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All of a sudden it seems like almost everybody we know is leaving Costa Rica to return to the US. They say that after a few years, they realized they didn’t want to be there “forever” so back they went.
It’s scaring us as we continue to plan to retire because this is NOT a reversible decision for us. I so much want to hear from people who have been in CR for more than 7 years and still plan to stay. Are you out there?
[quote=”vriggle”]All of a sudden it seems like almost everybody we know is leaving Costa Rica to return to the US. They say that after a few years, they realized they didn’t want to be there “forever” so back they went. It’s scaring us as we continue to plan to retire because this is NOT a reversible decision for us. I so much want to hear from people who have been in CR for more than 7 years and still plan to stay. Are you out there?[/quote]
We have been here 9 days…so far so good 😕
I’m an American citizen born in C.R. I lived down there until I was ten years old. I also have been thinking about retiring down there within 2 to 3 years.
The news I hear, and I thought this was an exaggeration of relatives that visit C.R. and then come back here, is that crime is rampant. But when cousins that live there tell me the same thing, I begin to worry.
One particular cousin tells me that he doesn’t want to take out more than 100k Colones at a time from a bank branch due to hold ups! True, he lives in the suburbs of San Jose. I have no idea about how the crime situation is in the expat enclaves.
But when people tell you that you can’t go out at night, or even in daylight where you risk losing your camera or wristwatch, well then, again you begin to worry.
I might be way off, and perhaps Scott can correct me, but when I read the digital edition of La Nacion every day, and I read all the time about assaults and robberies, and even murders, it tells me that perhaps Costa Rican politicians better start to get real, because when there are no tourists, and hotel vacancies go down for the aforementioned reasons, and the word gets around fast… well need I say more.
Perhaps C.R. can adopt the zero tolerance laws of Singapore, and reinstate the death penalty.
[quote=”vriggle”]All of a sudden it seems like almost everybody we know is leaving Costa Rica to return to the US. They say that after a few years, they realized they didn’t want to be there “forever” so back they went. It’s scaring us as we continue to plan to retire because this is NOT a reversible decision for us. I so much want to hear from people who have been in CR for more than 7 years and still plan to stay. Are you out there?[/quote]
My wife and I have only been here for six years, own our home and would not consider moving back to the States
Regarding crime: In general only those who are careless in their actions (displaying valuables or their goodies in public) are at risk of being robbed by the petty thieves that exist here much as they do in the States.
OrThose whose choice is to live in a Grin go ghetto
[quote=”vriggle”]All of a sudden it seems like almost everybody we know is leaving Costa Rica to return to the US. They say that after a few years, they realized they didn’t want to be there “forever” so back they went. It’s scaring us as we continue to plan to retire because this is NOT a reversible decision for us. I so much want to hear from people who have been in CR for more than 7 years and still plan to stay. Are you out there?[/quote]
Vriggle
I have been here now for 15 years.. and would never move back to the U.S… although I would be open to a new emerging country if costa rica changes to the extreme.
There are many levels of crime
low level street crime which most people pay attention to and the top level crimes like corruption and over taxation
war
the list goes on and on.
Crimes like the government monkeys making decisions to go and bomb another country under the guise of freedom or some rhetoric.
People that leave.. it has been my experience is that they were misled to some extent by topical information.. and thinking they were going to move here and replicate thier suburban life cheaper..
you have to study and make rational decisions by coming to your own conclusions by actually living here in various parts of thecountry and see if this is for you.
It’s not the same as moving to Florida.. its a different country.. and as such you need to leave your predisposed values and ideas and indoctrinated views of how life should be back in the states
and be flexible but dilligent in your end results.
One other question: how many people do you know that lived/lives here?
How can it be a non-reversible decision?
Yes, I have known [b]lots[/b] of people who have returned to their home country after living here for 13+ years…and more that are currently waiting for their property to sell.
If you are still undecided…[i]don’t do it![/i]
How many times have you visited the country?
Does your budget, have ‘wiggle room’ to cover the ever increasing costs?
Don’t expect to get the low CAJA rates that many of have as this is not going to happen…and for CAJA to cover all your medical needs if this is one of your main reasons for this move.
I have been here since September 1999 – nearly 14 years…
According to the [url=http://www.census.gov/hhes/migration/about/cal-mig-exp.html]United States Census[/url]:
“Using 2007 ACS data, it is estimated that a person in the United States [b]can expect to move 11.7 times[/b] in their lifetime…”
According to the [url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html]CIA[/url] – and we know they would never lie to us, right? – The life expectancy of the average American is 78.62 (at # 51 on the global scale of life expectancy) then we should expect a move every 6.7 years, no?
In which case if you have been in one place for 13+ years then you have been here for nearly TWICE as long as the average….
Would this not suggest that you have been happier than the average person in that one place and this would be considered very positive news?
Scott
One other thing that I think causes expats to leave is the frustration of dealing with the processes here.
Rather than dealing with a problem on the fly as we are accustomed to doing, any perceived issue halts the process and requires restarting from the beginning.
I have been here 12 years, and have no thoughts what-so-ever as to moving back to the “world”.
After all, when was the last time someone took a rifle or pistol and started murdering passersby in Costa Rica???
When was the FIRST time?
I can remember at least half a dozen cases as such in the States. Too much frustration Me thinks
What we experience with many expats is the “grandparents-syndrom”. As long as the kids don´t have kids they are doing great in Costa Rica. Once there is a grandchild, all of a sudden they “have to move back because our kids need us…” which in my opinion is just an excuse to not say “it was o.k. for a while but not what we had expected”. I raised my 2 kids all by myself, no grandparents help needed or available whatsoever.
[quote=”jerry”]After all, when was the last time someone took a rifle or pistol and started murdering passersby in Costa Rica???
I can remember at least half a dozen cases as such in the States. Too much frustration Me thinks[/quote]
Frustration may indeed be small part of the equation but many people are suggesting that prescription drugs are the real culprit …
“When roughly [url=http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/top-psychiatrist-meds-behind-school-massacres/]nine out of every 10 cases in these school shootings and mass shootings involve these drugs being prescribed[/url], then at least a significant proportion of these cases were either caused by the drugs or the drugs made a significant contribution to the problem,” Dr. David Healy
… and no doubt those drugs will be prescribed here too…
Scott
I think your right on the money .. instead of focusing on guns we should be more on the mental health of these individuals
being the U.S. is one of the most medicated countries in the world.
[quote=”Scott”][quote=”jerry”]After all, when was the last time someone took a rifle or pistol and started murdering passersby in Costa Rica???
I can remember at least half a dozen cases as such in the States. Too much frustration Me thinks[/quote]
Frustration may indeed be small part of the equation but many people are suggesting that prescription drugs are the real culprit …
“When roughly [url=http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/top-psychiatrist-meds-behind-school-massacres/]nine out of every 10 cases in these school shootings and mass shootings involve these drugs being prescribed[/url], then at least a significant proportion of these cases were either caused by the drugs or the drugs made a significant contribution to the problem,” Dr. David Healy
… and no doubt those drugs will be prescribed here too…
[/quote]
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