Now I know some of you see this as naïve newbie behavior or old guys just looking for love in all the wrong places. However, I’ve noticed an aspect of older educated guys coming to Costa Rica and falling in love with an uneducated chica that seems to defy explanation. It’s not just an age difference thing, but a huge difference in education (and culture). If the same women were in the US, the guys would not consider them relationship material at all, yet many fall in love and make plans for bringing their new love to the US to live. Been There – Done That – Got the T-Shirt.
An Example: One friend who lives in Manhattan and has a master’s degree in business is in love with a Tica who has 4 Ch*ldren and a total of only one year of education.
He’s trying to teach her English, but says she lacks the basic education level to know how to learn. He’s a very smart and introspective guy and she is not a young working girl hottie. She’s an attractive lady in her mid 40’s and he says the sex is wonderful. He’s not a newbie, but has been coming to CR for many years. He has heard all of the CRT stories of the chicas taking advantage of gringos – old & young. He’s neither careless, uninformed or naïve. He also knows that if he brings her to the US, she will be unable to survive long-term unless she starts her education at the first grade level and continues for many years to at least the “high school dropout†level. In the US, he would not even date a female of similar circumstances, but he’s now in love with her. 
I can relate, because I did something similar and I know several other guys in Costa Rica who either have done this or who are currently in similar relationships. For some reason, it seems to be the educated guys who are in this situation more often than the less educated guys who somehow seem to avoid it. I know this is a huge generalization based upon only Ad Hoc data, but it seems to me to be much more than just being about good sex with a young woman. If it were just about young pu*sy, there is plenty of that available without wifing up.
I’m not talking about the guys who cycle through favoritas that want to be the gringo’s novia. Maybe she calls him her novio, and maybe he’s giving her $$ when he’s in town, but he’s not renting an apartment for her to live in nor is he bringing extra suitcases loaded with pots & pans, linens and women’s & children’s clothes each time he returns to Costa Rica. He’s also not solving her endless family drama or health care and dental issues. I wonder if the guys with favoritas held at a distance have in fact previously wifed up and now strive to avoid the problems it brings.
I recall my mother telling me, “Never bring a woman home with me who has more problems than I do because her problems will become my problems and I end up with only more problems to solve.†For most of my life I listened to her; at least this part of her wisdom.
I have no clue why I did not follow this advice instead of wifing up with a chica in Costa Rica. Additionally, I’m not sure that I would follow her advice with another chica. My wifing up story was not as destructive or evil as others that I’ve heard about, so I’ll admit that I might do it again – just not with the same chica. 
I’m not some love hungry old guy as I have been both single and married for long periods and frankly I prefer to be single rather than married. I welcome your insights to either point of view. However, let’s please keep the personal and individual flaming of each other to a minimum. This is about more than us gringos being foolish. Be assured that more guys have (or are now) wifed up than most of you will believe. We all may have heard about the problems with wifing up, but some of us seem attracted to it in Costa Rica like a moth to a flame, when we have no trouble at all resisting it in the US.
