It has been a long, long time since we have sent out any community updates because very little was happening.
The task to get an Intentional Community up and running is a daunting one indeed, and it has been about two years since we have really tried to put something together. Our last attempt almost succeeded, but we lost the option on the land we had found just as people were starting to show interest.
But now, with the worldwide economic crisis as well as the fact that food you buy commercially is generally not fit for human consumption, as well as many other problems of modern city "life," the need to get a self sustaining community in place has never been more urgent.
This is a preliminary email to let you know that we are reactivating this project and are going to use one or two new approaches.
One of the problems with getting a community up and running is a people problem. Sad to say, personality conflicts and disagreements have caused many community start up efforts in Costa Rica to blow up over the years.
I believe I have a way to nip this problem in the bud before it develops into a monster that could destroy the project before it comes into being, as has happened several times to my personal knowledge alone, and has surely caused hundreds if not thousands of failures in Costa Rica alone.
What we need to do is get together a core group of like minded people who are interested in working with us to build the community of our dreams. Over the years, various screening processes have been kicked around, most of which appeared quite promising, but none of which have ever worked out.
Yet, as the global situation gets more dire by the day, the urgency to get this project moving forward again has never been greater. If we don't get off of our rear ends and do something soon, the world situation will slam the door shut on such opportunities, at least for some time.
What I propose is very simple. We need a small, dedicated, core group to make this work. People who are committed to this dream and are willing to work with each other to bring it about. This core group will help to shape the character, vision, and, in fact, everything about our new home.
The simple idea I have is to invite those of you who are willing and able to relocate to Costa Rica NOW to do so. I propose that those coming down rent a house or apartment within a short distance of my location, so that we can have dinners, planning sessions, get togethers, and other social functions several times per week.
We need to get to know each other and get used to working with each other NOW, before the community is born, because, if we can't do that before the community is born, we most certainly can't do it once we have our new dream home.
Some people won't like other people, and some won't be able to work with and integrate into our group. That is human nature, but it's better to find this out BEFORE you invest your money in the community than to find out AFTER.
In other words, the situation I am proposing is a low impact way to find out if you are comfortable with the group BEFORE you make any real commitments or time or money. If someone doesn't fit in with the group or doesn't like the way things are going, it will be easy to leave and find a group you are more compatible with.
Further, if you understand the MasterMind principal and the Law of Attraction, you will already know that the larger the group we have working towards the same goal, the faster and easier it will be to obtain that goal. I will be writing more on these matters in the coming week, both on our community page and in my Costa Rica blog.
Once we have a group dynamic and have formed a MasterMind, then the Law of Attraction will see to it that we attain our goals. But we must be a group with common interests all working towards the same goals. That is the only way this is going to work.
Some of you reading this message subscribed to our autoresponder some time ago. You don't have to do anything to receive further updates, since you are already on this list. Others will be reading this on my blog or on a newsgroup or forum posting.
If you want to receive all of the updates, you need to subscribe to our autoresponder by entering your information at the bottom of the Community Page at So Ya Wanna Move to Costa Rica.
The url to this page is:
http://soyawannamove.com/costarica/wanna13.shtml
I will be sending out another announcement over the weekend or early next week once that page has been updated. We will also figure out how we want to "get together" to discuss these things.
I am considering using a Skype conference or chat once or twice a week, but if there is a better idea, please let me know by filling out a Helpdesk Ticket at the above website..
I look forward to getting this project moving forward, building our future in harmony with nature and ourselves.
Sincerely,
John Allen
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
What a Week!
The week has only just started, and already we have lots of interesting headlines.
Costa Rica is still cleaning up the mess from the 6.2 earthquake in early January. It will still be sometime before things get back to normal near the epicenter.
In the area where I live, on the east side of San Jose, there wasn't any damage from the quake and I didn't even feel it because I was getting to my destination in a taxi just as the quake struck. I was wondering, though, why people were coming out of the building, but soon found out.
Costa Rica is still cleaning up the mess from the 6.2 earthquake in early January. It will still be sometime before things get back to normal near the epicenter.
In the area where I live, on the east side of San Jose, there wasn't any damage from the quake and I didn't even feel it because I was getting to my destination in a taxi just as the quake struck. I was wondering, though, why people were coming out of the building, but soon found out.
Taxi Strike Tomorrow!
I thought about going out tomorrow, but tomorrow there is a big taxi strike and it's possible some bus drivers might join in. This means a huge mess for traffic in and around San Jose, and the possibility that it will be impossible to find a taxi at various times and locations, so, if you don't have to go out tomorrow, that would probably be a good idea.
In other news, Domino's pizza closed without warning over the weekend, leaving their 130+ employees in the lurch. There have been other layoffs here recently, but not as many yet as in the US and elsewhere. I think one of the reasons is that as companies seek to tighten their budgets up north, they get rid of employees there and hire new ones here at less than half the price.
The call centers here save them considerable money over what they would have to pay elsewhere, and so part of the fallout of the economic crunch is that there are some new jobs coming here.
For example, Amazon is opening up a new operation here, and other companies are expanding the operations they already have here.
Normally, gringos can't work legally here, so many work under the table and under the radar. Other young couples are doing the "baby drop," which means that if you have your child in Costa Rica, then the parents can get permanent residency ad later citizenship, and the baby can get dual citizenship. You can't do much better than that!
In fact, I know a realtor friend of mine who has the perfect "baby drop" condo for rent right next to Cima Hospital, the best private hospital in the country. If you are interested, go to my consultant page in the list on the left and I will see if I can get you in. There is a long waiting list, though, so book early!
Meanwhile, that arrogant, bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy otherwise known as ICE is finally getting what they deserve -- COMPETITION! The new regulatory agency, SUTEL, has just been set up and they are already telling ICE that they can't just unilaterally raise rates whenever they feel like it with impunity. And, it looks like World Com wants to be their first competitor here.
It will be so nice when there is a real choice of internet service providers [maybe we will finally have world class service here]. And it will be a real nice day when you don't have to wait months or years just to get a cel phone....
Meanwhile, Costa Rica's coffee exports have dropped by 15%, so the world economic crisis is having an impact here.
Well, until next time, this is John Allen signing off!
Why not check out my new Consultant webpage in the links to the right and also check out our new Offshore and Costa Rica classified ads?
And, if you're a real employer looking for a free place to post your help wanted ads, place an ad on our new site.
There are lots more goodies there, so just click the link to check it out!
In other news, Domino's pizza closed without warning over the weekend, leaving their 130+ employees in the lurch. There have been other layoffs here recently, but not as many yet as in the US and elsewhere. I think one of the reasons is that as companies seek to tighten their budgets up north, they get rid of employees there and hire new ones here at less than half the price.
The call centers here save them considerable money over what they would have to pay elsewhere, and so part of the fallout of the economic crunch is that there are some new jobs coming here.
For example, Amazon is opening up a new operation here, and other companies are expanding the operations they already have here.
Normally, gringos can't work legally here, so many work under the table and under the radar. Other young couples are doing the "baby drop," which means that if you have your child in Costa Rica, then the parents can get permanent residency ad later citizenship, and the baby can get dual citizenship. You can't do much better than that!
In fact, I know a realtor friend of mine who has the perfect "baby drop" condo for rent right next to Cima Hospital, the best private hospital in the country. If you are interested, go to my consultant page in the list on the left and I will see if I can get you in. There is a long waiting list, though, so book early!
Meanwhile, that arrogant, bloated, unaccountable bureaucracy otherwise known as ICE is finally getting what they deserve -- COMPETITION! The new regulatory agency, SUTEL, has just been set up and they are already telling ICE that they can't just unilaterally raise rates whenever they feel like it with impunity. And, it looks like World Com wants to be their first competitor here.
It will be so nice when there is a real choice of internet service providers [maybe we will finally have world class service here]. And it will be a real nice day when you don't have to wait months or years just to get a cel phone....
Meanwhile, Costa Rica's coffee exports have dropped by 15%, so the world economic crisis is having an impact here.
Well, until next time, this is John Allen signing off!
Why not check out my new Consultant webpage in the links to the right and also check out our new Offshore and Costa Rica classified ads?
And, if you're a real employer looking for a free place to post your help wanted ads, place an ad on our new site.
There are lots more goodies there, so just click the link to check it out!
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