Beach house in Costa Rica Washington, Mar 4 (EFE; additional context by The Costa Rica Star).- The pace of new home sales in the United States increased 0.2 percent in January to an annual rate of 481,000 units, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. In Costa Rica, the first quarter of 2015 indicates strong interest in new construction and the mortgage markets. Here's the Real Estate S...

Main Post Office in Costa Rica In recent years, Costa Rica has been working on implementing a system of street signs, numbered buildings and even postal codes to combat what some people perceive as an antiquated system of cardinal directions and descriptions based on old (and sometimes dubious) landmarks. Thanks to navigation and mapping technology such as GPS, Waze and Google Maps, mail carri...

Adults take part in a beginning computer class. Only 38 percent of people worldwide have connected to the Internet at least once in their lives, according to a study published by Facebook's Internet.org initiative. EFE/File Washington, Feb 26 (EFE and The Costa Rica Star).- Only 38 percent of people worldwide have connected to the Internet at least once in their lives, according to a study pub...

Source: BlackBerry From about 2008 to 2012, a commonly asked question found across online forums of travel communities such as TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet and Fodor's Travel used to be: Will my BlackBerry work in Costa Rica? These days, that question seems to have vanished altogether along with the popularity of BlackBerry devices; however, faint signs of a resurgence of interest in these once-...

Source: Baxter International The following corporate press release is kindly provided by Baxter International, a global healthcare firm that develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. Baxter has a presence in Costa Rica and m...

The Greenback If the way you make a living in Costa Rica consists of getting paid in United States dollars (USD), there a couple of things you should know about what your financial future might hold now that the greenback is no longer tied to currency exchange bands. As recently reported by The Costa Rica Star, the Central Bank decided to get rid of the currency exchange bands, which had a min...

Source: Modernize.com This article, written by Jane Blanchard, was kindly provided by Modernize, an Austin, TX-based provider of residential construction and renovation solutions. The Republic of Costa Rica is a patchwork quilt of micro climates. In Playas Del Coco, on the westward Pacific coast, leisure travelers snorkel in blue-gray waters warmed by abundant sunlight and fed by 55 inches ...

Super Mora During 2014, grocery retailers in Costa Rica continued to focus on offering attractive value relations to consumers, which were mainly represented by discounts and offers in the case of supermarkets (even in the case of the high- end players), hypermarkets and discounters, while convenience stores remained committed with offering time-saving, differentiated items and product availa...

Source: Fuerza Publica Over the last few years, a special community outreach program conducted by Fuerza Publica, the national police force of Costa Rica, has helped to improve the quality of life for low-income public school students in our country. This year, the RECREO (school break) program in San Jose provided school supplies to more than 500 students whose families were not able to obtai...

Every year, lonely hearts around the world dread the prospect of spending Valentine's Day without a special someone to spend it with. Such is the case in Costa Rica and any other country where Valentine's Day is observed as a holiday that celebrates romantic love. This being the 21st century and an exciting period within the Information Age, lonely hearts in Costa Rica who are in a hurry to find a...

Wikimedia Commons Costa Rica has been eager to adopt some of the so-called Hallmark (or commercial) holidays created in the United States; a good example in this regard is Black Friday, a shopping extravaganza that our country has expanded into Black November. Such has not really the case with Valentine's Day, which is mostly known as día del amor y la amistad (Love and Friendship Day). Whe...

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today observes World Radio Day, a special celebration of one of the most significant inventions in the field of broadcasting and communications. Per the UNESCO:   From news and public debate to music and entertainment, radio continues to inform, captivate and inspire us in a way that no other medium can. Radio i...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Ever since former President Laura Chinchilla was succeeded by President Luis Guillermo Solis, something has happened to all political parties in Costa Rica. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, all political parties in our country are in shambles, and their situation seems to be deteriorating further as time goes by. The latest political party to face a d...

Screenshot from Archive.org From late 2006 until late 2012, a high-class call girl named Kattia captivated the minds of readers in Costa Rica with titillating prose and highly erotic writing style. Kattia's experiences as a highly paid prostitute who was eager to please her clients in Costa Rica appeared in the defunct magazine SoHo, published by the Grupo Nacion media empire. Kattia was on...

Beach house in Costa Rica ORLANDO, FLORIDA (PRWEB) February 09, 2015 - After another record-setting year of growth, productivity and profitability gains, Keller Williams announced it has become the largest real estate franchise by agent count in the world. The Austin, Texas-based company added a net gain of 17,000 associates in 2014, increasing its worldwide associate count to more than 112,00...

What is life like when you quit your job, pack your bags and decide to start over in Costa Rica? For author Nadine Hays Pisani from the United States, the result of her adventurous experience has left her feeling Happier than a Billionaire. Quite a few longtime readers of The Costa Rica Star are familiar with Ms. Hays’ breezy prose and engaging literary style. We have published articles penned by ...

Wikimedia Commons Of all the venomous snakes in Costa Rica, the fearsome gargantilla (Micrurus mipartitus) is often regarded as one of the deadliest. The powerful venom of these snakes can not only cause instant tissue necrosis but also excruciating pain, epilepsy, shock, and death. What is it that makes this reptilian venom so potent? According to a recent study in Proceedings of the Natio...

Now that the controversial tech startup Uber is strongly focused on gaining a foothold in the potentially lucrative Latin American market, business analysts are waiting for the day when the company will attempt to establish a presence in Costa Rica. According to a late 2014 article by Johnny Castro of business daily La Republica, Uber will likely experience a tough time entering the market in Cost...

Hacker Paradise, a unique tropical school for entrepreneurial hackers located in the pristine beach town of Playa Carrillo in Guanacaste, recently completed its programming retreat in Costa Rica. Readers of The Costa Rica Star will remember when we first wrote about this interesting academy: At a boutique hotel in the picturesque beach town of Playa Carrillo,province of Guanacaste, a group of pro...

U.S. State Department The most recent batch of nominations sent to the United States Senate by the White House was announced yesterday. These nominations include posts in the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Transportation Safety Board; furthermore, within the nominations we find the future U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica. The Costa Rica Star herewith includes the bio ...

Source: Flick Commons Carry a beer, lose your gun. In essence, such is the gist of a new rule promulgated by the Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica. According to a news report filed by Jason Torres of online news daily CRHoy.com, the new rule calls for law enforcement officers in Costa Rica to confiscate weapons and the actual permit to bear arms from individuals are determined to be in...

The Greenback Starting this Monday, February 2nd, the strongest international currency in the world will no longer be subject to the caps and limits imposed by the Central Bank of Costa Rica over the last eight years. Since October 2006, the value of the United States dollar (USD) against the colón (CRC) was controlled by “bandas cambiarias” (exchange bands), which established a floor and ceil...

In late 2014, when crude oil prices were plunging in the commodities exchanges around the world, consumers were delighted to finally find relief at the pump. In Guatemala, for example, gasoline and diesel prices in December dropped by 23 percent on a year-over-year basis. In Costa Rica, however, the reduction did not even reach 10 percent, and the country still features the most expensive fossil f...

Azimo Screenshot Azimo, a new money transfer network based in London, is quickly expanding its operations with a very enticing offer for people who send remittances to their families abroad. Azimo operates solely online for the purpose of keeping their overhead low and offer the very reasonable fee of just one euro per transfer. In Costa Rica, the physical (brick-and-mortar) cash pick-up l...

It is no surprise that many expatriate families arrive in Costa Rica with high expectations of experiencing a greater quality of life, at least better than in the communities they left behind. We often get to learn about the expat experience from the adults and heads of families, but what about their children? What are their expectations and reactions about being away from home and moving to Costa...

Source: Gurpo Faro The latest trend in luxury real estate solutions in Costa Rica is no longer confined to the Central Pacific Coast or the western portion of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM). The city of Alajuela and its surrounding communities are the new destinations for well-to-do Ticos and expats who are in the market for upscale homes. According to a new ...

In the coastal town Source: Wikimedia Commons of Playa Sámara, province of Guanacaste, a homeless man was relieved of his pet boa constrictor by officers from Fuerza Publica, Costa Rica's national police force. The act of confiscation was conducted in response to calls from several neighbors in Playa Sámara who were concerned that the large snake could slither away into the community when t...

Source: Twitter The virtual assistant and knowledge navigator mobile app Siri has been a staple of the Apple iPhone family since the 4S model; in fact, the S stands for “Siri.” In Costa Rica, the announcement of Siri was met with great joy among fans of Apple products, although in the beginning “she” (the default, female digital voice) did not communicate in Spanish. Once Siri got past the “no...

Tamarindo Beach On the final installment of Kristine Gorman's real estate adventure in Costa Rica, she runs into some issues with regard to her plans of acquiring an investment property in the Gold Coast beaches of Guanacaste. Still, the Boston accountant persevered and is now the proud owner of a condominium unit in Tamarindo Beach. Before reading this insightful account of purchasing resi...

Source: MSP Earlier this month, the Ministry of Public Security (Spanish initials: MSP) held a special ceremony in Isla Calero that served two purposes: The commemoration of fallen Fuerza Publica officers who died in the line of duty, plus the announcement of a significant donation made by the United States government to augment border security. Through a security cooperation agreement, the...

Source: Wikimedia Commons In the world of commerce, the term VIP (Very Important Person) is often attached to products and services that conform to a premium level and thus command a much higher price. The VIP label can be attached to just about any situation, and it does not really mean that the person acquiring premium goods or services is more or less important than anyone else; however, it...

Source: Crocodile Bay Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (PRWEB) January 06, 2015 - Crocodile Bay Eco-Resort located in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, has announced its partnership with Sinergo Development Group to oversee the master planning and development of the first branded residential resort and marina within Costa Rica. The first phase of the project, named The Sanctuary at Osa Peninsula, is ...

Readers of The Costa Rica Star are likely to be familiar with the real estate saga of Hacienda Dorada in Playa Barrigona, province of Guanacaste; after all, the owner of this opulent mansion is none other than Hollywood legend Mel Gibson, who has been trying to sell this particular property over the last few years. It so happens that interest in this property is heating up, and more real estate...

Source: Flickr Commons The cost of doing business in Costa Rica is getting a bit more expensive as the national economy adjusts to inflation. For the year 2015, the corporate tax (fee) on active domestic and foreign business entities such as sociedades anonimas (S.A.) and the simpler responsabilidad limitada (S.R.L) has been set at 201,700 colones (about $375 at today’s currency exchange rate)...

After a false start and a brief period of uncertainty, wireless carrier Movistar quietly released the Alcatel One Touch Fire C smartphone, which is powered by the mobile Firefox operating system initially coded by the Mozilla Foundation as an open source project. As the first Firefox OS smartphone in Costa Rica, this mobile device presents an alternative to the Android, iPhone and Windows Phone un...

Source: Wikimedia Commons For many decades, the Republic of Costa Rica and the State of Japan have shown the world that they are willing to take a chance on peace by taking on strong, constitutional commitments. Costa Rica did so by abolishing its armed forces; this was a constitutional act was inspired by Japan, a nation which had earlier renounced war itself.   Earlier this month,...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The Big 3 wireless carriers in Costa Rica are expecting a massive spike in voice calls, text messages and mobile Internet use right at the stroke of midnight on the 25th and 31st of December. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have become the favorite delivery method for Christmas and New Year’s greetings in Costa Rica, and users are not particularly conce...

Source: Flickr Commons Since Monday, the number of complaints by workers who have not received their mandatory holiday bonus, known as Aguinaldo, has climbed to 70. According to a report filed by Jarmon Noguera of daily newspaper La Prensa Libre, the Ministry of Labor has entered 24 judicial actions against employers who have not yet paid the 13th month of pay as dictated by law in Costa Rica....

Over the last few days, iPhone users who subscribe to the popular Kolbi wireless carrier in Costa Rica have noticed that they can no longer navigate the Web or use some apps and simultaneously manage a voice call. The crux of this technical issue is that 3G access seems to goes away when a connection is made to another wireless phone or to a data source.   According to technology blog i...

Source: Cruz Roja Costarricense Red Cross paramedics and emergency officials from the San Rafael Hospital in Alajuela are at odds with each other after a 67-year old male from the United States suffered a cardiac and respiratory arrest at the main international airport in Costa Rica. The discord includes allegations of refusal of care and misuse of emergency resources.   The man rep...