DanaJ

I would just toss the US pp if you have CR citizenship and a CR pp. But paying $2400 just to renounce your US would probably be a financial burden. Just let it go....

Eleanor, it will be interesting to see what the embassy says, I would guess that if you are still a US citizen, you may be required to keep a US passport for foreign travel. But let us know what they say.

Elenor, just hold onto the US passport, if you also have a CR one, use that if you travel to other countries. But I would ask the US embassy about this first. It may make going back to the states to visit much more difficult than its worth.

I don't buy shark myself, but I do sometimes see it in the store labled as something else than what it really is. But, on the other hand, I would prefer seeing the whole shark being used for something than just finned and thrown back into the sea to die.

They also sell Tiburon (shark), its very similar.

I just did mine, Printout the form before hand and have it all filled out. Make the appointment. Take a number as you go in. and it should take a few mintues. there is a little photo booth inside were you can get the pictures for about C2000. They will email you in about a week or so, and you just need to go in with the receipt and your old passport to pick it up. At the number dispenser, choose 'Pick up passport', no appointment for that needed for that. ps: I applied for a regular passport, but they issued one with extra pages.

If he can't pay online, then he needs someone that he can trust to pay for him. If service gets shut off, its a royal pain to get it turned back on.

Marsrox, if you look at the top of the forum page, you will see an envelope icon, that should be where your PMs are. Dana

Tom & Jan Yatsko live in Atenas, he runs Buen Pan bakery, which is for sale, if not sold already, and had his breads and sweets at the local feria, as well as at Grecia. Also at the local Coope Super. Very good sourdough bread. Will miss these things. Glad to know that Tom will get to kick back and relax now..... Dana

Just two comments Ron: The premium you pay for Medicare Part B has nothing to do with the ACA ("ObamaCAre"), but was part of the Medicare reform pushed thru by Republicans in Congress in prior administrations. By passing the Part D provisions, forcing US citizens to purchase meds in the US, they also made it illegal to buy meds from Canada, or anyplace else. Again, the Part D provisions pre-date ObamaCare. Dana

We have also had problems with a recent Skype update. Not just call problems, but freezing up, causing high CPU usage, hogging wifi bandwidth, preventing the PC from shutting down, etc...... Unfortunately, with the new update systems for programs like Skype, Firefox, Chrome, etc, you no longer have control of the upgrade, its done automatically in the background, and you cant go back without doing a system restore. So its almost impossible to go back to a previous version of a program now. Dana

i'M like Eleanor, we take the cell with us when we drive for emergencies. Same as in the US. Never really needed one there, hardly use one here. As for pay phones, they are actually getting hard to find in the US now. The phone companies have removed so many, except where they have been mandated by a city or state to have one. But Colin, there is the Tracfone option to a monthly plan, you just buy a cheap phone, buy an Airtime card, scratch off the silver and punch in the numbers into your phone, and you have xx number of minutes. No plan. Pretty easy. Use phone as a watch when you return to CR.

Our last two trips to the states we used Tracfone. Both times our old number had expired, and the remaing few minutes, so we got new phone numbers, which we promptly emailed to our local contacts. No need to keep your old numbers, just email everyone with the new ones and your set. If you have Skype, I think you can also forward calls to a cellphone.

Last time I was in the states, I bought a Tracfone at Safeway for about $9. Added another $10 in minutes. Cheap, easy, put it in a drawer when I came back here. Buy more airtime next time I go to the US. ps: Tracfone now has this: In December 2013, TracFone unveiled "Bring your own phone," which allows customers to use an unlocked CDMA and GSM phone on the TracFone network. Check thier website to see if its for you.

Actually a natural pool is a regular pool but without the water treatments. And that means that you would have to change the water frequently here or it will turn green on you. Could be quite expensive too, unless you have your own well. My BnLaw looked into a salt water pool, but for some reason decided against it. I'll have to ask him why.

Have you even bothered to go to your states ACA site to see what it would cost you? Please do so, then post what you find there.

Are you on Facebook? There are various pages for expats in various Central & South American countries.

Yeah, I think she is right, you only need the cedula if you want a landline & DSL.

That is $600/month for all 6 of you, right? Thats not really too bad. When I left Calfi, my own insurance would have cost me well over $1000/m just for me, 1 person. That was pre ObamaCAre of course.

ARe you sure you ran the numbers correctly. I ran my numbers for Calif, for the old county we lived in, based on our current income, and at first I thought my cost would be about $700/month, but with premium assistance (federal subsidy), my cost show at about $80/month for the silver plan. ps Criollo, thanks for the info.

Its the nice relaxing hammock & cold beer at the destination that makes the journey worth it! pura vida

Hi all, I have been in contact with friends of Shea who are assisting her sister from Calif. in sorting out her affairs, and will pass on your regards. If I hear of any memorial, I will try to post the info here, so others will be aware. We have known Shea personally since we first moved here, but were in contact with here thru the forums for a few years prior as we researched moving to Costa Rica. She was a good friend, and we will miss her greatly. Dana & Cecilia Johnson

Plus there are other charges that Aero levies too, so you end up paying abut 20% or more.

Peter, you could check Craigs list CR just to get an idea of what it might run. But I would not actually use it to find a place. Come down, find a hotel or b&b to stay for awhile, then go looking. That way you will have the best chance of finding a place.

The main thing to remember about Nicaragua is that they are less developed than CR or Pan. This has a lot to do with various US imposed economic sanctions on the country over the past 30 years, more than the government of the country itself. Due to the economic pressure against them, they have had a hard time bringing many things up to date vs CR. From what I have heard from people that have traveled there, in the more rural areas you will have a hard time finding the internet/cell phone infrastructure that you will find here. The medical system is also not as advanced there vs here. This is to be considered for a retiree. In many areas near the northern border, there are also huge resentments against the US due to the contras that came across the border and killed thousands of Nicaraguans. Some Nicas have forgiven all that, but many have not. One does need to keep this in mind when traveling there. For the most part tho, I have heard that the Nicaraguans are friendly towards US persons. But one really needs to go there, just as here, to make your own judgement. I should note that we have not yet visited there, but have spoken to many that have.