www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Rolleratnight: I never expressed in my above thought, that wealth is either oppressive or repressive, I would love to be wealthy as it makes life much more simple and less stressful in most cases I am sure. I am just saying that eventually we will get bored with our wealth too and in the final analysis, our wealth will not comfort or prepare us when we all return to Mother Earth!

This has been a really good thread. I retire in 5 years but don't think I will permanently reside in CR. I think my ideal would be stay there for 3 months out of the year and then return to the USA. I also really like Sweden but not very cheap there. CR is an amazing place and I look forward to spending a few months vs my usual week. I will have to pick a few brains closer to my retirement date.

I've been living abroad my entire adult life. As soon as I was old enough to leave home I headed south. I ended up in Costa Rica on a vacation (from my vacation of a life) and decided that its not a bad place to hang my hat. My real satisfaction with the country came when I moved out of the gringo Escazu / Santa Ana area and to the East. Although I get my weekly dose of Gringo interaction going to watch sports on the weekend or at the golf course, I'm 100% happier being completely immersed in the culture, plus I literally spend half the money going to ferias and shopping and dining local. Once you immerse yourself in the country, take advantage of the local credit cards and you will save 50% on meals at quality restaurants when you want to dine out. Avoid the US chain restaurants as you will just be disappointed how they don't compare to the US versions (with a few exceptions like Chillis which is better than in the US and Moes) and are overpriced. Accustom yourself to the local cuisine. I'm a huge steak lover and thats a hard pill to swallow not easily being able to pick up a nice rib eye to grill, however if you find a good butcher you can get good tenderloins which are healthier also, so you have to adjust. Although I'm faithfully married now with a family, but its still nice to see pretty non-pretentious girls everywhere who are friendly and talkative. I've never taken any spanish lessons but again your enjoyment of the country is directly correlated to your level of spanish. If you speak spanish, avoid the Gringo traps and live in a non-Gringo area and learn the 'ins and outs' of the system here its hard not to have a great life. Like I said I've lived everywhere as I've travelled my whole life and from a climate perspective its impossible to beat the country. Where else can you live in eternal spring climates and then in an hour be at the beach in a totally different climate? Haters will always hate, but thats cause they either do not adapt or they have been burned bad. Be smart, keep your wits, don't take security for granted and lock everything down, don't get into long term relationships with hookers and enjoy your life.

The only problem with this is for most people that will limit them to a condo as you don't want to leave a house unoccupied for 9 months a year unless you have a full-time maid and/or security that you can trust. Condo living is not ideal in Costa Rica, I've lived in condo's for over 6 years in Costa Rica and despite them being some nicest condos in the country its just too windy to enjoy the outdoor space when over 3 or 4 stories up (terraces) particularly when you are visiting during the US winter which is the most windy time of the year in Costa Rica and earthquakes occur nearly every day which you don't feel in a house but most condos shake like a bitch, some very extreme and its unsettling even when you are use to it. Also most condo associations are run by retards and you overpay for normally terrible service. Sweden? Hot women but thats a polar opposite to Costa Rica LOL.

" I'm a huge steak lover and thats a hard pill to swallow not easily being able to pick up a nice rib eye to grill" -Samba Sam

OK, Samba, I'm going to do you a favor, I grew up in my family Italian restaurant-steakhouse here in the states and also was surprised at the mediocre quality of CR steaks, but I found the pork, bacon and chicken to generally be tastier.

Here's how you can compensate : Buy the best steak you can find. Beat the hell out of it. Marinade in enclosed Tupperware in fridge for minimum 48 hours, preferably 72 hours, in red wine (Italian Cabernet Sauvignon is best), your favorite spices, sea salt or kosher salt, onion and garlic if you wish, a little catsup (American, never use Costa Rican Catsup) and a little steak sauce (preferably Worcestershire) and (surprisingly) lettuce. You can substitute soy sauce for the salt if you wish or go 50/50.

I have no idea why the lettuce, but it was an old recipe from Italy my grandfather followed and it appears to work, we tried it without the lettuce and somehow it's not as good.

Grill or fry or broil high heat to sear in the juices, then cook at med high to your liking. It should be delicious. If not, drink the rest of the wine and you'll think it is....

_________________
Don't try to understand 'em, just rope 'em down and brand 'em...

i dont know if i could consider mine a success story but im happy here.
i moved here in 2011 after getting offered a job (IT). Since then i changed jobs,
moved twice and made friends. I cant really complain.

So yeah id say its definitaly possible to lead a good life here, it certainly
helps tho if the expectations are low. For me its really the weather and
the easy going of the people here that are winners.

7 months of working remotely from CR, no problems in this moment. More patience, more tranquil, lots of adjustments to be sure and definitely more jaded, but most of the time I keep it to myself. I like it here better and it was a knee jerk reaction for me in part but it was part of a longer term plan that just got implemented a little bit earlier. It works until it doesn't and I have multiple back up plans.

I don't live in Costa Rica, still have various obligations and need to be in the USA for the time being. However, I have been coming down to CR for many years now. The main things that I have noticed about the attitude here is the lack of promptness, the lack of desire to do more than a mediocre job, the "that's the way it is here" attitude, the general lack of planning for the future, and the "that would never work here because..." attitude.

I should state very clearly here that I am not only talking about Ticos. Gringos and indeed the majority of foreigners here seem to develop the same attitude very quickly. "That's the way it has always been done" is the general answer when you bring up a new concept. I have always been the kind of guy that looks for opportunity, and I have seen many unexploited business models that are commonplace throughout the world. But very few people ever challenge the status quo in CR.

The first couple of years I visited here, I generally trusted the people that I came to know and believe were level headed. However, there was still that prevalent attitude of "that just won't work in CR" with nothing other than strictly anecdotal evidence. After that first couple of years, I started to spread my wings and challenge that notion. I have been right up in the face of several Ticos and Gringos challenging them to take a dare (in a generally friendly-but-serious wager kind of way) that things can be done in CR that everyone says cannot. I only remember one or two people actually agreeing with me. The rest were pretty much convinced that I was crazy.

I am in no way bitter or angry about that. In fact, I have encouraged several people to continue to spread the rumor that I am a "Loco". Please tell everyone. My short trips to CR are far more profitable because I quite literally have zero competition. I have several ad-hoc businesses going, none of which are illegal, that are successful simply because everyone else believes "it can't be done in CR." I make more than enough money to pay for an entire 5-day trip -- including airfare , hotel, bar, food, and entertainment -- in the first day of my visit, or at the very worst, a couple hours of another day. And I am talking about over 100 visits, every time, without putting forth that much effort (I am, after all, here to party).

The very few people that I have met that have also noticed this paradox of CR culture have also done quite well. They also tell me stories of Ticos and Gringos who constantly remind them how "Loco" they are. I used to try to get others involved, primarily to get a business running steadily while I was in the USA, but the lack of belief and interest pretty much convinced me that I was wasting my time.

At any rate, as I mentioned above, the lack of interest and belief is a good thing, so instead of soliciting for help, I am pretty much keeping what I do and how I do it a secret. The benefits of no competition vs. pounding my head against the wall trying to convince others to think outside the box have convinced me I am headed down the right road. I can't wait to finish up some loose ends in the States and head down to CR in a couple of years. Should be able to work about 10 hours a week and live very nicely, keeping the retirement money available for my un-scholarship-able K*ds to get some Grade-A letterheads on their degrees.

So I leave you all with this thought: I am not trying to rub anything in or brag. I am just trying to say that all of this "That's the way it is here" is quite often rubbish. You might have to get innovative and attack problems from a different angle, but there are so many unexploited LEGAL opportunities in CR that you should be able to find something that you enjoy doing and make a killing at it.


Peace.

Baseball season is on the move, BTW

One of the reasons some of us moved south. Retired, tired and enjoying life because "that's the way it is here."

Absolutely 100% understand that statement. I feel the same way about my free/party/relax time. I am talking about an early retirement in CR where I spend about 5 hours a week doing actual work, another 5 a week sitting drunk in front of a computer, and the other 158 contemplating how cool it is to be living on 6 figures outside the USA with that amount of effort.

I was commenting on the thread of "success stories"

Ok, as long as we got the rules straight.

well success is quite subjective aint it?

Yep.

Agreed. I read the original post and it seemed to allude to the financial aspect of success. I may have misinterpreted that, but that is what led to my comment. Any open-minded entrepreneur can make a killing in CR. I have done very well just being in country an average of 9 days per month. However, to broaden the subject -- yes, success with women much hotter than I ever met in the states is outstanding. Had to change my phone number twice before I figured out how persistent they can be.