I am considering moving to Costa Rica in a month with some friends. Anyone that's been there can you give me some input on the country like cost of expenses, opening a bank account, best cities to move there etc.


Thank You

From what ive read costa rica is kinda strict with being able to open a bank account, and has pretty ****ty internet too

It's becoming less popular for ex-pats, because there seem to be lots of problems with people buying houses and then being denied planning permission and being stuck thousands for a house that's uninhabitable.

They just seem to have really sick bureaucratic sytem for everything that ends up costing a bomb and taking forever. Prolly not a problem if you are renting, but if you are purchasing property or will have to pay taxes or whatever, prolly worth looking into

6 months should be plenty...I have a friend who went to costa rica and got a 1 month lease and got stars set up...they were hesitant at first but when he explained that he would be travelling for a while after and not going back to the US, they accepted it. I'm doing something similar in vancouver, hopefully they are ok with it

i did a bunch of research on costa rica. ^^^these are def two reasons i continued to consider other options, although one thing about CR that was on the positive side was that if you can deal w/ leaving the country every 90 days for 3days (called perpetual tourism) you can stay in CR for as long as you want, unlike most other places like canada where you can only stay for 3 or 6months out of every 12 months.

also, tourists/foreigners can rent or own property in CR...

..guess i wouldnt rule it out as a choice but there are prob. better options, esp for internet dependability.

would check the travel forum for more info.

GL to all who are relocating, hopefully those who do will add a fun, interesting experience to their lives, rather than this just being a giant expense and inconvenience

Hey guys. So i considered moving to another country to play online poker and my choices i considered were

1. Canada
2. Thailand
3. Taiwan


I'm from new york. I also considered mexico a bit but even though some of those tourist place are still safe according to most people, i think the best idea is to not go there. I spoke to a lot of people here about Thailand and many said its great if you want to save money and $500 a month would cover your expenses very easily for a furnished place. And the people who are in Taiwan tell me its pretty cheap to rent a place there as well and Taiwan was the only country i been to outside of the US which is why i considered it. The thing though is i read you can't stay there for 6 months straight. Everyone tells me after 30 days or 60 days, i need to leave the country for a few days before i head back to Thailand or Taiwan. And when i look at it this way, wouldn't the costs be adding up a lot as well?


The flight ticket to Thailand/Taiwan would obviously cost more than a flight ticket to somewhere in Canada. And i hear you can just enter the Canadian border and stay there for 6 month and then leave without needing to do the other stuff like leaving and entering in Taiwan/Thailand again. Can someone confirm this? I will most likely will move to canada. And would you guys agree that if a person wants to save money for rent/food costs, then finding a room to rent there is almost as good as just moving all the way to thailand/taiwan to save money?


I spoke to people here who have moved to Toronto, Vancouver and they all say Vancouver is the most expensive place. Someone told me Montreal is the best urban value and that there are some other places in canada where rent is a lot cheaper but problem is there is no public transportation and that would be a major problem for me even though i will be grinding there the whole time as my purpose there. My question is has anyone here moved to one of these cities in Canada and just rented a ROOM so they don't have to pay that much in rent? And if so, how much are you paying for it and what place in Canada are you in ? And did the renters have a problem with you? I just thought a renter would not like it if you played online poker as your profession and might turn you down even if you will pay them the cash in advance.


A few people i spoke to told me they rented their own apartment but that cost $1400+/month and that would be way too much money for me. People told me to check craiglists for cheaper apartments and i see some places that just rent a room where utilities and everything else is included for like $700 and under. But i did check for furnished studios and it seems like the lowest price i saw was $850/month. Is it possible to find a furnished studio for an amount lower than that in Canada? I would obviously prefer this as i don't have to share bathroom/kitchen with someone else.


Another question i have is... wouldn't this be a problem since you need a utility bill in your name if you were to just rent ONE ROOM it would be a problem? Most of those people who rent on craigslist seem to either have other roommates or even a family and just renting a room or basement but how can you explain to them you need a utility bill in your name? I mean, if you find 2-3 people to go to Canada with or anywhere else and rent a place together, that is no problem when you get the utility bills in your names but if you just renting a room, shouldn't this be a problem since utilities are usually included?


Of course i prefer to rent a studio apartment so i can have my own bathroom and kitchen to use but this would cost a lot of money so i wouldn't mind just renting a room instead. But has anyone else had a problem renting just a room and telling the renters you play online poker and need to have a utility bill in your name? I see some people on craigslist require you to have employment info as well. Well, i do have tax return for online poker that i filed, but i guess that be not good since it isn't a REAL JOB according to most people? Of course i would be able to pay them cash in advance so they won't have to worry about it.


Just wondering, has anyone else got turned down by a renter because of this? I see no problem if i would rent a 1 bedroom apartment or studio because the bill/utilities woulde be under my name and i would easily be able to show pokerstars proof. But is there something i'm missing here because i don't know how one can get a utility bill in their name if they just renting 1 room.

As far as cities in Costa Rica - There are a few different areas that are vastly different. The Caribbean side is much more rasta'd out, but parts of it are absolutely gorgeous as well, and you could also be close to panama (that means going to panama ie bocas del toro for your visa runs or whatever instead of nicaragua).
The pacific side has tons of cool places as well, fwiw I'd stay away from Jaco - one of the dirtiest cities down there, yet very popular and has one of the bigger party scenes.
The capital of san jose is super dirty, although that's where the biggest casino action is.
Southern Costa is supossed to be more nature reserve-ish and eco-friendly, although I haven't been...and the pacific side north of Jaco is alot of surfer/tourist towns.
Costa has tons to offer and alot of the cities seemed to have very different vibes, so I'd check it out fairly extensively before you moved down there, and try to talk to some people that live there.
I know assasinato has been there for awhile and is very open to sharing his thoughts on costa...you should probably hit up somebody like him.

jamest - your post is kinda all over the place - might be better to consolidate and ask some specific questions. obviously driving to montreal/ottowa/toronto would be easiest as you're right next door.
There are both taiwan and thailand specific threads where I'm sure people could better answer your questions regarding those countries. Canada you can stay for 6 out of 12 months, I believe....there's tons of canada info in various threads as well you could probably just search for your specific questions.

Hey boliver, yea i read those threads about Taiwan and Thailand. But i'm most likely going to choose Canada as its the closest and one doesn't need to leave the country every 60 or 90 days like in Taiwan/Thailand.


So basically my specific questions are



1. Would moving to Canada and just renting a room be a good cost saving alternative than moving all the way to Thailand/Taiwan since flight costs will cost more and one would need to exit the country and come back every 60 or 90 days in Taiwan/Thailand?



2. Would it be a problem just renting a room on craiglists in someones place for like $500? The thing is most of those people on craiglists say utilities and stuff are included but if this is so, wouldn't it be hard to get a utilities bill in your name? I know one needs to have a bank account in that country, a LANDLINE PHONE in that country and also a utility bill in their name and also a lease that is at least 3 months. Wouldn't this be a problem since the landline phone is in that other person's name as well?

let me know how this is, def wanna move somewhere in Europe so i can play epts and cypress sounds awesome.

As far as cost savings....it fully depends on how long you are going to be there for and what other activities you're going to be doing. A 1k flight doesn't mean much if you're going to be there for 6 months...but if you're going to be there for only a month then it's obv a huge expense. Scuba diving, going out, travelling, food, transportation, etc will be a million times cheaper in a 3rd world asian country.

If you are looking at having to exit the country every month or 2 as a burden...then why do you want to go to Asia anyways? Part of the lure of most SE asian countries is that you can travel to other awesome spots for cheap as hell, and the visa issues are just an excuse to take a vacation to vietnam, cambodia, etc.

You do realize that taiwan is an island, and may be one of the worst choices possible if you have limited interest in travelling..as you would need to fly or cruise to get out of the country.

Honestly it sounds like going to the closest major city in canada would be best for you.
As far as utilities...if there is any problem you can just have a landline or seperate internet installed in the room you are renting under your name. I wouldn't worry about that much, and a few hundred bucks would solve any problem of that sort. I'd worry more about how to set up a canadian bank account over getting a utility bill...and again, there are numerous threads on that topic.

Why not move into a poker house in montreal or something? There's plenty of them set up and would be an easy transition - which seems like what you are looking for.

Hey Boliver. Well the thing was some people mentioned that i could get a furnished place in Thailand or Taiwan for $500 and under. And it would cost double that at least in Canada and so someone said just rent a room and pay like $500-$600 and i thought that would be a better way as i'm still close to home and not in a place where i can't understand the language.


Where are the poker house in montreal you are talking about? Yea i'm looking for an easy transition but it seems like most people who want to move to a poker house has already moved already when checking those threads from few months ago.

hey guys,
I'm coming to Windsor next Tuesday 8/9. I have a place of residence set up but looking to reach out and see what else is available. I am a successful tournament player with very respectable results through the 3 years I have been a professional.
My best games have always been Multi Table sng's and can provide valuable coaching to anyone I befriend. I feel like I have a lot to offer to any poker mind and/or house.
My plan is to be living in Windsor through 2011 (with frequent short trips back home) and re-evaluate at the end of the year. I have gotten much more profitable at cash post BF and am also excited to check out the Windsor/Detroit casinos.
I'm an athlete, non-smoker, social drinker, 420 friendly that has a wide ranging circle of friends back home so I feel like we would get along under 99.9% of scenarios.

If you are looking for good company (no ****) - hit me up via PM

Goal is to move to Australia at the end of the year for at least 6 months...

Would appreciate reccommendations on the best cities to get situated and setup as a home base.

Would try and travel heaps.

And if this is a terrible idea please let me know

arent they about to ban poker in aussieville?

Going to Mexico on friday

lol thats a fairly **** idea

looking forward to it paul "howthe****doyoupronouncehislastname"

lololol

#herewegocoronabinge

6 weeks ago Chris Levick tweeted that Stars was pulling out of Australia on August 1. This is where the rumours came from. Stars denied it, I played on Stars yesterday so I guess it's business as usual.

Does one need to have the landline phone in THEIR NAME? Some people have told me no but i just want to confirm.

mine wasnt in my name

Noted, care to explain why?

Been looking around for news about legislation, prohibition, etc. about Aussie poker haven't found anything..


My friend is going and wants me to come, would rather travel with him then move by myself or with peeps i don't know.

pretty sure its mostly wild speculation

I'm moving to Spain at the end of the month and from everything I read online their ban of online poker(like Italy and France) won't take place til 1/1/12. Can anyone from spain confirm this?

I think that the lack of progress in the Greek-Cypriot Turkish-Cypriot talks have caused quite a lot of tension on the island, as well as concerns on areas such as property, territory and security.

However I think it is still pretty safe there, guess it is just a underlying fear among people than the conflict at some point could accelerate.

European Union presidency in 2012 is Cyprus, which should most likely pressure the two parts to not accelerate any conflict.

I believe that Danish poker pro Søren Kongsgaard lives on Cyprus, so you might want to contact him.