8 Ways to Get Your Holiday Goodies into Costa Rica Easily or Safely

My post about how to receive packages in Costa Rica while avoiding having them snagged by Customs, which requires a trip to San José and a couple hours of bureacratic SNAFU to retrieve said package, continues to be one of my more popular articles.

Still, I often get asked the question: "Just how do you get stuff shipped into Costa Rica?"

Attack of the Drones - CC-SA-3.0

Unfortunately, Amazon drone delivery does not seem to be on the horizon anytime soon.

So, to supplement the original article, here is a list (probably incomplete) on the various methods that I've either used or have learned second-hand from others who have found them to be successful.

Squeezing Colossal Returns from Your Retirement Kitty in Costa Rica

Update: It has been almost a year since we opened our Costa Rica CDs. After nearly perfect stability in the U$D exchange rate for a couple of years, the Costa Rica Colon depreciated this year about 3%. Given that our CDs average approx. 11% return, we are still 8% ahead this year and expect to renew the shorter term certificates. 

Our confidence has also been increased in CoopeNae after a recent meeting for investors that we attended (or maybe it was the delicious shrimp, shishkebab and Argentinian wine served afterwards? :) ). For example, they have the highest growth rate among credit unions here and better liquidity than the national banks!

===== Original article =====
I've been aware of the enormous interest rates on savings in Costa Rica since we moved here, but until recently was unable to take full advantage of them because spare cash was tied up in other things and, I must admit, the big returns made me gun shy. I mean, there has to be a catch right? Yes, there is a catch, but looking back over our 7 years residing here, with the absolute clarity that 20-20 hindsight provides, I wish we'd taken the plunge sooner.

Typical CD Rates in Costa Rica for Colones Deposits

As you can see from the chart at the right, phenomenal rates can be had on Certificates of Deposit denominated in Colones. Rates for U$D deposits are dramatically less, but much higher than in the U.S., up to 3.5%.

For deposit amounts in five figures or higher, you can actually negotiate slightly higher rates as well. We were able to get 12% with a quarterly payout of interest on one CD.

The highest rates are not universal. These quoted at the right are from a local credit union. Bank CDs yield 2 or 3 points lower and National Banks even lower. The latter provide something like the FDIC insurance coverage enjoyed in the States however.

Which brings us to why you might not want to invest in such CDs:

Which Lifestyle Would Cost Our Family Less - Oregon or Costa Rica? - Part 2: Non-Tax Expenses

Comparing Non-Tax Expenses

In this part, I include estimates of monthly costs for food, medical, vehicles, utilities and housing. Part 1, about tax costs, is here.

Food Prices

Comparing food prices between Costa Rica and the U.S. is a complex business. Most expats experience sticker shock in part due to the included 13% sales tax and the fact that so much food in Costa Rica is imported. Want a box of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios? That’ll be about six bucks please. Can you get by with 1-minute oatmeal? Good, because that’s only about 75 cents for a 200g bag. If you look at food here in a 1-for-1 comparison to U.S. products, Costa Rica loses.

 

Costa Rica Farmer's Cheese, available everywhere

Dairy products are about the same or higher than in the U.S. because producers are protected by steep tariffs on imported milk, etc. from, say, Nicaragua. About the best you can do by weight is local farmer cheese at $2.15/lb. but it’s only aged 30 days. We found one store with what we consider a smoking deal on run-of-the-mill sharp cheddar at $6/lb. Many other cheeses are 50-100% more, especially artisan cheese.

Judging by a flyer from our once-local Fred Meyer store in Oregon, I’d say meat prices are on a par in each country, but canned tuna here is out of sight. You have never seen more ways to can tuna than in Costa Rica. They mix it with almost anything to reduce the actual fish content and lower the price.

Costa Rica's Freelance Parking Attendants - Las Vigías

One of the more subtle cultural aspects of living in Costa Rica is the Vigía, or the "lookout". In the U.S., if we had them, we'd probably call them freelance parking attendants. Initially, I found these guys - haven't seen a female vigía yet - a bit annoying. "Do I really need someone to help me park, put a piece of cardboard on my window, and then hit me up for a tip?", I thought.

It didn't take long, however, for me to come to appreciate their services. Parking spaces in town are scarce, tiny and awkwardly positioned. It's a real time saver to have someone wave you into an empty space, stop traffic when you're backing out, and watch your car while you're shopping. All for a mere 100 colones (20 cents). 

Each vigía has his own territory, which usually consists of a single city block. They are there typically 10 to 12 hours a day. Pictured above is our favorite vigía, Luis, who works the block orthogonal to the street on which Sean's old school is located. Luis has a quick and easy smile and loves to joke around. My sister  introduced him to the fist bump one day, so we have added that to our greeting ritual. I am happy to hand this guy his tip, and he has no problem if I'm out of change some days ... mañana I'll get it to him.

Luis has a very good street to work as you can see. It is always filled with cars. This abnormally wide street is right next to the core downtown not-free parking zone, so it's a popular location. 

Not all vigías are so diligent and friendly as Luis. On the street in front of San Isidroś farmer's market, there was a change of vigías about a year ago. The new guy, how shall I put it, ... sucks. He is not helpful, but he is right there in your face with his hand out as soon as he sees you heading to your car to leave. I stopped  parking on that street hoping to starve him out. He eventually disappeared, thank goodness. 

There is one other vigía we regularly see on a busy cross-street in the middle of a busy commercial area. He has his work cut out for him. The street is narrow and parking requires some deft handling of the car. He will guide you into your spot, but more importantly he stops traffic when you are trying to thread the needle backing out. 

The watchman aspect is not so vital down here where street crime is rare, but I suppose in a place like San José that aspect could be important. I'd think, however, that in SJ you would have to wonder if you needed a vigía for the vigía, etc. Up in SJ I've had obviously drug-crazed kids try to panhandle 100 colones off me as I headed back to my car. They weren't there when I parked, and had done absolutely nada with regards to watching over my car. At least they didn't break into it, so perhaps I should give them a tip for that!

Costa Rica Graft for Which Every One of Us Pays

Reading a news article regarding the failure of Ukraine's new president, Poroshenko, in addressing the high rate of business and political corruption in that country led me to some statistics regarding the apparent level of graft in Costa Rica.

Everyone presumes it happens but are surprised when perpetrators are nabbed

The news there is not good, though Costa Rica citizens might take comfort that surveys show their neighbors, relatively speaking, to be swimming in graft whereas Costa Rica citizens require only hip boots to keep the stink off of them. Here, bribery is referred to as "la mordida" or the bite.

My Suicidal Costa Rica Pickup's Despair Evaporates

Update Nov.2014: See How This Truck Turned Out in The End.

You may have forgotten about my trashed Mitsubishi pick-up. Sometimes, even I forget about it now and then. After all, it's been over five months since we discovered it had rolled down a 200 ft. ravine into the creek, whether by accident or through malice we'll never know.

Motor re-mounted in the old, but re-painted bare chassis

After I determined that, despite outward appearances, it was still drivable (sorry, no video of me tooling around the neighborhood in my "new" convertible), I called my body shop man, Deiner, up to the house to take a look. He was quite confident that it was salvageable and the hunt began for a new cab from the north of Costa Rica into Panama. 

The Rolled Truck Emerges, Its Future Unknown

My hapless '88 Mitsubishi pickup, which suffered a 200 foot roll into a ravine on the finca (under mysterious circumstances), was pulled out of the creek last week with a backhoe.



During the summer months, backhoes are in demand, fixing roads, cleaning up slides from the rainy season and loading dump trucks. This one belongs to a neighbor who has a small gravel, lastre, road equipment business down in San Ramón Sur. He's the guy with the backpack, not the operator. 

ExpatFocus.com Interview of Yours Truly on Expat Life in Costa Rica

Book Review: Becoming an Expat Costa Rica by Shannon Enete

Shannon Enete has started off an exciting and expanding series of country-specific expat guides with one on her own adopted country Costa Rica. It's unlike other books of its genre in the breadth of topics it covers and details about what you are likely to deal with during and after your move to the Land of Eternal Spring.

Besides the usual topics you see in travel guides regarding the basic necessities of life such as water, food and transportation plus historical, cultural and geographical data, Ms. Enete gets down and dirty with the many details involved in actually living here. Her topics cut a wide swath:

• Finding the ideal location within Costa Rica
• Moving your stuff here
• Renting versus buying a place to live
• Software for communication and daily life
• The Costa Rica legal system
• Applying for residency (or not)
• Going about setting up a business
• Access to healthcare
• ... and much more

 If it sounds like you might feel bogged down in the midst of Becoming an Expat Costa Rica's many details, never fear. Ms. Enete has an engaging, light, enthusiastic style of writing that makes for easy reading and absorption of material.

From Costa Rica Oregon's Obamacare Offerings Leave Me ... Whelmed

UPDATE 2, Oct. 22: OK, so though what I reported for Day 1 was correct at the time, it's all obsolete at this point.

coveroregon.com seems to be doing what it is supposed to do now and all plans show coverage for hospitalization, imaging, lab work, etc.

BUT, even with a $600 subsidy for two of us - which means some plans' premiums would be free - the deductibles/out-of-pocket expenses plus co-pays, and so on still don't compare favorably cost-wise with what we have available here in Costa Rica using only the private health care sector.  The bottom line is that health costs in the U.S. are just so far out of whack that even subsidies don't help much.

UPDATE Oct. 8: Yesterday I visited coveroregon.com again and found Bronze and Gold plans are now in the mix, but ... I was unable to access any plan's details. So, obviously, the site is still very much a work in progress and thus, my initial experience below may require revising. Stay tuned for that.

CC-Share Alike 3.0 John Fekner & Don Leicht

Today, Oct. 1, the health care insurance exchanges across the U.S. open for business. Twenty-six states have their own exchanges while the rest use the default federal exchange. Since I'm from Oregon originally, and knowing the current governor's penchant for health care issues (he's an M.D. after all), I figured I'd visit the site, coveroregon.com, to see what the actual numbers would be if we, theoretically, were to re-locate back to our home state.

In a nutshell, I was underwhelmed. That's probably partly due to having overly-optimistic expectations and partly because I've come to appreciate the good and affordable health care we have here in Costa Rica.

By the way, as expats who stay out of the U.S. at least 330 days per year, we are not required to purchase health insurance there. The mandate does not apply in our situation.

Guest Post: Why You Should Make the Switch from Tourist to Resident in Costa Rica

Guest post today from VivaTropical.com. I think it makes a great counterpoint to my recent post about the value of residency.

Ziplining through a waterfall

A country with access to the Pacific coast, the Caribbean Sea, stretches of tropical rainforest, and spring weather valleys, Costa Rica definitely lives up to its reputation. Bordering Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica is by far the most popular expat destination of the three, but while Costa Rica might be a fantastic place to vacation, what exactly is it about this Central American gem that is causing people to make the big switch from tourist to resident?

To rediscover the value of family

One of the most common reasons that expats are making the move down to the tropical paradise of Costa Rica with their families in tow, is to spend more quality time together. Life in North America is busy and can often revolve around work and money, and because of this, things like family can sometimes take the back seat. In Costa Rica, things tend to slow down and the people here definitely embrace the laid-back lifestyle. Here, family can come first and while it can be a difficult transition for some expats, others find the end result a rewarding breath of fresh air.

 

Costa Rica is developed

Unlike some of its Central American neighbors, Costa Rica is quite developed and there is already a well-established expat community. For this reason, expats can retire to Costa Rica knowing that many of the North American comforts that they rely on, like cable, shopping malls, and English movies and books will be easily accessible. For many, this can make the transition go a lot smoother and life, much more convenient. Expats don’t have to feel cut off from the rest of the world, there are international flights coming in and out of the country on a regular basis, there is easy internet access and even if you don’t own a computer, there are an abundance of internet cafes sprinkled across the country. Heath care in Costa Rica is world-class, the school systems are strong, and everything is supported by a stable and non-invasive government.

How to Mail Stuff to Costa Rica and Bypass the Customs Zoo at Zapote

Click Here for a more recent post on 8 Ways to Send Stuff to Costa Rica.

 

The question of how to ship things here to Costa Rica gets asked a lot on various forums. I just answered a query on Expat-Blog.com about this and felt like I was doing it for the umpteenth time, so thought I would post it here for later reference. I earnestly welcome any locals here to leave comments about their experiences or best methods for getting stuff into the country without too much hassle. 

  

Sharpie2 wrote:

I understand that bring a shipping container is prohibitive cost wise.

It seems that starting from scratch wouldn't be so cheap either.  I'd appreciate some comments and hearing about people's experiences about that.

Is is then possible to mail some things to yourself or someone else in Costa Rica or will all mail be opened?

My Reply:

Active member

From: San Isidro de El General

Registered: 2010-04-10

Posts: 36

Re: Mailing to Costa Rica

Well, it all depends on what you are trying to ship down here. If you're shipping a whole household, then a container is really the only way to go. There are also partial load services (see my blog post here: How To Have Christmas in May about two companies that do that). The drawback is that you'll probably wait 2-3 months to get your packages.

All mail will not be opened. In fact, probably none of it will be opened without you present, but that is not the main problem.

The Cost of Owning and Driving a Car in Costa Rica Can Be Daunting

We purchased our first car in Costa Rica, a 2006 Mitsubishi Montero Sport diesel 4x4, when we arrived to stay back in November, 2008. Those were the days when we were more flush with cash than we are now. It didn't seem a great luxury at the time even though the cost was nearly twice what you'd pay in the States, if you could find a diesel version there. That's basically the rule of thumb here for cars, new or used. Purchase prices are double that in the States. Here's a link as to the main reason why.

Oh, this can't be good!

That fact of life here is due to import duties, sales tax, and property transfer tax but also because the number of drivers in Costa Rica has been growing rapidly for years. Strong demand and weak supply play a big role in driving up asking prices.

If only the madness would stop there, it wouldn't be so bad.

Is Costa Rica The Happiest Place On Earth? Maybe Not for the Reasons You Think.

In a walk across the web, I stumbled over this article about how Costa Rica is again the Happiest Place On Earth, and my stubbed virtual toe is still smarting a little.

A lot(!) is written about how Costa Rica is an undiscovered paradise (mostly by the Tourism bureau and real estate agents methinks), and this Happiness Index thing keeps popping up every year. 

This particular article, however, seemed more over-the-top than most, so I couldn't resist dissecting it a bit - tongue-in-cheek - based on my own experience in "paradise." Yes, I've cherry-picked for brevity's sake, but 80% of the article is intact below. I'm going to use my own scoring, +1, -1 and 0 for neutral. Let's see what my "happiness index" comes up with.

Having just been voted the single-most happiest place to live on the planet, Costa Rica has grabbed the attention of many. But the question burning up the Internet is, "why is Costa Rica ranked the happiest place on Earth?"

...

First off, the country is ideally located in Central America between  Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south.

I have no idea why that positioning would be considered an ideal location and the article doesn't say, either. I think a happier location would be between, say, France and Spain, or elsewhere on the Mediterranean. Will give this the benefit of the doubt, score 0.

One Gringo Family's Experience with Universal Health Care in Costa Rica, Part 2

Not the actual machine at Clinica San Lucas (sorry, could not resist!)

Part 1 is here.

Tamara was pretty happy to leave the Caja hospital after halfway through her third day there. The doctor wrote up the orders for the tests, and we were on our way after a short check-out procedure. 

Contrary to my usual procrastinating tendencies, we went right away to a nearby clinic to schedule the exams. First up was a CAT scan, then the colonoscopy within a couple of days.

Unfortunately, the gastroscopy couldn't be scheduled sooner than 8 days away, so we had some down time. The CAT scan was done at the only place in Pérez Zeledón that has the machine, Clinica San Lucas. I won't go into all the gory details, but the typical preparation for all the tests was fasting and usually a purgative besides. Believe me, she was pretty worn out by the time we finished all the tests.

One Gringo Family's Experience with Universal Health Care in Costa Rica

Logo of Costa Rica's Social Security

Everyone, Ticos and Gringos alike, love to kick the Caja, especially when it's down, which it is pretty much all the time. Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) is the Costa Rican government's universal health care system implemented after the 1948 civil war, which resulted in the abolition of the Costa Rican Army and the government refocusing its resources towards social programs.

No question about it, there is plenty to dislike about the system. In general, it's underfunded, understaffed, overcrowded, and slower than a sleeping sloth. Worse, the resources that it does have are scattered about the country unevenly. While in Cañas there is a state-of-the-art clinic, here in Pérez Zeledón the hospital is an awkward maze architecturally and in terms of process. The only thing holding up the building appears to be the umpteen layers of paint on the walls.

That said, the Caja does provide access to health care for millions here, health care that citizens could simply not afford otherwise. Monthly premiums are minuscule (update: were miniscule, now 13% of income for new residents) and cover literally everything, all clinic or hospital visits, doctor appointments, procedures, exams, surgery, and prescriptions. Though there are always horror stories, there seem to be an equal number of stories about folks who have accessed the system, gotten superb care, and walked away without a bill. Obviously, one's mileage can and does vary.

Do You Want The Good News Or The Bad News First?

If you already follow my personal Facebook page then you know the latest, that my wife, Tamara, had surgery yesterday to remove a tumor surrounding her left ovary. The surgery went great and the patient is doing fine, thank you all for your kind wishes for her speedy recovery. She should be going home today to rest. We still need to await the biopsy results, but everyone thinks it will prove to be benign.

I didn't write about this situation before because Tamara wanted me to keep a lid on it until it was over. It's been a hectic two months running around getting exams, more exams, more tests, and dealing with the Caja here (the government healthcare system). In the near future I'll be writing in detail about our intimate experience with the health care systems here, which I'm sure many of you are curious about. It's one thing to hear about it in the abstract, quite another to learn about a real-life experience. Suffice it to say, in this case we went private, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't use the Caja in the future.

Now, so that this post isn't a downer, here's something on the lighter side. On my other blog, Cloud Warmer, I have the same little, blue, floating Twitter Bird as on this blog. If it's driving you nuts, you now have an outlet for the annoyance. Someone over there mentioned in a comment that the bird is "creepy", so I put up a poll to decide its fate. That poll will likely decide the fate of its twin on this site. So, you can see just how important this is and you really should pay attention!

So, if you can't stand that little innocent-looking bird, vote Yes, if you like it, vote No, and if you don't care one way or the other, please vote, "Don't Care". It's high time that you expressed your deep apathy!

Using Partial Load Shippers in Costa Rica Saves Money

Recently, I ran across an article about how Costa Rica Customs are enforcing the collection of import/sales tax on items mailed to Costa Rica from outside the country especially purchases via Internet. If your stuff gets caught in their ever-tightening net, you will receive a notice of "Aviso Mercadería" in your local Post Office, but no item. They hold all such packages in the main P.O. in Zapote on the southern edge of San José. 

No matter if you happen to live a 6 hour drive from Zapote. If you want your stuff, you must go there in person and suffer through an almost comical procedure of visiting 5 different windows, waste at least an hour and a half, and for the privilege you'll pay handling, storage, sales tax and duty.

There are alternatives, most of which are better than the Zapote trap. Ex-pats quickly learn about these alternate shipping methods, or give up and buy locally if they can find what they want here. 

In the article, the list of options to get stuff into the country went like this:

• U.S. Postal service to a local post office box or “Apartado Postal” in Costa Rica (but you see what can happen)
  
• Ship via mail, parcel service or courier to a private mailbox in the U.S. that exports to Costa Rica
• International courier service, such as DHL or FedEx to an address in Costa Rica
• Ask a friend or associate to bring a package in a suitcase on their flight

Costa Rica's Place in Medical Tourism

The term coined for traveling outside your home country to obtain health care is medical tourism. The primary motivation of such travellers is to take advantage of lower medical costs with an equal or at least acceptable level of care. In some cases, other countries may have treatments that are not offered in the home country because they are too new or don't have approval by government regulation or by one's insurance carrier. Even if they are covered in your home country, there may be an unacceptable wait time for the procedure.

Before and After (the paint job)

It has to have been at least 6 weeks since I took my truck to the body and paint shop in the village of La Bonita. Berny, the sole proprietor, estimated 3 weeks for a complete repair and repaint. He does a first-rate job, not an Earl Schieb quickie (I still remember those commercials clearly "... 29.95, any car, any color, no ups, no extras!"). Berny dismantles a lot of the car, fixes all the rust, dents and dings, primers it, and paints a couple of finish coats on everything, inside, outside, underneath, etc. 

Before