for root canal and crown versus $400 to $500 in CR.. So you don't like the CAJA for your healthcare, try Cima, Clinica Biblica or any of the other private networks and be prepared to pay about 40% or less of what the US would cost. I have an insurance policy with a $10,000 deductible in the US for both my wife and I, premium of $1780 per quarter, COVERS NOTHING. I had an ear issue in CR, emergency room visit cost me $60. Went to a local physician in the states for the same issue before CR and paid $465 and still had to go back (CR fixed it). Sure gas is more, cars are more, guess you haven't priced cell service, internet, TV, etc in the US yet. If you do a budget for the entire year, your largest expenses are taxes, insurance and healthcare. The rest is nothing. Property tax on my property in CR is less than $200 a year. In the states, $5400 per year. I can buy a lot of gas with the savings. Insurance on my car is about half in the US what it is in CR. But the cost to fix my car is double in the US. Xinia you need to do the math, Costa Rica is not more expensive, especially if you own your home. I suspect you have not priced home owners insurance in the US lately. Remember Hurricane Sandy, all those tornadoes, fires burning out west, guess who pays for all those disasters? What's the last disaster you remember in Costa Rica that ruined a million homes? $3500 is a ton of money in Costa Rica. I guess you live in crime ridden San Jose, with traffic and bad roads. Maybe you should be more specific about where you live, like if I live in Detroit or Newark, East LA, I would not make a blanket generalization about my town without saying where I lived. You think you have more crime than Detroit?

Costa Rica: The true cost of living in Costa Rica:

hey Parritaman from Canada, you need to check your facts. National Debt in Costa Rica is not $45 billion dollars, in fact if you look at the IMF (International Monetary Fund) statistics you will see that the National Debt as a percentage of GDP, you will see that the US is number 10 out of 156 from the top with 102.9% of GDP as our national Debt. Canada is not much better, ranked number 19 with 85% of GDP as outstanding nationa debt. Costa Rica ranks 109 with only 30% of GDP as national debt. For you to say that local produce is more expensive in Costa Rica versus elsewhere is also not true. I guess you have not been to Canada or the US lately. I travel back and forth and shop regularly in both places, Costa Rican produce, meat, fish and chicken is surely less expensive and not grown on chemicals from Archer Daniel Midland or Monsanto. I guess you have not seen the fact that I can buy 3 watermelons right on the road side in Parrita for 1000 colones (2 bucks) or that Mangoes are 1000 colones per kilo (about 3 to 4 mangoes) that pineapples are 2 for $2, red snapper is $12 per kilo (2.2 pounds) or that the bag of rice you are describing weighs a hefty 10 kilos. We recently bought a new refrigerator, a side by side with ice maker, Fridgedaire Stainless, for $1300, here is a link to many fridges prices under $500 http://articulo.mercadolibre.co.cr/MCR-417499035-refrigeradora-frigidaire-modelo-ffus2613lsnuevacaja-_JM I see many stories like yours, people who have either lost touch with the rest of the world and think Costa Rica is sooo expensive, not realizing how inexpensive it really is. Did you tell us about your property taxes, your cost of insurance, your cost of healthcare, the cost of dental work? Sure gas is nearly $6 per gallon but public transport is dirt cheap and even with gas a $6 per gallon I spend less per week in Costa Rica than I did in the states since I don't have to drive 70 miles an hour for 45 minutes each day to get to where I am going. Please go back and visit Canada, review the public debt in Costa Rica and stop making totally untrue statements about Costa Rica for the rest of those on this forum to see. Here is a link to NATIONAL DEBT AS A % OF GDP BY NATION. http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/774/economics/list-of-national-debt-by-country

Costa Rica: The whole truth, and nothing but.....:

You might be able to qualify with your 401k if the income is sufficient per month ($1000) and you can get your broker or other financial institution to verify. You can also deposit $60,000 in a Costa Rican bank, you'll earn much more interest than in the US and likely make more than just the interest as the dollar continues to lose value against the colon.

Costa Rica: Getting a Car:

I think the person should be given a realistic answer about a car. To set up a corporation through an attorney to own the car will cost you about $500 to $600. You often can buy a car that is already owned by a corporation, someone elses car who'd owned it that way. Don't expect to pay 3 to 5 times the value in the US, that was a huge exageration. We bought a car for $12000 with 77,000 kilometers on it, a Toyota 4Runner, a 2003. You'll have to pay an annual Marchamo and Riteve, (registration, insurance and inspection) but again if you buy a car already in a corporate form, they will already have the Marchamo and Riteve most times. Diesel is cheaper than gas and expect to pay $5.50 per gallon, not $6. Owning a car and having full flexiblity of movement, especially for a family of 5 is a must. Though the bus is cheap, the bus times 5 tickets will cost more than owning a car. You can also contact George at www.vamos4x4.com and see what he can do for a longer term "lease". He will also sell you his rental cars. Tell him Steve from Pacific Lots of Costa Rica sent you. Steve Linder Pacific Lots of Costa Rica www.PacificLots.com 305-295-0137 direct 877-481-0300 US only toll free Read our blog: www.PacificLots.com/Costa-Rica-Blog/ Photos of our Developments http://picasaweb.google.com/pacificlots

Costa Rica: being taxed on offshore money:

There is no tax on income from outside of Costa Rica but you would have to pay income tax in the US on interest from a Costa Rican savings account. Steve Linder Pacific Lots of Costa Rica www.PacificLots.com 305-295-0137 direct 877-481-0300 US only toll free Read our blog: www.PacificLots.com/Costa-Rica-Blog/ Photos of our Developments http://picasaweb.google.com/pacificlots

Costa Rica: Want to see what's it like to live in Costa Rica:

every time I read about how expensive it is to live in Costa Rica, I know that the writer of that comment has been gone from the US for too long. My property taxes in the states are over $5000 per year, my health insurance is $1400 per quarter and my last root canal in the states cost me $1200, plus $900 more for the crown. Yes gas is more expensive in Costa Rica but as long as you aren't a tourist, it is CHEAPER than the states and not much more than Ecuador for those of you who think Ecuador is cheap. If you are looking for Cheap, try Haiti, the point being you should not be coming to a foreign country just because it is cheap. Sure Ecuador is cheaper than Costa Rica, google "Parasites in the water in Ecuador" and see how you like that... Cheap is not always good..