The city of San Isidro del General is located about 45 minutes inland from Dominical and is very convenient for shopping, hardware stores, doctors, dentists, lawyers, and more. San Isidro I have heard called “the fastest growing city in Central America”, but do not know if there is any truth to that. The area around San Isidro is known as Perez Zeledon and includes towns such as; La Palma, Cajon,...
Retiring in Costa Rica
If you want a cell phone in Costa Rica that works on the local networks, then it has to be unlocked; meaning not tied or ‘locked’ to any wireless provider in the U.S. The phone also has to use a SIM card and work on an HSDPA 3G network. Note: CDMA phones will not work here. There are few ways to get an unlocked phone: 1.) Buy it here, but the price is much higher due to heavy import taxes on...
Costa Rica is one of the most protected countries in the World for wild life and has placed about 25% of their entire land mass into reserves and national parks. The various climates and regions of Costa Rica are home to tons of animal, bird, and insect species. Tourists come from all over the World to visit Costa Rica for its picturesque beauty and to view exotic animals in their natural...
Labor in Costa Rica is very affordable compared to the U.S., Canada, or Europe and many ex-pats employ a full or part time gardener and house cleaner. Since the jungle grows so fast around here, a gardener can keep the property and the landscaping maintained. Same for a finished home, having some help cleaning windows, sweeping, mopping, and more helps maintain its beauty. After all most people move...
High speed internet in the middle of the jungle is a beautiful thing, but up until a few years ago was almost impossible. The only options back then were to go to an internet café (which was usually dial up speed) or try and hook up your cell phone (if you had signal) to the computer and use snail pace internet. Well, all that has changed thankfully and it is possible to work online from your house in...
This can be an overwhelming endeavor looking for a quality used car in Costa Rica. Many of the cars have been driven on bad roads and are super expensive compared to their comparable U.S. make and model. There is a heavy import tax on cars here, which is reflected in the prices. It can be discouraging when looking for a car and may take several trips to various dealerships and looking at for sale by...
Having a green thumb has never been so easy if you live in Costa Rica. Basically during the rainy season just cut and plant or buy your favorite flower from the nursery and plant it anywhere. I recently wrote a blog about planting fruit trees, in this entry we will discuss exotic flowers and plants that are available and great for landscaping in our area of Costa Rica. We have recently been planting at...
The local soda has great taste and the best prices around. Not a soda beverage, but rather the local small restaurant they call “Sodas” around here. They are typically family owned and many times operating right out of their home kitchen. Talk about good ole’ home cooking. As with most Costa Rica restaurants they are open air and there will surely be a dog sleeping in the corner, but do not...
Now you have a home and property or even a lot ready to build, and want to plant some flowers and fruit trees. This is one of the best aspects of living in such a tropical environment, you can usually literally cut off a branch and stick it in the ground and it will grow. You will notice driving down the road though out the country, some of the fence posts have started growing branches and become trees...
The local farmer’s market is a weekly event that most residents and locals alike look forward to. Every Thursday and Friday in San Isidro and every Saturday in Uvita, one can stock up of fresh fruits and vegetables from an assortment of local area farmers. There is everything imaginable and even an organic fruit section; which is very popular and best to go on Thursday morning for more selection. ...