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Scott,
First I would like to say thank you for this website. I visit just about every day and find it honest and informative.My husband and I have purchased land on the central pacicfic coast and plan to move to CR within a year. Now I’m not so sure! I read the Tico Times and AM Costa Rica online every day and lately the headlines are all about crime. I would like your personal point of view. I know in the past you’ve written that you have never personally been a victim of crime in CR but what about the people you know? Is it true that you need to keep your doors shut and locked even while inside your home? Do you need to live in a secured high rise development to be safe? Do you need to live in an area that is so rural that your nearest neighbor or town is more than 30 minutes away?
I don’t mean to sound negative. I just don’t want to be a prisoner in paradise. I would appreciate feedback from anyone who has lived in Costa Rica a considerable amount of time.
Understood… Crime everywhere is a fact of life and we do have crime in Costa Rica and it does need to be addressed but I don’t believe we need to feature it on the front page every day.
And you are correct, I have never personally had a problem of any kind here and the only ‘confrontations’ I have had in seven years have been with an American and a Frenchman so can’t blame the Ticos for that.
Please visit and insert the word ‘crime’ and you will find more Discussion forum information about how we feel about crime in Costa Rica
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comAs repeated many times here. Crime is everywhere, here most especially so for “non-violent” property crimes. Its just a fact of life for most developing nations.
Unfortunately, foreigners are a bigger target for these thefts and fraudulent schemes. Why, its simply common sense that they are more likely to have property of value as well as be a bit naive. But I think this is mostly true initially when you move here then you learn quickly. I still have to say, its much much more safer here than most latin/central american countries.
Just be cautious, don’t be too trusting – they will understand it believe me, and make friend with your neighbors – not buy friends by always being the one who ends up paying. That’s surely the best way to attract individuals with different motives.
Dawn –
Keep in mind the following:When I was a child growing up in the desert of So. Cal. if there was a theft anywhere in the Valley it was big news in the local papers for a couple of weeks, a murder would be on the front page forever – now thefts are not even reported and unless it is something spectacular or someone famous, murders are weekly occurances and reported somewhere in the back pages of the paper. I feel safer anywhere in Costa Rica (yes, even in downtown San Jose) than I do here.
Ruth
Scott,
I did search past posts on the forum about crime. There seems to be a lot of discussion involving comparison to other Central American countries and the USA. This really is not what I’m asking. I just want a clear picture of every day life in Costa Rica in regards to being safe. I’m not talking about extreme negligent behaviour either.If I am in the back of my house do I need to have the front door locked? Am alarm engaged?
Do I need to be home before nightfall if I live in close proximity to the city?
Do I really have to be concerned about my dogs being poisoned? I’ve always thought they were the best security I could have:)
Thanks for the replies.
Yes but like any other country, it depends on where you live… I accidentally left the patio doors of my home in the country open for a week (long story) and nothing went missing but, would I do that in San Jose? No!
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comWhen I am not in Costa Rica, I live in Colorado, where I always keep my doors locked when I am home alone, even though we live in a remote area. When I was recently in Costa Rica, I did not lock my doors during the day, and often went to a neighbor’s or for a walk and left the doors unlocked. Of course, I live in a rural area, amongst the Ticos, whom I have befriended so they watch out for me and my house. I feel much safer in Costa Rica than I ever did in the US. Keeping a low profile is important down there. I don’t wear any jewelry, except my wedding ring and a watch, and a simple pair of gold earrings, I dress down always, and most importantly, I have befriended all the Ticos in my neighborhood who now consider me to be part of their families. I cannot overstress the importance of integrating into the local community. if you are viewed as the outsider, the rich gringa, the one who doesn’t befriend the locals, you will surely be a target because they will have no vested interest in protecting you. And keep your dogs inside at night. That is the surest way to keep them safe. if they are outside roaming around, and there is a lardone who has his sites on your house, it is possible they could be poisoned, but if they are inside, you are less likely to get robbed because they won’t break in if your dogs are alert and barking.
It is very interesting on the AM coverage of Robyn Wright, I don’t know this person and I am not trying to point fingers at the victim.
How ever is it true that she is part of a orgainization or is a advocate aginst child prostitution?I think when you read the article it makes it sound more like it was a incident that was a crime of robbery.
How ever Robyn wrote in a letter to the editor expanded more and we found out that there was a possiblity of a revenge crime.
Again I don’t think the victim should be blamed, how ever I do belive that we as guest of CR must realize that we are guests and need to accept how the system works. You can complain all you want about CR crime but you have to realize you are not a Tico and if you don’t like it you can always move back to LA, NY, Chicago or Kansas city.
Revenge crimes are common in Latin America. It’s just the way it is. I didn’t read the article about Robyn Wright, but according to others in the know, there were a lot of misrepresentations in the article. In my neighborhood in CR there were a few robberies that were committed against just one person, who, it turns out, has 4 complaints against him for child molestation, and then on top of that, he was working as a maestro de obra and treated theTicos he employed with complete disrespect, even firing many of them illegally. This person was robbed three times. I was the only one who pointed out that these were revenge robberies, and I would bet that I am right. When I talk about integrating into the community, I mean accepting the Ticos for who they are as people, regardless of what they do or where they live. My gardener has had dinner and breakfast with us and regularly comes by for a glass of wine at the end of his workday. I treat him and my other workers as though they were my best friends, and in some ways, they are. We make no distinction between “them” and “us” because they are all “us” as far as I’m concerned. When I threw a “thank you” party for the crew who built my house, my contractor told me I had just made 24 friends for life by that gesture. It is really important to gain the respect of the locals, otherwise they will be telling someone who tells someone else who tells someone else what a creep that gringo or gringa is who thinks they are better than the person who earns $1.50 a hour, et voila, somewhere down the line you will be vulnerable to a robbery, or worse. Tis better that they tell someone how nice you are and how respectful you are of them. This takes some work if you are not used to dealing with other cultures, but the rewards I’ve gotten from accepting my neighbors as people cannot be measured in any currency. My gardener has keys to my house and he is free to come and go as he pleases. He takes care of my home in my absence as though it were his own. Turns out his cousin is the mayor of San Ramon, so there you go . . . you never know who is related to who in Costa Rica, and I like that! Sure Costa Rica has its flaws, and it’s by no means perfect, but where in the world can you go where the bank guard carrying a weapon says, after inspecting my backpack, “gracias, mi amor!” That makes up for a lot of other inconveniences in my book.
Thank you Maravilla – Attitude IS incredibly important here and unless we accept, respect and love the Ticos for who and what they are, then we’re going to have problems. How can we expect them to show us respect if we don’t show it to them?
My country home is in a different part of the country than Maravillas but we share the same attitude.
We have one local family (14 grown children) whom we know well and they have the keys to our place and look after it well, we treat them with respect and they have invited us to their family’s celebrations in their very humble home where we enjoyed chicharrones as fresh as can be… (The pig was slaughtered that morning and we actually helped them cut it up which was bloody hard work.)
And yes! We should try and speak their language.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comMaravilla,
Your generosity and egalitarian nature will surely go a long way to make you a part of the Tico fabric in your new neighborhood. However, it seems to me that you are kidding yourself. As much as we’d like to think that everyone in “my neighborhood” is my friend, there are always people on the margins, and these people may have even less scrupulous friends and relatives that pump them for information. You have described the beautiful amenities included in your home, and any Tico who sees this will know that you are a person of means. Whether you like it or not, this makes you a prime target.
It’s impossible to hide what you did in building your home from the construction crew, and that’s always a risk. You may like these workers (who work hard for very little money), and they may like you. But that doesn’t mean they’re not tempted. It also doesn’t mean they’ll keep it a secret.
Face it, you’re the nice Gringa (i.e. naive and easy pickins’) who has money and leaves her door unlocked during the day (announced online no less).
Maravilla, there are bad people out there. You’re still a newcomer, and you may have the idea that just being nice to everyone will keep you safe. I fear it won’t, and I recommend you develop a healthier sense of paranoia. If you don’t now, you surely will after the first incident.
The rest of this posting is directed to everyone in general, not specifically to Maravilla.
No matter where you live, it is advisable that you keep your door locked at all times. This costs you nothing. Knob locks are worthless, as they can be opened with a butter knife. Deadbolts are better, but they also can be opened in one second with the right ramming tool (referred to there as a “pata de chancho”). Believe it or not, these ramming tools can even blow through a metal gate door with a deadbolt in the same amount of time. The best lock is one that has a vertical rod which goes up into the top frame and down into the floor. This will make your entrance as strong as the actual door and frame. For a rear door you should consider all metal, including the frame, which should be attached to the rebar inside the block wall.
All windows MUST be barred, using bolts that go through the block walls. I’ve seen some ornate bars that don’t look half bad.
This leaves the roof as the weakest component, and there’s really nothing you can do about that, except don’t keep valuable things in your home small enough for them to carry out the roof.
Dogs are good, and bringing them inside or keeping them caged outside at night will protect them from poisoning. Many Ticos regularly ask strangers to feed their dogs meat laced with cayenne pepper so they learn never to accept food from unknown sources.
High walls around the property is good, but very expensive. Top it with broken glass, although understand that they can just put a board down to get over it. Concertina wire is more expensive, but is no barrier either as it can be easily cut. The actual wall is the key, as although it won’t keep people out, it’ll make it hard to carry larger items away.
Alarm systems are good as well, but can be disabled easily by cutting the electric (unless you have a generator).
The more urban, the greater the need for all of this. Your Tico neighbors will spend a great deal of money on this security, and if you don’t, guess who will become the easiest target.
Disturbing? Yes! Want to live in a bunker? No! Hate the idea of walling up your beautiful view? Absolutely!
Alternatives:
1. Own nothing of value, and keep your curtains open so everyone can see that.
2. Have live-in help, and NEVER leave your home alone, even for an hour. Unless you subscribe to item #1, you still must have other minimum security measures built into your home which match or beat your neighbors.
3. Buy a condo in a secure community.
So much for home security. As for when you’re out and about, don’t drive expensive cars, don’t carry lots of cash, and don’t wear valuable jewelry (or valuable-looking jewelry). Don’t venture into San Jose alone at night unless you really know your way around. To avoid theft, always park in a lot, or assure the “cuida carros” that your pay them when you get back. In San Jose walk with a purpose, not like a gawking tourist. Beware someone coming up to you on the street to engage in conversation.
Other than that, feel free to roam at will, day or night, alone or accompanied. Except for parts of San Jose and a few other more urban areas and tourist locales, the threat is usually not a personal safety issue.
One more thing, no matter where you are, the time of day or night, or how many people you’re with, your stuff will walk unless you keep an eagle eye on it.
Costa Rica can be a paradise, but only if you properly protect yourself. Ticos are duly paranoid, and you need to be as well.
In my view trust breeds trust and paranoia breeds paranoia. If we want to improve the world we need more positive energy flowing around not negative.
Gringo — thank you for your suggestions. I know they are good ones and I should probably be more vigilant, uh, er, paranoid, but if I have to work up that kind of fear, I don’t think I would enjoy living in Costa Rica. IF I leave my door unlocked, I am at least close by. There is only one road in and out of our community. Not a car or a person could come there without someone seeing, and everyone of us watches out for our neighbors. We have a guard, at night only, but during the day there are always people around — neighbors, my work crew, my trusted gardener. Almost everyone on the construction crew is related to my contractor. He does not hire people off the street. Therefore, I know this person’s entire family — cousins, brothers, primos, uncles, and their kids, etc. And when we attend parties, we meet their wives, novias, other friends and relatives. There is a certain safety in that, at least that’s been my experience when living in a third world country. Before I moved into the house, for a year I left bins and bins full of “stuff” there — household items, small appliances, clothes, etc. Not one thing was touched or missing. also my husband and I are not typical “gringos” — we both speak Spanish, we’ve both lived in third world countries, and we have a real affinity for Latin culture. Most of the Ticos always remark that my husband and I are more like them than any of the other gringos who live there. No way in hell am I putting up concertina wire or iron bars on my windows. I’ll take my chances. And I do NOT consider myself naive about any of this. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see if I do become a target. Until then, I’ll continue doing what I’ve been doing because it has made my life so very much richer.
If you do have something stolen while you are in the San Jose area, there is one consolation. There is a good chance you can get a Tico friend to go to La Cueva and buy your stuff back for pennies on the dollar. It is a clearinghouse downtown for stolen merchandise. If you know the right people, you can place orders there as well. Last summer when we were in Costa Rica for a couple of weeks, we left our LAPTOPS in our car while parked in front of a friends house in Escazu. It didn’t take 30 minutes before our stupidity was rewarded… Unfortunately, we had to leave before the laptops surfaced at La Cueva but my wife tells me it was quite an adventure looking for them there. She is Latina and can pass for a Tica so she went with our Tico friend. Have any of you out there had experiences with La Cueva that you can share?
A noble thought. Unfortunately, in the Costa Rican physical world your camera will be lifted before you can say “Ohm” twice as you meditate with your eyes closed in Parque La Sabana or on any coastal beach.
I used to be trusting philipbennie, but I learned the hard way. After being pick-pocketed twice, had my old used car broken into no less than seven times to steal the spare tire or a 20 colon coin left on the dash, my simple home broken into and my living room windows stolen (that’s right, my living room windows) the first time I left it alone for more than one hour, my dog poisoned, been shorted exchanging money on the street, ridiculously overcharged by various vendors for being a Gringo, and expertly conned on a few occasions, I’m afraid my positive energy has ebbed a bit.
Once I became acclimated and appropriately traumatized and paranoid, I was able to avoid all these pitfalls. Don’t fool yourself, this is one of the biggest hurdles us trusting Gringos (translation: “Stupid”) face when relocating to Costa Rica. Most Ticos are wonderful, honest people, but appropriately paranoid nonetheless, given the environment in which they live.
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