www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I am a long time lurker and never really post. I have followed this board since inception. My questions are is Costa Rica really as bad as it sounds on this forum? Listening to the various posts in the different sections Costa Rica sounds like a proverbial shithole. Is inflation really as bad as some state? Is crime so prevalent that you are unable to just mellow out compared to the shitstorm that will hit you if you lower your guard for one second. Do the Ticos really resent and hate gringo's and just look at gringos as a mark to be fleeeced. Is Costa Rica dead as retirement location with any merit compared to other locations? If so why would anyone want to live there(other than easy pu*sy). I mean it really isn't that expensive to come down for a few months out of the year. I am asking these question as I am looking for a fun place to retire to that has good weather part time or semi fulltime. I have been down to Costa Rica five times from two weeks to a month and a half and as a tourist it is really difficult to guage. I liked the beach areas but felt like I was being watched every where I went in San Jose. If you lived in Costa Rica for any period of time please elaborate on my concerns.

Been here four years now and lived in San Jose central, Escazu and San Ramon. Try to take your points one by one...
1) No, Costa Rica isn't as bad as it sounds. This board gives people, especially ex-pats living here, a forum to bitch. Don't get me wrong, you MUST have patience as the systems don't function very effectively from immigration to police to courts. Not to mention all the 'CRT Sucks Club' propaganda.
2) Inflation is a concern with interest rates on loans/credit cards in the 'illegal' range in the U.S. Course, US monetary policy hasn't helped the dollar, which is down 10-15% in the last year or so.
3) Crime is bad, but mostly in certain areas like Jaco, San Jose Central and some of the outlying barrios like Alajuelita as well as the Nicoya Peninsula where the police presence and remoteness give rise to opportunity. Personally, I've been robbed by police (2 times) more than normal thieves (0). Outlying areas like San Ramon seem safer. Heck, saw a lot of places in Puerto Viejo that didn't have bars/razor wire and single girls walking the streets late at night. So security is more relative to location IMHO.
4) No, not all Ticos hate gringos. I've met Ticos who are good people and treat everyone the same. But have also met some that just hate gringos. Then there are those that don't really care one way or the other but given a chance to 'overcharge', they will jump at the chance.
5) Don't think Costa Rica is dead for retirement options but if the government keeps up with the new taxes, excessive import taxes etc. many other places will be more economically feasible.
6) Reasons people want to live here are varied. I love the climate and my mountain home not to mention the wildlife, the conservation efforts and general well being of most residents. The health system is cheap and seems to work well in my experiences with it. Course, I don't have something I'd need to wait a few months for treatment for either. That alone could make the difference for some. For what you'd pay for a hospital stay in the States for a few weeks, you could retire here. My girl was hospitalized for almost a month with a severe kidney infection and the bill was exactly $0. I'd have had to file bankruptcy in the states even with decent health insurance...
Hope this helps and as always, these are my opinions....cause I like it here!

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The only thing that matters is happiness in all it forms...

I was going to reply but puravidatransport did a great job. It's getting worse in lots of ways but it's still better for me than anywhere in the USA.

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

Excuse me while I head to the fridge to get a drink and snack and eagerly await Greengo's interpretation-response.

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The most dangerous adversaries are the ones that come with a smile instead of a sword

I hear complaint after complaint about the cost of living here. It generally isn't cheap. It's not the easy find for bargains, but they're available. Prices jump around, and seem to stay put. There are fresh fruits and vegetables all day long. When I hear a comparison between Panama and Costa Rica, I ask, "Why don't you move to Panama?" "It's hot!" End of conversation.

It's a small country. Read the Chicago Tribune & Sun-Times, and if you sat around and talked about crime, you would be freaked.

In all the time that I've been here, I've never encountered nor had a close brush with crime. I avoided being shaken down by Transito one time, and avoided the paddy wagon who later robbed an acquiantence.

The climate is good, get out of downtown and go to a park in Heredia o Alajuela and enjoy Costa Rican ambiance. btw...How hard is it to pick up a woman in Costa Rica? Sit in the park and say, "Hola, me llamo David". She starts talking or smiles, keep on talking.

Oh wait, I forgot, I'm supposed to frame CR as a shithole, to keep out others from our turf.

i dont live there but my answer would be NO
much hype/bullshit on this board at times

To me the answer is very easy to find. A number of CRT members are full time residents and have been for years. How many do you see leaving? Remember these are individuals who are here full time not the occasional visitor who never leaves the gulch. That is your answer.

Even Greengo who constantly rants about how bad CR is seems to have no plans to leave.

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

But that manner of analysis is not factoring into the equation those who are in so deeply, they simply cannot get out. *shrug*

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"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

Yes it really sucks.... BUT the rest of the World SUCKS WORSE.

These two reasons alone may be enough to withstand live in a shithole and to having eat the occasional Tico turd

The vast majority of residents I know, and that is a considerable number, are not in to deeply that they could not leave if they desired to do so. The fact is that most residents here do not live in the downtown area where the majority of posters on this board spend their time and get their impression of the city and country. They live all over the central valley and other areas of the country not just in the gringo enclaves of Escazu or Santa Ana. Spend your time in the "red light" district of any major city and your perception of life in that city is going to be badly distorted.

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

Well said.

Remember that the girls that we see at the usual haunts represent less than 1% of the population.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

That's as fair and balanced assessment of CR as I have ever read.

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Blue Devil

Pura Vida...enjoying life to the fullest...

Yes; yes; yes: Whoreland don't count and neither, really, does the EzcaZoo. Even using San Ramon and Grecia as "norms", those I know are in over their head, although not to the point where they're fully sucking in water as they're standing on rocks. Still, they're expectations of what their property is worth is absurd...and these are homeowners only. Those with "rental properties" are pretty much toast...and those that have become enmeshed in "families" are burnt toast....UNLESS.....they're willing to just let go of everything and get out with the shirt on their back. Funny set of stats between yours and mine. I'm just glad it is not me juggling "the numbers".

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"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

Not worth replying to. Just another tourist who has become a Costa Rica expert.

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