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Hi, I saw Scott’s response to the investor looking to spend $500,000 for an apartment in Jaco. Now, I’ve been to Jaco a number of times and its grown tremendously in the 5 years I’ve known it. But its probably one of the lower ranking beaches in terms of cleanliness and aesthetic appeal.
So what’s the attraction to this area? Party town, drugs, hookers seem pretty common. Not exactly the place to invest half a million for an apartment from my viewpoint – so what is the allure?
Cheers!
“Different horses for different courses.”
I prefer the mountains to the beach, and peace and quiet to clubs and bars anyday but, many people love that …
Jaco is very much a party town and I can assure you that this weekend and next weekend Jaco will be absolutely HOPPING with the big Easter vacation week festivities … And some people like that kind of an environment.
And don’t forget it is a big attraction for surfers too…
Scott
True, many people like the club scene and even go for the drugs and the hookers……sad, but true. I speculate that eventually Jaco will be cleaned up, the drug pushers and hookers politely led out of town. Probably to be replaced by high class hookers, but that’s another argument. It will become an upscale town where the typical retired couple wouldn’t even be able to afford a house in what is now a typical Tico neighborhood there in Jaco. I am sure that is many years off, but very possible. I see the drastic changes in Panama where they have taken very pro-active steps to clean up the crime in many of thier cities. Costa Rica should take note and realize that perhaps that is why I recently heard that Panama passed Costa Rica as one of the most desired places for foreign retirees.
Not sure what “most desired” means but aren’t there a LOT more foreign retirees here in Costa Rica rather than in Panama?
I’m assuming one of the reasons the Americans chose Costa Rica for their largest embassy in Central America is because they felt it was most appropiate for their needs…
There is a popular newsletter that promotes Panama and Nicaragua and they have been very successful in attracting the traditional media to check out their stories. “Most desired” is easy to say but hardly a scientific quantity that easily measured.
At the end of the day though, actions speak louder than words and from what I can see, many people do visit Panama, Nicaragua and Belize to ‘consider’ retiring there but far more end up choosing Costa Rica… Therefore, I would suggest that Costa Rica is “most desired.”
Scott
I would agree with you Scott. It was just a conversation I had with someone living in Panama, so I’m sure their opinion was somewhat biased, and it is true there are probably many more retirees in Costa Rica than in Panama. So based simply on numbers CR would fall under “most desired”. It was our most desired place, that is why we moved here. I have not researched it or actually seen any studies on it, but you are probably correct. What I did see first hand is some of what is attracting people to Panama in recent years. The better roads, cleaner cities, etc. I think in the long run that could eventually hurt Costa Rica. That being said, we love Costa Rica and it is our home. I would love to see CR take some of the steps that Panama has taken.
Great roads would be nice for sure but there is one thing that Panama will never have much of… Costa Ricans!
And the people are a HUGE reason why I love living here.
Scott
Can somebody comment information from this site.
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/79/Costa_Rica_Nightmare.html
Manny Crow sounds like a very young person and I can’t seem to find anything else that he has written on the internet…
The crime numbers for the poorest parts of San Jose are not attractive but then again the crime numbers for the poorest parts of any major city are not attractive.
Retired Americans (USA now has over 2 million people in prison so there’a few criminals there too) are not planning on living their retirement in a corrugated tin shack in the worst slums of a small Central American country
And one of his first sentences states “Every time I’ve gone to Costa Rica I’ve had a ball. The weather is great; the beaches lovely.”
Scott
Manny said:
Stretched beyond limits by crescent debts with onerous interest rates on real estate loans (18.75% to 20.5%) and credit cards (31% to 47% APR.), the historically laid-back and friendly “Tico” (Costa Rica national) is rapidly evolving into the stressed and suspicious kind. Economy and Crime besiege him. Surveys show general distrust toward government and politics. Cynicism grows at the same rate than poverty and corruption.
hmmmmmmm, sounds like America to me!
It’s sort of like reading a piece by Noam Chomsky…A lot of truth and scary predictions. Lets hope he’s wrong and the Ticos and the the poorest among them will not be getting the short end of the stick as we scurry to put our money down on the next condo project and further and un-naturaly toy with there delicate economy. Yes it does sound like the U.S., as our government piles money into keeping the rich in the green, fund wars at unheard of costs…the average “joe” has no health care and there is no money for educational programs and in my home city(NYC) apartments average $1000 per sguare foot!!. Go figure?
Except that the Chomsky pieces paint a catastrophically negative picture about the USA… Let’s hope they’re both way off the mark!
Scott
Chomsky is certainly a doomsayer, but for the most part he is pretty right on. And that’s why I’m leaving, never to return. Poverty is horrible no matter where it occurs. Here in the US we have 40,000,000 people who live below the poverty line. How is this any better than any other place? It’s ALL bad.
$1000 a sq foot….that’s supply and demand. You don’t have an inalienable right to live in the accomodation of your choosing, unless you work for it and can afford it. Thank God for free enterprise.
40 million in the US living below the poverty line…..who’s line? The average, below the poverty line family in the US has two cars, two televisions, telephone, a home they are at least renting and is probably being subsidized by a govt. program the rest of us pay for. They also have an endless supply of govt. and charitable programs supplying food in various forms. It’s only a guess, but many probably even have cell phones. Poverty is definitely a horrible thing, but please keep in context.
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