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A friend of mine that lives in Nica and spends a lot of time in C.R. wrote this in regards to me moving to C.R.: [i]”San Jose is the most dangerous city in Central America, first and fore most… All of Central America can be dangerous period… C. R. is much safer than some of the others due to the influx of tourist etc… As long as you are aware of yourself and your surroudings, you will be ok… Sorry, but you will have to leave the flash and bling at home, or only wear it out during the day in very touristy areas… The LAST thing you want to do is attract attention to yourself, and since you are already a beatutiful blonde, you will be attracting enough… Dont be surprised if you get mugged… Its kinda a part of life in C.A… Thats why its best not to wear much jewelry etc… I DONT wnat to scare you from living in C. R… You will indeed love it! Its just a different lifestyle in Central America” [/i]
I guess the last part of being mugged (and I’ve never been mugged before) raised the question of what I would do if this happens and what I should do afterwards? If someone takes my purse while I’m out in a market buying groceries; how am I getting home? Oh and I don’t speak Spanish… I assume that my car keys, my wallet and my cell phone would all be in my purse…I just don’t know if I should be mentally preparing myself for this type of incident. Knowing of course, that it could happen to me ANYWHERE, but here in the States I guess I just blend in more and I would really like to avoid it ever happening.
You will stand more chance of having your home broken into, than being ‘mugged’.
There are areas where you should not go alone or after dark, but this is something you will soon see and avoid, and use common sense. Follow your friends advice and leave the flash at home. At the beach areas, this still applies, as there are muggers there, too.
But even in the supermarket, just keep a hold on your purse but if someone tries to ‘yank’ it from you… let them take it.I think that’s good advice and would add to it that you might not want to carry any more money or other valuables than you’re prepared to lose. This is not to suggest, however, that you’re putting your welfare at stake every time you leave the house.
Carry a substantial purse with a shoulder strap and put that strap over your head. It’s much more difficult to grab. Then turn the flap inward and keep the zipper closed. That makes it much more difficult to “dip”.
And if confronted with an overwhelming force, throw the purse in one direction and run in the other. They want your stuff, not you.
I’m sorry but this is just bloody rubbish! Your “friend” who lives in Nicaragua is dead wrong.
San Jose is absolutely, definitely NOT anywhere near close to being the “the most dangerous city in Central America.”
From [ http://hondurasweekly.com/national/2479-honduras-posts-highest-murder-rate-in-central-america ]
“Honduras has the highest homicide rate in all of Central America. According to the document, Honduras registered 66.8 homicides per 100,000 people. In the first year of the Zelaya administration in 2006, Honduras posted the third highest homicide rate in the region, behind El Salvador and Guatemala, with 46.2 homicides per 100,000 people.”
From [ http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=634820 ]
“The murder rate in Latin America is 25.6 per 100,000 people, the study conducted by the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said Thursday.”
San Jose’s rate is only 11 per 100,000 people!
In ten years of living here, I have never been mugged and none of my family or friends have ever been mugged.
And by the way, I do live in San Jose and walk in San Jose every day and quite often at night.
and . . . never put your money all in one place. always have some cash, cel phone, and the car _eys (that letter of the alphabet is stuc on my computer! jeje) somewhere else. and forget the bling — especially in touristy areas where thieves lur_ to find their next victim. i would assume that there are more dangerous places in Central America than San Jose — maybe Tegicegulpa right now where they are shooting journalists on the street, but having said that, going out at night here has its own set of problems no matter where you are.
“Chances of being Mugged??”
Lets see now?
Perhaps if you pick a good time and place your chances will be great, pick a dark night in a very isolated area, perhaps by the coke cola main bus station in San Jose. Of course you should fill your pockets with dollars, you may want to have a couple hanging out of your pocket book so they can be seen. You should carry dollars as colonies take up too much room. And don’t forget to dress up like an ugly American. I would estimate your chances of being mugged at 79.75%. but then again I would say do the same in Charlotte NC and your chances are probably higher.Sorry I just couldn’t help myself 😆
[quote=”gzeniou”]”Chances of being Mugged??”
Lets see now?
Perhaps if you pick a good time and place your chances will be great, pick a dark night in a very isolated area, perhaps by the coke cola main bus station in San Jose. Of course you should fill your pockets with dollars, you may want to have a couple hanging out of your pocket book so they can be seen. You should carry dollars as colonies take up too much room. And don’t forget to dress up like an ugly American. I would estimate your chances of being mugged at 79.75%. but then again I would say do the same in Charlotte NC and your chances are probably higher.Sorry I just couldn’t help myself :lol:[/quote] Oh so I see that you got jokes…No worries, I can take a joke.
I appreciate your sense of humor; however, I’ve had money fall out of my purse and a stranger passing pick it up and hand it to me, but that probably happens there everyday, Right?.Honestly, I really feel much better than I did earlier. The truth is that having a forum such as this to be able to place concerns or questions and be able to get a response in the same day is quite nice from people that are actually living there is quite special.
Well to tell you the truth, more than likely you will never venture into the bad part of town. You will more than likely go to Escazu or areas like that.
San Jose is like any major city and you can get mugged. My mother in-law a tica has been mugged a couple of times but she is now approaching 70 years old. So if you look at the odds thru her whole life that isn’t bad. I think if you were like in Kansas city or New York you would have been mugged many more times that she would have been. You probably won’t be taking the bus, so that will also cut down on your chances. A couple of weeks ago my mother in-law was on a bus and seen a mugging going on and the bus driver would not stop.
I think your friend would also be a little more crazier for living in Nicaragua because that is a far more dangerous place than CR. Managua is by far more dangerous that San Jose, I know that the U.S. Embassy will also agree with that statement.
Again just be smart and you won’t have any problems, just like everyone has been saying don’t run around looking like Mr T and you will have less of a chance of being mugged.
Also leave the Jag in Miami and you won’t get car jacked!If Costa Rica is such a dangerous place to live then all I can say the world has attained “utopia” status!
I understand tat Kansas City was just used as an example. Born and raised here and never knew of anyone ever being mugged. Get in a bad area and YMMV.
Please see: [ https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/Deadly_Crimes_in_Costa_Rica_The_safest_country_in_Central_America.cfm ]
One of our VIP Members recently wrote that a very uninformed ‘friend’ told her that: “San Jose is the most dangerous city in Central America, first and fore most…” She added that: “Dont be surprised if you get mugged… Its kinda a part of life in Central America.”
To which I politely reply …
What a load of crap!
The numbers do vary a little depending on the source but no matter what statistics you look at, Costa Rica remains the safest country in all of Central America.
1. El Salvador has a homicide rate in 2009 of 76 per 100,000 inhabitants
2. Honduras has a homicide rate in 2009 of 66.8 per 100,000
3. Guatemala has a homicide rate in 2009 of 48 per 100,000
4. Panama has a homicide rate in 2009 of 24 per 100,000
5. Nicaragua has a homicide rate in 2009 of 13 per 100,000
6. Costa Rica has a homicide rate in 2009 of 11 per 100,000Don’t take my word for it though, there are many different sources where you can find this information so please take a look for yourself.
When you do, you’ll see that Costa Rica’s homicide rate is lower than the rate for a few major cities you might recognize like Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Columbus, Memphis, Baltimore, Washington DC, Atlanta, Kansas City, Cleveland, Miami, Oakland, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Newark, Buffalo and Mobile…
And do you think you will be singled out because you’re a Gringo living in Costa Rica?
How many US citizens were murdered in Costa Rica in 2009?
According to the Deaths of U.S. Citizens Abroad statistics compiled by the US Department of State, the answer is one person!
If you are genuinely fearful for your life in reading these statistics, don’t go to the mall, don’t go to a restaurant, don’t leave home! Lock all your doors and windows and stay exactly where you are! Please….
In over ten years of living here, I have never been mugged and none of my family have ever been mugged and yes! I walk in the city of San Jose practically every day and often at night.
I’m a Canadian, naturalized as a Costa Rican and have lived in the western suburbs of San Jose for the past twelve years. I have never been mugged, physically threatened, or had anything stolen from my person, or my residence, while living in Costa Rica. I have made it a point to understand where the bad neighbourhoods are and to avoid them. In my opinion, downtown San Jose, like any major city, is an area to be avoided, especially at night. These are just common sense understandings that any prudent person would seek to have knowledge of regardless of the city or country lived in. Always be aware of your surroundings and don’t lay yourself open for a problem.
Know yourself.
Miss O.
From what I read, my intuition tells me you are not ready for change.
Years ago, CR was full of adventures and characters. These people all though quirky, magnificent and risk takers, knew themselves.
Now those who have done the 9-5 thing their entire life and never taken much risk or the time to know themselves, the first step of personal development, are looking to CR to replicate their north American lifestyle.
You can either come here and integrate and assimilate with the Ticos: which will require you to understand the culture and do as the Romans do,
Or
You can try to replicate your North American lifestyle.
You can succeed or fail at either. So what you choose to do here does not matter as much as your ability to do it.
That ability has to do with your experience, mindset and commitment to reach your goal.
Do you have a goal? I think you probably do. But is it realistic. That is, is it realistic for you?
You won’t be able to answer that unless you take inventory of who you are by understanding and looking at what you have done over your life and then assessing if this transition to Central American living is feasible.
This forum is like going into a bar and talking to the bartender and the patrons for therapy.
You get what you pay for.
I have had some luck with bartender therapy, but when I have had big challenges in my life, the best money I ever spent was not in the bar but with professionals.
So, I would recommend you find a good consultant to speak with. Tell him your history, which will include your family and financial status and what you wish to accomplish by moving here. You may not know yourself what that is. This is where a good consultant can help by pulling out what you really want to do here. They have seen many peole come and leave so they will have a pretty good idea if you can make it and will open your yes to the realities of living here.
Don’t go to a real estate person that will only tell you the things he/she wants you to hear.
Considering this large lifestyle decision it would probably be the best money you ever spent.
So Miss O, is your goal something you really want? By reading your posts my gut says “no.” It seems like you really don’t know what you want to do here. If you did know, these concerns would not be relevant enough for you to question.
That is just me never-to-be-humble opinion LOL! Good luck!
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