www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Hardly a fair comparison. Safer than San Jose of course but it could also be argued that Grecia is a safer place to raise Ch*ldren than Detroit.

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

Paco,
I'm hurt that you would question my word or integrity. I was as curious as anyone here to find out the rest of Mr. Sullivan's story. I was more motivated to talk with him since he lives in my hometown. He wasn't hard to find thanks to the link provided by CiaoCiao. His law office is about 6 blocks from my old high school.

He didn't have to join CRT to respond, only register.

Believe what you want but I can assure you every word that I have EVER posted on CRT is the truth. As for Mr. Sullivan I can only tell you that I have no reason to doubt his word or veracity.

Obviously written by someone who knows nothing about Lincoln, Nebraska.

I told Mr. Sullivan that 90% of the guys on CRT were good guys. I'll leave the other 10% to speak for themselves.

Wit

Fair points,

I will admit that I do not have intimate knowledge of Nebraska.

But comparing city-to-city, small town to small town, I think it is a fair statement that Nebraska is a safer place than Costa Rica to raise Ch*ldren.

I am not sure how Detroit got into it.

Thanks for posting your experiences in CR. For those that do not know Desemperados is a large and mostly rough barrio to the south of downtown. Life there vs Escazu or Rohrmoser is much different. Many, many of our working girl friends are from that area. I have only been once, in the daytime and will not be going back.

BKTUNA
I am never going home

That explains a lot. I am not familiar with the area.

Gringos comes from the root word "griego". Which refers to a person from Grecia (Greece). Central and South Americans generalized the term to refer to anyone white with blue eyes, blond hair, etc. It was not derragatory just fact. The term was used for anyone white and who came to their countries. Generally it has been people from the United States who have popularized the term to include all foreigners visiting Central and South America. For example, African Americans are not generally considered gringos to people in Central and South America. Also - FYI- many people from the United States use the term Americano gets used to describe themselves - and is thus offensive to many people in the south of this hemisphere. They are Americans also and do not see the distinction. Many feel the term Americano excludes the other people from the Americas - Central and South.

There are a variety of theories as to the origin of the word Gringo. There is debate and I don't believe there is a definitive answer to what the true origin is.

The term Gringo can be used differently depending on circumstances and in fact there are regional interpretations as well. In most cases I believe that it is accurate that ithe term refers to White Americas. In other cases (and/or regions) it can refer to all of North Americans (Non-Latinos). In some cases it refers to English speaking (homoginized) Americans.

In some places it has very negative connotations, generally not so in Costa Rica.



Very true ......

Heck, I'm not sure I would think it would be safe for a pack of wild dogs...

I have never been to Detroit (but for connecting on NW at the airport there) but my general thoughts on the Motor City likely mirror Mr. Fox.....

And if somebody wants to refer to me as a gringo that is fine. As long as they do so in a non-threatening manner.

Senor Wit I never questioned your word or integrity but was just making the comment that I considered it "a little surprising" that someone would go to that extent. Your hometown connection explains a lot and guess that was the part I missed.
Pura Vida

_________________

Living well is the best revenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUtj_YnNoY

Abogado,
In my opinion, that was probably part of the problem. Desamparados is a real shithole for the most part, as you know. It's dirt-poor, dirty, and seems somewhat dangerous, although I have never really felt threatened. My fiancee lives there so I have seen a lot of it and when I'm there, especially at night, I always watch my back, just in case.

Did you ever think about relocating to a more upscale community?

Just catching up with this thread, and in light of the recent input versus the thread title and some of the initial posts, perhaps in the future it might be wise for some of us to try and get a little more context on things before jumping to conclusions...

Yes and no. We don't always get access to this sort of background. I was not the only one that found the conclusions in the original post contrary to our personal experiences. In those cases it is fair to indulge in a reasonable amount of speculation, rather than accept a perception of reality that is contrary to that of others on the board.

In this case, the explanation appears to be the fact that this gentleman choose to live in a bad neighborhood. In most cases we would never know that, and I believe that the picture painted is not generally accurate of Costa Rica in general. So it is fair to address that.

I am glad that everyone was so gracious to the visitor to the board. It was very nice of this gentleman to come on board and clarify for us. We should all be appreciative.

Out of courtesy to our guest, I give him the benefit of the doubt. But personally I have lingering questions about "Gringo" being used primarily are a racist term. More often then not, when used in a derogatory manner it is directed at individual behavior, not really as a racist comment. Again, I give the benefit of the doubt in these circumstances. Everyone has a slightly different experience and there may be other explanations.

Exactly ID your neighborhood is going to be your frame of reference, if one were to move into the bad side of Detroit your opinion of the US would not be so red hot.
I liked reading his feedback although I think the guy would have had a whole different experience if he lived in quepos, arenal or Tamarindo, I understand that she had a house and relatives in DDesamparados but if you are an attorney sell the hazardous 220 nightmare dump and spend a little of your wages on a nice place to live and the relatives can come visit a nice place on the holidays, Im sure I dont have all the necessary facts but thats my knee jerk reaction, I would never in a million years move K*ds into Desamparados if one could afford not to, I did enjoy Sullivans posts however very informative...dont try to immerse your self too deep into the authentic tico neighborhood, why whats the amazing upside there compared to the horrid downside of living in Desamparados.

IMHO That is the single best point to come out of this thread.

It accounts for different perceptions among CRT members as well. For example, Escazu is more impacted by crime than the community where I live. Gringo gated communities are frequently targeted for thefts there. In a very real sense, Gringos are targets in Escazu. So I can see why CRT members that live there are so focused on that.

Where I live, until I open my month, I am able to pretty well blend in. People approach me talking in Spanish all the time. I use public transportation and I get around just like any other Tico. I wear long pants and a style of clothing that approximates a Tico style of dress. There is also very little crime in my community, so I don’t recognize a big crime threat. When I go to San Jose, I take my “blend in” mentality with me and I am never bothered (except around DR). Meanwhile the Escazu guys are bringing their “I am a target” orientation when they go to San Jose Thus we both come away with a completely different impression of what San Jose is like.

It is all based on the experience we bring with us when we arrive. Neither is right or wrong, it is just a different way of looking at things.

Personally, I would not be too excited about raising a Ch*ld in Quepos or Tamarindo, particularly Quepos. There is a huge drug problem there. But your point is well taken; there are other, better places. Where I live I could not imagine a much better place for raising K*ds.