by Ivo Henfling

Every week, “El Polaco” visits a poor neighborhood of Costa Rica, with a car full of merchandise. The Polaco is a department store on wheels and he sells on credit. He offers mainly clothing, women’s, men’s and children’s. But he also sells coffeemakers, shoes, perfume, ceiling fans and anything his clients might need. And if he doesn’t carry it, he will get it for them.

It is a pity that so much of the flavor of Costa Rica (and other countries) is disappearing with corporate business. I remember well when we would just walk to the pulperia to get our fresh bread and milk every morning. We had 4 pulperias on our street and they all made a living.

by Ivo Henfling

Costa Rica coffee and Costa Rica real estate have a lot in common, they can both be the ultimate experience, as long as you pick the right one. I remember very well my first cup of coffee in Costa Rica, it was totally horrible.

Café con leche in Spanish, coffee with milk, or white in English was too white and awful. It was milk with coffee; my stomach still hurts when I think of it. But that was 30 years ago the way the Ticos would drink their coffee and we had to get used to it. 

Europeans, and mostly we Dutch, grow up drinking coffee, much more than the North Americans do. But we grow up with a mix or blend of different types of coffee and not with Arabica coffee only.  For many years, Costa Rica had a protection stop on coffee imports.

By Ivo Henfling

This picture got your attention, didn't it? Well, that's what I needed because when I start talking about learning Spanish, most people don't pay attention.

Imagine, you get stopped in your home town by a Latin, asking in Spanish where the grocery store is located. What would you say?

Most would answer “why don’t you learn English”? Am I right or wrong?

The other day I saw a gringo in Escazu get mad at a Tico and shout at him in English. The poor sucker didn’t have a clue what the gringo was shouting at him. The Tico just turned around and walked away. This in turn made the gringo even madder. I enjoyed the scene from my car.

By Ivo Henfling

How can you compare The United States to Costa Rica and other countries if you are planning to move overseas or retiring to a different country?  I thought it well worth it to write a blog about it because of the results you get on this website as a comparison between living in the US and living in Costa Rica and the reasons for these differences, which is where your own due dilligence comes in. I get questions all the time like” how much income do I need to live on if I move to Costa Rica? Well, it depends on your lifestyle. The website I am talking about shows you how relative the data you will find on the internet are. As a source, they used the CIA World Factbook. When you do your due diligence, make sure you compare apples and oranges or talk to a responsible real estate agent.

If Costa Rica were your home instead of The United States you would……. (My comments are in Italic.)

By Ivo Henfling

Every time I travel out of the country, it surprises me how much tastier fruits and vegetables are in Costa Rica. Just like those crab legs I enjoy so much when we travel and enjoy the seafood that we don’t have in Costa Rica, I enjoy the fruits and vegetables in my daily diet when I’m back home. Costarican tropical fruits and vegetables are larger, taste better and are even juicier.

I’ve always enjoyed the huge range of vegetables Costa Rica has to offer. Just going to a farmer’s market and see the huge choice of vegetables that many of you won’t even know make my mouth water. My wife is Costarican and she loves to cook and I love to eat, though I am not a big eater. But I enjoy the different vegetables she uses in her cooking. You’ll find a lot of vegetables available you might know from oriental cooking, like Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian kitchen.

By Ivo Henfling

I really enjoy my time off and my vacations. My wife Dany and I love to travel and get to know new destinations and when we like one very much we might repeat, once. This time, we went to Las Vegas and really enjoyed it. Impressive city, great shows, lots to do. We even went to see Rod Stewart, who still sings and dances. The food is fantastic, and while we’re not big eaters, Dany and I enjoy the Jumbo shrimp as big as two fingers, Oysters Rockefeller, New England Clam Chowder, Steamed Clams in White Wine & Garlic, King Crab Salad Sandwich, all under $15. Or the all you can eat dinner for $25 each, where you can eat yourself silly with crab legs, all kinds of sea food, Asian, Italian and a ridiculous amount of desserts. You're right, we are both seafood lovers. Meat we can eat in Costa Rica.

Last week, our realtor Rudy Matthews wrote an interesting blog about shopping in Costa Rica and Walmart Costa Rica. Sandor, one of our readers, sent me a link to another article that shows that when you shop at Walmart, you better be aware and on the top of your toes when you shop there. CBS Sacramento, in California, put an investigation in place, the Kurtis Investigation, that shows for Walmart in different locations being caught shortchanging their customers on Gift receipts. This investigation is in some US Walmart stores, but it wouldn't surprise me that shortly the northern winds will bring this gift to Costa Rica. I will show you the article, published in CBS online news on May 12th 2011.

By Rudy Matthews

Walmart has been in Costa Rica for some years now -Hiper-Mas etc but somehow seeing the actual sign up makes one aware that Walmart is here to stay and now may be taking a more aggressive place in the market here. There are pros and cons. In the states it is hard to find better prices than Walmart even though Target is now giving some valid competition. Walmart offers one stop shopping in Costa Rica for many items and that is convenience.

The Walmart here in Heredia has been completely re-done and looks more like an American Walmart. There are more goods from America and the reality is Walmart knows the business- their success is not a fluke. They are advertising lower prices and value.

By Ivo Henfling

Most emails I get have the important question "do I bring my furniture with me when I move to Costa Rica or should I buy new when I arrive there"? When you relocate to Costa Rica or buy a home in Costa Rica, you’ll find that sometimes the sellers don’t want to take their furniture with them as that would mean shipping and sometimes paying import duties and insurance on their old furniture. You, when you move to Costa Rica, will be doing the exact same thing.

When looking at Costa Rica real estate, you should look in the description of each property as it will tell you if the seller will either sell the house "turn key", including everything that you see or without. On another day, I will write more about turnkey homes. The purchase or import of appliances is another issue that we will leave for another day.

By Isabelle Jones

One of the reasons that people really enjoy living in Costa Rica is that the fresh fruits and vegetables taste so much better in Costa Rica than they do back home. The reason for this is that Costa Rican soil is volcanic and we say here "you stick it in the ground and it grows".

Everything grows better, faster and more tasteful here. The fruits in Costa Rica are amazing and so are the vegetables. That's why so many expats love to go to the Friday farmer's market in Atenas.

By Ivo Henfling

Dany, my wife, and I were going to go to the oxcart parade in San Antonio de Escazu around lunchtime and I had seen this place that just opened about a month ago: "Plaza España".

Both Dany and I both enjoy the Spanish sausages and other Spanish food, so we decided to give it a try. We decided to go before the crowd would, so we were a little early, but that always gives you good service as they have nothing better to do and it gives me time to talk a bit to the owners. Costa Rica living is great, read all about it.

By Rudy Matthews, our Costa Rica Home Specialist

I remember when I was a youngster (long time ago) and my grandfather would take me to the corner store and buy me a coke and candy. I thought it was the greatest. Those stores in the states were usually family owned and there was a feel of community.