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[quote=”davidd”][quote=”maravilla”]everything david said is absolutely true. this is not a welfare state where people can live like kings on a pauper’s income. and it does take discipline to not fall into the trap of living beyond one’s means. i went 7 years without a car, not because i couldn’t afford to buy one, but because i just didn’t want to get into that trap and then spending a fortune on gas because i stopped being organized about my shopping trips. even now, i only go to town 3 times a week because my budget for gas is $20 a week and i refuse to go over that unless it’s absolutely necessary. we eat well, live well, have everything we need and want, and i still save more each month than we spend. that was my goal, and i’m sticking to it. but i know others who can’t live well on any amount of money and that will do you in here.[/quote]
Maravilla
thats great that you stick to your goal which requires a certain discipline.
everyone has different $$ thresholds that would feel comfortable with but the key would be as my dad would also say to me ( I love you dad)
live below your means.
you can spend alot of money in this country and I have done both here.
you find your own balance of items and where you get them that will help you live comfortably
[/quote]
Absolutely…that is the best advice regardless of where you live. Live below you means but within your needs. It’s a simple concept that many cannot follow.
I overheard a couple of Americans talking in town recently about how one of the Ticos was telling one of them how the Americans have ruined it for everybody there (I am assuming it was in that particular town) driving the prices up on everything. I hope that wasn’t totally true. But it is a thought as more and more foreigners with more money to spend ‘invade’ the country and, little by little, will change the local economies.
Perfect example…went to b’fast one day because it was close. Because prices weren’t listed and it is a tourist bus stop, we were charged $10 for breakfast–as good as it was, that was insane and a one time only stop for us. We’ll stick with our quiet little place with tons of food for $3 each. A bakery in town (another tourist spot) had pastries nearly $3 a piece. Live and learn! We were later told, “Everyone gets ‘taken’ once there.” We later found the much cheaper (and better) place.
The most recent national census of Costa Rica revealed that there are some 15,000 expats living here other than Latin Americans (mostly Nicaraguans). That’s out of a total count of some 4.25 million.
Assuming that half the non-Latin American expats were missed, and that the actual number, including perpetual tourists, etc, is more like 30,000, that’s still a miniscule percentage of the total population — about 7/10 of one percent.
It doesn’t seem like that small part of any population could have much effect on retail prices generally. Maybe it could in a limited real estate market, like a gated subdivision, but in the larger economy it just doesn’t seem likely.
Costa Ricans commonly blame Nicaraguans for the crime that’s reported here whether that’s justified or not. I wonder if they find us expats an easy target, too.
[quote=”maravilla”]they don’t like us in the first place, so if they can blame us for anything, they will!![/quote]
David
your forgetting one of the most important influences
american companies that are here.
it’s no mistake that the new Black friday is slowly becoming a very popular trend.
american companies influences here big time and they are changing the culture here. especially with the young people. instead of a casado
now its bigs macs and wendys and subways, burger kings.. etc etc etc
look at the infiltration of walmart..
before walmart-pali had these strategic no frills large warehouses..
now they have these smaller palis that show up in commercial strips killing the small business
they also have now the maxi pali
they just want everything
here is the BIG MAC indes which shows prices of hamburgers around the world
interesting that prices are a little more expensive here than the U.S.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Big_Mac_index_50USD_2columns.png
these are all influences besides actual americans living here
which reflect increasing price
and along with the American companies they import bad spending habits, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. the US is hardly a good role model. i honestly do not know how anyone can eat at McDonalds. it’s not even meat they are serving you — only 15% of that patty is actual meat; the rest? who the hell knows? GMO soy fillers, and all kinds of other stuff you probably wouldn’t eat if you knew what they were.
[quote=”maravilla”] i honestly do not know how anyone can eat at McDonalds. [/quote]
What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
that stuff should be called Death on a Bun! however did people get to the point where they stopped eating real food in favor of food-like products? i look at the changes in costa rica in the last 8 years, and it’s really quite disturbing. i happened to catch a 2 minute segment of a cooking show on the TV at the bank the other day, and they were promoting Splenda, Numar, and Maggi — all really bad chemicals, but those are the corporate sponsors here. so of course, that is what people choose because they are led to believe they are good products when nothing could be farther from the truth. soon Costa Rica will be as fat as America where 65% of the population is overweight or obese. Poor CAJA!!
[quote=”maravilla”]they don’t like us in the first place, so if they can blame us for anything, they will!![/quote]
Is the “they” here Costa Ricans?? Where do you live?? Up here by the lake, everyone has been welcoming. Perhaps we just don’t act like gringos? In our first nine months, we have attended 3 local gatherings, 2 Tica baby showers, had dinner with locals in their homes….if they don’t like us, would that be happening? Are they pretending to be nice so they can rob us? OMG that must be it! Quick, lock the house!
Ok just a little hyperbole there. Once you get through all this ‘gringo’ ‘tico’ stuff, it is who you are, not where you are from.
[quote=”VictoriaLST”][quote=”maravilla”]they don’t like us in the first place, so if they can blame us for anything, they will!![/quote]
Is the “they” here Costa Ricans?? Where do you live?? Up here by the lake, everyone has been welcoming. Perhaps we just don’t act like gringos? In our first nine months, we have attended 3 local gatherings, 2 Tica baby showers, had dinner with locals in their homes….if they don’t like us, would that be happening? Are they pretending to be nice so they can rob us? OMG that must be it! Quick, lock the house!
Ok just a little hyperbole there. Once you get through all this ‘gringo’ ‘tico’ stuff, it is who you are, not where you are from.
[/quote]
Victoria
let me ask yo a question.
if you have never been robbed. would that mean there is no crime???
we all live in this bubble of life
which is a good thing by the way if it makes you happy and you pursue your passions
but being also aware of whats going on around is also good as this gives you the ability to make rational decisions.
your success in your interactions with ticos here are based on alot of factors. where you live, your ability to communicate in the language, your ability to re evaluate your assumptions and be open and friendly.
a whole bunch of nuances that you may not even be aware of or somone in similiar situations may not have those life experiences that enable them to adapt.
me personally. I don’t like people
and if I had my way I would avoid people since they are a big pain in then ass.
BUT
I also understand that nothing gets done without people SO I adapt and put on my happy “hey!!! how’s your coin collection”face on .:D:D:D:D
I don’t think Costa Rica is immune from the world economy. Price increase is a reflection of inflation, pure and simple.
Victoria, when we moved here, 12 years ago, we experienced very similar occurrences that you mention. And really enjoyed them…at that time, because you [i]really [/i]want to be accepted and fit in. As you get established, things will change as will you. I am not saying [i]’do not befriend the locals'[/i] as they are what makes your community what it is, nor am I saying ‘just make friends with expats’.
A few months ago, on another forum, I ‘read, copied and saved a post’ that was written by a Costa Rican, that I felt was ‘right on’ and want to share it.[i]”From my experience in dealing with newcomers another tip is to understand that not ALL Costa Ricans are the same, there is lower income class, a middle class an upper middle class and high income class, each one has different ways of seeing the world, different goals, different ambitions. It’s common for certain Americans to develop acquaintances especially with the lower income classes as they are generally more open to casual encounters and that develops relationships with people with different values and an even bigger gap, it’s important to note those differences to avoid generalizations, as it’s obvious CR is a developing country, I suggest to gradually immerse yourself in local culture, first mingle with people with higher education which can guide you better into bridging the gap and then once you understand how are culture works then you will ready to become a real Tico!!!
[/i]My thanks to the person who originally wrote this
[quote=”davidd”][quote=”VictoriaLST”][quote=”maravilla”]they don’t like us in the first place, so if they can blame us for anything, they will!![/quote]
[/quote]
Victoria
let me ask yo a question.
if you have never been robbed. would that mean there is no crime???
we all live in this bubble of life
which is a good thing by the way if it makes you happy and you pursue your passions
but being also aware of whats going on around is also good as this gives you the ability to make rational decisions.
your success in your interactions with ticos here are based on alot of factors. where you live, your ability to communicate in the language, your ability to re evaluate your assumptions and be open and friendly.
a whole bunch of nuances that you may not even be aware of or somone in similiar situations may not have those life experiences that enable them to adapt.
me personally. I don’t like people
and if I had my way I would avoid people since they are a big pain in then ass.
BUT
I also understand that nothing gets done without people SO I adapt and put on my happy “hey!!! how’s your coin collection”face on .:D:D:D:D
[/quote]
How sad. I do know some who don’t like people but they confide that only to their friends, but to tell total strangers? Maybe you would enjoy your life more if you tried to get to know people and realize we are all more alike than different.
I think we gravitate more toward people who share our values and are most like ourselves, regardless of whether they are American, Costa Rican, white, black, Catholic or Jewish, etc.
To put on a happy face just to keep peace with the neighbors sounds like a lot of work.
given what the US has done in Latin America in the last 80 years, why would anyone think they would welcome us with open arms? Memory is long in these countries and every Tico I have ever met has some awareness of the dastardly deeds committed on the isthmus in the name of greed and control. i live in the campo where we have more farmers than lawyers. but i have heard the same refrain since i set foot in this country: they tolerate us; they don’t particularly trust us; and they are nice to us because that is their nature, but it is a rarity that a gringo will be accepted into the inner circle of Tico life — esp if you don’t speak spanish. i am married to a Latin — none of the Ticos i know regard me as a typical gringa, and we have many Tico friends from all walks of life — rich influential politicos and poor dairy farmers — and they all say the same thing: they don’t really like gringos; they just put up with them, and they resent our attitude of entitlement and superiority. there are exceptions, but those are a rarity. and i’m with Davidd on the people issue: i’ve met some real dousies here in Costa Rica, people I didn’t even know could exist in my other world — liars, scammers, grifters, b.s. artists, and downright crooks. you only need to get burned by one of these creeps to have your faith in humanity tested to the limit.
Victoria
to put on a happy face is what I do all the time. I am a great neighbor. friendly BUT not familiar if you understand what I mean.
i am independent and never cross the line with people and respect them as I want to be respected.
you could be a homosexual, a sex addict a drunk a white black asian or even an [b]OBAMA lover[/b][size=200][/size] LOL :shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:
whatever is fine and I respect your space as long as you respect mine.
I find we as americans once we get a little friendly with people we expect them to be loyal friends and such and I have seen to many relational problems arise from this.
I often ask my wife what the neighbors think of me
and always the same
very serious. :D:D:D:D
which is fine this way no one starts to feel too comfortable in asking me for money or anything that I have to say no.
her family knows me to be the same.
I have a neigbor who is canadian couple. they have lived next to me for almost 2 years
we wave and say hi when we see each other but we don’t stop by for cookies and milk whenever the feeling arises.
one of them got into an accident.. and they called me.. and I dropped everything and took them to the hospital and stayed with them for 3 days until the felt comfortable going back.
I am the best person to know in your life and I would consider you extremely lucky to know me
why??
because in a moment of crisis I will be there. no words BUT action non of this silly small talk
action!!!!!
my word is my bond that is how I live
I often explain to my kids that I think it would be best in life if everyone could NOT speak
and we judged them by what they did not what they say
I am teaching mi kids to understand that words are only support for actions and to always keep an eye out for discrepancys between the 2.
for example. if I told my kids that don’t smoke its bad for you and such etc.. and here I am smoking.. their antenna should go up..
americans have mastered the art of bullshit!!!
oh yea I will be there tomorrow.. oh yea I will pay you back on monday, oh yea I will make sure this is taken care of and that is taken care of…oh yea..
it’s like the politicians..
here is a photo op that Mr O took with this woman.. I remember it so well.. because you actually have people that believe these ignorant bureaucrats
and I knew it was just that a photo op and knew nothing would ever get done. it’s examples like these that make me sick that I never have the sound on any longer just watch.
sorry for the ramble
[quote=”Scott”]The cost of living in Costa Rica is certainly a topic we’ve discussed at length here and I would encourage you to use the [url=https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/cfmbb/search.cfm]’Search’ engine here[/url] to see more threads.
The cost of living has increased everywhere – including in the US – and let’s not forget that the buying power of the US dollar has also declined quite dramatically..
My question is if expats can’t live on their income – and for the purpose of this conversation, we’ll assume that income is more than $1,000 per month as per residency requirements – how on earth do you think the average family in Costa Rica seems to survive quite healthily on half that amount?
Scott
[/quote]
Excellent point Scott!
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