www.CostaRicaTicas.com

That is probably the most clueless post I have ever read on CRT. It is 100% BS. Nothing could be further from the truth. Have you ever been there? You might as well tell us the grass is purple and you can flap your arms and fly. That would be just as believable. But now I'm really scared. I guess I'll have to cancel my trip in 2 weeks because you scared me so much ….NOT. I'll be sure to send you a post card, that is if I don't get "cut up for being a tourist". If you're scared to go there, fine, no big deal. But to make a post like that is just not right. You need to do a little research before you go spouting off on stuff you obviously know nothing about.




I agree with your 4 criteria, with the exception of cost. CR definitely has the Convenience,Variety, and Comraderie factors in it's favor, no contest. However, all factors considered, I have found MDE to be consistently less expensive than CR. Of course the exchange rate is a factor but in general I always spend less than I bring to MDE, and that never happened in CR. And I play the same way in both venues.

The camaraderie as far as the male part goes is true. If you don't go down with a group of amigos, then it can be hit or miss as far as who you will meet down there. However relationships with chicas that go beyond sex to become friends is not uncommon in MDE. Many of my amigos have established that type of relationship with the chicas down there. I think the more you go to MDE the more you will find that type of relationship to happen if that is what you want, but it is much more likely if you can speak some spanish. Because your point about being able to communicate in English more in CR is absolutely true. If you don't have the ability to speak spanish in MDE you can still have a good time, but it is a distinct disadvantage. All in all, with the above exceptions, I think your points are very accurate.

I am looking at this question from the perspective of flight times from the U.S. as the initial criteria then the other criteria such as convenience, total cost, variety, and camaraderie.

Direct non-stop flights from Southern California (LAX) take around 6 hrs to get to San Jose. I looked on some web sites to see what it takes from other parts of the country too. The Florida guys have it best of course with flight times of around 3 hrs. The northeast has it pretty good too with direct, non-stop flights of a little more than 5 hrs from New York.

Given this, it seems that the typical CR monger is not going to want to sit on a plane for a significantly longer period of time. That rules out Asia (Thailand, Philippines, etc) and most of South America (Argentina, Brasil, etc) and probably Europe (Germany, Eastern Europe, etc) as direct competitors to Costa Rica. The real competition for these monger dollars is most likely to come from countries near to Costa Rica or closer to the U.S.

At the northern end of South America the possibilities are Colombia, Venezuela and Peru. They can require a little more flying time but seem to be competitive on cost (or better) with San Jose. Venezuela has political issues that make it less likely to become popular while Peru is just not that well known yet. Colombia seems to me to be the best bet in this part of the world and is the place I'd most like to check out, well aside from Brasil The downside to Colombia is the perception of crime there, whether deserved or not. In addition it doesn't seem likely from what I've read that we're going to see too many places like the SL, KL or HDR there given the pressure already on the Medellin Mansion.

In Central America, Panama already has a thriving scene, but the prices are higher than in CR and I don't know what the possibilities for CR-style camaraderie are there. I took a look at the ISG for reports on the rest of Central America, and it's not too promising. The Nicaragua section has the most reports, but they're mostly from one guy (Meatloaf). He's very entertaining to read but doesn't make it sound like a great monger spot. The other countries have MPs but don't seem to have much else aside from expensive strip clubs.

Next is the Caribbean. Sosua gets raves here, and I'd like to check it out someday. Cuba has correctly been described by others here, and it's not really going to become a monger destination like CR unless the political climate changes radically. Radical change seems unlikely for the next 10 years though things could slowly evolve for the better. I don't know anything about the smaller islands in the Caribbean, but at this point I'd say that the DR is the best bet there.

Finally there is Mexico. Places like Cancun already have thriving tourist scenes with lots of Gringos. There's no reason a place like Cancun couldn't evolve into a CR. Of course the recent drug violence there could scare away gringo tourists in the short term. However they could be replaced by mongers if CR declines.

I won't consider the U.S. or Canada because it just doesn't seem likely that we'll see bars like the HDR or SL sprouting up anytime soon.

In the end, my guess is that the Dominican Republic would benefit first from problems in CR followed by Medellin. However I think the best bet for a long term monger spot is in Mexico in one of the currently popular tourist spots that ultimately gets colonized my mongers.

_________________
"All them women gonna make me,
teach 'em what they don't know how..." TMIB

Did you know that back in 1979, both Nicaragua and Costa Rica had the same Gross Domestic Product and standard of living?

Guess having no army and not fighting a revolution has some benefits.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I've made 20 trips to Brazil and 20 to Colombia since last going to CR. I always had a good time in CR, but it's a different scale entirely.

For those considering retiring, here's an article on Panama.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Re ... irees.aspx

_________________
"Don't never trust a woman, till she's dead and deep....One day she'll say she loves you, next day she'll throw you on the street."

"...and if men didn't have this unquenchable desire to have sex with women, then they wouldn't have anything to do with women at all. I certainly wouldn't..."

Since when?

My God, I was being sarcastic.
Are you going to tell me now that you can just presume a girl is going to do a BBBJ without asking/haggling?

It has never been a problem for me. I have only had one bad session in CR. And even that got bbbj. Maybe it is my romancing skills or my smooth espanol? I will need your assistance in getting any kind of decent session in Pattaya. Over many visits I have had exactly one decent session. The rest were either forgettable or dismal. At least they have the beach and temples.

We seem to have totally opposite luck in that regard.
Maybe you just need to be as drunk as the girls to enjoy the sessions in Pattaya

That may be it.