°µÍø½ûÇø

Since you will own property, you will have no problem opening a bank account.

I did a SWIFT transfer from my bank in the NE for a month's deposit, and it cost $50.00 on the US end and $17 on the CR end for transaction fees.

They told me it could take up to two weeks to hit and clear in BCR in my landlord's account in a regional town in the Central Valley.

It actually posted in just under a week.

The posts on this site and many available videos will help you greatly in your planning processes.

Making the effort to learn basic, conversational Spanish will be a big plus.

I came down with two suitcases, a carry-on, and a laptop bag.

Downsizing was painful, but now I am settling in and have arranged for medical resources and arranged my personal banking.

My online bank in the US does not charge foreign transaction fees or currency conversion fees for purchases or cash withdrawals on my debit card.

That is not true for my credit cards, which I sometimes prefer to use to derive the benefits of rewards points/frequent flyer miles, since as a visitor on a 180-day "temporary tourist visa," I must "stamp out" by air or at a land border in Panama or Nicaragua twice a year (an improvement, since it used to be every 90-days).

Check on the website of your bank, credit union, investment account, or other financial entity to save yourselves unnecessary fees.

Also, remember that DEBIT CARDS can be compromised more easily than credit cards.

Do not use ATMS in stores or shops, but only in banks, and spend a few dollars to invest in RFID Credit Card Sleeves (or wallets) to protect your privacy and safeguard your funds.

If you were to GOOGLE "picketpocket proof travelwear," you would find a company that sells these items, in addition to some very clever clothing that would safeguard your valuables during travel in the airport or bus stations, on the street or in places like the Central Market.

Someone once said to me: "We lock the doors of our cars and homes to keep the 85% of people who are honest, honest."

Look into MediSmart, a "Tico" pay-as-you-go discounted health care system (NOT insurance, but aligned with the Metropolitan Hospital system, with excellent doctors in various specialties, many of whom are English-speakers).

They have an English website and phone operators who speak English and will even make appointments for you.

They have a pharmacy that delivers to one's home, along with discounted dental and vision programs.

Even pet coverage policies...!

I will post on this site more about my positive experiences (overall) and some of its limitations (notable, but they pail in comparison to the advantages).

Also, I found a travel insurance company based in So. Florida with excellent coverage at a small coverage of the costs of other companies based in the US, Canada (restricted to Canadian citizens), the UK, or Belgium.

They are grossly overpriced and eliminated my availability, owing to age and prior conditions.

The  more "homework" you do in advance, the better off you will be and will become.

"Knowledge is power."

Good luck with the daunting and draining aspects of your move.

Now is a good time to downsize.

Shipping is expensive, as are customs and duties in CR.

Since you have been in CR before, you obviously have a good idea of what to expect.

Take things "one-day-at-a-time," build a trusting relationship with some Ticos and °µÍø½ûÇøs, and trust your gut.

@Richtl.....Do not sell your home in the U.S. you will be sorry.....If you have to empty yourself out for Costa Rica you really can't afford it....

@gst1212...Trust your gut ?...That is the last thing Americans do when they get here...They get sucked into some kind of voodoo vortex and then with not speaking Spanish it gets even more complicated...

By "trust your gut," I meant that in the end the decision rests with them, after undergoing a discernment process and "doing their homework."

In other words, it's their decision and they will face whatever consequences flow from it.

Certainly NOT a panacea or paradise, when 80% of the people who move to CR as °µÍø½ûÇøs do not last two years.

Some people sell their homes because they need the cash or cannot support two households.

Other may rent or keep their homes vacant, and return every 180 days for medical, banking, or family reasons.

I have written elsewhere in this space, echoing "the 'Gipper'": "Trust, but verify."

I am not sure what Edwin Mora means by a "voodoo vortex," which sounds more like a Caribbean island in chaos than Costa Rica.

Perhaps he can explain further...

I concur that lack of Spanish-language ability looms as a handicap that enables "Gringos" to be taken advantage of in a variety of ways, as is well-documented: banking; real estate; immigration/visa status; legal...

Others suggest the Janus-like system that applies to Ticos and Gringos, and recommend connecting with a reliable local or °µÍø½ûÇø who will not be disposed to take advantage of a newly arrived person or couple.

But, I leave it to Edwin Mora to explain his comment and lend insight and awareness to others.

Bank recommendations: First, open an account at Banco Nacional or Banco de Costa Rica. There, you can have your Social Security deposited on the third off every month. Also, many, many commercial establishments here have accounts at one or both of those banks. That makes it easy to transfer money from your account to theirs to pay for large purchases.

Second, open a second account at Banco Davivienda de C.R. For inbound money transfers and other things, they are far less congested and much more accommodating than Banco Nacional (and probably BCR).

Also, when someone quotes statistics, always insist on seeing the data and knowing where it comes from. That's especially true when somebody says that <something or another> is exactly X%, as in "80 percent of <somebody> does <something>. Where does that information come from? How do they know? Whenever I have pressed for the source, the conversation always goes quiet. What does that tell you?

I have seen the 80% stat on multiple videos,.

One can chose to take it seriously as perhaps based on some empirical evidence or discarded as anecdotal.

The point being: people become transplanted in C.R. from other countries and elect to return for various reasons: familial; medical; financial; cultural; linguistic.

Edwin Mora's point: many choose not to stay in time.

That fact seems indisputable.

Banco Costa Rica [BCR's] ATMs allow one to withdraw funds in both USD and Colones, and provide an English audio-visual option, which is very helpful.

In my town, BCR's ATM will issue cash in USD or Colones, while Banco Nacional (BN) only dispenses billes in Colones.

Costa Ricans apparently prefer not to receive $100.00US bills, which explains why ATMs dispense multiples of $20.00s.

(Some suggest the reason is to avoid being stuck with counterfeit bills in a large denomination).

When you conclude the transaction at BCR, and count the cash and check the receipt, the machine might "eat" the debit card within 10-15 seconds.

If the "hard copy" of an °µÍø½ûÇø passport is not displayed to the teller or person on the platform, then the card will not be returned (e.g., the person on the platform will withhold the card until one returns with the passport, and will not accept a photocopy or a jpg file on one's phone).

Also, not all banks or credit unions keep the same hours, so check the website or take a jpg. of the sign at the branch, and remember that banks in CR are closed on local holidays such as May Day/Labor Day, Holy Thursday and Good Friday, Independence Day (September 15th), and so forth...

Very good advice posted by Dave and Marcia on banking (as usual).

My direct experience: Six (6) banks would not allow me to open an account unless: a). I were prepared to deposit a supersubstantial sum of USDb). I owned property in Costa Rica; c). I was married to a Costa Rican; d). I was a "permanent resident"; or e). I constituted a "Society," i.e., incorporated as an LLP or LLC.

One bank in the provincial capital informed me I could open an account only after living in C.R. for six-months (BAC).

From watching a video, I received a useful tip to visit a credit union/bank, where over the course of several weeks I managed successfully to open a local account, in which I can deposit and withdraw both USD and Colones.

While the two banks in my Cantón turned me down for bank accounts, for convenience of geographical proximity (i.e., walking distance from my home),  I use BCR in my town for no-fee withdrawals on my debit card to pay rent (or for other reasons), which is more convenient than traveling into the provincial capital to access the credit union (which has limited daytime hours and no parking, and fewer hours on Saturday).

BN's ATMs (which I no longer use), failed to work on one occasion. One of the three ATMs at this bank in my town was marked as "out-of-order." Another claimed to have "insufficient funds" (= only C70,000), less than I needed, and I could not withdraw funds inside from a teller, since the bank was crowded on the first business day of the month and I did not bring my passport along.

I attempted to use the one "working" ATM.  It, too, failed to work.

By chance, I noticed on my US bank's website that BN charged me for a cash withdrawal (@ C100,000), although the bank issued me no bills from the ATM.

Fortunately, I had kept the three (3) receipts and after several phone calls and submitting documentary jpg files in emails to my bank in the States, the transaction was blocked and the amount refunded within a few days.

The moral of the story: check your Stateside bank statements with frequency to avoid fraud or other errors.

PS-- Thanks to Dave and Marcia for the tip on Banco Davivienda de C.R.,which has a branch in my nearby provincial capital. I intend to look into establishing a second bank account there.

No stats here, but a comprehensive rundown on WHY °µÍø½ûÇøs become disillusioned and leave C.R.

Another good site with lots of useful information

Both of these URL links enunciate solid general principles for staying (or leaving) C.R. after a trial period.

If one were to GOOGLE: "80% °µÍø½ûÇøs who leave Cosa Rica after two years" many videos will appear.

One can balance the scales on the credibility of each, but some of these bloggers are taken to be more reliable than others, based on their numbers of followers.

@daveandmarcia....You are asking for data and statistics on a moot point or on an issue that is about as redundant as'which came first the chicken or the egg ?'.....It is common knowledge that just about all leave Costa Rica eventually and the majority in the first 2 years..

@gst1212....You gave a great definition for the 'voodoo vortex' !...As it applies to Limon with their municipality recently declaring a new hospital coming soon and in the works.....With this hospital having its own separate wing for its bullet riddled clients or drug addled zombis.....My take on voodoo vortex is getting sucked in on the wealth of cross information that causes many to get in line to take on life altering financial damages....In the original post "Joining in the Fray"these people are literally evaporating their 'plan B' if it doesn't work out for them and bolting down their escape hatch to be able never to go back to their origins.......Either way ,whether they stay in Costa Rica or end up leaving, it will dictate the rest of their lives...

Your last sentence contains the core of your argument...

I am only familiar with Limón by "reputation," e.g. the site of drug activity, gang-inflicted murder rates, and heavy drug trafficking to the USA and elsewhere.

Also, a very nice community of Ticos with Caribbean roots and African-American °µÍø½ûÇøs.

Your application of "voodoo vortex" appears to be a rather elastic term.

@edwinemora

Thank you for your suggestions and concerns. We've both lived outside the US before, so we're not particularly naive about it. And we have sufficient resources to return if need be. One never knows.

@gst1212

I appreciate all of your comments, particularly the suggestion about MediSmart--I'll definitely look into that one! And my Spanish is improving on a daily basis.

Regarding the "80%" discussion, I was a physicist before becoming a chocolatier, so I tend to be cautious about figures that don't come with error bars, and don't believe much of anything that doesn't come with solid source data ;-)

Also, as a long-time small business owner, I'm pretty good at "rolling with the punches."

@DancingLions....I am not concerned....Just about all the problems start with trusting your own kind outside your origins....Don't believe the hype...

@gst1212

When you conclude the transaction at BCR, and count the cash and check the receipt, the machine might "eat" the debit card within 10-15 seconds. If the "hard copy" of an °µÍø½ûÇø passport is not displayed to the teller or person on the platform, then the card will not be returned (e.g., the person on the platform will withhold the card until one returns with the passport, and will not accept a photocopy or a jpg file on one's phone).

That's nice to know! Thank you!

@daveandmarcia

Thank you very much for the bank recommendations.

In the words of the late, great Edward R. Murrow, "Good Night and Good Luck" a <<los Bailando Leones.>>

@edwinemora

these people are literally evaporating their 'plan B' if it doesn't work out for them and bolting down their escape hatch to be able never to go back to their origins

If you only have a "plan B," you're not planning deeply enough. It's best to have at least a Plan C and Plan D.

I will soon post a more comprehensive rundown on the pluses and minuses of MediSmart (which I recommend strongly, despite some of its limitations).

@DancingLions - Richtl, are you one and the same ?....An improvisational fairyland that you have created with your post and replies....

@gst1212

Making the effort to learn basic, conversational Spanish will be a big plus.

My chocolate maker's Colombian. At least I can talk chocolate stuff in Spanish.

@Richtl

I too am from the NE part of the states.  Here for 6.5 years... going strong.  I knew nothing about these on-line forums and exchanges until already being here for a few years.   I simply used my head and figured things out... plus, I live in an area with very few foreigners... and we certainly aren't organized into any kind of coffee clutch.  Thus, I relied on Ticos for most of what I needed... or just went 'in' with my crappy Spanish and did my best... immersion isn't scary... it's rewarding and adventurous.  I would never have been offering any kind of 'advice' before that amount of time... so be careful what you read here.  One particular poster is here less than 4 months and thinks the internet will provide all the information one would need for him/herself and for any of the others who are stuck reading his/her internet based assumptions and late night 'screen' observations.  It doesn't.   It is probably more common than not, here in CR, that the ACTUAL experiences and testimonies of those what are actually here for enough time to be NOT AT ALL IN LINE with anything you read on the internet 'info' sites...  which can be outdated... as are many posts on this forum.  It took me awhile to realize I needed to look at the dates on the original posts; etc.   

You can always rely on Dave, from DaveandMarcia (who posted above) as they have been here for many years and he speaks from good, real, reliable Experience; not assumption.   Credit goes to those who have earned it. 

So good luck, come on down and enjoy CR.  Your experience will be more fun than not... and I'm sure you're already knowledgeable about living in a foreign place; so you won't need this site for much more than asking others about particular aspects of life here... such as Banking (which I found to be completely easy... 20 minutes to open an account; no issues) Residency, the Caja (mandatory Social Healthcare system membership if you get Residency); Shopping in your locality, or contacts for construction, garden centers, or shoe repair... yes, shoe repair.  it rains a lot and shoes fall apart.   I know that from EXPERIENCE. 

Bienvenudos!