Dominical Dot Biz

Costa Rica has become a haven for many people that desire to live outside of their own country and enjoy a quieter and slower life style. Not everyone who moves to Costa Rica is independently wealthy. A large number of those that relocate to here must look for some way to support themselves. So the question gets asked in typical Jerry Seinfeld tradition: “what is the deal with living and working in Costa Rica?”

There are some changes going on in laws pertaining to residency here in Costa Rica. These laws are directed at keeping those not worthy from working here. They in no way affect visitors and tourists to the country, as these are welcomed with open arms by Costa Rica.

A new law was approved last November that will now penalize the companies that employ illegal immigrants. This will be felt by a large number of expatriots that are living and working here. This is largely due to the fact that it has been relatively easy to do so up until now without getting the official documents necessary to do so legally.

What a bunch of those that live here have done, some for years, is to take advantage of a provision in the law that allows for leaving the country for 72 hours, then re-entering Costa Rica for another 3 months. That this practice is common is well illustrated by a recent experience I had when crossing over into Panama for a visit. There are a number of young men that help with the various tasks involved with getting oneself and a car across the border. They all mention that we, being gringos, are likely going to Panama for 3 days to renew our passports. They see it everyday. This is called “perpetual tourism”. The government frowns on this, but has found it difficult to regulate it.

This new law, which is really just a strengthening of exisiting laws, gives the governmental agencies the ability to raid businesses and review documents, both of workers, and also of the payrolls.

So, I think that we’ll be seeing a mad dash for the Immigration Office. Getting residency is not for the faint-of-heart.

I usually stay on the beach when I spend the night in Dominical. A friend has a cabina there that I use. Waking up to the sound of the waves is nice, and so is walking along the beach first thing in the morning as I head towards work, but the thing that makes this type of day-start so delightful, is the fact that I get to wake up in the time-warp that is Dominical.

Walking along the roads of Dominical at 6:30 A.M. is like stepping back to small-town USA. There is not a soul that doesn’t greet you. If you’ve been around awhile you’ll recognize people’s dogs. One gal was out on her front porch breaking into a ceramic piggy bank. She looked up and gave me a gorgeous Tica smile. I smiled back and called her a “ladrona” (feminine thief) to which she smiled more and said that it was OK since it was her sister’s.

Banana Bread Mike drives past and waves good morning, Brendan the real estate/construction guy is strolling to the beach to check out the waves with cup number one for the day: “mornin’ Ben”. Unknowns drive by and wave.

The country living Ticos have a greeting that they share that goes something like this “aOP!” - kinda rhymes with “soap” I’m not sure, but I think that it might come from the use of “adios”. When you are walking the opposite direction from someone, and as you pass you can say this, “adios”, which seems to be “hello” and “goodbye” in one. Sometimes you just hear “dios”, and sometime just “ose”, and so I theorize that maybe this “aOP!” is derivative somehow.

Anyway, I got a couple “aOP’s” this morning as well, and the whole thing just put me in a good mood. By the time I arrived at my office and said “Buenos dias” to Erick the cab driver, I had this stupid grin on my face from just the sheer joy of it all. So Erick, who can’t let an opportunity to greet and joke pass by without taking full advantage of it asked me, “por que tan cansado?”, or “why do you look so tired this AM?”. I just had to laugh. The daily ritual of starting the day is just oh-so pleasant.

We all have different reasons for moving here. As the years have gone by, I don’t know that I have been able to focus on the “why” of it all so much. But, as I walk through town first thing in the morning, I am reminded of a hope that I had in moving here. I had hoped that maybe it would slow things down a bit. I think about sitting around the wood stove at the general store in the heart of an early America town, getting caught up on the latest gossip, and neighbors that know each other and care what goes on, perhaps sometimes a little too much, but that’s the price you pay.

I’m as private as the next guy, maybe even a little more so than the average Joe, but I gotta say, I sure like knowing and being known as I walk along the road.