Moon Living Abroad in Costa Rica [Paperback]

Erin Van Rheenen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Living Abroad | Publication Date: August 31, 2007

Erin Van Rheenen, the expert on relocating to Costa Rica, has made the move herself and provides insight and first-hand advice to navigating the language and culture of this beautiful country. Van Rheenen outlines all the information needed in a smart, organized, and straightforward manner, making planning the move abroad manageable. Moon Living Abroad Costa Rica makes the moving and transition process easy for businesspeople, students, teachers, retirees, and professionals. Moon Living Abroad Costa Rica is packed with essential information and must-have details on getting established abroad, including how to obtain visas, ways to arrange finances, tips on gaining employment, advice on choosing schools, and where to find health care. This relocation guide also includes practical advice on how to rent or buy a home for a variety of needs and budgets, whether it’s a condo in the San José suburb of Escazú, a wooden house in coastal Tortuguero, or a mountain retreat with a view of Arenal Volcano. All Moon Living Abroad Guides include color photos, black-and-white photographs, black-and-white illustrations, and maps.

Editorial Reviews

Review

If you're ready for a new life, consider Living Abroad in Costa Rica. This Moon book delivers indispensable advice for anyone contemplating planting roots in foreign soil or just purchasing a second home in an idyllic location. The author has homes in California and Costa Rica, so she can tell you what to expect when you wish to join the thousands of North Americans who have found new life in retirement here. -- 15 Minutes Magazine, January/February 2008

About the Author

When Erin Van Rheenen was three years old, her parents moved the family from their native Oregon to Nigeria for a two-year Peace Corps stint. Since then Erin has been fortunate to live outside the U.S. for extended periods of time—in Ireland, Ecuador, Mexico, and Guatemala. She answered Costa Rica's call in 2002 and found a second home where she could put down roots. Currently, she spends time in both California and Costa Rica.

Erin earned a B.A. in Latin American literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a masters in fiction writing and English literature from the City University of New York. She has published essays and stories, won the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society prize for best new novel, and taught writing at City College of New York and in the San Francisco County Jail.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 2nd edition (August 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598800078
• ISBN-13: 978-1598800074
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Costa Rica

More About the Author

When she was three years old, Erin Van Rheenen's parents moved the family from Portland, Oregon, to Lagos, Nigeria. This two-year stint would be the first of many extended stays abroad--from Quito to Dublin to Oaxaca and beyond--culminating in her move to Costa Rica.

Besides authoring and updating Living Abroad in Costa Rica (www.livingabroadincostarica.com), Erin also recently created Costa Rica Trip Ideas (http://sutromedia.com/apps/Costa_Rica_Trip_Ideas), an itinerary-based app for the iPhone and iPad. She has contributed to many guidebooks, along with publishing stories, articles, and essays in venues such as Fiction, Internazionale, and the Los Angeles Times.

She earned a BA in Latin American Literature from UC Santa Cruz, an MA in Fiction Writing from CUNY New York, and has taught writing at CUNY, at a private high school in San Francisco, and in the San Francisco County Jail.

Photos of Erin by David W. Smith.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Travel and Living Guide to Costa Rica, December 19, 2004

By 

R. Colman (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living Abroad in Costa Rica (Paperback)

Having traveled to Costa Rica several times over the last 15 years - for both pleasure and business - the idea of making The Move, of leaving yourself behind, is a reoccurring thought and increasingly dear to my heart.

In planning another trip this spring I came across Ms. Van Rheenen's splendid "Living Abroad in Costa Rica" doing a search on Amazon. Frankly, I expected one more of those endless travel book-of-lists, where one looks up a town or region only to find suspect hotel snap shots and questionable restaurant reviews.

Instead I found a wealth of very detailed information, thorough, logically laid out and well packaged. Further, the authors personal commentary is both insightful and often very funny. For example, her observation that the availability of single cigarettes at street kiosks allows you to "pretend you're not really a smoker" or in her discussion of the healthcare system; a fellow who had opted back into the state system and "was trying to schedule his operation within the next decade." Unlike most travel books, "Living Abroad in Costa Rica" is well worth reading cover to cover.

Finally, having actually read the book, I was struck by Mr. Taylor's odd review. He seems caught up in how much time the author does or doesn't spend in Costa Rico (how would he know?) declaring her not to be a "true" authority. Maybe he wishes he wrote his own book? I guess the drive by some folks to create a Social Register for the purpose of excluding others exists everywhere. I must say that in the specific areas in which I have experience, Ms. Van Rheenen was 100% on the mark, and I expect that holds true for the rest of the book.

Ms. Van Rheenen writes:

"If you want to sleepwalk trough life, don't come here. Being alert is the price you pay (or the reward) for not being told at every turn what to do. For those who adapt well to it, Costa Rica is the ideal place to live a rich independent life , and a great place to make a fresh start."

56 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best in Class, November 6, 2004

By 

K. Mueller (S.F. Bay Area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living Abroad in Costa Rica (Paperback)

Having traveled over much of the world, I am not a newcomer to this type of book. I think this is the most comprehensive, best written book of its class that I have come across. My husband and have been considering retirement in Costa Rica (even more so since the recent election) and Ms. Van Rheenen answered every question we had thought of and some we hadn't. Her knowledge of the culture, history, geography, health care, etc. is obvious and I would recommend this as an essential read for anyone traveling to or thinking of living in Costa Rica

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read and very entertaining, July 5, 2006

By 

V. Bishop (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living Abroad in Costa Rica (Paperback)

In short, if you are thinking of moving or retiring to Costa Rica, this book is a great place to start whether you have been to Costa Rica before, or know nothing at all.

This book is an easy read, and very entertaining. I am not one to read an entire work in a few sittings, but before I knew it I had devoured this book. If you are interested in living in or visiting Costa Rica, this is a must read.

I have been to Costa Rica several times, and besides being an easy read and an entertaining escape, the information is accurate at the time of writing.

The best thing that I liked about the book besides the great information is that it does what a book is supposed to do... Take you away from whatever is going on in the world while you are reading it and transport you somewhere else, in this case Costa Rica.

I have shared this book with a number of friends, and they all say the same thing, the book is an easy read, informative, entertaining. I have studied a great deal about Costa Rica, and this book highlights all the important information that I have found in numerous other disparate sources. In short, a great one stop shop for useful information on living in Costa Rica.

I have examined numerous travel books on Costa Rica, but this one ranks the highest of what I have found so far.