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i’m not sure how to reply scott.
soldier makes some statements that are quite amazing so i reply accordingly. if the statements were not so over the top, i could let them go, even agree.
gdocop asked me where i got my information so i told him. he put me on the spot so i replied.
i’ve been coming to CR for the last 6 years. I spend my time between downtown SJ and Jaco and talk with many expats. My first name is Garland. I don’t think my last name is important. In the 6 years i’ve been coming i met many people (full timers in CR, half timers, renters, owners, vacationers). i’ve heard it all.
i love CR, but my position is that america has everything and more than CR so be careful in your “reason” (can’t say how very important this is) for choosing CR. i might move there one day and i might buy a home to live in one day in CR, but i’m not leaving america with any ill feelings and i’m not coming to CR as if it is better than america or as if i’m escaping from america.
But I’m just taking a guess here Garland that America or the part that you call home doesn’t have such wonderful attractions like the Del Ray, Blue Marlin, and the Beetle Bar that have kept you coming back to SJ and Jaco all these years! LOL Not that I’m judging, but there is afterall “something” that keeps you coming back to CR.
I’d have to wonder if the folks that you’ve met in your travels (if I have your itinerary right) are truly a good indicator of CR and it’s “charms”. Having visited Jaco several times I can state (with complete confidence) that if you’re judging CR by the “experiences” you’ve had in the place as an overall picture of CR… you need to get out a bit more and explore the rest of the country.
Jaco can be fun… and dangerous… but it’s by no mean a good indicator of the rest of CR.
Jaco and downtown SJ are about as bad a reflection of CR as one could choose. You take your money and your life in your own hands in those places. Now if you are in the market for casino’s and ho’s you’ve found nirvana, or L.A., NYC, Motown, South Beach, etc.
Imxploring, you are judging. the guys that hang out in the downtown and in jaco, they are still experiencing CR. some more than others, for sure. some are “ALL” about what happens downtown, while others use downtown when they need it and then they go back to their CR home or apartment not to return to downtown for 5 or so days. some drink like fishes while others don’t touch alcohol at all. in the downtown, it is easy to find guys that have residence in CR and have bought a condo or house so they’ve been through the process and are actually good sources of information.
it sounds as if you’ve not been there yet at the same time, you are judging their knowledge of CR and experiences in CR. is that fair?
it is likely that none of the members here haven’t been downtown for more than a beer and gambling?
[quote=”clayton”]Jaco and downtown SJ are about as bad a reflection of CR as one could choose. You take your money and your life in your own hands in those places. Now if you are in the market for casino’s and ho’s you’ve found nirvana, or L.A., NYC, Motown, South Beach, etc.[/quote]
the reflection is that in which the gov’t of CR permits. it isn’t fair to blame people for coming when all they are doing is completely legal. if CR wants a better reflection, they have every right to make illegal what is currently legal.
and you are right, one should be very careful when walking just 1 block alone after dark in the downtown. one’s chances of getting murdered are slim(i think), but chances of getting roughed up and robbed are much greater.
[quote=”garland”]you move from a country where you can speak with your vote, you can get involved at any level to help change what you don’t like to a country where you can’t do anything about the policies so you still engage in US political banter as if you were here. WOW! you are looking BACKWARD, not forward!
[quote]It is impossible to leave the U.S. out of any conversation when whatever happens in the U.S. affects every nation in the world.
GWB not only put the screws to the U.S. we are no less affected by the idiot choices made by politicos in the U.S. Looking backward is supporting those policies of lassez faire.
Remember that the mortgage crisis in the States brought major financial problems for the entire planet.
We are not immune here and we know it hence we argue our points of view.
Those of us who are here are enjoying a life not possible for those who are holed up in the U.S.
[quote=”garland”] well, people in the country side of america can and do still leave the door unlocked at night. try that in CR especially considering all your neighbors know you are american. try leaving without locking the door to go to the grocery store. the situation in CR is worse in the sense that it is actually your neighbors who are robbing you while you are away….as you drive down the street, the entire neighborhood knows who robbed you, but would anyone tell you?.[/quote]
We do have all those things that typical Americans possess but we have no bars on my windows, no steel portals and no iron gates or fences on my property and have never been robbed. Our neighbors are our friends who ask if there is anything they can do to help and they know they can ask our help when needed.
Those who have isolated themselves in gated American Ghettos may have a problem but they didn’t come here to enjoy Costa Rica or its people. The men came here mainly for plunder and sex or to live off the fat of Costa Rica.
We are not the only expats who are enjoying living among the Ticos.
just returned from a long vacation.
[quote=”waggoner41″]Those of us who are here are enjoying a life not possible for those who are holed up in the U.S.[/quote]
me, my family and friends live well in America. we do not feel “holed up” at all to my knowledge. we live in the 945xx zipcode and love it.
[quote=”waggoner41″]We do have all those things that typical Americans possess but we have no bars on my windows, no steel portals and no iron gates or fences on my property and have never been robbed. [/quote]
my friends in CR speak of a completely different experience. my friends, who live in CR, are extremely concerned about security. i’m the careless type so i leave my car unlocked and my house unlocked so i’d definitely have to live “holed up” (behind a gate) in CR to be comfortable. most of my friends, if they live in a house in CR, hire a fulltime maid so someone is always home to avoid having to lock down everything when they leave the house.
it is good that you are not so concern for it truly makes life much less stressful.
[quote=”waggoner41″]The men came here mainly for plunder and sex or to live off the fat of Costa Rica.[/quote]
basically an issue with the CR gov’t *and* culture, not the men that come to partake. for every plundering and sex crazed american man in CR there are 1000 ticos who are the same so what gives? men are men for the most part so to single out any group is unfair. CR gov’t could change this aspect of CR over night, if they so choose.
[quote=”waggoner41″]or to live off the fat of Costa Rica.[/quote]
for american men, what fat is there to live off in CR?
i don’t have bars on my windows or razor wire on my garden wall. i got rid of the alarm system, too. all this extra security that Ticos have comes from their cultural mindset of not wanting to wait for someone to do something after it happens. they will go to great lengths to stop something from happening, hence the wire, the bars, etc. also bars are a spanish culture influence. many houses in france, italy, and spain all sport bars on the windows and doors and nobody seems to think there is anything unusual about that.
costa rica is one of the top spots for sexual tourism. i hate that about costa rica, because for that to be a way of life, women and children have to be exploited.
[quote=”garland”] we live in the 945xx zipcode and love it. {/quote]
then why do you rant on this forum?
[quote=”garland”] my friends in CR speak of a completely different experience. my friends, who live in CR, are extremely concerned about security. [/quote]
Your friends are probably the very ones of whom I speak. They didn’t come here to enjoy the country and the people. I dont believe the crime rate in Costa Rica is any higher than in the U.S. The chances of an armed invasion of your home ios certainly less.
[quote=”garland”] it is good that you are not so concern for it truly makes life much less stressful. [/quote]
[quote=”garland”] basically an issue with the CR gov’t *and* culture, not the men that come to partake. [/quote] Do we deduce, then, that in your mind it is right to take advantage of people who are poor?
[quote=”garland”] for american men, what fat is there to live off in CR?[/quote]
Obviously you are not familiar with the price of land in the areas that Americans have bought for a song and jacked up the price beyond what the locals can afford. It is not only Americans. The Europeans and Americans are just as guilty of destroying vast tracts of forest for the wood products and to plant bananas and pineapple.
[quote=”maravilla”]i don’t have bars on my windows or razor wire on my garden wall.
costa rica is one of the top spots for sexual tourism. i hate that about costa rica, because for that to be a way of life, women and children have to be exploited.[/quote]Maravilla, #1 – I would bet that you have Tico friends who have been helpful to you and been happy to do so. In spite of those who try to charge expats three times what they would charge a Tico, many other Ticos have been very helpful to us.
#2 – Regarding sexual exploitation: I happen to agree with you but I have met many women who have children by Ticos who would desert them at the drop of a hat or a pair of panties and never look back or care about the children that they sired.
The women are primarily under educated and have few resources in a macho society. They take advantage where they can and it is usually on their backs with expat men. They know where the money is. Expats can and do pay as much as half a months wages for a Tico to spend a night with a pretty girl.It is cultural and one day the Ticos will wake up to the women saying “No more, I am your equal.” I hope we live to see that day.
my tico neighbors have made it possible for me to function in this country. i couldn’t have settled in as i have without their help.
the fact that women see their bodies as their only currency is very telling of our society worldwide, not just here in CR. and this kind of thinking isn’t just for the very poor; i’ve known several women who manipulated wealthy men with sex to get what they want, usually a child to ensure a steady income stream for at least 18 years. the part of the sex trade that i have a hard time reconciling are the people who come to poor countries to exploit children as young as 4 or 5 to have sex with. i can’t even “go” there or wrap my mind around such a concept. we had such a person in our neighborhood a few years ago whose proclivities ran to young children, whether boys or girls. he’s now serving 8 years in the puntarenas prison. the judge imposed the most severe sentence he could based on the very young years of the victims.
Scott I think you hit the nail on the head..What every happens in the U.S. still effects the citizens living here..tks for your comment
[quote=”Scott”]And let’s be honest, most North Americans and Brits don’t speak enough Spanish to complain anyway do they?[/quote]
I think this speaks to the fact that most expats dont come here for the benefit of Costa Rica but rather to take financial advantage of a poor nation.They are no different than the politicos, from the president on down, and other types who pocket millions at the expense of the country.
CAJA is the one good thing that I see here despite the complaints of expats.
The educational system is light years behind the States. We have seven Tico kids in house that by the time they are ready for colegio dont even have a clue as to their place in Costa Rica or Costa Ricas place in the world. They know very little of the history of Costa Rica and nothing of world history. They can read and write and that is about it. [b]They are not taught how to think.[/b]
Although we cannot vote each of us has opportunities to make changes in infinitesimal ways by providing assistance in the lives of the people we do touch.
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