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Hi Vegasknite,
My son lives in San Jose, CR. He’s lived there for four years and that’s why I’m going, in order for us to live close together. He’s alerted me about the crime and we equate it with a lot of the cities in California that we’re familiar with. I think people should be made aware of the facts but this discussion has gone on long enough. That’s my opinion and something nobody can steal from me or rob me of.Hi Marcia:
I agrre with you that your opinion is valued just as everyone else’s opinions are equally as valuable so why would you prefer to not allow them to share their opinions on this string in this forum? I believe you ignored my question in my previous post. (What about those who don’t know as much as you, aren’t they entitled to learn?),Are your opinions more valuable in fact or only in your opinion? I truly hope you and your son enjoy the closeness you seek. I also hope that every other person seeking to learn about Costa Rica is able to continue to read facts and opinions posted on this forum whether they are positive, negative, popular or not.
I find it selfish not to want all others to becomes as educated as some.
Edited on Jan 12, 2007 01:08
Edited on Jan 12, 2007 01:13
I meant no offense. All I meant was it appears to me that everything has been said and it’s time to stop. And no, I don’t believe or think that my opinions are more valuable than anyone else’s. If I gave it another thought I’d probably feel sad that you find me to be selfish. People who know me would argue that point.
Marcia: “All is forgiven come on home” I really don’t believe that you are a selfish person. I can understand you not wanting to read about things you know very well however, I think you need to understand that while you nay know what is written here that may be repetitive to you, may be new to others. If you see a string that you disagree with or you believe has been beaten to death just don’t read it rather than ask it to end or to be removed. How does that sound to you? I think that is fair to all.
SteveThank you. I abhor violence but I guess burying my head in the sand won’t make it go away. I decided to trust my son who has already told me not to wear my good jewelry and not go out at night alone. He told me of a woman getting killed on the bus a couple of weeks ago. That’s scary for me. Crime is rampant throughout the world and the fact that it exists to the extent it does in Costa Rica is not going to keep me from moving there.
Marcia: The report of Violent Crime shouldn’t keep you or anyone from moving to Costa Rica. It should be noted while Violent crime is on the rise it is very far from terrible in Costa Rica. There are areas in Costa Rica that you have to keep your guard up because of crime but those areas are very small. Even in those small areas the chances of becoming a victim is quite limited. None the less I believe we are responsible to take care of ourselves and should use good judgement in everything we do. So stay aware enjoy your life and never allow anyone or anything to keep you from living. Stay safe and happy.
I hope I don’t come off sounding like an a** on this. But I am really glad this thread aired out many of the fears we all have in the back of our minds on relocating to a foreign country. The entire world is in a bad state and all of us want to find our own paradise. For myself I can say I believe it is Costa Rica. With all it’s good and bad. No matter where we live or travel, we will experience both.
There is no true paradise on earth, though we always try to find it. All of us that have had input on this thread have done so with good intentions. Emotions and fears appeared at some points to run high. In our own minds I’m sure we did not want to hear the worst about our own piece of “paradise.” But reality in CR, The US or Europe is still reality.
Our hopes, dreams and aspirations always want to be kept as pure as possible. But we have to weigh the negatives with the positives. In the end, the question is only one you can answer. Our lives are what we make of them, not what others tell us it should be.I would like to thank Scott for having the courage and wisdom to have this thread on his site. It takes many diverse opinions to formulate a decision on where any of us will spend our lives or retirement years. Knowledge is the power we all need to make those informed decisions.
Thanks again,Scott!“Con mucho gusto.”
When you truly love someone, you appreciate that they have faults but you love them nonetheless…
I love Costa Rica and certainly can see that there are areas that could be improved upon but, I would not want to live anywhere else in the world.
I hope that with our very candid forum that we do actually deter people from living here because they are the tpe of people that would probably only be here for a few months and then go back and blame everything on Costa Rica when in fact, the ‘blame’ lies within.
You’ve probably met them and said to yourself; “I’ll give’em six months and they’ll be outta’ here.”
Let’s hope 2007 is a great year for Costa Rica and therefore for all of us living here.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comI lived in Hawaii for three years and it was common for people to leave within six months of moving there. They came with intentions of staying permanently but the culture shock was too much for them. I only left because my husband passed away and I didn’t want to be there alone. My son also lived there but he prefers Costa Rica over Hawaii. Hawaii has its crimes also. It depends on where you are and how you act. I won’t let fear of violence keep me from relocating permanently to Costa Rica. To fear something that hasn’t happened to me would be downright stupid and I’m far from a stupid woman. I thank everyone for their input in this string of postings. I’ve gained insight and feel positive about the move. I know I’m in for a huge culture shock myself and protecting myself from violent crime is just part of it. Besides I have a band of angels for bodyguards.
Now that everyone has let it all out, here’s my two colones worth. In the initial post Marcia stated that, in regard to violent crime, “Costa Rica is no different than the rest of the world.”
Happily, I beg to differ. Theft and burglary are rampant and endemic throughout the country. But the chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime are extremely low, as long as you don’t make yourself a target.
Costa Rica has spawned a very non-violent culture. You can see evidence of this every day.
There is no road rage as we know it. Oh, sure, they’ll honk and yell, but on the second turn around the traffic circle they’ll wave and laugh, not pull out a gun.
Hostage situations are met with patient negotiation by police, not SWAT teams ready to “take out the perps”. Read about how they dealt with the take-over of the Supreme Court building and the Nicaraguan embassy in the 80’s, both of which ended bloodlessly, and you’ll realize that we Gringos, and Nicas (Nicaraguans) as well, would have busted in with guns blazing on the 2nd day.
The vast majority of murders are either crimes of passion or drug deals gone bad.
The very language that is spoken on the streets attests to the gentle nature of Ticos. In New York a common greeting might be “screw you”. In CR, it’s “pura vida”, “tuanis”, “Cómo está su mamá?”
What other country do you know of where the national army was abolished by the very General that led it?
Reagan perpetuated the war in Nicaragua. Oscar Arias won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to end it, and influenced the neighboring country of Panama to abolish their army as well.
Yes, violent crime has gotten much worse since the end of the war in Nicaragua (it was very, very low prior to that – we reap what we sow), and it is true that the CR police and courts have not been very effective in dealing with this new reality. In a way this is due to the high level of corruption, with pay-offs to protect mafiosos and drug dealers, as well as under-the-tables visas which allow low-lifes entree into a country that’s “easy pickins”. But one must remember that violent crime makes such big headlines precisely because it was so low historically. And thankfully, there has been much recent progress, both in enforcement as well as battling corruption.
Costa Rica IS different, and that’s why we love it. Don’t make yourself a target, and you have no reason to fear for your safety in this very non-violent country.
Just keep an eye peeled on your personal effects, and don’t try to eat those really big bananas.
Well GingoTico I have to admit we all really got our moneys worth with your dos colones seems like you gave us the entire nickle tour. In my humble opinion you said it all and very well I must add. Mucho Gusto.
I currently live in St. Louis, which won a wonderful prize of being the most dangerous city in the US. Of course, that’s per capita, and most people live outside the city, so its “actual” population is less than 400,000. Much of the city is very low income, run down neighborhoods that were nice 40 years ago, but are a step above a ghetto now. Needless to say, I live 35 miles outside the city in a nice community on a golf course. Sadly, there were some home invasions in this area recently, and last summer, someone was driving around in a subdivision close to mine, trying to entice kids into the car with him. Even Chicago’s Michigan Avenue (Magnificent Mile) is loaded with homeless people begging for money and such.
I’m sure many of you have seen the thing about the 2 kids that were recently found (the Missouri Miracle) that had been abducted. Very sad.
My concern is for my wife & children. So, they stay out of the city. They don’t walk around at night, even in our subdivision. My wife will go to the grocery store or Target etc at night sometimes, but very rarely goes to the malls or similar places alone at night. We live in a nasty world and unless you stay in a bubble, you must be aware of your surroundings. I stay out of the rough areas because I have no business there. That applies whether I’m at home or traveling. Although I’m capable of defending myself well, I’m also not interested in tempting fate.
I’ve driven through St. Louis — as fast as I can. What a horrible place. I currently live in a small town in the mountains outside of Denver where the average house costs $500,000. The only minorities here are the Chinese kids that the rich yuppies are adopting. But when I see the knews in Denver, I cringe because there are murders and shooting and robberies and all kinds of ghastly events every single day. We are isolated up here — leave our keys in our cars, don’t worry if we forgot to lock the door at night (we’d wake up in the morning unlike in some places), so for me, the crime in Costa Rica pales in comparison to the daily crime events in any urban area in America.
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