Mexico better than Costa Rica?

[roylafuente]

ok back to my subject…
maravilla its comfortable to know that one can live well on $1000/mo. My mom in Mexico even affords a maid with her $1200/mo budget.
On my july trip I visited Arenal, Jaco and San Jose. I loved the hot springs in Arenal but was dissapointed with Jaco, I guess I expected it to be more like Cancun. San Jose is very similar to Monterrey – I can used to that. Cant wait to go back and visit the rest of the country, specially Monteverde and Guanacaste.

[roylafuente]

I appreciate all of your input, but please back to the subject…
maravilla its comfortable to know that one can live well on $1000/mo. My mom in Mexico even affords a maid with her $1200/mo budget.
On my july trip I visited Arenal, Jaco and San Jose. I loved the hot springs in Arenal but was dissapointed with Jaco, I guess I expected it to be more like Cancun. San Jose is very similar to Monterrey – I can used to that. Cant wait to go back and visit the rest of the country, specially Monteverde and Guanacaste.[/quote]

[maravilla]

cancun was nice in 1980. i don’t care for jaco, mainly because i can’t deal with the heat. and if you don’t want to live a typical gringo lifestyle with all the bells and whistles, yes, you can do it on a grand a month. i don’t have a car, and i don’t even want a car, so that saves me probably $300 a month. there are lots of places to explore in costa rica — not every place is right for every person.

[agarcia]

[quote=”maravilla”]IL has a long history of telling people where the next hot spot to move to is. i got one newsletter from them that started out with this headline . . . “We told about Costa Rica and what a great deal that was, now we are telling you about Ecuador!” i then wrote them a letter and complained that their “promotion of these countries does nothing but attract people who shouldn’t be living in them, and after they come the prices soar, the fabric of society changes, and then they leave, leaving the rest of us with the mess that was created by all the hype! With your promotion of Ecuador, i predict it will be overrun with gringos and not a very livable place in 5 years — just like costa rica!”

I still own property in Baja but i wouldn’t live there, and my friends who DO live there travel with armed bodyguards! when i first started going there in the early 90’s it was a sleepy little fishing/artist town, then the LA Times touted it as the next Carmel, Calif and that was the end of that place! i used to go there by myself, then drive up and down the coasts between San Jose del Cabo, La Paz and Todos Santos. i never had a worry or care about driving those desolate roads alone. now i would likely be kidnapped, robbed, or murdered. i love mexico and it would be my first choice of where to live if it hadn’t been destroyed by narcos, rich gringos who support the narcos, and the rampant corruption promoted by the rich gringos. in the early 90’s there was no crime there, people left their houses unlocked, cars unlocked, and while it was still dangerous to travel at night — not because of the crime but because of the black cows that camped out on the roadway that had no lights — generally there wasn’t much to be afraid of. one of my dear friends was kidnapped and held for $1M ransom, but then he was one of the richest people in the baja and a prime target. the rest of us could just go about our business without any worries. as soon as the rich gringos moved in, the crime soon followed, along with the drugs. so there you go — IL really doesn’t have a handle on some of these things, but if any of you want to move to baja mexico, i have a lovely lot i will sell you. . . cheap!!

All of the above also applies to the Yucatan where i lived in the 80’s. i’m glad i knew that beautiful place before it became the playground for the rich and decadent, because now it has all the same problems as the rest of mexico. sad. very very sad.
(and if any of you are going to rant about discrimination and the hate in my heart, save your breath!)[/quote]

Trisha,
Does your rich baja friend know of the contempt and animosity you hold against him/her just because they have money and that you blame their kind for destroying both Mexico and Costa Rica along with any future countries you have had some experience? From your comments, you own your own home with no debt, have properties in other countries and have monthly expenses that are more than double the national wage in Costa Rica. And you don’t appear to work and can spend a large part of your time on Internet forums From the Tico perspective you ARE rich. I think you are tilting at windmills and may find that the enemy you are seeking is within yourself.

[smekuly]

Clewis

I think someone should suggest to scott they shold maybe have a dedicated forum to

1. people who actually live here

and

2. people who would like to live here lol

as I found both come from 2 totally different vantage points.

I remember my first few years when I would do nothing but dream of living here with such an attitude that wow

costa rica is this and costa rica is that

now I live here and actually had business here for 10 years

and now I have a good perspective about living here or anywhere else for that matters

no where is perfect

and like life

everything is always in a constant flux. meaning one day you wake up and everything has changed. so you either adapt or you move.

everything always is based on personal values of what is important to each individual and this also changes with time.

for example.. and I am just outlining this as my personal example for illustrative purposes.

my priorities when I first came here were

[b]women!!!! women!!! and More women!!! :D:D:D:D[/b]

[b]freedoms[/b]

[b]low taxes[/b]

[b]low cost of living[/b]

[b]weather[/b]

to name a few

now fast forward and now I am married with kids and everything so women although I always love women are NOT on the top of my list..

so now I go through the internal evaluation process and make adjustments.

for example

[b]crime and safety[/b] was never on my original list BUT now with my family it is on the top of my list.

and with time if I find my other items on my list start to be dissolve.. like

increased taxes
less freedoms: I remember back in the U.S. that nervous feeling you associate when you see the flashing lights of a coop car behind you stopping you for whatever reason..

and how free I felt when I first arrived here..

now I am actually aware of transit constraints to avoid being extorted with these high fines. since its now a cashflow for the government here.

so you go from a country that allowed a grace period to pay the marchamo which is normal in this culture

to one that

waits like hungry vultures to pounce on people to see if the marchamo is NOT paid and if you late 1 day

you pay hundreds of dollars..

different attitude here

in the end its all about our personal choices..

sorry for the rant

😀

[maravilla]

agarcia — when i lived in the yucatan, i lived in a house without running water or electricity. it was a nice little house right on the beach and it was a great simple life. my friend who was kidnapped is part of one of the original families in mexico. he didn’t go there to rape and pillage, and then leave, which is really my biggest complaint about the people who literally invade a beautiful place and do it with only one thing in mind — profit! they have no intentions of ever living in these places so it doesn’t matter to them what happens after they take the money and run. you need only to read the threads on certain developers who came, then destroyed, then left — leaving half-finished developments as an eyesore on the landscape. as for my land in mexico, you can’t even buy a beater car in costa rica for what i paid for that lot! and i moved to costa rica (and every other place i have lived) because of either the physical beauty, the simple lifestyle that’s offered (or in the case of CR — no Army was the biggest attraction!), or the ability to grow my own food. making money has never been on the list of priorities.

[clewis]

[b]smekuly[/b], I understand what you’re saying. I find a forum that includes those who live in CR a valuable resource. The notion of separation would not help those like me who seek information. The name of the site is good and when people come here they should expect helpful folks who live there to weigh in and be helpful. I don’t seek to relocate there for the women, I’ve been happily married for over 20 years. I don’t seek to relocate there to make a big footprint, quite the contrary, as I wish to blend with the locals and not impose on them. I am a retiree with meager but comfortable means, not a mega developer who scarred the land. I would say that many on here and those who visit here are the same. The problem I find here is some folks painting all of us with the same wide brush as those who have damaged the land and culture. What I find here is a constant effort to rant against all things US no matter the person or their views. Is that fair? Does that represent the majority of those here who are willing to help? I seek peace in CR, not hostility. I also would like to grow a garden. I look forward to learning the culture. When I pass I would like to think the locals felt comfortable with my imprint. Someone they knew as a friend not someone who left a large footprint like a FEW have done. I see some good here but I think most folks here are tired of the rant against regular folk who seek to live in peace and harmony with nature and the CR culture. Thanks to [b]agarcia[/b] and folks like him who show no hostility to newcomers. Thanks to all who seek to help.

[sprite]

Clewis,

you may be misunderstanding what you are reading here. I am guessing that most who leave the US do so because they have a problem staying. It is either economic, political, cultural or some other reason. Of course, many are going to have little to say that is good about the place they abandoned. If you are so sensitive that you cannot read about opposing ideas or sentiments, you will be limiting yourself to information and understanding.

Of course, there are others who emigrate looking for adventure, women, exploitation for profit, exploitation for sex, etc…. I consider some of those motivations to be destructive.

[clewis]

[quote=”sprite”]Clewis,

you may be misunderstanding what you are reading here. I am guessing that most who leave the US do so because they have a problem staying. It is either economic, political, cultural or some other reason. Of course, many are going to have little to say that is good about the place they abandoned. If you are so sensitive that you cannot read about opposing ideas or sentiments, you will be limiting yourself to information and understanding.

Of course, there are others who emigrate looking for adventure, women, exploitation for profit, exploitation for sex, etc…. I consider some of those motivations to be destructive.[/quote]

Thanks but there is no misunderstanding of what I read here. It would be extremely hard for anyone with only average intelligence to misunderstand.

[sprite]

My point is that the “rant” is not against “regualr folk” as you call them, unless you consider regular folk people who come here with the intent to profit by exploitation of the land and the women and generally disrespect the culture in a myriad of other ways. Those Americans spoil things for everybody and they deserve to be ranted against. If you have some defense of those people and of that behavior, and that is why you are offended here, then bring it forth. This is a place to do that.

[clewis]

[b]Sprite[/b] thanks for your post, but the posts I have read many times from many threads does not distinguish between those who would seek to harm CR and those who would do the opposite. The lumping together of all from the US as unwanted gringos has been well established by some here. This should be a more welcoming place that says we love CR, come join us, and how can we help you. If someone wants to express something negative that would help or inform others about CR then great. If someone just wants to show disdain for others then they should paint with a very small brush otherwise their rants just show bigotry and hatred. Peace man.

[sprite]

Tourists are welcomed by the government along with a short list of rules for behavior while in country. Resident applicants have a longer list. If you want happy, welcoming, inviting commercial web sites where a false picture of a paradise is painted for your consumption, there are plenty of those for Costa Rica prepared for you by sales people who have something to sell to you..

Face it, as Americans, we are not going to be loved and honored everywhere we go. I look at moving to Costa Rica as a favor granted to me by Costa Rica, not the other way around. I don’t need to be welcomed. Just being accepted is quite enough. Perhaps this attitude is the difference between the Ugly American and the quiet expat who has managed to blend in and be accepted by his new home.

[clewis]

[quote=”sprite”]Tourists are welcomed by the government along with a short list of rules for behavior while in country. Resident applicants have a longer list. If you want happy, welcoming, inviting commercial web sites where a false picture of a paradise is painted for your consumption, there are plenty of those for Costa Rica prepared for you by sales people who have something to sell to you..

Face it, we are not going to be loved and honored everywhere we go. I look at moving to Costa Rica as a favor granted to me by Costa Rica, not the other way around. I don’t need to be welcomed. Just being accepted is quite enough.[/quote]
.
Sorry but you have either missed my point or you’re in denial of the facts. You don’t live there yourself. Enough of this thread for me. Flame away.

[waggoner41]

[quote=”maravilla”]when outsiders come to a country that has been hyped as paradise and a cheap place to live and buy up vast tracts of land to develop and sell at a very good profit, it changes the structure of the society, whether you like it or not. i have tried to make as small a footprint on this culture as i can; others didn’t care what happened after they built megamansions, and ran off with the money. i am here for the long haul. and i care what happens to society here and the disparaties that occur, and the crime that ensues. these are facts. not just my opinions. and anybody who comes here, or reads a newspaper, or watches local news will know about these things. i’m not letting any cat out of the bag, and just because i see the changes that have occurred and don’t particularly like all of them doesn’t mean i am bitter. THAT is your erroneous assumption.[/quote]

I have to agree with Maravilla.

There are those who came here to rape and pillage a poor country by buying the land dirt-cheap and taking advantage of cheap labor to make enough improvements to cheat Gringo buyers with outrageous prices and outlandish profits. Some of those developers had not intended to complete their projects and simply absconded with the cash in hand.

There are those who live in their gated communities and take advantage of cheap labor to live a life they could never afford in the States. There was never any intention of enjoying the culture, the people and the country.
We are here to enjoy the country, the people, the culture and the climate. If it were not so there would have been little reason to move here.

We live apart from other Gringos and we certainly live differently than the locals in that we have no gates, do security doors and no bars on the windows but they are our friends and neighbors who look out for us and prevent others who work for us and sell us what we need from charging what many Gringos pay. They are part of our security system in knowing who the local thieves are and warning us against them. We are currently building a fence to prevent our dogs from harassing the neighbors walking down our street.

This lifestyle is available in the vastly greater part of Costa Rica away from the enclaves of foreigners crouched behind their fences and gates waiting for the next crew of professional criminals to find the right time to strike.

Jaco and other areas like it are becoming hellholes of drug users and “fun” seekers who are a part of the current drug problem in certain small areas of the country.

All together Costa Rica is still by far the best place to be economic crisis or not.

[camby]

I have considered Ecuador too..any thoughts on that nation vs CR?

That said, I would do my best to blend in, no fancy neighborhoods,etc…..

[Author]

Posts