Tag: process

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Costa Rica Driver License Obtained

My Costa Rica Driver License or Licencia de Conducir.
Slightly out-of-focus and my thumb over it to make it not copy-able.
Security you know!

Before I got residency I could drive a rent car with my Tennessee Driver License IF I had a current Visa in my U.S. Passport. The same is true now that I am a legal resident, but the Visa has to be renewed every 90 days! That means spending a lot of money and leaving the country. To get a Costa Rica Driver License you have to:

  1. Have a Cedula or a legal residency card with what amounts to a national ID number
  2. Your last Visa has to have expired
  3. Go to the San Jose office for your first driver license (renewals are okay at several regional ones but not the first one)
  4. Have a current legal driver license from any other country OR take a written test in español and a driving test. If using another license, you must bring two copies of the front and back.
  5. Bring two photo copies of your cedula front and back and your passport main page and page with last visa.
  6. If you haven’t had a special physical for a driver license before coming, you will have to go outside to one of several doctor offices and pay $20 for this. I got mine in advance from my local primary care doctor and had the needed number called a Código Dictamen.
  7. I hired a driver to take me and serve as translator if needed (not needed)
  8. We spent 4.5 hours in a complex of buildings for transportation department and a bank next door. All federal fees are paid at banks here. The license itself is only 5,000 colones or $10.
  9. In the transportation office I waited in long lines in four different places on two floors to get all the proper paperwork approved and typed into the computer system, then after paying at bank returned to have my photo made, finger print, electronic signature and license printed on the spot. Each window or office did their job quickly, but the long time was because of very long lines at each place, 4.5 hours! There were hundreds of people waiting! Most of the people in my lines for people with other country licenses were from other Latin countries, though I was mostly between a man from Spain and another from the Netherlands. And I saw lots of Asians. The world is getting smaller and Costa Rica is quite international!
It helps to take a local person with you who knows the system! I left with a driver license that is good for 3 years. For my renewal I can go to Alajuela or San Ramon, closer and hopefully faster. And oh yes, I have already scheduled a rent car for one day next week and 6 days over Christmas. 🙂
As far as I know, this is the last government document I need to get. From now on it is just renewals. Next week I see a specialist in the government healthcare system, CAJA, but really not a big deal, just my first time to do it and I only waited a month. Not bad for a very busy system! 
¡Pura Vida!

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Shopping at “Vargas e Hijos”

My friendly neighborhood hardware store in Atenas, Costa Rica

With my move to a different house, there is a good chance I will need some hardware as I set up housekeeping again. The nearest Home Depot type store (different name) is in San Jose and I hear they are more expensive with employees who are less helpful than the hometown hardware store. Plus hometown store is surprisingly well-stocked and I can walk to it! The one I use is Vargas & Sons where I have found everything I’ve needed thus far! Now get this “interesting” way all “ferreterias” (small local hardware stores) operate:

  • A lot of the merchandise is not on display, so I may have to ask for it, be specific in Spanish, wait until it comes from the stock room, and if it is not the item I want, repeat the process. Patience is a high virtue in Costa Rica!  🙂
  • There is often someone shadowing me. This can be annoying, but when I need help it is great, so I try to be nice! I’m likely to need help! And my limited Spanish adds to the adventure! The young ones are more likely to speak some English, so I tend to favor them. 
  • Checking out is a regimented three-step process: 
  1. First the person helping me with the product(s) has to write-up a “factura” (invoice) on their computer terminal. They ask for my “nombre” (name) to attach to it. 
  2. Next, I visit the “cajero” (cashier), where I give my name, pay, and receive two receipts, one for me, the other left at the next step. 
  3. At the “entrega” (delivery) counter, I provide both receipts, the person there checks the itemized receipt against the product(s) in a basket, stamps both receipts (rubber stamps are big here!), and assuming they match, he/she bags my stuff with one of the stamped receipts. More often now he asks if you want a “balso” (bag) before bagging. (Going green or saving money?)

It sounds like a lot of trouble, but actually works very smoothly and quickly! And it provides several jobs!  🙂   The photo above is of their building across from the bus station as featured on their Facebook Page like an advertisement.

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No “Perfect Decision”

I loved the little article in today’s The Tennessean newspaper’s business section on decision making: Why no decision may be worst decision. (Go ahead and read it!)

Of course mine is not exactly a business decision and I really have only two choices: to go or not go. But I like the idea from Roosevelt that the worst thing to do is no decision. In my case not even considering the move or evaluating every aspect of it would be like no decision since it has been a dream for a good while. This way, IF I decide to not go, I will have considered it thoroughly and have specific reason(s) for not going.

The author, Ed Rappuhn, suggests 4 steps to follow in making business decisions and they mostly apply to me. Instead of profitability, affordability and improved life is my goal and I think I am doing all four of these things as I continue to research:

1. Identify your choices. Remember, maintaining the status quo is one choice.
2. Consider the possible outcomes (benefits vs. cost) of each choice.
3. Establish the probability of each outcome.
4. Determine, based on the probability of the outcomes, which choice has the greatest value.