www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I have done a few searches and not really found out the information I am looking for. With that in mind:

Many of us just visit CR and either monger or enjoy the rest of what the country has to offer. To each his/her own.
I have been to CR 20+ times for mongering and sight seeing, mostly sight seeing and have enjoyed both. Mostly the sight seeing although the mongering is fun too. ( I won't get into the novia thing here. YOUR WELCOME. )

My question is:
What have the residents of CR, whether native or transplanted, seen as the major differences between visiting and living in CR ??

Maybe this should be moved to another area but I thought I would post it here first.

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Patriot: Ice Road Trucking through the Bearing Sea to recovery

I speak from experience of living down here much more than visiting, since I moved down (experimentally) after my first trip. I will speak for myself and regarding others I have seen.

One thing (good) that happens is that you realize that there's always tomorrow (night?) and always another girl. Unless you are the type that gets fixated on one particular girl, you will come to realize that no single girl or experience is any big deal, no girl is irreplaceable.

You will find out that San Jose is a pretty dull town except for the girls.

You will find out if you have an alcohol problem or another substance problem (assuming you aren't in denial)

You will become suspicious of everyone you meet, Tico and Gringo alike.

You will find out if you have a gambling problem.

You will start to think of 60 degrees as pretty darn cold.

You will become 'friends' with prostitutes, beggars and thieves.

You will learn to accept or resent that things are different here.

You will get tired of all the egotistical, loud-mouthed, know-it-all Gringos you meet, unless of course you ARE one. In which case you'll find lots of simpatico amigos in the local bars.

If you are like me, you will miss good Mexican food.

You will miss feeling safe outside of your home at night.

You will miss not having to lock things up constantly.

You will miss walkable sidewalks and drivable roads.

You will wonder why gringos with ugly legs insist on wearing shorts.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Having said all that, I have no plans at all to live in the USA again. I am here because my expenses are lower and my social calendar runneth over.

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

Bilko, that was a good dose of reality.

_________________
Providing humanitarian assistance to self employed chicas, one cash grant at a time.

You start taking things for granted...like the weather and the fact that women in Latin America dress like that all the time.

You realize that a car is a necessity.

You find out about great deals like the Sunday "Feria" in Zapote where you can buy a shopping cart of fresh fruits and vegetables for around $20.

You rapidly lose the now-now-now Americano mindset in favor of manana-manana, Pura Vida.

_________________
"Your love gives me such a thrill
but your love don't pay my bills,
I NEED THE MONEY!" - John Lee Hooker

Disclaimer: The above is merely the opinion of the author unless specific scientific data is included.
Your mileage may vary. https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... 978#206978

Agree with you on that and most residents I know own a car but the prevailing sense on CRT seems to be not to own a car. Not sure they would hold to that view if they owned a car for a couple of months. Personally would never be without one if I could help it.

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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

A usual, Bilko nails a lot of my sentiment.

I am definitely in the do not need a car camp

After three years I still own nothing here except my business and intend to keep it that way.

I do not go out and party or chase girls more than once a week or so, but am continually comforted by the fact that it is there almost 24/7 when I choose to do so.

I would re/emphasize that if you have a drug, alcohol or gambling problem or tendencies it will in all likelihood get worse here. They are all cheaper and more readily available. Also for many on this forum the girls become a similar addiction.


I have settled into a business I enjoy, several close friends and many acquaintances and still love the weather and women. Like all places there is good and bad here and you have to find your own comfort zone.


BKTUNA
I am never going home

Living in CR is like living in a bizarre land where people do things that don't make sense and you are continuously blocked from doing things in any sensible way.

Don't let that discourage you, though... just learn to live with it. As we say here, "Muy Tico".

Apart from what Bilko has to say (and I largely agree with him):

Food choices, both in restaurants and stores is limited. You will not find all the brands you are used to (in fact, you might only find a tiny percentage of them). You will have a hard or impossible time finding a decent chicago or new york style pizza, much less a fantastic one.

You will find 10 Italian restaurants for every non-Italian restaurant. You will find it hard to get good beef.

On the positive side, healthcare is cheap. I am in good health, and I find I can get by with just catastrophic health insurance. Going to the doctor for routine stuff is cheaper than the co-pays at most clinics in the states WITH insurance.

If you want to improve your spanish, it's a great place to be.

If you want to be near beaches, then you're only a 2 hour drive...

I would say that the greatest difference is organization and order.

Many businesses here have been so long without competition that they have not improved. The publically owned organizations, like public service monopolies most anywhere, don’t really give a sh*t because there is no motivation for them to do so. There is no alternative, no competition.

With the advent of TLC (CAFTA) the government monopolies such as ICE (electricity and telecommunications monopoly) and INS (insurance monopoly) have both been struggling to:

1.) To improve services just enough in case they are not able to accomplish item number two which is to,

2.) Stop implementation of CAFTA and any semblance of competition.

The other issue is order.

You will find the way they drive to be chaotic and maddening.

You may stop so as not to clog the intersection, and if you do, some little greasy haired puke in a battered old smoke belching Hyundai will fill in the gap and block all traffic.

You may put in flowers or a low rise rock wall to decorate your home and during the night some asshole will steal the flowers and the rocks then rape your dog.

You and I may think that justice and fairness demand one thing but the law states something totally the opposite; it says something that is unjust on the face of it and unfair by any reasonable standard of jurisprudence is the law.

You must enjoy standing in line and waiting for even the most rudimentary services.

You must enjoy rude and indifferent service.

You must enjoy bureaucratic complexities and irrational systems.

You must enjoy paying more for less.

Despite all the BS, it will grow on you and you will learn to like it here.

I've been here for about 3 years now and I AM NOT RETIRED... which makes a large difference.

Negative things:

1. You "might" get sick and tired of the gulch. I loved the place and just got tired of being fondled, getting smashed out of my skull, and gawking over prostitutes. The more time I spend away from the Gulch the happier I am. Having sex with them is like pumping money into slot machine. Most of the time, its a waste, you can do better looking for sex in other ways.

2. Like many have said you will get tired of annoying, know it all, gringo tourists, who think they are subject matter experts in all matters of life and LOUDLY want to talk about it. You will find the same types living here as well, and they just as annoying.

3. You need to become VERY SUSPICIOUS of everyone you meet. Especially gringos!!!! They are many, many bad ones down here. Lots of scammers and con artists. If anything sounds too good to be true, RUN FROM IT. If you want to get rid of someone you don't like, LOAN HIM MONEY. You will never see him again. If you are a con artists, beware, you will have lots of competition and may even find yourself getting conned, by a con!!!

4. Many gringos are just down and out. Busted. Hopelessly alcoholic and completely broke. They will sneak drinks on your tabs. What amazes me are the gringos that come down with ZERO PLAN. They are so blinded they just assume that they will find a beautiful girlfriend and a way to make money. Like I said... if you get tired of any one of them, just loan them $50.

5. You will miss walking at night leisurely, instead of running or moving fastly and quickly, from safe place to safe place. You will miss well maintained sidewalks. You will get even more tired of beggars and street scum.

6. You will learn the statement that "Costa Rica is paradise" is paradoxical. Many gringos down here, appear to be trapped in a "living hell." If its not obvious, because they are drinking away a bad case of the shakes in the morning. You may seem in a really bad situation with their novia. You can always see it in their eyes.


Positive:

1. Lots of hot pu*sy. Everywhere!!! Girls tend to be less fat, better in bed and MUCH easier to pickup.

2. If you are the type that enjoys doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Its easy down here. You can burn a day doing ZERO and be comfortable knowing you are not missing a thing. I honestly have learned to spend one day a week DOING NOTHING, but relaxing. I never could come anywhere near this in the states.

3. You will have LOTS MORE FREE TIME. It will be time to try something different in life. Whether you decide to get into shape, quit smoking or even quit drinking, you got LOTS OF TIME for self improvement. Unfortunately, lots of gringos down here, spend more time on "self UN-improvement." I have reinvigorated several hobbies. I myself have gotten more into hiking and nature walks. I live next to some great mountain hikes , which really reinvigorates the soul.

4. STUDY AND PRACTICE SPANISH EVERYDAY. I have several books and a stack of 1,000 vocab cards. I probably know 3x as many words now, as are in the stack of 1,000. I'm past all the tenses and now work on irregular verb tenses, dichos or expressions, and my horrible accent. I can read the paper without a dictionary and understand 95%. I can watch the news without a translator (my gf) and understand 80%. I can have a conversation with someone and understand 99%, because I can ask them to repeat something slower or ask what a word means or ask for them to say something differently.

5. I can watch the sunset every day over the mountains. I never could see the sun set in Chicago, as building were in the way and if there were no buildings, there wouldn't be much to see anyway. I also can see LOTS OF STARS at night. In the Windy City, the sky was always a hazy pink color at night, which is a reflection of the city luminosity in the atmosphere.

6. I have become an early morning person. When I first moved down, I couldn't wake up earlier than 1 PM, because I probably just passed out at 6 AM. Even when its raining for days on end, there is usually some sun in the morning, until heat and humidity buildup and dump in the afternoon.


Son mis dos pesos.

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http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.

I trust this "OK" with Admin 1:

Here is another forum which addresses life in CR AND obtaining all the necessary documents: (as in real life experiences....)

http://www.infocostarica.com/cgi-bin/forum/Ultimate.cgi

_________________
"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

Greengo, we're proud of you. That is the most coherent post you've made in a long time. Your words make sense and they flow like the teacher taught us to make complete sentences.

Perhaps that's really the statement about life in CR. After a while we all get tired of the drugs and alchohol and settle into a more relaxed self preserving life style. ...... Nah.....at least not yet!

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Slut Puppy in Training

Is low self esteem a prerequisite for being a good Ho or is it a result? ;-)

Yeah Yeah Yeah And why are you getting up SO EARLY in the MORNING NOW???? Sorry!!! Fess up!!! No more BS!!!!

_________________
Why settle for just one woman when you can enjoy them all?

I've been getting early morning erections, which my female counterpart has been batting down, using ancient techniques inherited from the Bri Bri indian tribes near Panama.

_________________
http://TipsCostaRica.com for pratical advice on living in Costa Rica.
In order to write about life, first you must live it! - E. Hemingway.

I agree with Bilko...right on

PIDD