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I need someone to enlighten me about moving to C.R. I travel to C.R often and own a nice piece of land in the country. In the last two years I have reforested part of it with native trees and have been active in some philantropic projects in the area. As I have met more people that actually live there, the issue of home invasion have surfaced frequently. I read Nacion daily and its all about either crimes being commited or criminals getting only two months of “preventive detention” after macheteing someone to pieces At this point, I am ready to reconsider the whole thing. I live in Chicago and own a house in the country that sits empty for months without any problems so far. I have lived in Venezuela and Peru without incident. I just came back from Brazil and it seemed much safer and lawful than my dear Costa Rica. As a Cuban-American I have always loved the Ticos and planned to contribute to their society in many ways but I do not want to live with fear. What should I do? I need to stay positive in order to star building.
Maybe the stats are misleading. Or maybe your land is in a very crime active area. have you had any personal experience with crime in CR?
I do not spend much time there (yet) and I only am familiar with one area, but I am careful not to become the typical fearful american based soley on what I read. I see enough unwarranted fear here in Miami and the rest of this country regarding terrorism and crime. Our government has become adept at keeping the population scared and off balance. I don’t want to carry that culturally instilled fear forward to Costa Rica when I move there. I find it difficult to believe that there would be more violent crime in Costa Rica than in Venezuela and Peru.I get my information from a wide variety of sources. I am not moving to Costa Rica because I want to get out of the U.S or because Costa Rica is cheaper or warmer. I grew up in Cuba and would like to live in a similar culture since going back is out of the question. Where I have my land seems very safe, nothing ever happened to me but almost everyone I know there, have had something stolen. I simply do not want to deal with it and doubt that the local authorities can do anything about it. I just want a clear idea about the issue before I move there. The area of Brazil I am looking at is very safe and has a strong law enforcement. Please, I need non-ideological advice. Thanks
No ideology here, just personal experience from me …
I had a home in the ‘country’ 60 minutes from SJO up until Tuesday of this week when we closed on the sale.
During the two years that we enjoyed our completed mountain home, not one item was stolen.
We had a washer and dryer, a BBQ, garden tools and numerous other items outside the home on the terrace and not one item went missing.
Inside the house we had stereos, a TV and DVD a beautiful oven which anyone could have taken should they wished – but they did not …
I have lived in Escazu and Santa Ana – where there have been “home invasions” reported – for over eight years and have NEVER had a problem.
The only ‘confrontational’ experiences I have had were with very culturally unaware tourists acting like they owned the place.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comI have lived in CR since 1992 and have never experienced a break in. I am not a law enforcement trained person or have a military background. I’m accustomed to using common sense and I do not feel the need to display wealth. Apparently, the thieves you are concerned about have never had any interest in mine or my neighbors stuff. I live and work in a Tico pueblo where I have gotten to know most of the locals and we all watch out for each other. Every once in a while some wise guy from outside our pueblo comes here and tries to start a fight or take something that’s not his. Most times, the wise guy ends up leaving in the back of a rural guard pickup. In Belen, we have our own municipal police force that responds fast to any requests for help.
Perhaps you should consider exploring positive solutions with your friends and neighbors.
1. Organizing a community security watch has proven to help.
2. Paying your municipal taxes on time, can also help your community to be able to afford more and better public security.I was a little wary myself after going to CR this last December with my daughter and girlfriend. We plan on building in a year or two and have been visiting CR for the last 5 years spending up to 6 weeks at a time. In all that I time I never had one problem and felt safe but always keep my eyes open, just like at home. My concern also came from all the news I read and other forums where these break in crimes are reported. We spent the month of December there with no problems and felt just as safe as previous trips. We left our surfboards and my golf clubs etc..in our apartment on the beach with other personal belongings when we took a few side trips…no problem. Also left the car parked in front of the hotel. I am well aware that of course I could become a victim of a crime, same thing could happen to me in Brooklyn where we currentlt live. When I have to park my car near the waterfront I lock up and run towards my apartment…I never feel this way in Playa Hermosa/Jaco.
Thanks for your response. I have had nothing but the best experiences with the Ticos. My only bad experience was with some Swiss tourists that were disrespecting a Tica waitress. She and I let them have it, as only a Cuban and a Tica can (with a long and baroque list of insults in spanish). I still hold the illusion of building a ecological, culturally sensitive residence in the countryside. Nevertheless, lately I have noticed an increase in crime-talk in the area. The Ticos seem obsessed with it and some of the expatriates are of the “conspiracy, ultraleft, I f****d up back home so let me try C.R” kind, unlikely to help. Also, some of the local population is being priced out of the area, adding to the stress. I have seen foreigners come and buy every Tico house on the market just to put them back for sale at triple the price. I am all for market economy but it seems like the perfect start of something unpleasant. Anyway, you guys are there so I will listen to you with interest.
I know a lot of reactionary ultra right wing Cubans here in Miami who can say the “I F****D back home in Cuba so let me try the U.S.” Most of them encountered far more crime here than they did back in Cuba, but they adapted. What is happening in Costa Rica, it seems to me, is that since crime is more in the news, the Ticos are having a natural reaction. Peoples’ attitudes follow where the media leads them. This doesn’t mean they are, as individuals, in significantly more danger now than before. They are just more aware of a condition that always existed. I don’t think the increase in reported crime is significant except for a miniscule few unfortunate and unwise tourists and Ticos.
Sprite, you seem to know a whole lot about places where you do not live. Have you ever been to Cuba? How much time have you spent in C.R? Your answers are not based on anything other than highly ideological opinions. Where do you get your information anyway, from the Martians? I doubt that all the journalists at Nacion, Al Dia, AMCosta Rica, Tico Times are employed by some sinister U.S backed news bureau. I am looking for regular residents views about crime, not “Oh, I can’t take Miami anymore” opinionettes.
I spent a lot of time in Cuba over a 5 year period 30 years ago. I began visiting Costa Rica often a year and a half ago when I bought some property where I intend to retire. I spend a lot of time talking to my friends when I am in Costa Rica, one of whom is a Tico and we have discussed the issue of crime and the perceived danger of crime. I told you right off the bat I was no expert but have you heard from an expert yet on this issue?
Who would that person be? Some one unfortunate enough to have been a victim of crime? Some one who studies statistics? Someone who has lived there all his life but has never been victimized? All of the above? And how would any opinion from anybody else be of any use except as anecdotal evidence that “yes, crime exists in Costa Rica”. How that pertains yo your specific situation is always going to depend on a set of well known parameters such as the specific place where you live and how you behave there. You can find as much peace and tranquility or as much crime in CR as anywhere else.Almaral, what you appear to be reflecting upon and reacting to are anecdotal reports of individual crimes. Are there crimes in Costa Rica? Sure. Where on earth do you suppose there isn’t any crime? If you let these fears drive your decision, you will never find peace — not in Costa Rica and not anywhere else.
Now, if you really want to wallow in anecdotal reports of crime, I suggest you log onto http://www.welovechicago.com or http://www.welovesaopaulo.com. You’ll have your fill and more.
Sorry! It seems that every time someone brings up the taboo of crime in this forum, many object. I am not particularly fearful, just want to hear the expatriate’s view about this subject. The rise in crime in the last decade is real, not imagined. I am mostly outraged about the way Costa Rican judicial branch deals with it: 2 months preventive detention for serious crimes, police officers caught assaulting citizens and reinstated on the following day, etc. Relocating to a foreign country is a serious decision for anybody and safety is one more issue to think about. Crime can and does happens anywhere but some countries have it under more control than others. I am able to replace whatever may be stolen from my future home, my peace of mind, maybe not. I am sorry to burst some bubbles but this is as legitimate of a subject as any other in this forum.
Almaral, you’re absolutely right. Crime is on the rise in Costa Rica, just as it is pretty much everywhere else. And yes, the Costa Rican courts are sometimes ineffective in dealing with that crime, just like pretty much everywhere else. And yes, the cops here get away with things they shouldn’t, as is the case pretty much everywhere else.
Nobody says that Costa Rica is perfect. No one has suggested that it’s crime-free. What I think you must ask yourself is whether your chances of being significantly victimized here are materially greater than in the other places you might choose to live. Given the choice, I’d sure take almost anyplace in Costa Rica over most of Chicago or any other American city. And I’d take it over anyplace I know elsewhere in Latin America.
The other question I would pose is whether the attractions of Costa Rica outweigh the negatives, including the perceived increase in crime — both your judgements to make. If the attractions win out, c’mon down; if not, stay put.
You are right too. Is up to me to assess the probability of having my house robbed in C.R. Meanwhile I will wait for the next two or three years to make this decision. I am still on the positive side but it is possible that I choose a different country. The perception of safety, whether real or not, is very important. I feel completely safe living in downtown Chicago. I do not know anyone whose house have been broken into. I walk at night and take public transportation every day. Not thinking about being robbed, as subjective as it may be, adds to my enjoyment of life. I felt fine in C.R until I started hearing about which house was robbed or not. Is not that I heard it only from the expatriates but from the ticos too. When I read Nacion’s Sucesos section, it seems like the situation is spiraling out of control. Today, the different parties agreed to create a crime commission to deal with the issue. I have great hope that they can do at least something. If in two years the statistics continue their upsurge, I may reconsider. Anyway, thanks for your views.
Before I made my first trip to Costa Rica 3 years ago this month, I was so frightened by the crime stats that I almost didn’t go. Two friends who had lived in CR off and on for 20 years told me horror stories that made me feel as though I were going to a war zone. One friend had been with the CIA during the Iran-Contra ordeal and he had been robbed numberous times, once at gunpoint, and then had his entire house cleaned out while he was gone for an afternoon. Of course, he also kept some bad company and spent a lot of time in bars and cheap hotels and generally was lax about security. However, when I got to CR, I didn’t feel any of the fear he had tried to instill in me and within the first week of being there I had bought property on which to build. After starting construction, I then learned that there had been several robberies in my community. After some investigation it seems that the people who had been robbed were also employing a known pedophile, who had also been robbed (he was living on their property and supervising the construction of their home — he’s now in prison, btw, serving 8 years for sexual assault on children). Another neighbor also got robbed after he took up with a Nica woman who had a jealous ex-boyfriend. To me, those robberies were target specific, but we now have an armed guard at the entrance of our burb and we haven’t had any problems since. I feel a whole lot safer in Costa Rica than I do in the US. I believe, and I could well be wrong, that one of the keys to safety is to know your Tico neighbors, who will look out for you and your property. I haven’t been back to my house since mid-August, so my Tico gardener has keys and comes every day to check on things, water the plants, and do general care-taking. I haven’t lost a wink of sleep worrying about crime in Costa Rica. Yes, it exists, but then it exists here in the mountains of Colorado also (and I’m 7 miles from the nearest town but all the mail got stolen out of mail boxes perched on the side of the road). We’ve also had home invasions here, and an assorted number of burglaries. I am usually in Costa Rica by myself, but I’ve never been fearful either while in my home or out and about in town. If you rely solely on the crime stats, you’d never move anywhere. Don’t show off your jewelry, don’t flash a lot of cash, keep a low profile, and ingratiate yourself with your Tico neighbors and your local community. Although those things are not a guarantee that you will not be a victim, they will help you feel more secure.
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