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It seems that most end up moving on sooner or later. I own some property in Samara and my friend up the hill who has been living in CR for 10 years is on his way out. Even after he built an incredibly beautiful home there. I am thinking he no longer feels safe because he had some serious dogs brought in from Germany for protection. He also owns a successful business in CR which I am not sure he is selling just yet. This is not someone who came and went in a year or two he has been there for 10 years but is no longer interested.
i heard a similar story the other day from a friend who said she knew someone who, after 17 years here, had had it, and one day, she packed a suitcase, left her home, husband, and dog and went back to the States. She said she just couldn’t take anymore of what CR had to offer! sometimes i understand how people can do that! jejeje
[quote=”mpgyacht”]It seems that most end up moving on sooner or later… [/quote]
Bloody hell eh! Could you make more assumptions?
According to the US Census Bureau [ http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/geomob.html ]: “The “average American” makes 11.7 moves in a lifetime…” so what you’re telling us is that this man has lived in the same place in Costa Rica for way longer than the average American lives in a home in the US?
Is that really a big deal?
You say: “… most end up moving”
“Most” means what exactly? 10%? 50%? 95%?
You say: “… on his way out.”
He’s dying? He’s on his way “out” to what exactly?
You say: “I am thinking he no longer feels safe… ”
You’re “thinking” but you clearly don’t actually know for sure, is that it?
And you’re “thinking” because of what exactly?
And you say that he’s: “…no longer interested.”
He’s “no longer interested” in what exactly?
You say: “He also owns a successful business in CR which I am not sure he is selling just yet.”
You admit to being “not sure” that he’s selling it which could mean he’s never ever considered selling his “successful business”, is that right?
But you do admit that he “owns a successful business” in Costa Rica, right?
And you’re happy to publish you’re very uncertain opinions and wild assumptions in a Discussion Forum that reaches THOUSANDS of people dreaming of retirement in Costa Rica, is that right?
Bottom line? From your comments you clearly don’t know much at all about this man and you are obviously assuming a whole boat load of things…
Perhaps his dogs persuaded him to move to Germany?
As my Sergeant Major in the Royal Marines used to say:
“When you assume, you make an “ass” out of “u” and you make an ass out of “me”… ASS-U-ME!
I’ve lived here for 11 years and feel safer than anywhere I ever lived in the UK or in the USA and 8 other countries I’ve lived in but thanks for your vague, totally unproven assumptions!
Scott Oliver Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThe original post opens with, “It seems that most end up moving on sooner or later.” and that’s certainly true for me.
I moved on . . . from Washington, DC to Washington, DC to Arlington, VA to Arlington, VA to Arlington, VA to Arlington ,VA to Harrisburg, PA to Greenville, NC to Mechanicsburg, PA to Washington, DC to Washington, DC to Washington, DC to Washington, DC to Washington, DC to Boston to Norfolk, VA to Norfolk, VA to Detroit to Holly, MI to Holly, MI to Bancroft, MI to Grand Ledge, MI to Lansing, MI to Lansing, MI to Lansing, MI to Southern Shores, NC to Grecia, Alajuela.
Question is, what’s his point?
This posting demonstrates an all-too-common logic flaw, “generalizing from the specific”, in which the writer assumes that what pertains to one or a few individuals or instances can be generalized across an entire population. My neighbor and friend, Juan Carlos, told me once that Americanos use more water than Costa Ricans which he concluded because he had seen one American’s water bill. Would you bet money on that?
you guys make a valid point.. BUT on the other side of the coin we all have to make reach our own conclusions regarding the way we interpret information and the world around us.
if you personally have never been exposed to crime here does this mean there is no crime problem??
example:
if you go back through the history of this forum and evaluate every thread related to someone that makes a statement negative about costa rica like. “Crime is surely on the rise here” or ” I do not feel safe here in costa rica” etc etc
you will find our beloved host Scott Oliver counter with figures and facts stating how much more the U.S. is dangerous or comparing many times apples to oranges in my humble opinion how in comparison the US is more dangerous.. ETC ETC
does this mean that crime is not escalating here?????
so I guess my point is what is the truth??.. and I think the truth will be different to different people based on your internal map of experiences and the way you see the world.
which is why these types of forums exist.. to develop a place where like minded people come together and share thier own version of reality.
So Scott here are a few bits and pieces of my reality:
1. Crime in Costa Rica has dramatically: why???? only the shadow knows..lol but in my little world I would have to state that ONE of the reasons is that CRIME here is good economic business.
2. The cost of Living has also risen. so now between the cost of living in CR and the change in the economic scene in the U.S. . they are becoming very similar. hence lose the leverage living here without good infrastructure.
3. the few little economic perks left here are FERIAS and the low TAX bite on property, and such.. but this will also change…
they are trying to pass the $300 per year tax on all S.A. .. which sucks in my opinion.. but such is life.
the days are gone when you can drive and make an error by going into san jose and the wrong placa day.. and pay a small $20 fine… now its $80 bucks
if you talk on the phone which I do NOT do and get whacked with $400 fine. ( more than any US city)
I want to state for a fact that I believe costa rica is still the best bang for the buck.. [b]in this moment in time[/b][u][/u].. but I also believe this will change in the near future
the biggest plus that will help costa rica ( again in my opinion) is that you can still get fresh food and water here. and the soil is so rich that one does not need to have super green thumb to grow stuff here. combine this with a great living climate. I think we are good.
steve
PS. where else can you go???? I dunno.. wouldn’t it be ironic that Cuba develops into one of the new emerging places to be in.
To each his/her own……however, I feel safer in Costa Rica than Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There are at least two or three murders a day in Philadelphia. I am always in combat mode in Philadelphia. Hell, I felt safer in Vietnam! In Costa Rica, I can finally relax. It all boils down to expectations and experiences. Good people, clean air, good food, relaxed lifestyle and beautiful nature; what more could you ask for.
I’ve “moved on” 10 times in the past 13 years. I have been in Costa Rica for 11 years and have moved 7 times. I think I may sit tight for a while as I have found my dream farm. Prior to 98 I had lived in 4 states and countless homes… so sure people move on. I have… and thankful to be living in Costa Rica. It’s not perfect but no place is. Like we used to say in Florida… you don’t like the way we do it here… then leave!
😆Hey Steve, right you are. You also failed to mention the declining exchange rate. The cultural degredation and the rising ethnocentric behavior. Seems like the good aspects of living here are decling and the bad aspects are rising. It was all so good for such a long time I guess it was an invetible decline. But one thing that has not changed is the weather, and also unfortuneately the ignorance level. Also after you have lived here a good while your level of performance expectation drops so low that you think at times things are improving, ha!. At times I have seem glimers of hope but in general Ticos at work seem to me to be the most disintereted work force I have ever seen. Also I know many people, like me, that absoulutley lothe the two tier pricing. Gringo price Tico price. What is amazing is that it so blatant. A service provider was on the phone to a transport guy and I was listening and when the service provider asked how much, the transport guy asked if it was a gringo. I find this most distasteful.
Another aspect that is changing is women’s behavior. Men have fallen into disdain and fewer women want a traditional family. Fatherhood is denigraded although this seems to be the trend worldwide. More and more womens day rehtoric and laws biased against men. These changes make living here less diserable. The amount of women that are the bring home to mother type is rapidly shrinking. Honorable women that will sacrafice thier time to raise a family seem in shorter supply than ever. Ticos tell me that they would rather have a forign women for a wife. Amazing. Traditional attitudes bye bye. It will soon be a country of Kardashians. Civility women’s honor and chivalry are on the decline. look at the driving habits.
The other day I saw i guy wanting to fight over a minor traffic mistake. That would have never happened several years ago.
I lament all of the above. I wish it was not so. I would trade all the equity in my property to turn the clock back. Still we have the best weather and some intereting characters and there is never a dull moment if you speak Spanish. However, chosing to live here is not the no-brainer it once was….
These threads are always filled with anecdotal stories comparing life in present day Costa Rica with a golden past. I don’t give a damn what things were like in the past and nostalgia makes for inaccurate memories anyway. That is absolutely useless information. The consensus is always the same; “things in Costa Rica have changed for the worse.” Wow, what a surprise! Is there any place on earth right now where the consensus says that things have improved?
I don’t think anyone needs to be reminded that things have gotten worse compared to the past in Costa Rica or anywhere else for that matter. It would be more useful to compare present day life in Costa Rica with current living conditions in any other country. Our species has been soiling its collective nest since day one and the population is increasing exponentially. It has boiled down to a choice of various flavors of environmental and cultural degradation. I am 61 years old and have seen remarkably drastic negative changes in the States. Costa Rica is still a heaven compared to this circus.
[quote=”sprite”]These threads are always filled with anecdotal stories comparing life in present day Costa Rica with a golden past. I don’t give a damn what things were like in the past and nostalgia makes for inaccurate memories anyway. That is absolutely useless information. The consensus is always the same; “things in Costa Rica have changed for the worse.” Wow, what a surprise! Is there any place on earth right now where the consensus says that things have improved?
I don’t think anyone needs to be reminded that things have gotten worse compared to the past in Costa Rica or anywhere else for that matter. It would be more useful to compare present day life in Costa Rica with current living conditions in any other country. Our species has been soiling its collective nest since day one and the population is increasing exponentially. It has boiled down to a choice of various flavors of environmental and cultural degradation. I am 61 years old and have seen remarkably drastic negative changes in the States. Costa Rica is still a heaven compared to this circus.[/quote]
Great reply. It’s nice to see a realist posting.Sprite, when was the last time you lived in Costa Rica? if ever. When was the last time you visited? I an very well invested here and belive me I wish things were getting better. I see your point about it getting worse in the states and yes if your world view consists of the states and Costa Rica I guess CR is still the better choice. It seems that many visitors to this site have probally been to Costa Rica but maybe like yourself have not been back in a while (years?), so reporting on the changes (although negative) is not useless for those who see CR through tourist eyes or are infrequent visitors.
However, I am guessing that things are not getting worse all over Latin America. I will be on an extended (monkey) business vacation for about 3 month and I will be in Colombia, Brazi and Chile. So lets see how it is over there.
Let me think of some good changes here… The overdevelopment has slowed… if anybody can help contribute to a list of good changes here I am all eyes…
This thread is about people leaving CR and although Scott rebutle was well constructed, I shop craigs list specifically looking for US products to furnish my rental units and meet many people who are leaving and selling off their stuff. So I know what the issues are with them.
Most of the time its the culture. They don’t like the habit of throwing trash, the increased cost of living, the driving habits and the arogance and the rampant petty thievery, increased street poverty and drunkeness. Most of the forigners I encounter live on the west side and they are concerned with saftey as well.
San Jose is changing and like you allued the gap between the haves and the have nots is widening. That is an even larger problem here as Ticos with less means are getting desperate. Desperate people do desperat things.
I see it as a matter of greed. IMO Ticos used to be happy with a simple life. Not so anymore, and they want more material items. Therefore they jack up the prices among themselves, not just forigners. It leads to costs spiraling upwards. If you have the means you absorb it, but with may Ticos only able to afford one light bulb at night there is no room for absorbtion.
So if you are a realist, then get ready for more lamenting because that is the view in the streets. Ticos are lamenting their compatriots greed that is causing extreme hardships. To me Pura Vida has been replaced by Pura Greeda. If you never experienced it here when the smiles and brotherhood were in vouge and living as you do so far away, it easy to say, aw its bad all over, give me a break. But that is the callous way of western thinking that has now overtaken Costa Rica and the inconsideration that perpetuates Pura Greeda, which is a combination of Tico and American values that has brought us the Tican.
The indoctrinations of Americans to have excess is spreading here. I came here because I liked the culture. I don’t like it anymore. That was a long time ago though and yes things change. But its too easy and IMO callous to judge and dismiss them when you are not affected by them.
I know this is a we love costa rica website, and probally the finest Costa Rica website around, Scott does a great job and I admire his dedication so I have not been posting recently because I have not had a lot of postive Costa Rica inspiration lately. So I will try not to be a downer and post when i have positive things to say. Overall I believe that it is still better than most places and lifestyles in the states.
I recently received a phone call from a friend in Quepos who has a [i]vivero[/i] and whose wife provides all the wedding flowers for the hotels in the area.
He was telling me, that so many hotels and restaurants around this area, are closing or have gone bankrupt and that one large popular hotel, laid off 35 staff this week. He has lived in Costa Rica, 37 years, and can’t remember a worse economic time. He reported that this week since, Easter that they have had no telephone service due to the electrical lines being stolen to the pueblo he is in. This was the third time in 5 months.
According to others who live around there, many that remain in business now are in dire straights or burnt out and desperate to get out… but need to sell, in order to do so.The following article in La Nacion on Thursday speaks of the “crisis” in Guanacaste
Crisis provoca salida de empresas en Guanacaste [ http://www.nacion.com/2011-05-19/Economia/NotasSecundarias/Economia2781801.aspx ]
Highlights would include:
1,500,000M2 of new construction in Guanancaste in 2006 but less than 600,000M2 in 2010
Unemployment in the Chorotega region has doubled from 5.5% in 2008 to 10.1% en 2009
The Guanacaste Chamber of Tourism has 40 less members today than it did three years ago.
Liberia issued 79 business licenses in 2010 compared to 171 in 2009
I am not a veteran visitor to Costa Rica. I only began visiting 5 years ago and make the trip 3 times a year for short periods to the area where my property is located. But change has been happening everywhere since the beginning of recorded history. It happens many times more rapidly today than in our grandparents’ and parents’ times, so our exposure to change and the resulting experience is intensified. But so what? Where can you go to avoid this? What can you do to stop it?
Technology has made sure that the world is now one big nervous system. Larger, more powerful cultures and economic systems gobble up or infect smaller ones. It happens in varying degrees everywhere as the planet loses diversity . Look at the shrinking indigenous cultures of the Amazon and the Australian Outback as dominant cultures absorb or destroy them. Read how the planet is experiencing another mass extinction as three species disappear every hour while our species continues to grow in numbers. And we are going to complain about the Ticos becoming as acquisitive as we are as if this is only happening in Costa Rica?
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