I went to CR four years ago and had a spectacular time. Flew to San Jose, went to Arenal / La Fortuna, Monteverde, and Quepos / Miguel Antonio Park. In 9 days, I saw a volcano, hiked around the volcano and through the jungle and the rain forest, rode zip lines across the rain forest canopy, swam under a waterfall, went to the mountains, went to the beach, heard and saw monkeys, lizards, sloths, and many other animals, rode horseback through the mountains and across a river, took a three hour sailboat ride, went to the famous hot springs, got a reflexology massage in a grass hut, toured a coffee plantation, rode a bus with locals and their chickens, had great food, did a little shopping, went to a couple cool art galleries and musuems, wore a t-neck and jacket and 2 days later a swimsuit, learned a little Spanish, learned a lot about the country, people, and environment, and always felt safe and comfortable. I went on a guided tour with Gap Adventures (gapadventures.com) on the 9-day tour. I think it was called the Quest adventure. They have dozens of differenet tours in CR, guided and independent. THe one I did was great, because they arranged everything from hotels to transportation to entrance fees to reservations. They got you to an area, told you what cool things there were to do, and then arranged for you to do whatever you were interested in. It was not a tour where everyone does the same thing at the same time and you are kinda trapped and on someone else's time table. You get the same guide for the whole tour and she knew the areas well and knew everyone in the areas we went, so she could always point us to the right people and places for what we wanted to experience. I frankly do not think I would want to try to navigate and drive through the country without a knowledgeable guide-- it's not like AAA will come get you if there is a problem and there is no mechanic or tire store around the corner. The roads are VERY rough and not well marked-- it would make a heck of an adventure, but just think about if that is the adventure you want, or if that would detract from the adventure you really want. I thought the loosely-guided tour was perfect and would highly receommend Gap, although there may be others that are just as good (I am not connected with them in any way, just a happy customer.) OH! One word of advice for San Jose-- If a man pinches you on the arm downtown, just say "No!" firmly and move on. That is the customary way that a man tells a uh, shall we say "lady of the evening" that he is interested. Some men just pinch anyone they think is cute, hoping she's a "lady of the evening"! You'll only experience it right in the center of downtown by the square, though, and if you say no then they apologize and leave you alone. Frankly, you likely won't want to hang out much in San Jose. One day for a musuem or two and the flea market is plenty. It is literally hard to breathe in the city because of all the pollution. Hope this helps. I'd be happy to answer any specific quetions if I can. --A.

Thank you all for your responses! I will clarify a few things, and ask for a few more thoughts. 1. We started out with 7 contractors, but 4 dropped out because they were no longer available. Of the 3 who bid, 2 were near the low end of the range and 1 was at the high end. 2. We got several rough estimates (including from the 2 contractors with lower bids) before going into design, and they were all significantly less than the bids (by about 1/2). That is part of why we were so shocked. 3. We also shared with those 2 contractors what our budget is, which is more in line with the original estimates. The 3rd contractor who bid never asked our budget, and put together his estimate in only a few days - however, it was rather detailed and he claimed it was well padded for our benefit. I'm not sure what that says. 4. I don't believe there is any additional cost for it being a condo. It's a 3 unit building without HOA restrictions, and the other tenants are very supportive of the renovation. I do think because demand is so high right now, pricing could have gone up even just in the few months since we purchased. 5. While we don't have $150K lying around, we could figure out how to make it work if that really is a reasonable price. We bought the place planning to renovate (we got the rough estimates before purchasing so we thought we knew what we were getting into), and after living with a dilapidated kitchen for a few months I would say we can't afford NOT to do the work! But if we're going to be eating ramen out of our gourmet kitchen for the next few years, I don't want to be wondering if it's because I didn't do my due diligence. Because there is a pretty significant gap between our expected/budgeted and the bidded costs, we do want to figure out a way to reduce it somewhat. I am planning to speak with our designer on Monday and see if there are any adjustments we can make that wouldn't destroy the overall look and feel but take out some of the cost. For example, cutting back on the built-ins? Or should we consider reaching out to additional contractors? I like the ones who bid, and I don't want to waste anyone's time, but if there are other reliable contractors who can do the work for significantly less I think it's worth exploring. Roo

Hubby and I grew up as neighbors in Northern California (Saratoga) and moved to Southern California when we married in 1973. He was in the Navy stationed in So Cal. We are currently in our third home near the coast in Orange County (OC) and have been here 34 years. It's a small single family home in a planned community that values open space set aside for nature conservation and recreation. I spend a good deal of time at a wildlife sanctuary 4 miles from home and often hike local mountains. I can easily hike in the morning and be at the beach (Newport, Laguna or Huntington) in the afternoon. We also still own our second home, also in OC. Our son lives in that though he is currently in escrow on his own place. OC lies between Los Angeles and San Diego making a trip to either place about an hour away. Though living in OC one really doesn't need to go anywhere else as there is plenty to do here. Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm are under 20 miles away. Lots of shopping nearby. Performing arts opportunities abound and even a good sized airport (John Wayne). Our home is small but we were able to comfortably raise two kids in it with excellent schools nearby. We are walking distance to banks, medical facilities and lakes (man made). Tennis courts, bicycle and running paths, and nature surround us. While I love it here, I am interested in moving to another country for a year before I die. Both of our homes have been paid off for many years so essentially we could rent both out and live anywhere on the profits we earn from rental income. Three more years and I'll be set to retire. Yea! :-)

Lars and powermuffin, I think you have a point. I certainly have memories of other *worse* 'fuglies' from various years. As a teen in the mid-fifties, I'm sure that's when my 'design eyes' were first opened. Both my parents were working(most mother's did not)which allowed them to change the decorating about every 7 years, including an extensive remodel with the house up on blocks. Whenever my mother went shopping for furniture I went with her and gave her my 2 cents.~she didn't listen to me when I voiced my opion on the ugly space ship-like living room lamps. Bbnny, I remember the shag raking also, but in my own home, not as a chore. It was a Karastan carpeting in a black/brown/rust color combo. The era was early 70's when Mediterranean was the trend.