Update to shopping in Costa Rica

Over the weekend, I received a comment from a reader regarding my post on shopping in Costa Rica. He said that because Costa Rica receives a lot of tourism I should be able to find items I need in the touristy areas. I have a feeling he didn't read any of my other posts or the description of my blog (what do you think?). We are moving to Costa Rica -not just visiting.

Regarding shopping in Costa Rica, the items I am concerned about buying down there are not really "touristy" types of purchases. Like for instance, can I buy a reliable gas grill in Costa Rica without paying a fortune? Hipermas has a couple in their flyer for $173.65-399.82. That seems really expensive to me. After searching Bizrate, the same Coleman grill advertised at Hipermas for $399.82 is $135.99 at the low end up to $196.90 at the high end. So, it would seem after this little interlude for research that I should definitely buy my gas grill here in the States before moving to Costa Rica because I will save at least $200.

But now we come to another complication, we've gotten quotes for shipping a 20ft container down to Costa Rica and the prices seemed reasonable. Keep in mind that we need to fill two houses full of furniture and appliances (Ticos take their appliances with them when they move because they are so expensive to purchase). Well, we passed a truck hauling a container on the highway the other day and it sure seemed smaller than I remembered. I started wondering if everything really would fit in the container. After using an online form to evaluate the size of our potential move, it appears we will have more items than will fit in the container! I think this is hilarious and troublesome at the same time. Originally I didn't think we would even fill the 20ft container and now it appears we need to get a 40ft container instead. LOL!

I think it is time for another song!
Boston
"Peace of Mind"