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Dockers…
Firstly you have no idea whether I could afford to live in California… I said I wouldn’t not couldn’t!
you made some valid points about what’s not right in Costa Rica, however you are comparing a third world country to the US. Hardly a fair comparison.
You mentioned the Mortgage crisis… who’s to blame for that? From what I see it’s big business running rampant doing whatever they want to because GWB is too busy making money himself to regulate the system. Where did you find the 0.5% of GDP figures from? It would be interesting to see your source of that. I don’t have figures to disprove it, but claiming such things should be backed up by facts (or where to find them).
The US fiscal policy (is there one?) under the Republicans just helps big business and not the majority of Americans.
In your seclusion of the Bay area have you not noticed that New Orleans is still waiting for infrastructure to be repaired from Katrina, whilst 60 billion dollars is spent rebuilding Iraq.
You mentioned earlier that your house was worth 1.6 million so you have money… or are you mortgaged to the hilt like most Americans… henceforth the mortgage crisis!
As far as I can determine real estate (built to NA standards) is not necessarily being lowered in price… just there are fewer buyers slowing the market in some regions.
Given the choice, which I do have, I would pick Costa Rica over anywhere in the US… because I can. It suits my requirements therefore it will be where I go when I retire.
My Choice for my own reasons
ttfn
Enduro
enduro, i know i’m not comparing apples to apples so let’s just say that goes both ways. people who move to costa rica shouldn’t be slamming the USA as if they moved to paradise.
i read the 0.5% figure somewhere on the web in a news article. the article compared WWII to gdp and iraq to gdp. WWII was 10% of GDP. i’m a news junkie so with the amount of stuff i read, hard to tell where i read it. it did come from the mainstream press so take it for what it is worth.
about NOLA, the issue there is a lot deeper than you make it out to be. the place is sinking, it has sunk. i just listened to an NPR piece on NOLA. the local gov’t is letting people build at ground level, but if they do, insurance it very high. if they build above ground level, it is very costly. that cost should not the responsibility of the gov’t especially for house at ground level. FEMA went through neighborhoods in NOLA and painted lines on trees indicating at what level to build next, of the few who have rebuilt, some have built below, some above. it is all about what they can afford. the gov’t should be responsible for infrastructure only. at the moment, they really don’t need to be in a big hurry with infrastructure considering few who own the lots have the capital to rebuild. the lots aren’t easy to sell either. do you want to spend for starters $40,000 just so your house is above water when the next cane comes? do you want to spend so much money on a nice home when you have no idea what the home next to you is going to look like? like i said, the local gov’t is letting people build anything they like. do you want to live in a neighbor where some homes are 12 feet from the ground and the next door home is on the ground? far more complicated than your few sentences, with all due respect. i have no idea why anyone would build anything there. if it were me, i’d fill the low spots with water and then build casinos or whatever on the waterfront. some new thinking needs to be including in redevelopment, however it seems people just want to stick with old ideas. it makes no sense at all to build levies which need to be maintained year after year, with the fed’s money (our taxes) when all at the same time the tax base in NOLA is very very low. levies aren’t like toll bridges, they just keep eating federal dollars.
my house here in SF is valued at 1.6m, but i’ll leave out the financial details since you have no reason to believe anything i say. i will say this, i’m 46 and i’ve owned the home for 12 years and i’ve never put a second on the home. i’m a fiscal conservative and vote repub purely for that reason, not for any social reasons.
the mortgage mess is the feds fought, with the treasury’s back door okay. the fed could have stopped printing money since the fed doesn’t answer to any party. i dont’ know why greenspan allowed such a policy. most of this stuff is a result of greenspan initially – he provided the juice. after the juice was provided, bundling this crap into securities was the next mistake. it is complicated. i blame a lot of people and not GWB alone. all these other people have careers to attend to after a president leaves office so many of the players could have adopted a different policy for the sake of their integrity and career… i’m not sure why they didn’t…. maybe because they knew the mess would be too big to put on anyone in particular. like i said, i can’t blame GW alone… everyone talks about how dumb GW is, but they credit him as the mastermind of so much at the same time…. weird!
enduro said: “As far as I can determine real estate (built to NA standards) is not necessarily being lowered in price… just there are fewer buyers slowing the market in some regions.” i’m starting to believe this a little. if they aren’t mortgaged as much in CR and aren’t in any hurry to leave, it could be that people are just hanging onto their existing home and so only new develop is available so since few new homes are on the market, maybe it prevents any evidence of a downturn. that is just a guess. maybe there are vastly different forces at play in Costa Rica. even with that said, i’d still be scared to “invest” until the US market has stabilized.
costa rica is not a bad choice for retirement if that is the “experience” you want for yourself.
So——as I read your response, you are not in favor of US citizens (I have this pet peave with the use of the word “American” to describe US citizens exclusively— given there are a great many nations within the Americas, the useage seems a bit oblivious and overbearing) exercising their rights of free speech.
As to where folks choose to live and why, these are personal choices; I’ve previouly stated mine in this thread, one prime consideration is the high quality and low cost of healthcare—-and in a country where socialized medical care is the norm!!! Well, the US beginning with Nixon has jacked it to us good folks on behalf of the corporate insurance interests, profit over the health and well being of the taxpayers.
And finally, Scott provides a service that many find value in, and he should profit for his efforts—shouldn’t he? That’s capitalism—-as you might say–“The American Way”
Still didn’t answer my question—-
ed fAnd explain to me ‘how’ far overpriced could it have been if someone just purchased it?
From an investment standpoint, its quite frankly a ridiculous investment. Let’s see, for a $415k house that at most could be rented out for probably $1500, then you factor in vacancy, ‘oy caramba. Any decent investor does not even need to put in these numbers in a spreadsheet to see its an awful ROI (return on investment). HOWEVER, if you are buying it not as an investment, then anyone can pay to their heart’s desire.
Surely we could only call “far overpriced” if nobody wanted to buy it at that price? Because we know that the buyers OBVIOUSLY didn’t feel it was overpriced.
Have we not learned anything from the real estate crash currently happening in the US? Hoards of people even lining up early in the morning for a chance to buy a house in new developments. OBVIOUSLY they didn’t feel that it was overpriced, now we see the same properties being auctioned off for less than half price. Public sentiment means nothing when you do valuation on anything. Its all about numbers, return on investment is key.
I am not saying all real estate here is overpriced, some are – some probably not. But the one you posted is way overpriced, at least to me and how I valuate RE investment.
marv said: europeans don’t typically toss their elder relatives into a nursing home to waste away and die, now, do they? in europe there are multi-generational families even today.
this is a lie. you are behind the times. and this is beside the point, you were not raised in europe. more likely your grandparents did want to throw your parents out. i guess your parents were too poor to live on their own… so sorry.
marv said: europeans don’t typically toss their elder relatives into a nursing home to waste away and die, now, do they? in europe there are multi-generational families even today.
this is a lie. you are behind the times. and this is beside the point, you were not raised in europe. more likely your grandparents did want to throw your parents out. i guess your parents were too poor to live on their own… so sorry.
i will say this, i’m 46 and i’ve owned the home for 12 years and i’ve never put a second on the home. i’m a fiscal conservative and vote repub purely for that reason, not for any social reasons.
First of all, if you call the last eight years fiscally responsible/conservative then you are insanely blinded by your party affiliation. I’m a centrist, don’t like both parties, BUT I just hate it when people simply vote blindly just because they believe in the party (whether DEM or GOP). Its very unamerican quite frankly. I’m also from the Bay Area, where we definitely have more people with degrees than a thermometer. Use your head and decide for yourself, not your party.
For Maravilla, I always have a hard time when people bash the US. The same people that takes advantage of everything it has to offer, and then bites the hand that fed them. Ask yourself this, would you have even been able to apply for that residency had you not worked in the US? I doubt you could have saved that $60k working here in Costa Rica.
I enjoy a good laugh….
Traffic….who is it that comes to Costa Rica to live in down San Jose?
Taxes…. an extra $100 spent on a computer or TV every 5 years beats the heck out of $10,000/yr in real estate taxes. Not to mention all the OTHER taxes you pay in the US…. do I HAVE to list them for you?
Illegal aliens… In the states (and in California) the problems is SO big it’s bringing down the state budget. Wake up my friend.
Budget Deficit… so California has NO debt? You better check on that…. and remember… CR has less of a deficit than California… Arnold is working OVERTIME to figure his way out of the projected deficit…. my guess… THOSE TAXES are headed up again!
Smog…. if buses and trucks are so cleaning running in California… why the smog?
As for your experiences in CR with Stay dogs and slutty hookers… perhaps you were looking in the wrong places… up here in Arenal… we don’t see those problems…
As or the wall… don’t have one… it would block my view!
ibarnon, i agree with you, the last eight have been awful. but i can’t be a dem, because i believe they are more about enabling people to do nothing. amazing that JFK said ‘ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” it seems the dems are all about the opposite of that. YMMV so don’t bite my head off, we are all different and do things for different reasons. also, i find little reason to get involved with one of those other minority parties. i don’t think it is a far stretch to think that GW and the dems had a back door deal going since 9/11… the dems complain about the war spending and GW doesn’t cry over what the dems put in the budget. since 9/11, they have complained about the budget, but mostly over war spending, nothing else in a major way that i can remember. since 9/11 it hasn’t been difficult to pass a budget… makes one wonder. i am not saying it is true, just an idea since one really never knows.
i don’t get upset over politics, because i never focus entirely on the short term. i think about the last 30 years and how we go too far to the left, then back to middle and then too far right… this happens over and over again…. zig zagging over the middle. over time we stay pretty much in the middle, but the middle does change. for example, 20 years ago, dems would have been the only party to support gay people, but today, even though the repub aren’t 100% on board, they are not completely negative either. 40 years ago neither party would have stuck their neck out for any gay people. don’t take my numbers as concrete, just an example.
about marv, didn’t you read! geeze! she could be living off a trust from europe. now, where is that ‘rolling-eyes’ icon?
imxploring, oh me, oh my… my point wasn’t want you don’t SEE because of where you live, my point was that costa rica has these problems. sorry you have to isolate yourself so you don’t see the problems down there. i can go pretty much any place in SF and it isn’t a sight for sore eyes.
i didn’t say we didn’t have debt, i said we pay our debts.
my property tax is not 10,000 a year. but hey, our infrastructure is 1000 times better. like ed f said, can’t compare. we don’t have any wooden plank bridges with missing planks that large buses have to ride over anywhere in California either.
that smog is because we are a rich nation so EVERYONE has a car! how many cars per person in Costa Rican? i don’t know and you don’t know, but certainly not as many as here.
extra 100 on a TV or a computer, fair enough. but even so, you have to put up with the potholes, the litter…. on and on and on. it is only “beautiful” in costa rica from a balcony over looking the valley… you won’t say beautiful when you are on the street, at least i hope you don’t call that beautiful. besides security, what are all those gated communities with their pretty sidewalks and driveways for, to give you that back home feeling/standard because outside the gate is a mess? if it is so good outside the gate, why the gates? you get what you pay for, if that standard is good for you, that is your choice. i like what my taxes provide. i don’t have to isolate myself in a gated community and i’m glad i don’t have to.
Arnold is working overtime, that is called democracy. if the dems and arnold have it their way, more taxes! if the repubs have it their way, cuts in services. is there any surprise there?
on traffic, again, my point was that the same thing exists in costa rica. this isn’t about YOU and where YOU live.
Edited on Sep 06, 2008 21:56
everyone has the right to vote how they please, just as everyone has the right to critisize the government, no matter how they voted.
I would like to point out that the Fed is a public corporation, and not a gaovernment agency. Every time they print money, they sell it to the treasury for face value plus interest. This in itself creates instant debt. GWB is closely linked to the Fed, his grandfather was the head of the fed 40 years or so ago… All profits from the fed go directly to shareholders like JP Morgan and Rockafeller and similar ilk. With the current fiscal policy and the behaviour of the fed all that is happening is the richest 5% get even richer and the rest of the American public get poorer. Unless something is done to balance this the US will go bankrupt.
Let’s get back to the basics’
My oldest son was borned and raised in Costa Rica, came to the states when he was 18 years old, left after 1 year because he was homesick. Came back 2 years latter for another 3 years and left again. Why? all the back and forth, because he is a Tico with a US passport. He will always be a Tico and Costa Rica is HOME for him.
He is married now, working in Heredia for HP and makes $1,200 a month with two daughters. He lives a frugal life, not spartan but a simple one to US standards. Why would he trade what he had in the US for CR? The answer is simple for those that understand the Hispanic culture, it is “Family first” for Tico’s..
CR is not for everyone. If you do not learn Spanish, their culture, religion and food then you are a Foreigner living in your own world.
We try to understand our problems here in the US, housing, gas prices, taxes, political climate, elections coming soon, war’s, etc and make our own criteria based upon what we know here in the US. The same applies for the Ticos in CR. If you take your ideas from the US and try to apply them in CR you will be out of your environment. Long time ago I learned to go “Native” when living in another country and because of that I enjoyed living in Costa Rica, Mexico, Germany, Spain, France and others I visited. As I told you before my oldest son was born in San Jose, the next one was my daughter in Stuttgart, Germany and the youngest of them in Panama City, Panama.
CR has a spike in crimes and is being addressed the “Tico Way” the housing market for those that invest over $100,000 in CR is also being corrected. Because not many CR nationals have $100,000 to buy a home in that range.
If you think you are going to buy a house in CR with US standards for less than $100K through the internet then you are gambling with your $$. I can buy in Sarchi, Grecia, San Ramon, Poas area 1/2 acre with 1,400 sq. ft. Tico house where the Temp. are 66 to 78 all year long for $70,000 because of my families contacts and upgrade it to US standards for $10,000 more. My oldest son is Costa Rican, my wife also and her family can facilitate me in the purchase. They know the real prices of homes in CR, not the internet prices.
Out of all the places I have visited and lived, it is Costa Rica that has my heart. Heck I wished I had the financial means to live permanently in Paris, France but it is way more than I can afford, what a city (Paris).
Back to basic’s about CR. I know the language, culture, religion and I like their food. So I am willing to assimilate easy, not live like some US citizens’ in CR that cannot or will not be able to do so. I can be comfortable speaking English and eating Hot Dogs and Hamburgers watching Monday night Football or being at my wife’s brothers house with all her family watching a soccer match eating “Gallo Pinto” and “Olla de Carne”.
About Costa Rica or any other place that is close to your heart and you are considering for retirement. Do your homework, visit that place you want to retire, select the area and rent for 6 months then it is up tou you to decide.
estos son mis dos colones
Warren
One of the greatest things the ol’US has going for it..even in these times is anyone can bash the hell out of it! When that stops happening then we all need to worry! Why get upset? You are not the “US” just a being passing through that happened to take birth on this particular piece of land on earth. Karma, just dumb luck I don’t know but that’s really all there is to it no need to be patriotic just because of your current circumstance. Compassion, honesty, respect- we can treat each other this way regardless of what country we were born in, what piece of land we currently call home. Sure the US has been great to many of us but at the same time it has been so damn bad to many others-lets start with the beginning. Remember another group of people was here first, what happened to them? Was the US good for there culture, children, women, grandfathers etc…? Well there is no use living in the past but lets not forget and lets learn from it and accept “our” responsibility in the madness that takes place on this planet in the name of patriotism.
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