www.CostaRicaTicas.com

lol! thanks! ( but i may have to check out that sofa next trip).... never been anywhere else... i was just gonna say, if u have alot of $$$ living there would be alot more fun, just like anywhere else... ok back to the drawing board...

why do i feel like a baby that has been ripped away from mommas breast when i leave CR????? the withdraw sucks!!!

thanks again to all, i want the truth, i can handle it, good and bad...

Ydogi,
You asked if I still lived here and enjoyed it. The answer is yes to both. I spend about $2,000+ a month so I currently have a lifestyle that allows for chain smoking, constant drinking, occasional whoring, imported salad dressing imported balsamic vinegar, imported sausage, imported salami, imported croutons, etc., internet, cable, the rare taxi, and a nice apartment in a nice neighborhood. I spend more than I can actually afford
I enjoy the women, people, the weather, less stress, while I struggle to make a living.
Your question was can you get by for the next twenty years on $250,000.00 plus a little more in the future. That’s spending $12,000 - $18,000 a year assuming a return from 0%-5%.
Like Greengo, I have become bitter about the way this country operates. It starts at the top. The Costa Rican people are the world’s greatest beggars and thieves. Theft is not considered immoral in Costa Rica, it just is about what you can get away with. This is the case from the richest to the poorest. The laws are opaque and enforced differently for different people. This country has begged money from the every country in the world. Almost every large business that has been invited in with smiles and promises, has been backstabbed by the same people that begged them to come. The Spanish consortium that just had their 20 year rights removed. Gee, thanks for building the road, now we will take it from you. The American wireless internet company that has spent millions and been promised they would be allowed to compete with ICE. Thanks for your money – no permit for you. The Canadian Gold mining company that was convinced by the Costa Rica Government to sink $200 million and years in the mine by Nicaragua. Thanks for your investment, no you cannot be allowed to actually extract gold from the ground.
The government estimates that 40% of the taxes owed are not paid. The Tico solution is to raise the Value added tax to 14% and start taxing propina through the reinterpretation of a 40 year old law, thus encouraging even more people to dodge taxes. The foreign owned companies and the small companies that are owned by the people that have pissed off the powers that be, will be forced to pay these taxes. The wealthy here will continue to avoid true payment.
Property scams will continue unabated. The courts will protect the scam artist. Thanks for the money foreigner. The next Ponzi schemes are being hatched while the individuals who ran the last ones go unpunished. Just take the sale of a casino instead of your hundred million, even though the offer for the casino is another scam. The offer and the money are not real. The court will approve.
Further down the chain, the cars documents are taken. Registration changed. Your car is then stolen and sold. The person who changed the documents will not be punished.
Even further down the food chain, why not murder and rob some French tourists? The Costa Rica Government will not admit its peoples increasing propensity towards violence. The tourists must have gone swimming and drowned in a 2 foot deep river and then washed miles out to sea. OIJ will testify that is what happened. Passports and empty wallets found in the trash miles away must have come from someone who happened by their open car and took it as a small crime of opportunity. Pura Vida! No real crime here, it might make bad press.
Break the Florida Ice and Farm monopoly? Hah – Amstel brewery realizes it has to play the game and pad the right palms. Why was there only 2 bidders for new cell phone towers when Costa Rica hoped for 10? The last foreign company to build cell phone towers had Costa Rica repossess them and give them to ICE. Even with the free trade agreement ICE will control the switches. Any disagreement and ICE will shut down the towers and the foreign company will lose untold millions as the court will keep on rescheduling so the judges can scratch their asses. Thanks for the investment fools!
You will stand in lines and not understand why a 2 minute transaction is taking 20 minutes. The Tico mind does not understand that if your employee makes you a gross of $2 a transaction, both the employee and employer will make more money if 30 of these transactions can be done in an hour instead of 3. The goal is to take the foreigners money and then frustrate them until they go away empty handed. The Tico mind views this as a better business model. They have been very successful at this and are a people that dislike change.
PS- You can buy a new scooter for $1300. I am pricing them now.

If you are planning on taking a break anyway, you can come down for 90 days a couple of times and see how it goes. I suggest renting a furnished apt, buying no vehicles, businesses or property and see how you like it.

Almost everyone spends way more thier first six months than they anticipate, primarily in booze and girls.

What it really costs varies greatly based on lifestyle and needs. Living on $1,200 a month is doable but you are not going to be a SL Rockstar anymore. Realistically I believe the minimum for most of us to live reasonably here and have some cash to play around is $2,000 a month. This certainly is not rockstar style but doable if you learn how to maximize your value.

_________________
BKTUNA/Boyd
I am never going home

There are a few that don't like anything negative posted about CR even if it's true (looking forward to ID's response to Mickymoose's informative and helpful post)
After many CR visits I next fell in lust with the Dom. Rep.'s cheap putas, friendly locals, expats and beautiful beaches, but beneath the surface it's very similar there (if not worse)- A country seemingly built on corruption, lies and thievery where Gringos with their guard down tend to get phucked over at every opportunity. Was reading on a board last night about one guy's "adventure" owning real estate there. Anyway in S. FL you can still make US wages, get cheap flights (you lucky bastard) to CR, DR, Colombia, etc.. plus have access to latina ******* and strippers, I'm guessing that's what USwam was hinting at. Nothing wrong with having the best of both worlds - live and make the good wages in the US then vacation when and where you want.

Like your presumptive conclusion that everything Mickeymoose wrote is true.

IMO it is loaded with so many inaccurate conclusions and innuendos that to answer each and everyone would not only require an inordinate amount of time but would bore the majority of the readers of this thread. It reminds of a political campaign "throw enough crap against the wall and some of it will stick"

The real question is if Costa Rica is the pit that Greengo and Mickeymoose paint it as why are they still here? Clearly there are paradises with available female companionship they can relocate to that are in their opinion far superior to CR. Greengo constantly refers to his buds who have moved on to Panama and found themselves free of the shackles of unhappiness they found in Costa Rica.

If I ever found myself so dissatisfied with a place and found it so fraught with the problems as they see in Costa Rica or any place I live...I'M OUT OF THERE!!!!

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

Irish Drifter,
I feel compelled to respond.
I never described Costa Rica as a pit. (As a place where theft is accepted, tolerated, and even condoned, yes, I do claim that).
I said I was happy here. It sure beats taking the subway to work surrounded all day by miserable people. If my conclusions are inaccurate, fine. But I feel that I gave factual information.
Facts – The company (Autopista del Sol) running the Pista to Caldera had their rights removed by Congress.
http://en.centralamericadata.com/en/art ... _Cancelled

– The Road was built with foreign money. The 77km highway will be financed with a US$230mn loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and Spain's Caja de Madrid. Autopistas del Sol is formed by Spanish companies FCC Construcción and Itinere Infraestructura, along with Portuguese company Soares da Costa Concessões and Costa Rica's Corporación M&S. (http://www.bnamericas.com/news/infrastr ... art_Jan_17)–
FCC has successfully built bridges, tunnels, airports, railroads, and highways throughout the globe http://www.fccco.es/Obras_singulares/Ce ... a=en_GB.do
Workers, engineers, architects, inspectors, construction companies, surveyors, government approval for design, etc, were almost all Costa Rican. The labor force and go between the foreign companies and Costa Rica was this Costa Rica company. Their website is now down. http://www.bnamericas.com/company-profi ... ,-M*S#nogo
Innuendo – Thanks for the money, road, kickbacks, hiring us, bribing our inspectors, we will now take the road back and keep the tolls.
Fact – French tourists missing – credit cards used after disappearance – vehicle rifled through – found off road- passports on jaco garbage- OIJ suspects drowning in 2 foot deep river – but no bodies found and no evidence of drowning such as removed clothes.
http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynew ... 051504.htm
Innuendo – Increasing Costa Rica violent crimes - OIJ hiding truth to protect tourist industry.
Fact
Infinito Gold invests millions with exploitation permit in hand.
http://www.infinitogold.com/s/Crucitas. ... tID=176864
$127 million invested. Delays of at least two more years expected after permit granted then removed! Company’s debt holders hope legal issues resolved.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/11/ ... 0720101111


Costa Rica halts gold mine after arias administration grants rights. http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynew ... 051504.htm
Innuendo – sorry about voiding the contract and the $127 million – we will need a bigger kickback or a costa rica company to keep all the profit.
Fact – only 2 companies submit bids to bring wireless telecommunications to Costa Rica. Costa Rica expected at least 10 bidders.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/ ... 0820101214
Fact – In 2000 Mallon oil invests, bids, wins rights for 20 years of oil exploration. 11 years later, No permit issued. Two letters sent in the past seven months by representatives of the U.S. company warned that Costa Rican officials would face “legal, economic and international consequences” if the 11-year-old exploration contract is not honored.
http://www.ticotimes.net/Business-Real- ... ne-10-2011
Innuendo- Speaks for itself.
Fact – 2004 - Costa Rica suspends international telecom companies from future bids. The decision comes on the heels of corruption scandals involving payoffs of government officials in exchange for contract awards. Foreign Companies are punished for paying bribes demanded by Costa Ricans. 2011 ICE still monopoly. The scandal exploded in October 2004 when former Costa Rican power and telecommunications director Jose Antonio Lobo was quoted by the Costa Rican daily La Nacion as saying that he and former Costa Rica president Rodriguez had received a $2.4 million bribe from Alcatel in 2001. Most of the bribery money never accounted for.
http://www.bnamericas.com/news/telecomm ... ,_Inavensa
Is there innuendo? Yes. Is it my opinion that Costa Rica likes to beg money for promises it never intends to fulfill. Yes. Did Costa Rica turn its back on Taiwan to receive pretty shiny things from China and promise China future exploitation rights? Yes. What I printed as fact was indeed fact. My opinion is that it all planned this way from top to bottom.

As I said.

IMO it is loaded with so many inaccurate conclusions and innuendos that to answer each and everyone would not only require an inordinate amount of time but would bore the majority of the readers of this thread. It reminds of a political campaign "throw enough crap against the wall and some of it will stick"

A small example.



The concession HAS NOT been cancelled.

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

And then a lot of us get stuck here because of economic considerations. It isn't terrible and I do enjoy living here, but would love to move on. Nothing has any logic really. Never have seen a smart law passed or a responsible interpretation of existing laws. It is a place with next to no efficiency. BUT, it beats sitting in traffic jams in the States. Personally, don't have any sentimental connection to anywhere.

I apologize.


Although the title of the Article is "Costa Rica: Road Concession to Spanish Company to be Canceled", it is indeed misleading and the contract has not yet been canceled and as of now it is possible it might not be. Even if the Commission recommends expropriation, I believe congressional approval is required.

The article assumes a done deal but it is not yet official.


The commission determining its fate is the same one that approved the design. - Según ellos, los diseños de la obra contaron con la aprobación del CNC.
According to La Nacion - 3 of the seven commission members wish to cancel the contract immediately and 4 seem to prefer a replacement mechanism be in place first.
Por lo pronto, el texto de mayoría, firmado por los representantes de Accesibilidad sin Exclusión, Unidad Socialcristiana y Acción Ciudadana, ofrece conclusiones sobre las responsabilidades de Autopistas del Sol en los defectos detectados a lo largo de la autopista a Caldera y pide a la Fiscalía investigar a los funcionarios públicos involucrados con la obra.

the things youre least likely to ever accept about yourself are the ones most apparent to everyone else... Great line, I will be quoting you shortly, lotta hotties taking public transportation and even more waiting for the bus in wet clothes while one cruises by on a scooter. Nicas are a tad more appreciative and understand the concept of gratitude, but one great thing about the ticas, if they have family, they are not really enamored with the move to the US.