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The decision to live in a gated community reflects, at the very least, an elitist and segregationist attitude towards the community and at the worst, a fear of the indigenous residents. In fact, it is probable that one attitude begets the other after a while.
We have gated communities here in the States everywhere and I suspect for the same reasons. We have always had them but lately, I see more and more of these walled in and guarded communities. We have always had about the same level of crime so that would not be the reason for the sudden increase. And we have always had cities with large populations so I doubt the desire to have a more manageable community with which to interact is a reason. I believe the reason is that we have had a change for the worse in the level of mistrust and fear between us. This is a society which is fragmented and unraveling and it is no wonder. It has been exposed to economic class division and fear mongering by government.
But Costa Rica is a tightly knitted, homogenous and relatively fearless society compared to the States. While there are Ticos who also live in gated communities, the vast, vast majority of the population does not. And then here comes a influx of gringos bringing with them money and fear. Both of those gringo imports infect the society to varying degrees because you can’t have one without the other.
I am not advocating that moving to Costa Rica requires that the immigrant also adopt the same standard of living. But there is standard of living and there is style of living. If your style of living is behind a wall and guards, what are you saying to those who live outside those walls?The writer refers to a recent article at [ https://www.welovecostarica.com/public/Gated_Communities_in_Atenas_Costa_Rica__5_reasons_why_most_expats_choose_a_gated_community.cfm ]
Good post, and thought-provoking perspectives. I’d question whether the premise that CR is a relatively fearless society, based on the existence or non-existence of physical barriers, may be inaccurate. I have friends in Liberia literally with barbed wire on the top and sides of their house, and not one but two gates (outer and inner) out front. In Santa Cruz, I feel like I’m going into Ft. Knox simply trying to park my truck inside an interior driveway. Don’t even start on San Jose. I’d argue that all of these domiciles, both Tico and Gringo, are gated in an attempt to keep something perceived or real, out; the only difference is how far the gates are from the house, and how ornate they are.
Sprite the Heathen –
you must really be having a bad day, or days, or weeks or life!I can find very little, if anything, in any of your posts that is ever positive. With respect to your most recent diatribe, think about almost every business (restaurant, bank, appliance store, grocery store, condo building, garden shop, furniture store, etc.) you see not only in San Jose, Escazu, Santa Ana, Heredia, etc.) that you see – 90% or more have armed guards either inside or outside, and probably half the owners or managers have a gun under their desks – Is that because they have a “gringo gated community attitude?”
I have even seen churches that have armed guards outside!
Then, as twinzor1 says, take a look at the preponderance of homes (from the shanties to the mansions) that have invested in razor wire, knife-sharp fences, broken glass embedded in the top of stone fences, etc. Some of these folks have obviously spent as much or more trying to protect their homes as the spent to buy their home – Is that because they have a “gringo gated community attitude?”
In one post today you write “to each his own.” Then you criticize others for the way they choose to live, where they choose to live and why they choose to live that way!
Go back and read some of the truly absurd things you write some times – maybe you are doing it solely to try and get a rise out of me or others – if not, I hope you get help, and soon. If not, I fear that before long you’ll be living behind a locked gate, not by choice and not in a community! If so, I hope you and Nurse Ratchett get along well!
Obviously the vast majority of people living in gated communities are Ticos and not Gringos… The real number of Gringos living here is really quite insignificant but we like to think we’re more important than we are…
In some cases the decision to live in a gated community may reflect “an elitist and segregationist attitude towards the community”, but 98% of the people I know and meet who live in gated communities want to be able to allow their children to play safely in an area where there is no serious traffic, where there might be a nice swimming pool, some walking trails and where they can lock and leave their home and go on vacation for a month with worrying about security…
The world is more dangerous than it’s been in a long time, the economy in the US and Europe is in serious trouble, food prices are skyrocketing and the real unemployment numbers – and the level of unrest – are much higher than the ‘official’ numbers.
I would agree that “the level of mistrust and fear” is probably at an all time high but we can thank to various “first word” governments and their BS yellow, orange and red threat levels….
I believe it’s going to get bloody ugly and, I do mean ‘bloody’.
Lastly, seeing what’s going on now and what is most likely to happen in the future, if I was in the US, Canada or anywhere in Europe I would ONLY live in a secure, gated community…
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com[quote=”costaricabill”]Sprite the Heathen –
Go back and read some of the truly absurd things you write some times – maybe you are doing it solely to try and get a rise out of me or others – if not, I hope you get help, and soon. If not, I fear that before long you’ll be living behind a locked gate, not by choice and not in a community! If so, I hope you and Nurse Ratchett get along well![/quote]
I have seen the barbed wired and armed guards in the banks and other establishments of the larger towns. I don’t see those things so much in the country side or in the smaller villages.
Much of the barbed wire and armed private guards I attribute to the necessity of a do-it-yourself police force in a country where the national budget just can’t go far enough. I suppose the decision was to put the limited resources into health and education and to relegate protection of excess wealth to those who have it. I applaud that decision. The Ticos have a good sense of priorities.
There seems to be a different attitude to crime in Costa Rica. Petit theft is everywhere and pretty much ignored by authorities. This takes some getting used to. If you live a simple and humble life style in the country side, you have little of which to be robbed and much less probability to become a victim. If, on the other hand, you want to keep your luxuries on the cheap in a beautiful country with great weather with ridiculously low taxes, then I suppose you need to ante up and pay for private security or move into a secured compound, also called a gated community. One way or the other, you pay when you choose to live a life style which is incongruous with the indigenous community .
It’s just that hiding behind a wall and a $2 per hour security guard with your flat screen TV, your $4000 refrigerator and your closet filled with $150 silk shirts will also, by design, insulate you and alienate you from the place and the culture you thought you wanted to experience as a resident. I am only saying that it might be a richer experience to be IN the community rather than separated from it. Either we live among the Ticos, or we live apart from them while in their country. Of course, none of this applies to property investors or vacation home owners who do not live full time in Costa Rica.
I am not sure why, Costaricabill, you think I am having a bad day. I am only writing about my thoughts on life style options in Costa Rica. And I think I made some positive points about the advantages of living a simple life style in Costa Rica. You can disagree with me ,as you have, and I appreciate your point. I am just not sure what it was that I wrote which ruffled your feathers.[quote=”twinzor1″] I’d argue that all of these domiciles, both Tico and Gringo, are gated in an attempt to keep something perceived or real, out; the only difference is how far the gates are from the house, and how ornate they are.[/quote]
I am referring to gated communities when I write about walls and guards, not individual homes. The crime prevention aspect is not the main consideration for me. What concerns me is the concept of living in a small, privileged group separated from a larger community not only by the walls and guards, but by a culture and an attitude. This has to create alienation on both sides of the walls.
[quote=”Scott”]Obviously the vast majority of people living in gated communities are Ticos and not Gringos… The real number of Gringos living here is really quite insignificant but we like to think we’re more important than we are…
In some cases the decision to live in a gated community may reflect “an elitist and segregationist attitude towards the community”, but 98% of the people I know and meet who live in gated communities want to be able to allow their children to play safely in an area where there is no serious traffic, where there might be a nice swimming pool, some walking trails and where they can lock and leave their home and go on vacation for a month with worrying about security…
The world is more dangerous than it’s been in a long time, the economy in the US and Europe is in serious trouble, food prices are skyrocketing and the real unemployment numbers – and the level of unrest – are much higher than the ‘official’ numbers.
I would agree that “the level of mistrust and fear” is probably at an all time high but we can thank to various “first word” governments and their BS yellow, orange and red threat levels….
I believe it’s going to get bloody ugly and, I do mean ‘bloody’.
Lastly, seeing what’s going on now and what is most likely to happen in the future, if I was in the US, Canada or anywhere in Europe I would ONLY live in a secure, gated community…
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.com[/quote]The fact that gated communities even exist is symptomatic of societies damaged and divided by economic disparity. I have no idea how prevalent gated communities are in Costa Rica but I would consider each one an unhealthy sign for the society in general. And, according to the article on the home page, 70% of of foreigners who buy homes in CR buy in gated communities. That was the issue I was addressing.
I agree with you, Scott, on the matter of the world becoming
very dangerous in the future. Food, fuel and water shortages will result in bloody civil unrest. I don’t know when but from what I read (and apparently you as well) that is a certainty. When that happens, if I am still around, I think I would have a better chance of survival if I were living in a small, self sufficient farming community far from big cities rather than trapped inside a gated community within a disintegrating metropolis of hundreds of thousands of starving, desperate people. Where do you think many of them will turn for food and water?Go to Rio or Caracas to see the future.
Make sure the car that picks you up at the airport is bulletproof.In a free society there is room for everyone,including those who want to live in a gated community or a tree house community.I won’t be so elitist to judge you by your accommodations, whether a Tico style home or a grand penthouse in Escazu. Living on the top of a hill in a $500,000 dollar home without a “gate” definitely makes a statement about your financial position, perhaps even more so than living behind a gate in a community like “The Hills of Esterillos” in a 900F2 casa. I think for those that own a vacation home a gated community can afford a certain level of security, not foolproof…but something.
We lived in a gated community when we first arrived in CR. It was a great transition for us. Our kids had a chance to play without worry of fast moving traffic and meet a lot of other children, Tico and Gingo alike.
I guess while I was there, I never considered that I was being elitist. Nor did the other folks that were there, I am sure. Of the 20 homes in the community half were Tico with families, a couple retired, a couple single fellows and the rest gringo families. Our biggest concern when making the move to CR was to have a safe environment for our young children to play. Not sure how the drivers are in your neck of the woods but putting a kid out to play near a busy street seems questionable at best in our area. Maybe that is elitist.
I come from Chicago. It is a city of neighborhoods. When people immigrated to the US they tended to live in communities of people they could relate to. It made the transition easier. Ukrainian, Polish, Greek, Chinese, German, Italian, Jewish etc neighborhoods blossomed and flourished. These lasted for a generation or two then started to dissipate as folks got more comfortable in their new home country. I don’t really see a problem with the same happening anywhere else in the world. The immigration might be somewhat different now, in that folks with perhaps more wealth are coming to countries with a lower (or perceived lower) cost of living. There still is a loss of community that they are comfortable with. Are you really trying to say that everyone that moves to a new culture is elitist if they tend to congregate with cultures they relate to?
I don’t know Sprite, maybe you have it all figured out, but I would think that there is a little more deviation in judgment when you consider that people are going to pursue what is most comfortable for themselves. As long as their comfort does not impede mine or yours then great, have a wonderful life.
If you want to remain with your “kind”, why move away from them in the first place? Moving to a gated community in Costa Rica filled with US residentsis sort of like traveling to Paris, sitting at a sidewalk cafe with a view of the river and ordering a cheeseburger and a coke and consume that while watching a Family Guy video on your iPhone.
[quote=”sprite”]If you want to remain with your “kind”, why move away from them in the first place? Moving to a gated community in Costa Rica filled with US residentsis sort of like traveling to Paris, sitting at a sidewalk cafe with a view of the river and ordering a cheeseburger and a coke and consume that while watching a Family Guy video on your iPhone.[/quote]
I suggest American Dad.
It’s much more accurate to the views in The Empire.
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