Oy.... I'm going to get so pwned for this... Costa Rica Questions

[DavidC]

Um...

I want to know how p*ker and travel mixes. Specifically, if you went to Costa Rica, would you still be able to play?

Do they have high-speed internet, do they have the sites banned, do the sites have THEM (people from Costa Rica) banned, etc?

If this is the wrong place to post it, please direct me to the correct forum to post it in and I will gladly comply.

FWIW, I would have just pm'ed mike davis, but I don't know his exact user name. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

I know it seems weird to travel and play, but if it's a long-term travel plan then it starts ot make sense if you still want an income.

I'm also curious about stuff like how to get my computer (yes, not a laptop, but a computer) there, and through customs without it being damaged or confiscated. I'm also curious about what this extra shipping would cost.

If I were staying for an extended period of time, I'd be travelling very light, bringing basically toiletries, a camera, batteries for the camera, and a few sets of clothes, ID, cash, and my computer (with monitors/ peripherals). Once I got where I was staying, I'd go somewhere that the locals buy their clothing, and grab a few things to wear around town for fairly cheap.

So, while you could consider this post poker related, it's not 100% poker related, as the computer will be used for all sorts of stuff (read: porn too), and I'm curious about twoplustwo.com being banned as well as the standard party networks. For more conservative countries, I don't see them allowing their populace to witness the filth and corruption that is OOT. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Um... one other thing. I'm kinda curious about what my accommodation costs would be, and how I could save money while doing this (a large part of my success at playing certain games for a living comes from very frugal financial discipline while I learn and increase my income).

As long as I'm going to make such a tainted post, I figured I'd put some info that I've gathered here to somewhat dilute the P*ker content:

I was talking with the good people at Air Canada (I live near Toronto), and asked them about a few things.

You need a passport, which must be valid for greater than 30 days after your planned departure date. You need to have either a return ticket, or a ticket to another country, to enter the country. You need to have sufficient funds with you to last for the duration of your stay. You don't require any vaccinations before you get there, but Malaria vaccinations are recommended.

--Dave.

[shant]

Send a PM to CostaRicaBill. He had good info for me on this subject.

[Michael Davis]

Yes they have high speed internet. It's a pain to get, about $40 a month I think.

Don't ship your computer. Carry it on the plane. Whatever you can. If you have a desktop spring for a laptop. Wrap up your monitor and carry it on. Shipping there is exorbitant and rife witorruption, you should go with someone like DHL and pay whatever, but for the most part it isn't worth shipping in small stuff. It would probably be better for you to fly back and make a second trip or pay to bring on extra suitcases and stuff.

No sites are banned. Costa Rica is the physical home for lots of gambling sites. Porn is fine but you can get blown for ten bucks in a massage parlor instead. They're much more lenient in regards to pretty much everything than the US.

If you'll be there for awhile come down, stay in an aparthotel for under 200 a week, and find an apartment easily in a decent area for 400-500. I don't know enough about this stuff but check Tico Times online and if you speak Spanish, La Nacion.

You don't really need a malaria vaccination unless you're going to the northeast Caribbean coast. Hepatitis is more important than malaria, but probably not necessary.

I don't know much about this country so take my answers for what they're worth. I'me moving there in mid-October so once I get more acclimated to how things work I'd be willing to help you out if you come.

-Michael

[DavidC]

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Send a PM to CostaRicaBill. He had good info for me on this subject.

[/ QUOTE ]

Poor guy... I hope he doesn't get this very often! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[DavidC]

Hey Michael. Thanks for the response.

I'd prefer somewhere French or English to Spanish, since I don't speak Spanish, but I visited there once with my family and it was absolute paradise!

Anyone think I'll have problems renting a car there with a G1? /images/graemlins/smile.gif

I'm thinking of moving there just after Christmas, for up to a year, but alternatively, I could go down soon for about 60 days, and come back for Christmas... I'm not sure.

I'm only worth about $16k right now, so this would be quite an expend for me (the flight + computer shipping + passport/whatever), but it could probably be an acceptable expense if I really enjoyed myself.

What's the weather like this time of year down there. We should be approaching the wet season, right?

Great idea re: extra suitcases / carryon!

I stayed in Guanacaste province (NW costa rica) last time I went. I'd probably go back there.

Whereabouts are you in the country?

--Dave.

I heard the NE coast has better beaches but more riptides. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[shant]

David, I've been told the best time to be in Costa Rica is from January to around June. My uncle is Costa Rican and told me that after that, the weather starts to get pretty bad. I was thinking of moving down there for a few months in January.

idk about the internet, but i played some live nlh in San Jose. if you're interested, go to the Radison hotel. I know they run $200 NL games there, and i garantee that if you talk to some of the shady regulars, you'll be able to find a bigger game. I was there in march, and ran into Umberto Brenes playing in a $100 NL tournament. I'm sure you can crack "the scene" in no time

[PapaSan]

Theres a few sites u cant play at if u have a CR ip only one i can remember is pokerroom. The only big sites down here are Stars and paradise and absolute, and u can play at all of them even with a CR ip . You should download all the sites you want to play at and create accounts before coming here as some will not let u register with a CR address.

Theres 2 options for high speed internet ICE which is ADSL and AMNET which is cable. Amnet sucks ass and is very unstable , ICE adsl is decent but nothing like the dsl u are used to, its much slower but u can pay more for higher bandwith. Basic price is 28$ per month and will take a week at least to get installed if u have a phone line, if not u are looking at 20 days.

Live games are pretty crap theres only one place to play and
games are irregular anywhere from 50c/1$ nl he to 25/50nl he usually only 1 or 2 tables, nightly tourneys tho which get a decent turnout.

Rent is pretty cheap im paying 400$ for a 2 bedroom in an upscale neighborhood, and there is alot available. As a us or canadian citizen u must leave CR every 3 months for 72 hours before u can come back but i stayed for a year and never had a problem.

[rohjoh]

I had my neteller account locked for trying to log into it from Costa Rica. It was a pain to get it cleared up, but it is good to know that if someone from a foreign country tries to hack your account, they will shut it down.

[siccjay]

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As a us or canadian citizen u must leave CR every 3 months for 72 hours before u can come back but i stayed for a year and never had a problem.

[/ QUOTE ]

What the hell?

[STLantny]

Go to therx.com and check out their costa rica forum. Its a sportsbetting site, but they have offshore bookies posting there, you can get VERY VERY good info, useless to me, but you have to go there.

[CostaRicaBill]

You can play at all sites from costa rica expect poker room I think. No sites are banned. You can pretty much do whatever you want here, and if you get stopped by a policeman for something you can just give him like $20 and you'll be fine hehe.

In my apt we have wireless high speed internet and it costs around $40 a month.

You wouldn't have any problem bringing your computer here, just take it with you on the plane.

I wouldn't suggest planning on buying clothes here, the selection isn't that great and you could probably buy stuff more cheaply at walmart or something before you leave if you really didn't want to spend much.

I live in a nice apt with a roomate and we pay $500 total, utilities are cheap. I go to the nicest bars and restaurants all the time and don't really spend more than 1k a month. You could live off less if you really wanted, it just depends on your lifestyle.

You don't need any vaccinations and your passport technically gives you 90 days in the country, after that you're supposed to leave the country for 72 hours then you can come back for another 90 days. But this is a crock, I stayed for a year without leaving and they didn't do anything. You can just go to nicaragua by bus if you like. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[KaneKungFu123]

400-500 is pretty expensive for an apartment??

[KaneKungFu123]

Awesome Thread Bill.

I dont understand people who make their living online, yet dont travel and live on the cheap where the girls are oh so sweet!

Your loc says India?

[ QUOTE ]
You can play at all sites from costa rica expect poker room I think. No sites are banned. You can pretty much do whatever you want here, and if you get stopped by a policeman for something you can just give him like $20 and you'll be fine hehe.

In my apt we have wireless high speed internet and it costs around $40 a month.

You wouldn't have any problem bringing your computer here, just take it with you on the plane.

I wouldn't suggest planning on buying clothes here, the selection isn't that great and you could probably buy stuff more cheaply at walmart or something before you leave if you really didn't want to spend much.

I live in a nice apt with a roomate and we pay $500 total, utilities are cheap. I go to the nicest bars and restaurants all the time and don't really spend more than 1k a month. You could live off less if you really wanted, it just depends on your lifestyle.

You don't need any vaccinations and your passport technically gives you 90 days in the country, after that you're supposed to leave the country for 72 hours then you can come back for another 90 days. But this is a crock, I stayed for a year without leaving and they didn't do anything. You can just go to nicaragua by bus if you like. Let me know if you have any other questions.

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[IggyWH]

My Jewdar is going off...

[DavidC]

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My Jewdar is going off...

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I was going to say WTF, but then I realized that I say "Oy" all the time.

FWIW, I'm not a religious man.

Bill, thanks a lot for your reply, it was great!

[CostaRicaBill]

Yeah, I save so much money here, even though I will be at a casino in 30 minutes, damn blackjack.

$500 for an apt is pretty expensive here, but it's furnished with nice furniture and I live in one of the nicest neighborhoods with the Costa Rican elite! /images/graemlins/cool.gif Depending on how much you drink, go out, go to casino, etc... you could really save a lot of money living here playing poker until it dies. When I first came, I was living off $500 a month.

[ddubois]

Crime?

[DavidC]

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Crime?

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I've heard that people take their ignition out of their cars when they park, sometimes, in costa rica, because of theft...

... this was based on maybe 10 years ago, though, so I"m not sure if it was/is true. I don't believe that the person who told me was intentionally lying, though.

[Peter666]

Truly, it is better to be a big fish in a small pond than just another fish in the ocean.

I was travelling Eastern Europe this summer. I was in southern Ukraine with by far the most shockingly beautiful girls in the world (Odessa, Nikolaev). And most of the young people speak English.

Looking around, I discovered that I could rent an apartment for as low as $100 a month and everything else was 1/3 our price or lower (bottles of coke $.25). The average wage there is like $2000 a year, so if you can pull off $10000 online, you are living like a King baby. But the real reason to go is the girls. You can date a different model quality girl for every day of the week. The nightclubs are awesome too. Unfcukingbelievable. I can hardly wait to go back.

[KaneKungFu123]

[ QUOTE ]
Truly, it is better to be a big fish in a small pond than just another fish in the ocean.

I was travelling Eastern Europe this summer. I was in southern Ukraine with by far the most shockingly beautiful girls in the world (Odessa, Nikolaev). And most of the young people speak English.

Looking around, I discovered that I could rent an apartment for as low as $100 a month and everything else was 1/3 our price or lower (bottles of coke $.25). The average wage there is like $2000 a year, so if you can pull off $10000 online, you are living like a King baby. But the real reason to go is the girls. You can date a different model quality girl for every day of the week. The nightclubs are awesome too. Unfcukingbelievable. I can hardly wait to go back.

[/ QUOTE ]

nh peter.

most people will never bother to listen to you though, mostly because they are big pussies.

[DavidC]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Truly, it is better to be a big fish in a small pond than just another fish in the ocean.

I was travelling Eastern Europe this summer. I was in southern Ukraine with by far the most shockingly beautiful girls in the world (Odessa, Nikolaev). And most of the young people speak English.

Looking around, I discovered that I could rent an apartment for as low as $100 a month and everything else was 1/3 our price or lower (bottles of coke $.25). The average wage there is like $2000 a year, so if you can pull off $10000 online, you are living like a King baby. But the real reason to go is the girls. You can date a different model quality girl for every day of the week. The nightclubs are awesome too. Unfcukingbelievable. I can hardly wait to go back.

[/ QUOTE ]

nh peter.

most people will never bother to listen to you though, mostly because they are big pussies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aside from low cost of food, etc. etc, SOME things (i.e. probably electronic goods and other goods produced by western companies) will probably be pretty close to the same prices. This is a guess; I have no experience in this regard.

But the things that really make living in a second-third world shine for me is low cost of services. If you want your laundry done: it's cheap. If you want restaurant food: probably cheap. If you want to learn to play guitar/piano: cheap (though the instrument may be expensive if you want a foreign brand). Tailoring: cheap... language instruction: cheap... you get my point.

Basically for me, one of the points of going to another country would be that hopefully it would eventually free up a lot of my time, due to the low prices of services in the area, or at the very least it would effectively increase my wealth.

This is in addition to all the other benefits of travel, of course.

--Dave.