To Work or Not to Work -- That Is the Question

Ten laps in the pool yesterday, seventeen today. Now that’s progress. So far I am making good use of that luxurious feature of our new home. We’ve been told that, just as a view becomes “wallpaper,” after awhile so do swimming pools become another unused element of a property. We plan to avoid that outcome and concentrate instead on swimming as a valuable exercise as well as the delicious sensation of warm sunshine on bare skin. Yes, we are using plenty of sunblock.
      Now once again the thunder is rumbling in the distance and the clouds are moving in so we have brought in the wash from outdoors before the afternoon rains. Only a few days have failed to bring at least light showers and on many days, the downpour is torrential. We are adjusting well to life in the rainy season.

      On Tuesday we caught an early bus into Alajuela, transferring there to the Heredia bus for a meeting with the publisher of The Costa Rica News, an online English-language newspaper. During the summer while we were still in the States, I had noticed an ad on the site saying they were looking for regional correspondents. I emailed a letter to the editor outlining my experience as a former publisher, my education and links to a few of my online travel pieces, as well as this blog URL. The editor quickly responded, saying they would love to have me as a freelancer. But the pay structure, based on advertising sales, made me hesitate a day or two as I considered whether I would want to work that way. Before I could respond, however, publisher Daniel Y. called me from Costa Rica to discuss the possibility of my working with them not as a freelancer but as a staff member in some capacity. Needless to say, having been unemployed for over a year in the U.S., I was flabbergasted to so quickly have a job opportunity here in Costa Rica. We agreed that when Layne and I returned, we would pay a visit to his office to talk further about a possible role for me with the paper.
      As I perused The Costa Rica News over the rest of the summer, I was in all honesty unsure that I wanted to join the company. While the website is well designed and the writing is generally good, the content is slow to change. Although the paper bills itself as a weekly, not a daily, there still is a need for fresh articles in order to retain the sophisticated Internet visitor. Week after week, The Costa Rica News front page offered much of the same material, often with only one new item. Obviously, the effort to recruit regional reporters, if successful, would help bring in more news but meanwhile, the paper seemed a bit stale.

      On the other hand, Layne and I liked the editorial philosophy of the paper and the selection of news. The content focuses on progressive topics such as the environment, eco-travel, information for expats and retirees, “green” businesses and thoughtful metaphysics. So we could see the potential for a simpatico relationship with this small newspaper and an opportunity to help it develop.
      But there’s a hitch -- actually, a couple of them. One involves Social Security. For Social Security recipients who live overseas and like me, have not yet reached full retirement age, there are stringent reporting requirements if you work or own a business. The rules state that you must report to Social Security any work you do outside of the United States, whether it is part-time or even if you are self-employed. Some examples of the kind of work you must report are: “work as an apprentice, farmer, sales representative, tutor, writer, etc.” Notice “writer” is one of the examples. That would be me. The rules go on to say that if you own a business, you must notify Social Security “even if you do not work in the business or receive any income from it.” Interesting, huh?
      Furthermore, failure to report your work can result in a penalty that “could cause the loss of benefits.” And indeed, benefits are withheld for “each month a beneficiary younger than full retirement age works more than 45 hours outside the United States in employment or self-employment not subject to U.S. Social Security taxes. It does not matter how much was earned or how many hours were worked each day.” In other words, if I worked more than 45 hours a month, I would lose some of my Social Security benefits. How much is unclear.

       And this is just part of the problem of taking a job in Costa Rica. Immigration rules here are quite strict in limiting the kind of employment that non-residents can pursue. Expats are welcome to set up a new business in the country and hire Ticos, but taking a job that a Tico could do is forbidden. And since we do not yet have our status as legal residents, we certainly don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that process or risk our position once we get residency. It may be true, as I had thought, that the potential job with The Costa Rica News would be one that a Tico could not do, given my unique skills in English and journalism. But at this point that is by no means certain.
      So it was with mixed feelings that Layne and I traveled to Heredia to meet with Daniel, hoping for a positive result but not sure how I could take a job if it were offered. But whatever may come of our job interview, we were both quite wowed by the young publisher. A handsome Venezuelan, Daniel is dynamic and visionary, articulate and passionate about his many projects. Possessed of a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit, Daniel seems to have many irons in the fire, from his publishing venture to a blossoming business in biofuels. He explained in great detail the promise of a particular plant native to Costa Rica and Central America, Jatropha, a fast-growing tree that yields a vegetable oil that can be added to diesel fuel, which he is developing through his company United Biofuels of America. More on Jatropha and United Biofuels in future blogs as we learn more ourselves.
      In the meantime, we look forward with anticipation to our attorney Monika’s appointment with Immigration on Monday, the 13th, to take the next step toward residency. If all goes well, maybe then I can take that job. Wish us luck!

"Cat Bites Pit Bull" and Other Tales from Auburn, CA

July 3, 2010 

         Well, we’re beginning to wonder how anyone ever acquires legal residency in Costa Rica. I’m reminded of Lucy and the football: every time Charlie Brown runs to kick the ball down the field, Lucy pulls it away so he kicks open space and falls on his butt. 

In my last post, you’ll recall, our attorney Monika asked us to scan the passport pages where Costa Rican authorities had stamped our exit date. Only one problem - no stamp! Not only no Costa Rican stamp on our most recent departure, but also no exit stamps from Costa Rica for any of our three trips there. Only once, back in 2007 did the United States Immigration clerk at the Houston airport stamp our passports upon our arrival from Costa Rica. When we returned from Costa Rica a few weeks ago, the Los Angeles Immigration officials once again did not stamp our passports. Go figure.

          But since Monika seemed to think that we should have been stamped somewhere, and indeed we had been stamped by Australian officials going to and returning from that country in 2005, I called the U.S. Department of State and spoke to the fellow in charge of immigration services at Los Angeles International Airport. He explained that they no longer routinely stamp returning passports of U.S. citizens due to complaints by frequent travelers that their passport books were filling up too quickly. So we are once again in limbo, waiting to hear from Monika how we can prove to the Costa Rican Immigration Department that we are here, not there!

         But indeed, here we are. And although the Costa Rican residency challenges are a bother, we are enjoying our temporary residency here in Auburn, California. The two cats in our care are a study in contrasts: Socks is verbal, friendly, often joins us in bed at night and hangs around during the day sleeping under a bush in the front yard or on the living room floor, sprawled on her back for some belly rubs. Socks also requires daily grooming with, of all things, a horse currycomb!

         Abby, on the other hand, is the “phantom cat.” The first few days we saw no sign of her and began to worry that she had freaked out at the strangers in the house with all our bags and boxes and new noises, and simply run away, never to be seen again. But slowly, we began to catch a glimpse of her scurrying down the hall to the litter box and venturing to the bowls of food and water. Last night, for just a brief moment, she even jumped up on the bed with us, her little collar bell jingling softly near the foot of the bed. Hopefully, by the time we leave here at the end of the month, she will have relaxed into a friendlier mode.

         Socks proved her mettle last night, however, when a smallish brown Pit Bull came trotting into our backyard, much to our surprise and alarm, although we quickly realized he was not at all aggressive. Apparently lost, he had wandered through the gate we’d left open in hopes of luring Abby inside. But when Socks caught sight of this alien creature in her space, she turned into a hissing dragon, all claws and fearsome anger. Attacking his backend, she chased the poor animal out the gate before I could grab Socks and take her inside the house. Last I saw, the chastised Pit Bull was ambling off into the open field nearby, looking back over his shoulder at the house with the attack cat.

         Abby and Socks have every right to be tense, however, as we have inevitably disrupted their routine. With every trip to our jam-packed barn, we return to Ruth’s garage with more boxes to sort through for more giveaways, perhaps to sell or to take back to Costa Rica with us. It’s a messy process. There are things we missed in Costa Rica or found to be expensive to buy there. A toaster, for instance, is pretty pricey in Atenas, running $35 to $40 or so. We do have a good toaster here, stored away. But with its bulk, it will take up a full corner of a suitcase, which will cost us $20 or so to take onboard the airlines. And flying from Portland to Chicago on one airline and then Chicago to San Jose, CR, on another, the cost of taking that suitcase full of toasters and some of the other seemingly trivial items, will likely run the same $40! Perhaps it makes more sense to buy one down there. Decisions, decisions. As mundane as that may seem, we face such choices with every box. No wonder the cats are spooked by these bustling strangers.

         But most early mornings we manage to get out for a walk. We’ve been exploring a beautiful local park nearby, Auburn Regional Park. This is a well-maintained oasis here in California where, thanks to the state’s budget woes, most state-run parks are closed down and quickly falling into disrepair. The large creek-fed lake that occupies the center of Auburn Regional is circled by an asphalt walking path which meanders under large oak trees with benches, BBQ pits and picnic areas along the way. Mallard ducks with their shiny teal green heads share the lake with dozens of wild geese, primarily Canadian and Snow geese, whose loud honks greet any dog so brave as to enter the water near them. Even pint-sized fishermen (see photo below) try their luck here in catching bass or bluegill. The park offers sports fields for all, from basketball to tennis, soccer to slow-pitch baseball and even a highly rated “disc golf course,” which is a fancy term for Frisbee. Located only a few blocks from our house-sitting base, Layne and I find the park to be ideal for exercise, people- and bird-watching.

          Although we are enjoying life here, we still like to keep in touch with events in Costa Rica, and we do this through several of the English-language newspapers available online. TheCostaRicaNews.com is a weekly publication and a relative newcomer to the field, having been founded only three years ago, but they are growing and have some worthwhile reporting, particularly on eco-tourism, medical tourism and information for expats. AMCostaRica.com is another English-language source for news, but features an abundance of prominent advertising on each page, a little garish for my taste. The oldest Gringo-focused news publication is the venerable TicoTimes.net. Unfortunately, to get complete reporting, one must subscribe. InsideCostaRica.com provides perhaps the best news coverage free of charge. Some of the many blogs written by expats in Costa Rica also offer a personal perspective on happenings in their part of the country.

         But there’s nothing like being in Paradise in person. So we are definitely counting down the days until our northern sojourn is over and we can return to the vida muy tranquilo that we have in Costa Rica.

         Happy Fourth of July to all who value freedom!