www.CostaRicaTicas.com

so lately i hear alot of mean spirited things about CR, so why do you guys stay?? is it that horrible??
i was really think of moving down there? what say you guys who live there?
the things that i looked forward to were weather, pu*sy, inexpensive health care, and just a casual none pressure existence.

_________________
I know nothing, nothing!

CR, like any other place in the world has it's pluses and minuses.

Many of CR's negatives can be addressed if you raise your spanish to a decent level. One of the things that is true about CR is that it is a very inefficient place (similar to most of latin america). If you don't speak spanish, then dealing with any of the typical road blocks that you come across (and that any tico comes across) becomes that much more frustrating.

Some of the positives are the friendly nature of ticos, they are a very social and friendly people. It is one of the easiest places i have ever been to, to strike up conversations with strangers. The climate is a huge plus, in the city you don't need heat nor do you need air conditioning, there aren't many places in the world that you can say that about.

The health care is very inexpensive, and of a high standard (at least the private health care is).

The Ticas are of course a great reason, though yes as many have pointed out, as more money has flooded into the country, this has changed many of the attitudes of girls here.

The quality and variety of goods available here. Though prices have risen considerably in Costa Rica over the last little while, the quality and variety of items that are available for sale here has increased exponentially. The variety and quality of restaurants in places such as escazu is also very impressive now.

The negatives include; a rising crime rate, a tendency among many ticos (not all, and many ticos are offended by this) to rip off foreigners, a legal system that is overburdened, and of course rising prices.

Prices on cars and electronic goods are also considerably higher than the States due to taxes.


Cheers

I posted this in another section and while I understand that things posted in one thread should not be posted in other threads I think this post is relevant in this thread. If Admin wants to delete it I understand.

With all due respect to the young, middle aged, older & fossils who are voicing opinions about living in Costa Rica I do not believe most of you have sufficient information to make a rationale decision.

Most visit and rarely leave the gulch others spend two weeks quasi living in a beach town while others do typical tourist activities seeing some of the country. None of those things give you enough experience to have truly lived in Costa Rica as that would require at a very minimum six month. During that six month you would experience handling the same day to day things you do at home. Buying food, paying bills, living with neighbors, adapting to a different driving style, adapting to a different culture, etc. That is all far different then spending 1 or 2 weeks drinking, gambling, chasing women, etc.

I know many expatriates who live here and none of them are ready to return to the states. Yes there are problems, yes prices are rising, yes you have to be aware of your surroundings but that is no different from where you live now. You have adjusted to those things where you live as we who live here have adjusted to our surroundings.

Costa Rica or any foreign country is not for everyone. The old saying a nice place to visit but I would not want to live there holds true for Costa Rica as it does for many places in the states. NYC is a great place to visit but I personally would not want to live there.

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

The reason I believe is that the majority of the board (not all) passes almost all of its time in a very small area of Costa Rica.. Ie, the gulch.. If I was in the gulch all the time I would put a gun in my mouth...

irish i must be becoming senile that post looks just like the one i read that inspired me to ask the question.. i'm not your normal monger, i'm more monger lite, i like to go every other day and just enjoy the serendity of the place... do you think that would change?? my consumer days are pretty much over too..

_________________
I know nothing, nothing!

Well said ID, I would add that in CR your neighbors are very nosey and gossiping sallys thrice than Im used to in the US. But the people are sure more friendly everywhere you shop etc. Oddly enough people are very friendly when you wait for the bus, but once your on the bus no one talks to anybody they shut down wierd.

Guess you missed the disclaimer.

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

i was just joking around forgot the

_________________
I know nothing, nothing!

actually I doubt you are hearing "a lot" of mean spirited things about CR...just the same few problems rehashed over and over.

The place is great

It can be said that Costa Rica is going downhill. I would say that my home state of California is also going downhill. If I were from Florida, I suspect I would say the same thing. It's possible the whole world is going downhill or perhaps people always see the worst as things change, especially those past their prime, such as yours truly.

I've been in San Jose for around 4 years. Some things seem worse but the bigger change is just that the 'new' has worn off. Still, I don't plan to move back to the USA. I may want to leave San Jose at some point, I may even want to leave Costa Rica at some point (though I doubt it) but unless things change beyond anything I can conceive, I wouldn't move back to the States.

_________________
"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

LOL yes, so true... The amount of energy ticas put into minding everyone elses business while their own lives are falling part is ridiculous.



Very good points. I've been complaining about rising costs in CR, but then I haven't lived in North America for 3+ years, where my friends are also complaining about the rising costs.

_________________
heredia porn king

I have now lived here for a little over 2 years. Yes, crime is serious--just as it is in any city in the USA. The infrastructure is in very bad shape--just as it is in the USA. The costs of most everday necessities are going up--Just as it is in the USA.

But healthcare is just about on a par with the USA--And at a MUCH lower cost. Housing, unless you must have a mansion in Escazu or on the beach, is much less. Local resturants for the most part are much cheaper; most fresh fruits and vegges are lower in price; public transportation is easy, pleniful, and very inexpensive (no need for a car most of the time); and girls are almost always less expensive (and much better)

On my recent trip to the USA, I had planned on buying several items to bring back that I thought were much more costly here. Well, not having been in the US for over a year, I did not realize how bad inflation is there. Most of the items on my list were just about the same price there, even some of the electrical items. Yes most electronical items, all cars, imported processed food, and gas are more costly here.

If you want, and can not be happy without all the convienences, products, and identical way of life as you have in the USA, NO, it is not the place to live. If you are willing to give up some of the things you are acustom to, want a much more relaxed and tranqual way of life, want to live in a place with an almost ideal climate, beautiful scenery, and can live with the language differences (can speak at least some spanish), then Costa Rica just might be a good place for you to live.

The thing I have seen more than anything else as being the most important aspect of being happy living here is; being able to adjust to, adapt to, and accept differences in attitudes, life styles, customs, philosophy, and goals in life.

I would always recomend that a person spend a few months here (or any other place one might be concidering to live) before making a complete move. Visiting a place even for a few weeks, and living there is two completely different things.

_________________
Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

Living in Costa Rica would not be for me, no more than living in most U.S. cities would be for me. Rural Pennsylvania suits me just fine. Our four seasons combined with the mountains, lakes, historical sites, etc. makes for picturesque views that are pretty hard to beat, along with a reasonable cost of living, effective police departments [for the most part] that respond with the genuine interest of helping you, and not of shaking you down, and also being around like people where fitting in is no problem.......being around people that are not always of the mindset to "screw the gringo," forcing you to constantly keep your guard up.

As they say "to each his own." It's a good thing we don't all like the same things. I realize there is more to Costa Rica than the women we see in the gulch. But after 30 days in CR, I'm sure ready to return home. It's just that constant mentality of "screw the gringo" that burns me out quicker than anything. It just seems that you never really fit in. Granted....I don't live there and cannot really offer an objective assessment like some of our fellow posters that do live there, nevertheless, this is just my own opinion, based on my own observations.

With the exception of a few gringos that I've met who live in CR, many "just don't seem content to be there." They seem to spend more of their time complaining about things, when you would expect them to be walking around with a "perpetual Pura Vida smile on their faces."

I know there are those that will disagree, but they're certainly entitled to their opinion as well.

Oh well.....after 5 months here in the states, I'll be ready to return to CR for my month long dose of "Pura Vida."

Zebra

Good points. CR is definitely not for everyone. It does work for me, though. I lived in a rural setting myself, with 4 seasons and so on. It was wonderfully peaceful and safe, but dull, dull, dull. I realized I wasn't ready to just sit on the porch and watch the bats eat the mosquitoes till I kicked the bucket. I didn't know about CR at the time, and I wasn't rich enough to do enough visits to satisfy myself even if I had known what was available to me here. If I had a lot more money, I could see splitting time between my ex home in N. Calif. and here but those long flights aren't too appealing.

Yes, if you live here you are constantly on guard, though it takes less thought as you get used to things. There is a sizable number of locals who feel that gringos are not only easy targets, but deserving targets. There are also at least as many who are honest and kind. But the gulch is where the gringos are, and it's not surprising that the scum congregate there.

And it's true that the ex-pats here tend to complain a lot. We would like this place to be more like home except for prices and women. We spend time griping because we get tired of listening to each other's stories about the hot chicks we took home the night before. And I think ex-pats as a group tend to be a more disgruntled group than most. After all, we have abandoned home in search of something better. If I was happy at home, I would not have come here.

I don't disagree with your post. You recognize that it's a personal thing whether CR is a good place to live full time. Exactly so.

_________________
"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

Bilko Quote:

"...Yes, if you live here you are constantly on guard, though it takes less thought as you get used to things."

Good point Bilko. Makes sense.

You are one of the ones I mentioned, who does indeed seen content there

Zebra