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Is this level of robbery true for everyone here on the board? What about a property management company?
The property management company will send a guard, for 24/7 security. Probably this guard will not rob, but some guards have friends who never will be your friends…. 😉
But this level of robbery is not true for everyone here on the board, because many live in gated communities. Ask ‘m why…….
I live just outside San Ramon, en el campo, where we have more cows than people, but. . . we also have a large sugarcane plantation that employs Nicas, and of course they are being blamed for the robberies. But it just wasn’t the gringos in my hood that got hit; there were some Tico families on the main road that also got robbed. I wasn’t one of the people who they targeted, but the house right next to me was. Even living in a gated community is not guarantee you won’t be robbed. Many people have lived in CR for years, such as Scott, and he’s never been robbed. I’ve been living there 4 years and I’ve never been robbed, but who’s to say that I won’t be in the future? The cops claim that two of the people who got hit were targets because they keep “dubious” company, so it’s really important to know WHO you are letting into your house. Make sure your maid doesn’t have a brother who has friends who are thieves.
We live in the country as well, and we also were robbed last year and two of our dogs were poisoned then died. There was a ‘spurt’ of robberies, mostly aimed at Ticos, and since then there has been no problem after the ‘suspect’ was caught. We do have an alarm system now.
There seems to be more problems in the higher density areas.
But, there is no way I would live in a ‘gated community’.I spend time talking to the guy I employ to care take my property. He is a local resident and has been his whole life. I let him know I appreciate his expertise when it comes to how to care for the land. He knows everybody who lives in the area. He has advised me on who can be trusted and who cannot be trusted. There are only a few to watch out for.
I chat with other members of the community whenever the opportunity arises and learn more about who is who and what, if anything, is going on in the small farming area. This all gives me a sense of where I am intending to live and what to expect and I am very comfortable with what I have learned so far.
Your associations and living habits are at least as important as your location when it comes to avoiding being a vicitm of crime. I am not interested in reading about the expected crime that happens with certain people who have bad habits or that happens in crowded urban areas. The only reporting of crime that mildly interests me are those that deal with the exceptional robberies, the ones that happen in the country to people who lead simple, honest lives. When those crimes no longer are the exception to the rule, THEN I will start worrying.
Here’s a reality check, Sprite: The campo is only marginally safer. If you live in a farming community then there are itinerant workers on either the coffee plantations or the sugarcane plantations. I’m not going to subscribe to the theory that all Nicas are thieves, as some do, because I’ve known some of the Nica families who worked the cane fields and they were honest and hard-working, but there is evidence that they may have robbed at least one of the houses in my hood. We thought we were safe where we were. We knew all our neighbors, had a guard at night, some of us have dogs, but mostly we are really circumspect about who we associated with, who worked in or around our houses, etc. I know will be even more careful about letting my dog roam outside even during the daytime, as poisoning dogs is one of their favorite things to do and it happened to two of our other close-by neighbors last year.
Not so funny my friend! It’s a common fact here in CR. Good friends (Ticos) lost two dogs when some lowlifes stole some propane tanks. Another lost a dog for a small TV. My plan is to shoot first and let the same police “investigate” the body as those that never seem to solve the other crimes that occur. I have a friend that makes it a point of target practicing when everyone is around… this way the word is out there that it’s NOT a good idea to mess with his stuff… and the funny thing is… he NEVER seems to have any problem!
I don’t live in the area yet, but as far as I can tell, there are no outside workers. The fincas are small and worked by the locals.
I am an ‘easy hit’ being a solo gringa here, but have heard many horror stories from friends, however, mine seems to top everyone. i’ve lived here exactly a year & my life ‘as i knew it’ has been totally wiped out. i bought a ‘pura vida spot’ high on a beautiful ridge outside peaceful Grecia where i am surrounded by fincas & estate properties & built a small casa, thinking i had found ‘heaven on earth’ but it quickly turned into a ‘hell’. i found no tranquilo & instead of being able to simplify my life, it has been the most complicated place i’ve ever lived…i have been thru 6 robberies/break-ins, 6 deaths (1 person/1 bird/4 dogs) – ALL RELATING TO THE SECURITY ISSUES here!! if you’d like further details, will be glad to explain. i feel like i’ve been the fall-guy for everyone in my lovely neighborhood, but even after my 3 beloved dogs were poisoned 2 wks ago, NO ONE has even called to express their sympathies…this is when you find out how hard it is to endure tradegy with very little support/no family/etc. not to mention, if any prospective buyer finds out how much has happened to me here, i may lose everything else i’ve invested in here?! moral of the story, you MUST take the security issues here very seriously or else!!!
Bjallen- that really sucks, sorry for your loss. I assume your not in a gated community? Is security better in a gated community? Before hearing all these stories I would never have considered buying in a gated community but I dont know if I could handle having my dogs poisoned all the time.
Hellooooo? Sprite, wake up! Thieves have myriad ways of getting around; they walk, they hitchhike, they ride bikes, whatever it takes to get to the target they have in mind. Just because they don’t live in your hood doesn’t mean they won’t come into your hood. we were all in LaLa land too for those first 3 years, and then we were discovered, and even though none of us built houses that cost more than $80.000, we’re still perceived to be the rich gringos with mucho stuff we don’t need. I couldn’t give a crap about my material possessions (except my art, which no ladrone is going to walk off with, but maybe they would slash it rendering it worthless!), but I do worry about my dogs and as the above poster said, she’s already lost 3 of them (I am so very sorry you had to go through that!) to this practice of throwing in a wad of poisoned meat. Woe be to the ladrone who attempts to do anything to my cattle dog; I would be a force to be reckoned with if something happened. And for those of you who think barricading yourselves in a gated community will protect you, even THAT won’t stop them if they want in. I’m still in love with Costa Rica, but I’ve had a real wake-up call and I’m paying attention now instead of ignoring the advice of others who said we all needed an alarm system, or guns, or whatever, and we all ignored the advice.
Security ANYWHERE in the world is an issue. More so now then ever with the economic meltdown. I for one have NO tolerance for criminals and would not hesitate one second to send them off to hell at the working end of a firearm. As I stated, should the same officials investigate the dead body dumped at the side of my road… I’ll sleep quite nicely knowing the possibility of that issue being solved has about as much chance as any other crime.
That being said… Having good neighbors, being part of the Tico community, being an asset to those around you is much more valuable then fences, gates, or guns! Living a simple lifestyle with very little makes it much less likely that anyone would want the few things I have.
I value the physical safety of my dogs more than any possessions. They are small dogs, 22 lbs and 8 lbs and are indoor pets. In fact, I don’t even understand the concept of keeping pets outside most of the time.
But leaving my house unattended is not going to be an option for me down there. I will pay my care taker 30 bucks to stay at the house when I go away for a week end. The only hole in my security will be the odd hour or two when I go for groceries or out for a movie or whatever else. If that is impossible to do without too much worry, then I may have to reconsider my analysis of the area where I want to live.
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