!Mark!

That's called dumpster diving! We're all guilty at one time or another. But it's good that you looking over existing threads!

You really should not have to go somewhere to get your dirección. All it is are directions to find your house, Have you never had a delivery to your house? Furniture, appliances. pizza? That is what the P.O needs. You may need to tailor the directions a bit for someone coming from out of town. They may not know about the tree that everyone refers to that blew down in a storm 10 years ago. Use very visible buildings, junctions, businesses and distances like 200 metros, 500 metros. One issue I do see occasionally, especially from non-locals are the North, South, East, West directions. After driving some considerable distance and arriving in an unfamiliar town a driver may not know which way is up. These can easily be calibrated by driving by the local church and central park. The church altar is always to the East which puts the park to the West of the church. But if this is a problem then it may be better to give directions like "turn left..." instead of "turn South...".

I totally understand and accept the reasons for Lady Gaga's adopted persona. Madona has gone before her and done the same sort of things to attract attention. But there is a place and time for everything and singing the National Anthem is not one of them. If a performer wants to act outrageously they can do the half-time show.

Lady Gaga scored the first touchdown of the game! I was not sure of what to expect when I heard that she would be singing the National Anthem. Given some of her past appearances almost anything was possible. I was pleased that she appeared with reasonable attire, reasonable hair and makeup and sang an excellent rendition of the song.

http://www.amcostarica.com/ Published in English every weekday. The news is usually about a day old but is generally reliable. There are several other online rags but most of them are like online tabloids.

I subscribe to AIrfarewatchdog http://www.airfarewatchdog.com to receive alerts for airfares. I received an email from them about Delta flights from SEA to SJO in the next month for $317. I haven't seen a fare this low in years. I suppose that Delta may also have similar fares to other US cities. These low fares are often very fleeting with a short shelf life, restricted dates, blah, blah, blah... Check it out if you are interested.

I saw this brief story in today's AM Costa Rica: British Airways announces direct flight to here By the A.M. Costa Rica staff British Airways has announced that it will begin direct service to Costa Rica from London starting next May 4. The airline will fly Wednesdays and Saturdays during the British summer and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday during the winter months, said an announcement. The British airport will be London Gatwick. Costa Rican tourism officials said this was positive news. They said the airline could deliver 30,000 visitors a year. Plus the London hub has connections to 130 other destinations for those flying from Juan Santamaría airport to London, they said. I occasionally see enqueries about direct flights to/from Europe and CR on the forums. So far the only other flights were with Iberia to/from Madrid. Soon there will be another option. The flights are from London Gatwick airport (not Heathrow) but there are still very good connections from that airport. If necessary, connections between the airports are not difficult. The two airports are about 40 miles apart.

Many years ago I vacationed in a remote beach area on the Pacific coast of Mexico. There were several homes there that were built for gringos and others as vacation homes. Most of the vacationers left the homes vacant during the very hot summer months since electricity and air conditioning were not available there. Most of the homes had a "safe room" which was built like a concrete vault. There the owners would store anything that was not bolted down or they could not take with them. Interestingly, most of the furniture in these houses was built out of concrete by the construction crew. It was built-in and impossible to move/steal. There the thieves would remove several roof tiles to enter the home. The safe room had it's own reinforced concrete ceiling along with four walls of the same construction and a steel door. I suppose that if I had a vacation home in a remote area in CR similar precautions would be necessary. I don't live in a vacation home nor in a remote area so I have no need. I leave my house any time I like, sometimes for extended periods, without worry. (Famous last words! )

If it consistently takes 2 years + to obtain residency I can understand why some applicants back-out. There are probably even some who have died waiting!

I feel your pain. It took 2 years, 2 weeks and 5 days for my approval. I thought that was a long wait but others have waited longer. Though it still aggravated me to see others be approved who had applied after I dd. The thing is, there is nothing you can do but wait. It is frustrating when there is nothing you can do.

What? There is no market for tow trucks nor used cars in CR? I guess that all of those gruas I see on the road are just out joy riding? And used cars? There appear to me to be many, many folks making a living at selling used cars in CR. Or maybe all of those salesmen are using the car lot as an excuse to get out of the house? Perhaps the sobrino wasn't able to devote the necessary attention to his endeavors.

No necessary in my case. I suppose that if someone felt that every sound that they hear is noise then maybe for them. Me, I don't want to stop hearing the birds chirping and screeching nor the kids playing in the street. Most of the other noises that do annoy me are short lived and I can get over it.

You know, it really isn't so much the neighborhood that you live in as is the street that you live on. I have lived in the same neighborhood for over 4 1/2 years. The first 3 years I was in a little casa on the main street through the barrio at the intersection with the street for the salon comunal (community hall). There was good bit of traffic every day. When there were events at the community hall then there were lots of cars coming to and fro. The biggest issue was when there were special events (tope, parades, festivals, etc.) in the town center the streets around the park and church that led to the town center and beyond were closed and traffic was detoured through my neighborhood, past my house! I now live in a much larger place about 1 block south and 1 block east of my old place and it is much quieter. being off the calle principal makes a world of difference. My biggest gripe now are the people in a house across the street. They have cars and many visitors with cars and their house is set back about 100 feet or more from the street. Any time a tico arrives (or departs) somewhere in a car a good toot on the horn is required. Problem is, the folks in the house can't hear the horns. Or they have some sort of tico deafness. So their friends/family sit in the street becoming more frustrated with every blast. I have to laugh... These drivers probably hung up their cell phone when they pulled up in front of the house and would NEVER consider using the phone to call the occupants of the house! Unless you live somewhere out of town where the houses are not close together then there will always be noise. That isn't to say that you will be annoyed by noisy neighbors 24/7/365. Most days things are muy tranquilo around my place. Untill Saturday night when the folks on the corner get a few cervesas down and fire-up karaoke machine!

Peers? Well, there is not a community of under 65 retirees anywhere that I know of. My campañeros mostly consist of my Tica GF, her family and some of my Tico neighbors. Where I live gringos are not very common so I do not spend much, if any time with other expats. My pension verification letter contained the key words "Life of Payee" and "Life Annuity" along with all of the other pertinent info. Before I applied for residency Ryan Piercy told me that ARCR had processed residency for other retirees from the same company. I had no doubt that my pension would be accepted by migración. I don't know how migración evaluates pensions for acceptance. I was prepared to provide them with a copy of the Annual Funding Report for the pension fund. They did not ask for it. However, being a publicly traded corporation they could find all of that info on line. Also, my pension is guranteed by the Pension Benefit Gurantee Corp.

I'm still in my 50's (for another 7 months!) so I am younger than most retirees/pensinados. I retired at 55 y/o with a corporate pension and almost free medical benefits until I am medicare eligible. That is how I pulled it off. Not many people have pensions aside from Social Security these days. That is usually whats sets their retirement age into the 60's.