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[quote=”sprite”]Tourism is more important now since Intel is closing shop here. It looks like Intel may have been ordered to make a strategic political move of assets to another area:
http://phys.org/news/2014-05-intel-bn-israel.html%5B/quote%5DHow very strange that an investment of this size by a company of this size is not featured in the mainstream press?
Kinda miss the $5.00 egg sammich at the Liberia Airport – and while Rental Cars are expensive, I have also never in my life seen a rental fleet take a beating like they do in Costa Rica – for this reason alone I can see a justification on the prices.
Yet – I would say it is indeed in trouble – just not the traffic I’ve seen in the past.
[url=http://www.elfinancierocr.com/negocios/Ocupacion-hotelera-Semana-Santa-turistico_0_509949003.html]According to CANATUR[/url] (The Costa Rican Chamber for National Tourism) Semana Santa Hotel Occupation was at 72% down from 80% the previous year…
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sweikert925″]Isn’t Reuter’s part of the mainstream press? [/quote]
And Agence France Presse and the Business Insider?
This Intel story is mostly ignored by US mainstream broadcast news.The point is that most North Americans don’t care about any news which is not related to their favorite TV show or sports team or which has no “entertainment” value.
Additionally, even if exposed to this story, most Americans will not see the political implications and background for the move.
This is a big deal for Costa Rica. I doubt we will see anything come along to fill the vacuum Intel has left behind as the the western economy shrinks and consolidates and moves toward the big “reset”. Grit your teeth and clench your sphincter muscle and get ready for the ride.I am back & forth between Costa Rica & Florida a lot, so I hear the excitement in tourists’ voices on the flight to CR & I hear all kinds of stories on the way back to FL. Of course it is just anecdotal evidence, but a lot of feedback on flights seems to be an issue of perception versus reality. A few issues that seem to pop up again & again are: 1) Costa Rica is still perceived to be a “cheap” tourist destination & people are surprised, disappointed, or downright angry when they’re spending twice what they expected; 2) Costa Rica is perceived to be an environmentally conscious country & people are surprised, disappointed, or angry when they see the extent of litter along highways & at beaches; 3) Costa Rica is perceived to be a country full of friendly people that love tourists & people are surprised, angry, or disappointed when they feel they’ve been taken advantage of or experience theft while on vacation.
I’d argue these are problems any country visited by tourists may face, but I’ve heard many a person state emphatically that they won’t ever visit CR again after experiencing one of the above things. My cousin & his family came to visit us last year & #1 would probably keep them from returning (even having stayed most of the trip with us, saving big $$ on accommodations).
Anyways, just my opinion, for what it’s worth 🙂
Jessica
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sprite”]It looks like Intel may have been ordered to make a strategic political move of assets…[/quote]
I’m curious: When Intel made its initial move into Costa Rica, on whose orders was that done?[/quote]sweikert925
that is an easy question to answer.. thank you that.
$$$ is your answer. that is who gave the order
you see INTEL made the move to costa rica NOT because of its beaches and sloths
but it was a cost efficient place to do business.
and over the years.. when that pendulum swayed the other way.. another decision was made.
because its too expensive to do business here..
simple really and if you follow the money.. and disconnect with all the noise surrounding any company or government..
follow the money
on a smaller scale… the same applies to you sweikert and the reason you want to move here..
I wish we all could see things for what they are instead of what we would like them to be.
[quote=”davidd”][quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sprite”]It looks like Intel may have been ordered to make a strategic political move of assets…[/quote]
I’m curious: When Intel made its initial move into Costa Rica, on whose orders was that done?[/quote]sweikert925
that is an easy question to answer.. thank you that.
$$$ is your answer. that is who gave the order
you see INTEL made the move to costa rica NOT because of its beaches and sloths
but it was a cost efficient place to do business.
and over the years.. when that pendulum swayed the other way.. another decision was made.
because its too expensive to do business here..
simple really and if you follow the money.. and disconnect with all the noise surrounding any company or government..
follow the money
on a smaller scale… the same applies to you sweikert and the reason you want to move here..
I wish we all could see things for what they are instead of what we would like them to be.
[/quote]
Israel has a much higher cost of production because of higher wages. Additionally, Israel is not safest place to put a factory or a lab. Or do you think that Costa Ricans make more than Israelii workers and that Costa Rica is a less secure place?
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sprite”]… and that Costa Rica is a less secure place?[/quote]
Costa Rica IS a less secure place. I can already hear some of you preparing to scoff but I’ve been to Israel and there are security forces EVERYWHERE. What do you suppose that means to the incidence of crime?
Then there’s [url=http://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp]this website.[/url][/quote]
The very fact that you see security forces everywhere means that there is a need for it. And the fact that you feel more safe around armed costumed goons should trouble you.
You do have a strange, illogical world view.Over $500 for a three day car rental? This almost happened to us when we first arrived. We had booked online and then the rental company tried to charge us $65 a day for the insurance. BUT – I had read the law on insurance. $13.99 to $19.99 a day. It was a battle, but we got the car for $13.99 a day in insurance. Like many other things, know what you are doing.
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sprite”]You do have a strange, illogical world view.[/quote]
If that’s true then I have a lot of company. I’ve never heard of petitions being passed around to reduce the numbers of police around, but often hear people complain that there should be more of them.
You, then, are in favor of no security forces? We used to have a system like that in human society and it didn’t seem to work that well.[/quote]
Sweikert
Sprite made a very VALID point in reference to security.
the very fact that Costa Rica does not feel the need to have the same level of security forces than Isreal.. on the contrary makes this country more secure
if it was less secure
you would have more security..
does this make sense??
SCott
thanks for putting that video up.. yes I speak fluent spanish.. this brings up a point regarding consuming news from the perspective of Costa Rica as opposed to a translated version coming from some RSS feed.
In my opinion I feel something wicked this way comes.. 🙂
seeing too many trend lines moving in the same direction
on a street level
I have seen more than a few times… and would love feedback from anyone’s who has observed teh same
Imported products being priced the same or LESS than actual products being made here.
this would initially defy logic
but I feel this is a indication of the rising costs of doing business here.
I recently did a
product comparison study of 30 products.. using pricesmart as an example
since pricesmart is also in Nicaragua..
the same exact products costs 30-50% more in Costa Rica.
should be interesting when these trend lines begin to cross over…
imagine intels recent let go of 3000 well educated english speaking employee’s being released into the marketplace.. soon they will realize that there are no jobs at the same level so they begin to take the jobs of the lower economic class of people.. retails stores, etc..
where do these people go look for jobs??
interesting times..
Scott
what are your thoughts on a local level??
[quote=”Scott”]RETURNING to the topic of this Discussion Forum thread:
For those of you who speak Spanish…
[/quote]
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sprite”]… and that Costa Rica is a less secure place?[/quote]
Costa Rica IS a less secure place. I can already hear some of you preparing to scoff but I’ve been to Israel and there are security forces EVERYWHERE. What do you suppose that means to the incidence of crime?
Then there’s [url=http://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp]this website.[/url][/quote]
Last I checked Costa Rica wasn’t surrounded by countries looking to develop nuclear weapons and stating their desire to wipe them off the world map.
And while we’re at it when was the last time a suicide bomber walked into a cafe in Costa Rica and took out a few folks having lunch? Or got on a bus and did the same? Or remind me… when did the last rocket attack occur in Costa Rica?
Seems to me the possibility of REAL insecurity, death, and general destruction is much more likely in Israel.
I’m guessing if every other person walking the street was totting an M-16 or a Uzi the general crime problem in Costa Rica would be about the same as Israel. Or if CR had an Army and required military service and had armed soldiers everywhere things might be different… but then again I don’t think most of us would like to be living in an armed compound of a country hoping not to be in that cafe or on that bus.
BTW… NOT a slap at Israel… just an observation.
I don’t know if this anecdote is significant or even news, but the wife and I were shopping at the farmer’s market in Atenas a few weeks ago and I noticed among all the beautiful, fresh local produce on display, strands of wrapped garlic with country of origin markings of “China.” The vendor explained it is cheaper to pay the import prices than to grow it. I wouldnt be surprised to see this in a super market, but at a farmer’s market?!!!
[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sprite”]You do have a strange, illogical world view.[/quote]
If that’s true then I have a lot of company. I’ve never heard of petitions being passed around to reduce the numbers of police around, but often hear people complain that there should be more of them.
You, then, are in favor of no security forces? We used to have a system like that in human society and it didn’t seem to work that well.[/quote]
I do not trust people who wear costumes and badges and who believe that those things justify their subjugating me. I don’t give ANYBODY authority over me except in special situations when I require professional medical or dental assistance..and even then, it is only temporary. I have become a confrontational old man lately. At some point in life, you just don’t want to take any more crap.
I distrust government more than the people around me by far. And these days, in the US, calling the police for help can be more life threatening than many of the problems for which they are called to resolve.
One of things I love about Costa Rica, so far, is the relative small force of uniformed, armed government people in the countryside.
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