Nisilvia wrote:
Well I just got back from a trip to sj/jaco. I was thinking about the average salary or min. Wage in costs rica. What surprised me was how much everything cost, the food, the transportation, and the taxes were pretty high in my opinion. I went with 3 other people and every time we ate or drank somewhere it would total up to around 100usd. Now being a business owner and being in the food service industry for so long I sit down and could see how much a business or worker should make. I stayed at sportsmans and DR and was wondering how much a bartender or waitress would make on a busy night. A tourist/visitor usually tips so I would say on a busy night/day they would make around 120-150usd. This is all on what I see, so how busy are the prostitutes? I was there feb.23-28 and I know most of them were hungry and prices dropped from 100$ easily. Are these girls just in it for easy money or just drug addicts or what? A hard working person should be able to make 100$ a day right? Enough on my rambling but just wondering how their life and economy is.
I assume you hung out mostly at tourist joints. Yes, they are relatively expensive. For example, a breakfast at a tourist joint costs about $6. A Tico pays $1.50-2.50 for the same breakfast at a local place. When a Tico goes out to a restaurant for dinner, he can afford it because regular working class Ticos don't go out unless it's a special occasion. And they aren't paying $100, those are gringo prices at tourist places. Ticos eat at home and they eat a lot of rice, eggs, vegetables, and fruits because they are relatively cheap. They buy them at a local feria (farmer's market) for the week. ¢10,000 gets you enough for a week. Chicken is the meat of choice because it's least expensive. But not everybody can do this, there is serious poverty in CR. Some people (and K*ds) go 2-3 days without food. It seems impossible to us, but my Tico family members tell me stories about years past when some days they had nothing to eat. My father in law is an artisan. He supported the whole family (5 K*ds). He made stuff (out of different materials) to sell. If he didn't sell that day, they didn't eat that day. Simple and cruel fact. Kind of the way some hookers live. It's a very humbling existence.
An average worker makes about $100-125/week. About the same that a spoiled hooker can make from one (newbie) client. And she will still complain.
A hooker should be able to make minimum $300-400/week easy. There are guys who say that some hookers only get one client a week. If a hooker can't land at least one per night, she's in the wrong business. And with some brains, they should have an easy life. There are some smart ones who save their money and not buy the newest Iphone as soon as it comes out, but the majority live day to day, even hour to hour and have to beg for a meal because they spent their last colones on cigarettes. And many have to help support their family to make ends meet. I don't think bartenders make/servers make as much as you think. The Del Rey hookers (I mean.. bartenders) make more because of stupid tourists who tip them for their beauty (:roll:) (definitely not for their service). Remember, they split the tips among all servers/bartenders/kitchen staff/helpers. That pie gets cut up into a lot of pieces. And tips is what they rely on. They probably make at most $3/hr salary. That's barely $20 for a 7-8 hour shift. Average salaries in CR are $2-3/hr. My wife worked at the Clarion Hotel a few years ago (2006-2007) and was making ¢750/hr. That's a $1.50. Wages haven't risen too much since but prices certainly have.
Transportation... I assume you mean taxis and charters buses (i.e. Interbus). Yeah... Ticos don't use them. They walk everywhere in their neighborhoods and use public buses to get into the city for ¢255 (50 cents). We throw $2-4/taxi ride like it's nothing. Our one cab ride is an average Tico's bus budget for a week.
of $60 per customer