www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Most of my comments relate to the night here in San Jose. I have lived here for almost two years. I'll give you some examples. I do not like to stop my car in front of an ATM machine after dark and remove money and walk back to my car. I always try to do this in the earlier hours of the day. All of my Tico friends seem to agree, as a matter of fact , they are the ones that got me out of the habit of using ATMs after dusk. Am I scared, No. It's simply lowering the risk of anything happening. Is this an inconvenience , No. As a matter of fact, its good because if the machine keeps my card, I can walk right into the bank and get it. And yes, I have had one ATM machine keep my card here before.

I have lived here for more than four years and as I previously posted I have no problem using ATM's, in the area I live in, at night. Am I cautious and check out my surroundings off course. I did that in Miami as well and would expect most people do that in the city they live in.

That hardly gives your earlier statement "In San Jose, everywhere is unsafe at night" any validity.

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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

This is good advice.

There are different precautions that you have to take in different places.

In LA and many other places they will come right up to you in your car while you are at a stoplight with a gun and carjack you.

Many car thieves in the US like to walk through gas stations, they look for people that are pumping gas and have left their key in the ignition. They just jump in and steal the car leaving you with the pump in your hands.

And of course I don't think anyone here has heard of any drive by shootings or sniper attacks or crazed gunmen walking into crowds of people here is San Jose. There is a lot of crazy shit that happen in the US and nowhere else and we just accept it as long as it does not effect us directly.

Over 200 Ch*ldren were shot dead in Chicago last year.

Living in San Jose is not that much different. There is a lot of stuff that I know happens. It doesn't effect me or the vast majority of others, so for the most part it is ignored.

I was unaware that Sabana is in San Jose. I thought they were two different places. How does your feeling safe in Sabana relate to feeling safe in San Jose.

Sabana, Pavas, Rohrmoser are all located in the city limits of San Jose, pay taxes to the municipality of San Jose, have their garbage collected by the city, etc. Do not confuse downtown as being the boundaries of the City. I gave you some examples of the western part of the city and I know Hatillo & San Sebastian are parts of San Jose in the south. There are some in the east and north section also but am not familiar with them. Like any city there is the core and the outer rings which make up the municipal boundaries.

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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

I said I would not post anymore on this topic, but I just had to throw this in for the guys that feel so safe in the states.

My daughter lives in Coral Springs, Fl. in an area of 1/2 million $+ homes. In the past 8 days within 3 blocks of her house there has been an armed robbery of a dry cleaners next to a walmart in the middle of the day; A women was pulled out of her car at a traffic light and raped; a jogger was robbed at knife point; and 3 cars were broken into after being rammed in the side with an old truck. Also, she is a teacher (3rd grade-8 yearolds) and one of her students stole her cell phone out of her purse along with $35.

Yep, it is really a lot worse here in San Jose

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

I think a lot of guys that come down here are just not used to spending a lot of time at night in an urban environment. On top of that, you add the fact that is a foreign country where they speak a language they do not understand. The discomfort is understandable.

There are very safe places in the US, primarily in Sub Urban and Rural areas.

There are very safe places in Costa Rica, primarily in Sub Urban and Rural areas.

There are more dangerous areas in both countries in parts of their major cities. Costa Rica only has one major city, San Jose. All in all it is probably less dangerous than most of the largest cities in the USA. Certainly much worse things happen to people in the USA than anywhere in Costa Rica. In the USA we have a lot more freaks, perverts and violent people in our society.

People that come from Sub Urban and Rural areas in the US are going to be a lot less safe in any major city than what they are normally used to, whether it is in San Jose or a US City.

It just so happens that for this group of guys in this group, San Jose is the city of choice. I think for those of us that are used to being in big US Cities at night, San Jose is not that big a deal.

And, thou I am not changing my position; as a friend pointed out, there is a lot of difference in me and a lot of guys that come here. I started going to Mexico in 1962, even had a condo there for several years, have been to Colombia many tines and a few other Latin countries.

Many of the guys coming here, have never been out of the USA before, have no concept of the differences in culture, costombres, and above all, the differences in normal living conditions. When they get here and see the lack of infrastructure, delapidated building, trash in the streets. very poor people, and the high number of beggers anf street vendors, I am sure that the first few times they are here it is like leaving their small, safe little world, and stepping into a war zone or another planet.

My complaint is not with these people, and I know that guys that live here and feel the need to report every crime have good intentions and are just trying to warn the newbee.

But, as some are doing, I feel we should be spending more time making sure that newbees know there is a very real possabillity of danger, there is crime in the streets just as in any big city, and making sure they are aware of what they should do and not do, and how they should act when in the streets.But I do not feel we should be news reporters. IMHO

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

opps