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Julie,
I’m not sure why you specify the Grecia area. It seems to me that if you’ve already been there, you wouldn’t be searching the internet for educational travel. Sure, what you see in cyberspace will be expensive, those are market prices for Gringos stuck at their computers in the US.
If you’ve already been to CR, you’d know that you don’t have to pay some company big bucks to put it all together for you. You can just come down, choose your Spanish immersion school, and find a place to live nearby all on you own for a fraction of the price.
Conversa and Intensa are two language schools that have been around for a long time there. Both have a lot of Gringo clientele, as well as multiple locations. I’m sure other people can recommend other schools.
Homestay? How about just renting a room from one of the thousands of families that offer it? The sign in the window will say “Alq Hab”. You’ll find a wide range of quality, usually from very bad (Gringo criteria) to just basic.
Traveling alone? I know a lot of women have some trepidation about this, but I’ve heard from many that say it’s not a problem, as long as you take some basic precautions.
rf2cr,
Yes, I do have businesses is the U.S., and yes I am also frustrated with local, state and federal government requirements. Just recently we hired a contractor for two weeks. He only showed up half the time, and did a lousy job when he did, so we didn’t ask him to come back. Well guess what, he filed for unemployment and won. Evidently our State regulations on what constitutes an “employee” have radically changed. Technically speaking if you give someone $10.00 for shoveling your sidewalk he’s an employee now.
So, in other words, I know exactly how you feel. It’s funny you should mention street lighting. Costa Ricans claim that San Jose was the second city in the Americas to get street lighting, after New York. I’ve never checked the veracity of this claim, but the story always includes how ambitious the Spanish aristocracy type (for lack of a better term) city leaders were, and how they also brought over the National Theater piece by piece.
As far as making comparisons, I’m not sure how to discuss these things without comparing. It’s the only way to help people understand the differences.
So, in your town there’s no street lighting, cable tv or broadband internet, and after 20 months and $50k spent you still haven’t been able to divide your property. Sounds like you’re well-prepared to handle the frustrations of dealing with some of these same issues in CR. There are others, of course, that will be new to you. Here’s some more detail:
1. Different legal foundations – In the US our society is based on English Common Law and judicial precedent. In Latin America it’s still pretty much based on the old Roman Codes, with numerous and conflicting patches added over time. It’s truly a jumble, and this legal chaos makes it exceedingly difficult for legal frameworks to stand up to constitutional scrutiny. In business terms, this means that there are a hundred ways in which the government can interfere in your entrepreneurial endeavors. The flip side is that Costa Rican MBAs can find two hundred ways to get out of these predicaments, and to take advantage of all the myriad loopholes. The problem is that not many Gringos have Tico MBAs.
2. Bureaucracy: Yes, it exists in the US as well, but in Costa Rica it’s taken to new extremes. Client service in the private sector is pretty bad in CR, and in the government sector it’s even worse. This is a generalization, and certainly some government services are very good, but it is not uncommon to walk into a government or business establishment and wait at the counter for several minutes while the employees chat with each other before they attend to you. If you interrupt or otherwise demand more immediate attention, you’ll get the brush off. On the legal side of things, these bureaucracies exist in the same chaotic legal soup as everyone else, and must navigate complex, convoluted and conflicting operating framework. Look at the state of the department of immigration right now and you can see an example of this.
To give you another example, non-profit organizations must re-file with the government annually to maintain their status. In the US I do that online, and it takes them a couple days to finalize it. In CR it can take up to 18 months, so in fact you’re never truly legal.
3. Unions – The unions runs several of the industries in CR, and if they don’t get their way (i.e. protection from competitive factors), they make life difficult for everyone with their “Turtle Strikes”. This includes port workers, ICE, teachers, and others. Yes, there are unions and strikes in the US, but they seem more common in CR, and because of the small size of the country, the effect is always national. When the taxi drivers go on strike, they block all the roads. This is not an infrequent thing. There always seems to be something in the way of getting anything done. That’s why the joke “Costa Rica Hell” is so funny to people who’ve lived there for a while.
4. Business “Classes” – Costa Rica is historically a more socialistic country than the US, and therefore its economy is more centrally controlled. It is often said that there are around 50 families that pretty much run political and economic life there. If you’re a member of one of these families, it’s much easier to get ahead in politics, or in business. If you’re not, you need to befriend someone with “patas”. If you can’t do that, you’re on your own. Any business is a risky proposition, even in the US. But as long as you have money, the playing field is more even in the U.S.
5. Infrastructure – OK, so you have some infrastructure issues just outside Palm Springs. I would argue that these issues are much more critical in CR. While much has been done recently to improve the main roads in the country, it’s still dangerous to drive faster than 20 mph or so on most rural roads, and San Jose is now in perpetual gridlock. I know, so is New York, but in Costa Rica all roads lead to San Jose. You can’t do business in Costa Rica without spending time (in traffic, and in line) in their sole metropolis.
Internet access is good in San Jose, but bad in most other places.
Electricity is also good in San Jose, but iffy elsewhere. There are lots of spikes, so industrial strength surge protectors, as well as backup batteries are a must for computers. There are many stories of people’s tvs exploding and the like. One interesting thing they do there is put a knot in electric cords – something about making electricity move in a circular fashion that cancels out surges.
Water is an issue. The quality is very high, but even in parts of San Jose there is rationing during the dry season.
Telephone lines are easy to get in some areas, and impossible in others. Sometimes the lines are saturated as well, and you can’t get through.
One time we lost phone, electric and water all at the same time at our house (where I based my business). Life gets interesting. I remember I went to the ICE office, stood in line for an hour, after which they gave me a number. Another hour passed and my number was called. I went to the desk and said that my phone service was out. They told me I had to call that in. I repeated that my phone didn’t work. They told me to call from the public phones outside. I tried – they were broken… This is the endless cycle of chasing your tail in Costa Rica that gets frustrating.
6. Theft – As I and many other people have said, it’s rampant and endemic. Budgets for security are huge. The walls people build around their houses cost more than the house. If you live in a house, unless you have live-in help, you quickly become a slave to that house, as you can’t leave it alone even with that big wall out your window. In the business world, this means extra budgets for guards, as well as contracting with a securities transport company. The last thing you want to do is routinely carry money to the bank. Business security measures in San Jose are as extreme as the worst inner-city neighborhoods in the U.S.
7. Soccer – When Saprisa and La Liga are playing, don’t count on making your efficiency quotas that day. When La Selección make the final cut internationally, you can pretty much forget getting any work done at all.
8. Holidays – There are only a few more official holidays in CR than in the US, but unofficially the day before and after are taken off by many as well. This gets extreme during Semana Santa, when San Jose becomes a veritable ghost town for a week.
9. Language – If you can’t communicate, don’t expect to be able to transact business well. 1.000 is really one thousand in CR, and 2/9/06 is September 2nd. Hand gestures are wildly different as well, and you can easily insult people if you don’t use them properly. Rudimentary Spanish 101 will not empower you to talk to people very well. As in English, writing and speech are very different. When you get better at it you can talk to people, but you still won’t know what they mean because people are so indirect – you have to read between the lines.
10. Culture – What motivates a Gringo is vastly different than what motivates a Tico. Gringos are highly competitive, and can deal well with a drill sergeant type boss. Ticos are not, and such a direct approach will not work. Obviously, cultural differences are huge, and it takes more than a lifetime to learn it all. This puts the Gringo entrepreneur at a tremendous disadvantage.
I could go on and on (it appears I already have), but in the end the differences are profound. It takes a truly committed person who speaks Spanish WELL, has spent a LOT of time in CR to come to understand it better, and has social connections to help negotiate the bureaucracy, to build a successful business. I would venture to say that the vast majority of Gringos fail within a few years.
This is why I say that earning your money in dollars, either from the US or through professional services geared towards the expat community, is a MUCH more realistic plan than “starting a business” in CR to earn your keep. If I ever do it again, I’ll make sure it’s more of a hobby, and I won’t have to count on its success to survive.
Besides money, I’d say there are three areas in which expats have a difficult time adapting.
The first is deficient infrastructure, and jneiman explained, and believe me, he’s being kind. A successful business is fast-moving. But in CR infrastructure problems hinders your every move. Months are lost this way.
The second is overwhelming beaurocracy. The hoops you have to go through for the different government departments steals another few months from your business. This beaurocracy also extends to the government-controlled telecommunications, energy and insurance market, as well as to the various unions which often employ “turtle strikes”. They don’t walk out, they just work incredible slow. These first two areas conspire with each other to take a big chunk out of your efficiency. Give me a list of 10 things to do and in the US it’ll be done in an afternoon. In CR, it may take months.
The third is theft. If you don’t constantly watch your things, they disappear. $200 windshields will be broken for the 20 colon coin you left on the dashboard. Your house will be broken into if you lease it alone. If you’re not paranoid, you’ll become a victim.
In order to be successful, you must develop strategies to deal with these three areas.
1. Get yourself a messenger. They’re ubiquitous on their scooters, and will save you months out of each year negotiating the roads, battling the traffic, and standing in line.
2. Marry a Tica. Every Tico family has “patas” (connections) to help grease the beaurocratic wheels. Without them, you’ll have to follow all the rules, which is impossible. Please note, however, that this intercultural marriage will bring with it a slew of other complications to your life. If such a marriage is not possible, you will forever be a true outsider.
3. Live in a secure condo, so you can leave it alone without fear of break-ins. The only alternative is hiring someone, guard, gardener, maid, nanny, etc, who will always be home to protect your property. The likelihood of a break-in if someone’s home is minimal, unless people know you have very valuable items inside, in which case you’ll need guards.
Frankly, if you have the opportunity to make good money for short stints in the States, that’s a great way to go. The truth is you’ll want to come back and visit anyway, and your time in CR will be worry-free.
Bill,
I’m glad you’re not diving in head first. Scott’s right, there are no stats on non-retired Gringo longevity in CR, but from my experience what you hear is true, particularly for those who “want to start a business”.
Costa Rica is an incredible place to visit as a tourist, and a great place to retire if you can adapt. Non-retiree expats, on the other hand, must earn their keep in the context of the foreign culture of a developing country, which is VERY difficult. It’s still a relatively closed economy with a well developed Old Boy network, and if you’re not in, you’re out. You’ll need to compete with other Tico businesspeople who are less “out” than you, and who’s financial needs are a fraction of your own.
In business, you play to your strengths. This may mean serving the expat community as some kind of professional, like tax accounting, asset management, real estate broker, consultant, etc. These professions have less business baggage to complicate things, like offices, employees, etc. They also offer the benefit of earning money in dollars.
This is the key to financial success in Costa Rica – earn in dollars, spend in colones.
Regarding remodeling, keep in mind that construction techniques are radically different in CR. For instance, you can always tell who the plumber is. He’s the guy carrying around a hammer and chisel.
Diego,
I couldn’t agree more with your posting regarding a failure of leadership and poisonous media (Posted Oct 20,2006 9:53 AM ). Tell me though, I think I heard somewhere that America’s largest export product is information (i.e. cable TV & Hollywood). If this is so toxic (and I agree it is pretty bad), would you condone other countries interfering with our culture by invading or otherwise destroying our communication outlets, kind of like a drug war in reverse? After all, you said that the buck stops at the producer.
Edited on Oct 23, 2006 06:45
Diego,
So, a peeping Tom should get the same prison sentence as a Timothy McVeigh? Clearly, there are different levels of perversion. Your continuing denial of this obvious fact is interesting.
Furthermore, I never condoned one and opposed the other, but merely said one was worse. I oppose both, and I thought I made this clear. Accusing me of saying otherwise and then flippantly labeling me as “nationalistic” is also interesting.
“With feeling one is graceful, showing undeserved favor and forgivness. Spiritiual qualities.”
-OK, whatever. Can you give me some metrics on that?
“Uncivil regading the gender advantage? Tone is left up to the reciver interpretation. That’s your slant.”
-When that’s the slant of everyone but you, who is the slanted one?
“I think you are a bit too civil and men need to be men, strong leaders.”
-I apologize. I’ll try to work on my incivility skills some more.
Perhaps all that testosterone you claim to possess is interfering with your ability to admit errors, and causing you to judge people according to your own particular value system, many times in a derogatory manner, with scant or sometimes non-existent evidence.
As I’ve said before Diego, you bring up some good points worthy of debate. But your arrogant and demeaning style erodes your ability to get your ideas across in a manner which invites thoughtful retort. You’ve behaved much better in this thread, but you still seem to see things in black and white with sharp contrast, and are quick to judge people. This does not contribute to a healthy debate. In fact, it inhibits it.
One more thing Diego, I hate to tell you (I really do), but after 20 years of marriage my Tica wife has removed my spine with greater surgical skill than any Gringa I can imagine. Evidently the female gene for beating men into submission knows no bounds, political, lingual, cultural or otherwise.
“You could make the same argument for both legal and illegal drugs, they have been exporting we have been consuming. I think the buck stops with the producer not the consumer.”
I do make the same argument. It seems ludicrous to me that we punish poor Latin American countries for producing something which has such great demand in the US. Talk about interfering with other cultures…
“Try some soul searching. Your comments lack feeling. More heart/less mind.” So I should let my emotions get in the way of my intelligence?
“PS regarding my tone, it has always been civil” You were most decidedly uncivil in the post about gringas in CR.
“Your nationalistic view do nothing but mask the problem by justifying that we are better than they are…” So, thinking that terrorist acts – killing children in schools, bombing restaurants and weddings, and driving planes into buildings – are more perverse than the actions of the U.S. military makes me “nationalistic”???
OK, got it.
Scott B,
I believe you are correct in stating that the terrorists are fighting because of their demented religious beliefs (any religion that sanctions killing those not of their faith is demented), as opposed to oil, politics, or perverse daytime soap operas. However, if there ever was a battle for hearts and minds, this is it. The extremists would never be so strong without widespread support from more moderate sectors, and this administration has failed utterly in wooing them. In fact, our militaristic response, our arrogance, our economic threats of “you’re either with us or against us”, our failure to use our vast resources to help calm the waters in the Middle East, has strengthened and emboldened them.
We could learn a great deal from negotiators in Costa Rica. Go back and learn how they dealt with the taking of 9 Supreme Court justices as hostages back in the early 80’s, and how they handles the takeover of the Nicaraguan embassy a few years later. Maybe if I have time later I’ll write about it.
Diego,
I agree we’ve been exporting our “sick culture” as you put it for decades. Remember though, they’ve been importing it. Also, human beings are supposed to be more intelligent than dogs. If Latin America has failed to organize itself politically to offer more resistance to U.S. influence, than the Arab world has certainly failed as well. There’s too much in-fighting. Furthermore, a resistance based on extremism, violence, and total immorality, if successful, will only produce a governing regime which mirrors its beginnings.
The Arab world has had plenty of chances to advance themselves through peaceful means. Their failure does not excuse terrorist acts.
Bill, Thanks for the road report. Glad to hear the road around Lake Arenal towards Monteverde is getting better. I agree it’s a beautiful ride, but that strip of asphalt has been bad for the last 2 decades or more. Can you get through in a 2 wheel drive sedan with low clearance yet?
Then of course there’s the road from the highway to Monteverde. That’s never been asphalted, and therefore doesn’t have the monster potholes, but it is a rough ride nonetheless. A 4X4 is not needed, except perhaps in the rainy season.
I often wondered why that road was never paved, given the well-deserved popularity of that place. Monteverde Cheese is produced there, and they’d love a better road to take out their product. At first I heard all the well-worn arguments – no money, inept government, nature preserves don’t want to get inundated with people, etc. Finally I discovered the real reason. Monteverde lives on the tourist trade – i.e. lots of small hotels. A paved road would make it a day trip.
I guess if there’s one place where I don’t mind keeping it hard to get to, it would be Monteverde. To me it’s a very special, almost magical place, one that I would never want to see “developed”.
Koty,
You have asked this same question repeatedly and got several answers already, with many specifics. But again, it all depends on your lifestyle, which only you know. All I can tell you is that living in Costa Rica while maintaining our current lifestyle cost us about one third of what we normally spend in the US (Midwest). If you are unable to take advantage of the IRS exclusion for residents of foreign countries, make that 50%. These figures have not changed for us over the last 20 years, and yes, we raised our 2 kids there, paid for private schools (not the expensive ones), had a house and two used cars.
jreilly,
I claim no expertise on 9/11 like you do, nor have I seen the source material you refer to. I don’t believe I “slammed” conspiracy theorist, I simply stated my opinion. I’ve seen enough contradictory “source material” on so many issues that I no longer believe any of them. Brush your teeth with a side by side action – no, brush your teeth up and down – no, use a circular motion. Eggs are good for you – no, eggs are bad for you. The Iraq war was about WMD’s – no, it was about oil – no, it was about spreading democracy…
It goes on and on. I long ago tired of all the crap from ALL sources, and feel I have since transcended the traditional political plane of polarizing dogma and endless arguments about the details regarding the symptoms of root causes which are never discussed.
One can be an expert and still be totally wrong. One can be ignorant of specific details and still have a valid point of view.
I don’t believe much of what our government says, I certainly don’t trust the media, and I don’t trust your sources either. It makes no sense, and as I’ve said, stupidity is so much more likely than cunning “stratigery” from our commander in chief. I’m sure you have all the “facts”, but “facts”, like “truth”, can be manipulated and contradictory.
The idea that we would purposefully slam jets into the WTC in order to consolidate public opinion in support of the war against the terrorists, and not only think we would get away with it in this day and age of technology, but also believe that such an act would result in bettering our political position in the world, IMHO is simply ludicrous.
It’s obvious you’re angry at our government, and I am too. But I would caution against demonizing those you consider to be your enemies. It tends to make you go overboard, and clouds the discussion (which is what politicians try to do). I completely disagree with President Bush in regard to the way he’s handling our “War on Terror”. However, he’s more than likely a human being, just like the rest of us, and wrong does not mean evil. In this case I give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to denying that he orchestrated 9/11. Those with more energy can debate the “facts”. Call me when you’re done.
BTW, I’m also grateful for the freedom that Costa Rica offers, and Pura Vida back at you. However, sorry, I don’t bet.
Diego,
I completely agree with the body of your post, but not the intro. I believe that wantonly and purposefully killing civilians is more perverse than broadcasting Desperate Housewives or even believing ourselves to be the world police and forcibly ousting a cruel dictator. I’m not defending the war in Iraq, I’m just giving my opinion about the scale of perversity.
I’m also surprised that you said “I believe our culture created “their actions” as when people are forced to act, they cannot be held at fault”. To me this is the “victim mentality that people use as justification for not taking responsibility for their own actions. There are other avenues of political dissent to take (though there should be more) before killing people.
BTW, thank you for your civil tone.
Buy you car there. You’ll pay less, experience less hassle, have greater access to parts, get better resale value, own a product made for that market, and drive a vehicle that does not stick out. I drove my old car there, then abandoned it in lieu of paying outrageous taxes (which change frequently). I’ve bought and sold several vehicles there, which was much easier.
