All Posts in Category: About Costa Rica

by Federico Fernandez, Real Estate Consultant.

Very frequently we see inquiries on Facebook, or people ask us for advice on where to go if such or such thing is needed. As a local resident, with children, I know a few places where to find a variety of goods and services in the area. In fact, nine years ago, I used to drive to San José very frequently to satisfy several needs. Lately such trips have not been necessary for my family. Taking a few hours to do a half day trip to Liberia could be enough to get hard to find items in Tamarindo.

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by: Mark Venegas

A while ago the Costa Rican government, in an effort to stop money laundering, implemented various restrictions, one was to make it difficult for foreigners to open a bank account here. Not until recently the only way for a foreigner, that does not yet have his/her residency card (DIMEX), to open a bank account with a local CR bank was to form a corporation (S.A.) and open an account under its name. Now, by an executive order from the Costa Rican Presidency, the “cuenta simplificada” was created, and the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) is the first to announce this possibility. If you don’t have a BCR office close by go into the closest bank and ask if they are offering the cuenta simplificada yet, soon other banks will be offering it, all you will need is your Passport and some $s.

Every year, more and more people are deciding to exchange their “I Do’s” in the land of Pura Vida.  You need only Google “weddings Costa Rica” to have yourself hours of reading material.  The sheer diversity of its landscape offers a multitude of settings to captivate just about anybody.  You can exchange vows on the edge of a volcano, at the base of a waterfall or deep inside a rainforest.  And if you are a beach person, there is a plethora of white sand beaches to choose from.  Tamarindo has emerged as a destination wedding hotspot in its own right with options ranging from the very simple to the quite extravagant.  Several of the larger hotels offer full service wedding packages. For the more creative, you can rent one of Tamarindos’ beautiful beach front or ocean view homes and create your own personalized experience.
You will be hard pressed to find a single week the entire year where at least one wedding doesn’t take place in Tamarindo.

Photo courtesy of Daniela

 by: Federico Fernandez, Real Estate Consultant

Some foreigners might believe that Costa Rica is a savage land. An image of a land lost in time with nothing but dirt roads, chickens running loose in the streets, and the local population traveling in ox carts. Old and colorful school buses or Land Rovers from the 1970s might arise in their minds if they have not been here before.

The good thing is that this back-to-basics lifestyle of enjoying nature, driving through wonderful scenery to arrive at heavenly beaches, rainforests, or active volcanoes, coexists with a prosperous nation with a flourishing economy.