Life Change

I have experienced so many changes in the last 7 months.  2013 has been an interesting year.  My X husband, Johnny Seidel, passed away.  We had continued to see each other off and on over the last 10 years, but were on an off period.  It was a terrible shock when I got the phone call that he had passed away.  If anything it made my determination to move to Costa Rica even stronger.  I do not want to dream... I want to do!

I did change my plans as far as renting my house out.  Instead I decided to sell my house and moved back to my old home town, Greenville.  The pace of life is slower here and the cost of living is less.  Just another step in the right direction.

It's interesting when I start connecting the dots of my path.  After my divorce I moved to Oak Cliff in Dallas.  It is an area that is not as upscale and citified as my entire life has been up until then.  I went from having Central Market and Neiman Marcus in my back yard, to having small not so great grocery stores and having to drive about 10 miles to reach anything upscale.  This was the first step in getting used to slimming down my options.  Now I've moved to Greenville where life is slower paced and there is practically no good shopping at all.  If I want a good grocery store, ie Central Market, I have to drive back to Dallas.  All these changes are getting me ready for Costa Rica!  Puriscal is a very small town and my life style will change.  It would have been quite the culture shock if I had not started changing my lifestyle seven years ago.  Of course, at the time I did not realize where my life was going.  Connecting the dots is so exciting!  God has had a hand on my life for a very long time. 

I am so excited.  My plan is still to move there in 3 years once I am able to collect social security.  But the life style change is going to be easy for me now.

Make your plan, trust God, and work that plan!

Pura Vida!

The Question- Bring or Not to Bring Furniture

I've been debating, bring my furniture or not to bring my furniture.  I have antiques and paintings that I really love.  I've spent my adult life slowly finding my personal tastes and purchasing the things I love along the way.

When I visited Costa Rica this summer, George Lundquist, took us to Sarchi as part of his tour where the local craftsmen and furniture makers have sold their products for the past 100 years.  There are about 70 family owned workshops, or "talleres" with showrooms along the main road.  Many were in little shack like buildings, but with the most amazing and beautiful handmade hardwood furniture I've ever seen.  Most of the wood is plantation grown or sustainable tropical hardwoods like cenizaro, guanacaste, melina, and cedar.

These artisans make bedroom sets, dining room, sofas, chairs, dressers, entertainment units, desks, outdoor furniture, swings, baby furniture, and anything else you can imagine.  They can recreate a family heirloom or anything you can describe or sketch out for them.  You can usually get these custom made pieces for the same price as ready-made items.

Six seater dining tables ran anywhere from $300 to $700.  Compare that to $1,500 at regular furniture store here that was most likely made in China.

I saw new beautiful carved queen sized beds from $400 to $600 with matching bedside tables for an additional $150.  You could not touch it in the states for under $1,300.  Entertainment unit with the space for a TV at $400.

Since I have personally seen the furniture I know what amazing quality is available.  Plus remember, these are made with hardwoods.

I have options!  I'm thinking I need to find someone else moving at the same time that I could share a moving container with.  I still want to bring some of my things, but I do not need them all.  To bring a full container costs anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 depending on the size of the container.  I have some thinking to do!

Setting Goals to Get to Paradise

It is amazing what you can accomplish when your heart and soul are involved.  Moving to Costa Rica is what I want most in my life.  I want it because, on the practical side, I cannot afford to ever retire in the US, and I fell in love with the country.  The climate, the views, the people, the vegetation, the color of Costa Rica, and the monkeys feel like they are already part of me.

Do you believe in predestination? There has always been a wanderer in me.  My parents had to lock the house down and build a fence around the yard when I was only two years old because I wanted to explore all my surroundings.  At three the police were involved because I took off on my tricycle to explore my neighborhood.  I can remember being taken into a house by a family's maid when she saw me out in the weather just having a great 'ole time.  That desire to see the world with no fear has never left me.

Costa Rica has everything.  Waterfalls, mountains, volcanos, rain forests, beaches, amazing animals and birds, perfect temperatures year round, rivers, and views that go forever. 

I live in a very crowded and busy city.  I am in high gear everyday, but as social as I can be, I prefer solitude and harmony.  I am looking so forward to living in a quite area without someone right up against me.  I am looking forward to the smell of rain and sweet air rather than exhaust and pollution.  I am looking forward to seeing miles and miles of beauty rather than the houses right across the street blocking the view of my world.  I am looking forward to the quiet.  When I was in CR outside of the city I could not believe the peace the quite brought.  I did not even recognize the noise in my life until I realized the lack of it when I was there.

I've told some friends I will be moving into my 460 sq. foot garage apartment, and they cannot believe I am going to do this and live without all my beautiful things (they will be in storage).  I am so happy and excited to do this because it is exactly this that will get me to CR sooner.  Renting out my house will enable me to save almost every penny I make then at the end of the two years I'll sell my house and add the profit to those savings.  Not only will this move take the financial stress that I live under now off me it achieves my goal.  I will be one very happy little lady living there making my plans to move to paradise.

Pura Vida

Why Live In Costa Rica

This is a really good article from International Living Magazine on living in Costa Rica.  I am still patiently working my way there!  Will have my house ready to rent out in January and will move into the apartment above my garage and count the days to moving day.

Why Convenient Costa Rica Still Makes So Much Sense
By Jennifer Stevens

It’s like a grab bag at a candy store—coastal drama, rainforests, spring-weather valleys…this place costs less than Cleveland…and things just work here.” That was my assessment of Costa Rica in 1998.

That trip felt like a reward. I’d been nosing out “new” destinations in places like Nicaragua and Panama—“early-in finds” that would be attractive to pioneering retirees. But such places can lack certain “comforts.” (Like the hotel where you had to hold two wires together in the shower to turn the lights on. Don’t worry: I didn’t recommend it to readers.)

Costa Rica was a different story—even back then. It was much further along on that “continuum of development” as I think of it. The infrastructure was solid. Airplanes took off and landed on schedule. And because an expat population was already well-established two decades ago, life in Costa Rica was convenient…and it still is.

As Jason Holland reports from the Central Valley (p. 18 of the current issue of International Living magazine), you can find everything from waffles at a breakfast joint to a memory card for a camera. Of course, convenience alone is no reason to retire somewhere. In truth, you won’t find anywhere as convenient as the U.S.

Costa Rica makes sense today because—beyond the conveniences—it offers you broad choice in locale and lifestyle. It’s safe. The healthcare is top tier. Yet you still find excellent values—a week’s worth of fresh produce for less than $30…rent on a home with a mountain view, $500…a couple’s health insurance, $600 a year.

If you’re ready to dip your toe overseas, Costa Rica remains one of the easiest, most rewarding places to do it. As proof, we bring you stories of expats there enjoying the lack of stress (p. 12)…running fishing charters (p. 24)…brewing beer (p. 25). As one couple says, “It’s a pretty liberating feeling knowing you can afford to live your dream.”

Better Idea

All righty then....After all that thought and figuring I've come up with another way.

My goal is to cut down on my living expenses so I can save money to be able to go to Costa Rica with as much of an emergency fund as I can.  After looking at things from right side up I decided to look from upside down. 

I have a full one bedroom apartment over my garage.  I've come to the conclusion that it will benefit me more to move into the apartment and rent my house out.  This gives the real estate market a little more time to go back up, so when I sell I can get more for my home.  I will still have to put the bulk of my furniture etc in storage, but it gives me a FREE place to live while my renters will be paying my mortgage and most likely the storage, so I will be able to save the amount I normally pay each month!

I have plumbers coming out tomorrow morning to fix the toilet in the apartment and put a new faucet on the kitchen sink.  A tiny few more touches and it's ready for me to move in.  On my house I still need to have the trim outside painted, and may have to paint some of the walls inside to help rent it faster.  I love bright colors, but a renter might not like my yellow walls.

I am in an artsy part of Dallas right across the river from Downtown.   The houses I've seen go up for rent in my neighborhood have rented quickly.

I have my eyes on the prize, and I think this is the best answer to get me there.

Pura Vida...

Day Tours

Before we went on George's Retirement Tour we took a couple of day tours with Gray Line Tours.

The first was Gray Line's "Sarapiqui and Canopy Day Tour".  I have a mixed review on this one, but could not recommend it.  With that said...the tour bus was very nice and clean.  The driver was excellent, and we never felt uncomfortable on the narrow winding roads.  Not even when we got stuck behind an entire herd of cows being moved right down the middle of the road from one pasture to another!  The boat ride up the Sarapiqui River was a little over an hour and never boring.  Happily we were entertained by our tour guide who knew every inch of the river.  We saw crocodiles, red toucans, holler monkeys, a huge iguana on a limb hanging over the water, and all sorts of birds.  The boat took us to the place we would have lunch (that turned into dinner) and do the zip lining.  This is the part I would never recommend to anyone.  Yes, the zip lining itself was fun, but getting from platform to platform was a nightmare.  You did not simply zip line from platform to platform like other zip lines in Costa Rica.  This one had 10', 20', and 30' ladders you had to climb to get to the next platform.  The zip line is in the Rain Forest, but you are at a low sea level and there is no air movement and hot as hell.  They had no water on any of the 11 platforms, and many people were very weak, shaky, and over heated when we were finished.  They then served the food which was hard to enjoy after the exhausting zip line climbs.  After dinner we were back on the boat, down the Sarapiqui River, to the bus for the 1 1/2 hour ride back to San Jose.

The second day tour was the "San Jose City Explorer Day Tour".  This was fantastic!  I wish I knew our guides name.  She was wonderful.  She had to speak to the group in English and Spanish.  She was very knowledgeable, personable, and kept it moving.  We were driven in a very nice tour van all around the city as she taught us about the history of San Jose and took us to the Gold Museum and The National Theater.  Both were interesting and the theater was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.  We were then treated to a delicious lunch in a wonderful restaurant.  Our guide then surprised us with a trip to an Emerald and Diamond store which was tucked in the middle of a residential neighborhood.  They had copies of the ancient gold jewelry that was in the museum.  And yes, we did treat ourselves to a few pieces.  We were then returned to our pick up locations in San Jose.  A very entertaining and interesting tour.

Pura Vida...

Residency Types and Income Requirements

In 2010 the residency requirements changed in Costa Rica.  The three types are Pensioner, Renter, and Resident Investor.

Pensioner Resident is required to show a verifiable minimum monthly pension of $1,000 US.  The pension must be guaranteed for life.  Only Social Security pensions, or similar, are permitted.  No other kind of income will satisfy this requirement as it has to be a life time beneficiary to secure not less than $1,000, and petitioner should have to demonstrate that the issuance company has the ability to secure this monthly income for life.  You can do this by certified copies of the financial status of the company. Expires every 2 years.

Renter Resident is required to have a verifiable monthly income for at least 5 years for no less than $2,500 US per family.  You can qualify with this requisite if you have a deposit in the bank for no less than 5 years that generates no less than $2,500 a month, or you must make a deposit in a Costa Rican bank that generates this sum of money being $150,000.00 US.  Expires every 2 years.

No matter if you apply for a Pensioner or Renter the money you bring into the country to meet the requirements of the status must be converted into colones.  Once you converted these monies into colones the Costa Rican government does not require you show them what you do with it.  Once the money is into colones, you can use this money to pay for your living expenses  etc.  If you do not want to use colones you can reconvert them back to dollars.

The third type of residency if called Resident Investor.  To qualify for this you must make a one-time minimum investment of at least $200,000.00 US.  You must demonstrate that your investments are duly listed for a minimum amount of $200,000 US with the correspondent office and that you pay taxes on it.  If you sell or loose your investment you will no longer be able to renew your residency document.

Your fourth option, being a US Citizen, is to stay in the allowed 90 day period, exit the country, have your passport stamped and re-enter the country for another 90 days. A day trip to Panama is a great way to meet your requirement and spend a fun day.

These laws can change at any time.  You would need to check the requirements coming from the country you are in at the time you choose to leave.

Pura Vida...

My Trip

My daughter and I are back from our vacation and fact finding mission to Costa Rica.  It was everything I hoped it would be.

I am convinced it is the place I want to live.  The year round temperature, the views, the Ticos, the fresh foods, the slower pace of life, much better cost of living, and the wonderful Expats that are there.

I found that I prefer living at the 3,000-3,500 feet above sea level.  The temperature stays right around 70 degrees year round.  I visited San Jose, Sarchi, Alajuela, San Ramon, Grecia, Escazu, Santiago De Puriscal, and Atenas.  We also went to the beach in Puntarenas on the Gulf of Nacoya and down the Sarapiqui River in the Rain Forest.  I was in about every level and atmosphere.  I can tell you 2,800 and under was too hot and humid for me.

I can absolutely recommend Margarita's Bed and Breakfast in Alajuela just on the outskirts of San Jose.  The property was beautiful, the rooms darling and very clean and up to date, and Margarita was the perfect hostess!  You will pay for a cab to go back into San Jose for any tours or sight seeing, but it is worth it to stay in such a magical location.  You can even see the Paos Volcano from her property.

George's tour could not have been better in any way.  When you are finished you have a world of information to help you make your decision as to where, when, or if you want to live in Costa Rica.  He took us to a furniture factory to show us what you can get for your money there instead of paying to ship your own.  We attended 2 parties where Expats came and talked to us about why they had chosen to move to CR and their experiences.  He took us to a hospital to teach us about the medical system in CR and about medical insurance.  We sat down with an attorney who taught us all about becoming a legal in CR and how to purchase property there.  He included all the pros and cons so we can make a very informed decision.  George took us to many different kinds of properties to get a base line on living in different towns, and purchasing as compared to renting.  It was invaluable and I cannot recommend his tour enough to everyone who is wanting to get information on CR.

In the end not only am I convinced it is the place for me, but my 28 year old daughter fell in love with it.  I think we may both be living there!

We met a wonderful American couple, Paul and Gloria Yeatman, that live just outside of San Ramon.  They are very active with a group of Americans that are giving back to the citizens of Costa Rica.  Sign up and follow their great blog.  http://retireforlessincostarica.com/2012/06/newsletter-may-june-2012/ 

In my next blog I will include some of the legal information shared with us by the attorney we met with.  I will also be giving you information on some of the side tours we went on.

Pura Vida is now my new sign off on all my letters and blog.  Everyone in CR says Pura Vida (pure life) instead of hello or good bye, and just as a passing greeting.  They are the happiest people on the earth!

Pura Vida.....

Getting Excited

Time is getting closer.  I have started looking at tours for after we have finished George's Retirement Tour.  I called the Bed and Breakfast we will be staying at, and they told me to just wait until I get there to make my plans!  Talk about laid back.  George has warned me things are very different there.  He said no one is in a hurry, and now I believe him.

I found a company in San Jose that has every kind of tour you could want.  We are going to take the one day tour called  Sarapiquí River Adventure and Canopy Zip Lining.  We are also looking at a tour to the Poals Volcano, and of course to the Mediterranean beach!  I'm not much of a shopper, but you know we'll have to indulge some.

I have just ordered a new book on retiring in Costa Rica, Happier Than A Billionaire: Quitting My Job, Moving To Costa Rica, and Living The Zero Hour Work Week by Nadine Hayes Pisani.  I cannot wait to read it.

Cheers

Small World

Talk about a small world.  I have been emailing back and forth with my cousin.  I told him I was going to Costa Rica and would be on a retirement tour.  He emailed me back and said, "Not George Lundquist?  My wife and I have been thinking about going there and taking his tour."  I was so excited.  The word is every where about George's tour.  Also, as it turns out his brother, my cousin, had gone to Costa Rica and visited with George, but not actually taken the tour.  Maybe there will be a whole colony of us living in Costa Rica!

The Costa Rican Government is very careful to protect it's citizens ability to earn a living.  Anyone can move to Costa Rica, but no one that is not a citizen can work for a company there.  They do not want people moving in and taking jobs away for their citizens.  You can however open your own business.  George opened his retirement tour business there.  For this reason, I am taking the online English teaching course by TESOL Express, so I can tutor to make extra money.  If I can find a need when I get there that matches skills I have I'd love to start a business.  I have owned 2 of my own businesses in my life time, so it would not be something completely new for me. 

Cheers,
Claudia

English Course

I started my English teaching class.  It's wonderful and very different than what I thought it was going to be.  The first section deals with how to work with students that do not speak English, therefore not really understanding much of what you are saying.  So many things I never considered.

The course is teaching such things as hand gestures to signal what you are saying.  Using the board to put examples in pictures of what you are talking about.  Words not to use.   Shorten your sentences using as little words as possible.  Cutting down on your adverbs and adjectives.  It will be very different from teaching children that already speak the language.

I have learned one lesson...do not try to study a lesson and take the test at work.  I failed my first test!  Not a good start, plus I am a personality that hates to make mistakes.  Especially when I consider them stupid mistakes.

This process really is empowering.  We are all going to need or want to stop working one day and be able to enjoy the rest of our lives.  If we do not start planning and working our plan it will never happen.  I have my 2-3 year plan and feel great seeing it already starting.

Cheers,
Claudia

Continuing to Map It

Not so fast....Would you believe after 3 phone calls and 5 different departments my savings account just went on line today!  Something that should have been so simple took two weeks.

I am continuing to move forward.  Today I signed up for a 120 hour course to become certified to teach and tutor English.  This course specializes in teaching non English speaking students.   English is a required course in Costa Rica.  Hopefully when I get there I will be able to find people to tutor.  I'd particularly like to tutor adults who need to become more proficient for their business careers.  The English language and perfect grammar have always been important to me.  Ask my children.  I nearly drove them crazy correcting their speech.  Today they thank me!

My travel agent is still looking for a great deal on flight tickets for Meleese and me.    We are looking so forward to getting to Costa Rica and taking George's retirement tour.

Cheers,
Claudia

Moving Forward

I am continuing to move forward on my plans. 

Have you ever opened your savings account on line?  Not as easy as it sounds.  I went into my checking account and did all the paperwork on the site for my savings account.  Next they say they will withdraw two small amounts and email you when it is done to first make sure it is you who is pulling the money.  They did the 2 small withdrawals but never emailed.  Still have not emailed me about it.  I did find it by checking back on my account. 

Next I OK'd the amounts.  Then it took another 3 days before they actually withdrew the full amount to open the savings account.  This took a total of one week to "electronically" move my money from one location to the new one!  I thought doing things on line were supposed to be faster.  Not so.

I am watching for a good deal on air tickets to go down in May and take George's tour.

Everyday I watch the news about what is going on in Washington, and everyday it makes me even more sure I want to get out of here while I still can.  An added motivation!

Cheers,
Claudia

Learning More

I just finished reading "Unraveling the Mysteries of Moving to Costa Rica" by Arden Rembert Brink.  This book is full of information and experience.  It takes you all the way through her information gathering to make the decision to move and the move its self.  I feel I know so much more than I did a week ago.  At least I know a lot about what I will be facing.

The number one thing I can see that will slow me up is money!  It's not the money once you get there it's the money to get there.  It will cost around $15,000 to move my house and car. 

You might ask, why would you move all your belongings?  They do have most of these things in Costa Rica, but they are expensive.  Food and housing are very inexpensive.  All the goodies that go in your house are not.  Most items you will pay double what you pay in the States. 

The packing for the move is not all that bad.  You just have to pack everything very well and wrap your furniture in moving blankets then shrink wrap.  I've moved sooooo many times I am an expert at packing.  The shipping company delivers the container to your home.  You can load it or hire someone to do it.  Every thing has to be loaded in tightly floor to ceiling.  Once all your belongings are on your car is then loaded.  The shipping company comes back, picks up the container, trucks it to the port, and is then loaded on a ship headed for Costa Rica.  It's more involved than I described it, but that is the general idea.

You do have to have an inventory of boxes (not the items in them), and they all have to be numbered so customs will be able to match the number with your list.

I can handle all this.  My key word for the day is save save save!

Cheers,
Claudia

WORKING MY PLAN

Keeping my eye on the mark.  Make a plan and work it.

I sat down several nights ago and started my Costa Rica or bust success list.  I am on a 17-24 month plan to retire in Costa Rica.  Well, semi-retire.  I'll have to find something to do to supplement my pitiful social security.

First step...plan an information gathering trip to Costa Rica.  Done.  Will be there in late spring.

Second step...Take Spanish.  Almost done.  When I get back from my trip and know for sure Costa Rica is for me I will be bidding on Ebay for the full Rossetta Stone Spanish Course.  Ole'

Open a specific savings account.  Spend money on nothing except the life giving essentials (Going cold-turkey!).  Will be at the bank tomorrow.

Build my Ignite (Stream Energy) business!

It's a start!  Head down and engines revved!

Cheers,
Claudia

Retirement

It has become pretty obvious that I will not ever be able to retire in the United States. There was a little known fact to me that if you are a stay at home mom and work most of your life in that world you have no social security! There is evidently no monetary value to being a home keeper and mother. Thank God I did work outside the home a little, or I would have zero!

What to do? I have been looking for some place where I can make a little extra money plus my social security and still be able to keep a roof over my head and eat. I am very close to choosing Costa Rica.

I am going there in April or May to visit a friend of my father's who has lived there for 9 years. He loves it and would never consider leaving. He has sent me pictures that make the decision pretty easy! The picture of the birds at the top of my blog was taken from his window.

Have you ever considered something like this? Any ideas or suggestions?

Cheers,
Claudia