www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Behind you (not literally ) on that one Psychman. San Jose is NOT as safe as most major cities of the USA. The police are nowhere to be seen most nights downtown...unless they are putting on drunk driving road blocks that they learned from their american counterparts. Thats why we had a recent thread on hiring private security between the Delrey and Presidente...since many robberies take place in that block on a weekly basis.

Summary...if you havent lived there, dont present yourself as an authority on whats safe or not. Walk downtown San Jose at your own risk. This topic and message must be getting stale on this board...

None of us are Costa Rican police. As far as Im concerned, whether we live there or not, were all putting our OPINION on how bad it really is.

Im not saying SJO isnt dangerous, Im saying its not as dangerous as most US cities, and that alot of people on here are blowing it out or proportion.

People are now paranoid to walk from the DR to the Presidente, because 1-2 guys on here have been robbed? Look what they were carrying for money/valuables! Id rob them as well!

And even the police do not know the actual prevelence of crime in San Jose. First, it is not like the good ol' USA where victims are easily assisted, even for locals. Second, Latin American countries have long histories of underreporting crime; high crime states is bad for international investment. Three, it has not been one or two people mugged, it has been many. Four, noone is advocating paranoia, just being smart. Five, I agree it is most likely not as dangerous as many parts of North American cities, but again, you miss the point that criminals DO target the gulch. Six, the opinion of someone like T-man, and others who have been in San Jose a long time, hold a great deal more weight than someone who has been to San Jose, or Central America, one time.

Again, the whole point here is to provide responsible information to help each other out....Most experince mongers agree, take cabs at night, and watch your back...that is not paranoid, it is just wise..oh, and it will cost a few more bucks a day....that is all...

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I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

And thats what I'm saying Jmac...you obviously DONT know. So why carry on the discussion or try to defend how SAFE San Jose is compared to MOST USA cities? It just doesnt fly...

And your last line comment...well, its just not worth responding to.

Ok. So, let me get this straight. In other words...... (per your own words)
If you know that I've got some money in my pockets, and I'm wearing a gold necklace, you'd rob me ?!????!??

You better pack a lunch !!!

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You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

Pychman is exactly right in his comments on how dangerous San Jose is at night.

Getting back to apts I had a friend who stayed at apt Lakshmi in San pedro and it not monger friendly. The owner is a gringa and she told him no girls are allowed. No smoking either. They are new and clean but sparsly furnished. A big deposit also.

A better option ia place called Los Laureles in the Sabanilla area. www.loslaurelescr.com The rooms ( a few have small frig and hot plate ) are around 250 $ month and the apt around 400$. Good construction and furnishings. Good neighborhood but a 20 min bus ride or 5$ taxi to the gulch. No window in the bedroom of the apts. But the owner is a Tica and bringing all the girls you want home is no problem.

This is a good example of how the gringo and Tico cultures differ on what is normal behavior for a man.

The gringa thinks it is sick and abnormal to bring the girls home

The Tica thinks it is healthy and normal behavior in a man to do so.

I'll take the Tico culture on this one.

Jmac .. for the good of the board ...on your next trip wonder around alone downtown late at night .... and report back. That is the only way to PROVE you are right.

J-Mack will be fine. Don't you remember his heroic tale of disarming a pistol-wielding bandito in the Gulch? Besides, the bright yellow sneakers with red shoelaces are definitely a ladron deterrent. And I agree with J-Mack on one point; let's stop making an issue of his age. Seriously. He's an adult, albeit a Canadian one with a couple trips under his belt. No need to be hostile simply because he's still a young 'un.

And J-Mack.... I'll be carrying several hundred colones the next time I'm in San Jose, so if you want to try and rob me, bring it on. Note I said, "several hundred colones..."

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

As I stated to JMAC in private, refering to his age was actaully giving him the benefit of the doubt. I was HOPING to explain away the comment by youthful, shall we say, exuberance..Since he has insisted that this comment is not based on development, well, let me say I have a whole new opinion

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I said hey baby, take a walk on the wild side.
Lou Reed

EC My friend rented an apt at Lakshmi in Dec05

The owner is a gringa who is married to a guy from argentina. They both are yoga instructors thus the name. They said they constructed the place from the beginning. Most of the people there are young american students.

My friend brought a classy Tica exnovia with him otherwise the gringa said she would not have rented to him. She is very suspicious of older gringos. My friend brought home Ticas late at night anyway.

The name is so unusual we must be talking about the same place. It is in San pedro near the outlet mall.

Anyway Los Laureles is a better deal and all the chicas you want.

Thanks for the correct info, X man. Yes, we are absolutely talking about the same place. Thanks for the recommendation about Los Laureles; it sounds like a much better deal for all the right reasons.

I did the apartment thing last year at the Sudamer and liked it very much; I think an apartment is a great option, if one is going to spend at least two weeks in San Jose. For me, the hotel is a more suitable residence. I enjoy and sometimes need the higher level of service at an hotel, so I'll be at the SL and Casa Vino for my coming trip in late August.

Back to the security issue: While it's tempting to be a hard-ass and state publically that an armed gringo is no match for local thieves, I think anyone who would say that is either deluded, clueless or has a death wish. Yes, Troy Boy got robbed of $600.00, but it's doubtful that the thieves who actually struck him with machetes knew how much he was carrying. In Dongordo's case, he was displaying no obvious signs of wealth other than the gringo-style fanny pack. As I understand it, Zigmonger was flashing a bit of bling-bling (a gold necklace).

The point is that whether or not one is well dressed, showing obvious wealth or not, we are all obviously gringos and therefore targets. The police are undermanned and seem nearly incompetent to deal with street crime. My strongest advice to any newbie or rookie reading this thread is to not take unnecessary chances. Take cabs at night or travel in groups of four or more. Don't walk alone. Don't take shortcuts through any of the city parks. Don't wear any jewelry at all. Use extreme caution at ATM's or when making purchases. Divide your cash into multiple locations on your person, and only carry the minimum amount of cash you think you'll need. Avoid poorly lit places or vacant streets. Don't talk to strangers. Etc. Etc.

While J-Mack's point about San Jose being no worse than the roughest areas of many U.S. cities, the dangers are still there, and gringos are favorite targets. As the Sarge said on "Hill Street Blues,"

"Let's be careful out there." :!

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Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

Jmac is back. I just popped some corn. What a show....

The best approach to thieves in San Jose is very simple. Carry a minimum of money, only what you need at the time.No credit cards particularly at night and display minumum signs of having a chance of anything of value on your person.Anouther word of caution is be on high allert on Sundays with many less people out which is when Don Gordos incident occured at the Vista Linda bus stop by the apartments in the evening. I have talked to people who have been robbed all over San Jose( many on Sunday) and am one of the group but fortunately I only had about $50 on me at the time. It can happen just about anyhwere and you could be at higher risk in the gulch these days as compared to somewhere else.
Back to the topic at hand on the apartment in question , it is no where close to Vista Linda apartments but happens to be close to where the bus from there stops in San Jose, also about 4 or 5 blocks form the Del Rey. rbc100

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In Search of Fine Kittens,
Please... Bring back the Muff

I agree that we always need to be careful and vigilant, but I agree that I had rather walk the worst parts of SJ than Chicago, LA, NY, or any mid level city in the US. But as cheap as taxis are, why not be safe.

No, I wouldnt rob anyone. What I was trying to say was, why bring so much attention to yourself when you really dont need to?

Anyways Im done

The crappy parts of San Jose are nothing to scoff at. Limit your cash and keep your distance from strangers at night.