Christmas in Costa Rica

December was a very busy month. Unfortunately, at the same time I had to learn to live without my laptop. The repair people here had to order the part from the States. I tried to get on my blog from my phone, but it would not let me in from there. Lesson learned. If you move outside the US and want to stay in touch with all your amigos and needs I am of the opinion you need either a tablet or spare computer. The ability to repair your electronics is here, but the supplies have to be ordered.

I flew in from my visit to Texas on Nov. 30th, and the first Christmas party here was Dec. 1st. Believe me when I say you do not have to worry about moving to Costa Rica without your friends. I cannot remember a Christmas season ever with this many parties and events to attend. There was my first CR high school graduation, Chichirones Festival with Christmas music as the theme, three birthday parties with one being a quinceanera, four Christmas parties and a New Year's Eve party.

The high school graduation here in Costa Rica is very different. Students here only go to school for 11 years not 12 like in the US. They do not graduate by alphabetical order. It was pretty random. They have entertainment! They had singers singing popular pop songs from the US sung in English, belly dancers that performed two numbers and at the end a really great mariachi band played. It was fun but took two hours with a small class. Two of my favorite Tico teens graduated.

Then there were all the parties.

Because I had to go home in November to take care of my house I was not able to turn around and go right back for Christmas. My sweet neighbors and family here in Costa Rica invited me to spend Christmas with them and their family. It was wonderful. They are so much like my family. They love each other, never argue over anything and laugh and laugh. They are just pure joy as are most of the Tico people. When they say "pura vida" they mean it. It is a way of life here.

I did make my homemade eight dozen chocolate chip cookies to give as gifts to my neighbors. I also made my annual Christmas photo with my dogs Gigi and Arianna, but was unable to post my Christmas wish for all of you this year. I hope everyone enjoyed a very blessed Christmas. Now to see what 2019 brings!

Pura Vida!

Rent or Buy in Costa Rica

As of the last six months I've been toying with the idea of either continuing to rent here and keep my house in Texas, or sell my house in Texas and build here in Costa Rica.

When I moved here I decided to keep my house in Texas and use it as a rental property to give me an extra income. It would be very tight living just on Social Security. I can do it, but it would be painful. It also turned out to be painful trying to have a rent house while living out of the country even with a management company. That in itself is another story. Just be warned on how good management companies are not. Really, no one can protect you from a bad destructive renter.

As it turns out it is very tricky buying property in Costa Rica. For me, I think I would have made some really bad mistakes or financially disastrous mistakes if I had moved here and bought immediately. You really need to know all the rules and laws and to feel out your area to decide where you want to make your permanent home. This includes climate, convenience, closeness to your friends, views and all things that might be important to you. Then there is the fact that nothing in real estate in Costa Rica works the same as in the States. First of all, just because a person says they have lived on a property for the last 20 years and want to sell it to you does not mean they own it at all. Many a person has moved here and excitedly bought their dream property only to find out that it was not a legal sale. The person never had the land legally put in their name, so they could not legally sale it. It would still belong to the person they bought it from even if totally paid off. There is a legal search and document called a Uso de Suelo that will prove the ability of the seller to actually sell it, you can build on it and you are able to bring utilities to it. If a property is within a certain amount of meters from a water source you cannot build on it. The city I live in now is water short. No one can build new here. Once again, you really need to have an attorney to make sure everything is on the up and up before you sign or give money.

After living in Costa Rica for a year and half I have come to the decision that I am very comfortable here. My stress level is 98% less than it was in the States. The weather here is so comfortable. The never ending views make my eyes happy every day. I have made some very nice friends and the Costa Rican people are truly the sweetest. Not to mention, with the cost of living in the States being what it is, if I went back I would have to get another job and work until I die. That is not what I want for my life.

So, I went to Texas in November after my renter moved out in the middle of the night with no notice and made the decision to repair and fix my house to go on the market. It officially hit the home listings on Monday. Hopefully it will sale quickly and I will move forward.

After looking around for months I have come to the conclusion that it is less expensive to build new rather than to buy existing. I am losing the extra money per month from the rent which has played into my plans on what I want to do here. Once my home in Texas has sold I will be on the active look for a nice piece of land to build on. It must be large enough to give me some privacy and above all it must have a drop dead view. All of Costa Rica is a drop dead view, so that is actually the easy part. I have already talked to friends that have built here and have decided on my builder. I know that I want to build a comfortable home for myself, but I am going to build a story and half. The half will be a short term rental for people on vacation. I will advertise through Airbnb. This will cover my loss of the extra money from my rent in Texas. I have several friends here that do this in my area and have been very successful with it.

There are so many things to consider if you are thinking about moving to Costa Rica. My personal advise would be to rent for at least a year. Get comfortable with your needs and wants, and above all talk to people that have already been through it and hire an attorney.

Pura Vida!

My First Doctor's Appointment At The Caja

I had my first appointment with a Caja doctor, and everything went swimmingly. I had heard horror stories of having an eight o'clock appointment and not getting in until eleven or later. Everything with my appointment went off like clock work. My appointment was for 8:00 AM. I weighed in, had my blood pressure taken, saw the doctor and was out at 8:45.

My new doctor's name is Dr. Carolina. She looks like she might be 25 years old but, of course, she is older and so sweet. She is a general practitioner but wants to go into internal medicine when she can. She has to work in the Caja for at least a year first. She asked me a little about my history, but told me she would talk more in-depth after she got my blood tests and mammogram back. We went over the medicines that I take on a regular basis. She was able to prescribe everything except medicines for menopause until she gets back the mammogram. In the mean time, she told me to just go to an outside pharmacy and purchase my Estradiol. No prescription needed! After our visit was over I went to a check out window where they stamped all the prescriptions she had written for me three times with dates and other information. I took these to the pharmacy in the CAJA, and they were all filled for three months for FREE! When they handed me the bag full of my medications I had the urge to run just in case they made a mistake in giving them to me at no charge!

Dr. Carolina also gave me prescriptions for blood tests and the mammogram which I was to take to another building called CISA and make my appointments. It also turned out to be a very easy process. Luckily I ran into my friend, George Lundquist, who speaks Spanish. I would have been in a little trouble with this part of the process if he had not been there. In the end, I now have appointments in November for all my free blood tests and mammogram. In January I return to my doctor to go over all the results and finish my physical.

Yesterday I ran into my new doctor in the grocery store. It made me so happy. It was such a warm feeling like being back in my small home town of Greenville.

Doctor's Office and Free Pharmacy

Pura Vida!

How To Make A Doctor's Appointment In Costa Rica

I did it! I guess it is silly to always be amazed when I accomplish things here, but I always am. It is a different country with a language I understand very little of. It has different customs and the medical system is Social. It is the opposite from what I am familiar with. So, today I walked into the Ebias, found the window for Ebias number One which is the area I live in, and made my first doctors appointment.

I thought I could just walk into any doctor's office, hand them my Seguro Social (Caja) card and make an appointment. Wrong. First I had to find out what area I was actually in. I called my neighbor, Manuel, and he told me I was in Ebias number one. From there I found out I had to go to the Seguro Social office, find the number one area, and make an appointment with a doctor. Then there's the problem of trying to ask if there is a doctor that speaks English. The guard at the front door did not speak English, so through my terrible broken Spanish he finally understood I was needing area one to make an appointment. The girl at the window for my area did not speak English, and I could not get internet service on my phone for Google Translate. Somehow, again with my words not sentences in Spanish, she figured out what I wanted and started making the appointment for me. As she was almost finished she called a very pretty and very young girl over. She was asking her something, so I asked the girl if she spoke any English. She said yes, some. I told her what I was trying to accomplish, and she said it had been understood and my appointment would be on Thursday with her. She was the doctor! I would have guessed her at 18 years old. Seriously, the Ticos really age well here.

I am not sick. I need to first see a doctor so I can start getting my medications through the Caja for free. It has not been the smartest thing on my part having not taken care of this 5 months ago when I first got on the country's insurance program. I think I was just exhausted from all the other legal things that have to be accomplished when you first move here. I've spent money I did not need to on meds. I am really excited to start getting them FREE!

If you did not read any of my past blog posts my full coverage medical insurance with free medicines and free doctors appointments is $44.00 a month. That's correct, $44.00 a month! I may not get in to see the doctor as fast as I want, or may not get into a surgery right away if it is not an emergency, but it's free when I do. If there is an emergency, and you cannot wait to make a doctor's appointment, you just go to the emergency room and are taken great care of. I can live with this!

I will let you know how my first appointment goes and the thrill of receiving free prescriptions.

Pura Vida!

Effects of The Rainy Season in Costa Rica

I am still pinching myself and in awe that I actually live in this beautiful country called Costa Rica.

We are deep into the rainy season. October is supposed to be the wettest. Last week we had 3 full days of non-stop rain. No sunshine that long is not fun, and I am one of those people that needs the sun. The country, however, is lush and green from all the rain. I have not heard last weeks rain totals, but the week before was 43".

Now for a little warning. I noticed at the beginning of last year's rainy season I was coughing. Then I came down with bronchitis. That is not unusual for me. I had it chronically as a child, but out grew it. I did get it occasionally the last few years in the States, but it seemed to be viral not just me with bronchitis. Now this year...shortly after the rain started I began that little hacky cough off and on. Then I came down with a light case of the flu followed by a 5 week hard episode of bronchitis. I am beginning to think the rainy season may be the culprit. We all know with a lot of wetness comes different molds, and some people are very allergic to mold. Some nights, not many but some, I step outside to let the dogs out and it is so foggy/cloudy in the mountains that I almost feel like I'm breathing water, and my lungs are not in favor of that. So, I will see how it goes next rainy season. I am going to beef up my immune system during the months of April and May to get ready. My warning would be if you are a person with lung issues you may want to think about this before moving to Costa Rica. Since I am in the mountains where the air is cooler and the clouds, when it rains, are at the same level. There may be other areas of the country you would want to consider.

As a side note, my daughter, son-in-law and his whole family were here in August. We spent five days in a beautiful mountain top villa overlooking the Pacific in Manuel Antonio. We had the most wonderful time and visit. On the sixth day my daughter, son-in-law and two friends that came with the family came back to my house with me. I immediately fell sick with the flu. Before they got out of here to avoid the plague my son-in-law hooked my Roku up and loaded Netflix on it for me. My I just say, that may have been the best gift I have ever received. It saved my sanity during those weeks I was shut in trying to get over bronchitis.

View from our villa pool

Look who came to play

The girls snorkeling in the Pacific off the catamarin

The whole family on the catamaran off Manuel Antonio

That being said, I still love it here. I love the lushness, all the incredible birds, nature nature nature, and the sweet Costa Rican people. I still recommend it as a great place to retire.

Plants growing on the trees

Living level and above the clouds

Pura Vida!

The Rainy Season in Costa Rica Is Here

We are now heavy into the rainy season. Costa Rica really has no seasons like the US. Our rainy season runs from May-November and the dry season December-April. Of course this is not precise. The rainy season this year started early in April.

Last year it almost never started raining until 2:30 and only lasted anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours. I could almost set my clock by it. The skies were always clear by 9:00 at night when the Central Valley lights came back into view. This season has been different. The last few days have been very gloomy with little sunlight. The only time I remember it being like this last year was when hurricane Nate left us with a tropical storm for two continuous days.

The vegetation growth in one month has been startling. Things had begun to get a little brown through the dry season, and I discovered I had a pond of water in the pasture right behind my house. It had been hidden by all the growth. In just a few weeks of rain it is hidden again. Living in the tropics is amazing. You really see Mother Nature at work and quickly!

I have been told we are supposed to have a much wetter season this year. I loved it last year, but there was much more sunlight. I do hope it does not continue like this. Otherwise, it's going to be a long six months. It is a good thing I have a lot of friends here that like to get out and do things, rain or shine. That will help!

Pura Vida!

My First Year

I cannot believe it is one year today that I moved to Costa Rica. At this time I had finished taking my precious victorian home apart and packed everything up with the help of my friends Bobby Trad, Dodi Macias Lasovich and Mary Jane Morris and daughter Jena. The shippers had come with a 20 foot cargo container and trucked it to the Gulf of Mexico for shipping to Costa Rica.

With all my papers in hand to obtain my legal status in Costa Rica, my dogs certificate of good health along with my daughter Meleese, her husband Drew, my two dogs and 5 suitcases I boarded American Airlines for the flight to take me to my new home.

It has been a very busy year. I found out shortly I needed a car. Luckily my veterinarian had just put her car up for sale, and I bought it. After waiting five weeks for my container to arrive with all my home furnishings I settled into my darling rent house with the million dollar view.

The people of Costa Rica call themselves Ticos, and they are the sweetest people in the world starting with my next door neighbors. They have taken me in as a family member. I've been to numerous large family events with them, birthday parties and their wedding. I do not speak Spanish and every place I have gone the person trying to help me has been patient and kind. I have yet to meet an unfriendly Tico.

It has been very busy socially. I have had ten friends come to visit, and we went to different interesting locals around the country. There is a large American community in Santiago and the surrounding area. I've made some wonderful new friends. Most of them really like to have a good time. My new friend, Carol, had a party at her home for the 50th Anniversary of The Summer of Love. Everyone was to dress up like the 1960s. We had a groovy time.

Shortly after arriving I employed an attorney in San Jose, Roberto Umana, to help me obtain my legal residency. I delivered all the paperwork I brought from the US, and he translated everything into Spanish, filed the request and paperwork with the Costa Rican Office of Immigration. In the mean time I applied to the Caja for my medical insurance and was set to go. In December I received a letter telling me I had been approved, but because of the holidays I would have to wait to go to the immigration office to receive my sedula (license of legal residence.) The appointment was finally set. On April 25th I became a legal resident of Costa Rica!

I have flown home twice in the year to visit my family and friends. It has truly been an amazing first year. I still cannot believe I did it!

Pura Vida!