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Personally I wouldn’t be as worried about what is going on inside Costa Rica as much as what is going on at their northern front door!
I am sure that you have read this articale this week.
Nicaragua builds relations with Iran by hosting leader
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA – Iran’s hard-line president expanded his
courtship of allies in his standoff with Washington on Sunday, pledging deeper ties with Nicaragua’s leftist leader.By Traci Carl, Associated Press
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA – Iran’s hard-line president expanded his courtship of allies in his standoff with Washington on Sunday, pledging deeper ties with Nicaragua’s leftist leader.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in Managua as part of a
whirlwind tour with Latin America’s newly inaugurated leftist leaders. He visited fellow OPEC member Venezuela on Saturday, pledging with President Hugo Chavez to spend billions of dollars financing projects in other countries to combat the global influence of the United States.
Ahmadinejad’s tour comes as he faces rising criticism at home for his handling of the international debate over his country’s nuclear program and its alleged involvement in Iraq. Conservatives and reformists have blamed his provocative remarks for increasingly isolating Iran.
Ahmadinejad met with Nicaragua’s newly inaugurated leftist president, Daniel Ortega. In the 1980s, Ortega’s government faced a U.S.-backed guerrilla insurgency.
The leaders announced they would open embassies in each other’s capitals, strengthening ties between two countries that have had little interaction yet share troubled histories with the United States.
Their paths crossed in the 1980s during the Iran-contra affair, in which the U.S.
secretly sold arms to Iran to free American hostages, then used some of the proceeds to back contra rebels who fought Ortega’s first, Soviet-backed government.
“Our two counties have common interests, enemies and goals,” Ahmadinejad said. “We may be far apart, but we are close in heart.”
Ortega, however, did not match Ahmadinejad’s confrontational rhetoric, focusing instead on how Iran and Nicaragua should work to help the developing world.
He spoke of “constructive agreements to combat hunger, unemployment and poverty.”
Ortega, while pledging closer ties with Iran, has tried to start his new Nicaragua builds relations with Iran by hosting leaderPage 1 of 2
http://www.startribune.com/722/v-print/story/936560.html 1/16/2007well jstarck,
I am sure that you are well aware of the rules regarding employment. How ever I have to tell you that network security consultants are everywhere in CR. One of my wifes friends works for Cisco?? as one and He is Costa Rican and travels all over central and south america. Intel is bond by the Costa Rican rules and since they are highly educated with masters degrees knocking on thier door I am sure you will have some compitition.
Boy are they going to be supprised when they find out that Costa Rica has a national identification card.
You are right put on the rose colard glasses and sing Kumbaya!!! Because here comes the gringos trying to change the world again!!!!
Well in the area that I live in Tres Rios Cartago, crime is not that big of a deal. In San Jose where my wife’s family biz is crime is the same. Every year my brother in-laws biz gets broken into, normally it is the competitors just making problems. My mother in-law has been rolled once, and they lived in a pretty tough part of town when I first met them. My brother in-laws drive nice cars with guns on the bottom of their seats but this is because they have new cars and expensive ones. One of the doctors that has a biz next to my wife’s family biz was shot 9 months ago in they day time. He was shot because he was messing around with someone else’s wife and a contract killer shot him (from Lemon).
Crime has become more of a issue for tourism and this is why the president hired more police and is why he is cracking down on corruption. How ever I do believe that crime in Costa Rica is not as a problem as most of the cities that I have visited in the last 5 months!!!
If we make a fair comparisson of Costa Rica to any state with the same amount of people in the U.S. I belive you will find crime levels lower in CR.
I do believe that the Ticos are doing a great job on cracking down on a lot of the crime that is happening! Maybe not to some people standards but they are making a dent.
Well vegas,
I think you might want to lay off of the coffe a little bit. You also might want to take a step back from your research and ask your self what you really want from the crime statistics that you stated. Is this information going to help you make the decission to move to Costa Rica and relax or is it going to make you become more anylitical and only find reasons why not to move?
Many people become so anylitical and can’t see beyond the forest of information that they have recived, most Ticos have learned to take one day at a time, that is what the saying of Pura Vida (pure life) means. This might be a issue for you and it is a issue for many of the gringos that move to CR and find that they can’t handle the lifestyle and move back to the U.S.
If you look at your first post you were looking at a way to combat crime. This is what the ticos don’t like is to have foreigners tell them how or what to do. Do you belive they can take care of the crime with out gringos imput?
Hmm, have you ever thought that since I am related to a tica that they might feel more secure to talk about matters like this?
The family does consider me as a family member, how ever if you think that you just become a tico because you imergrate, or become legal resident you are imagining things. Just because one has a dual citizen ship to Costa Rica does not mean they are a Tico. I don’t really understand what you mean about teasing gringos abour heritage? This is not about heritage! This is about culture!
As stated in my recent post it sounds more like you are looking for reasons why not to move?
Do you think that if you move here you can change the crime if you band together and change the system?
If you think that crime is a problem than wait until you have to make a line at the goverment center for a couple of hours!Interesting how you interperted my last post?
You interpurted that I was not welcomed in my wifes family?
My wifes family was very open to have me join them. This, how ever does not make one a Tico just part of the family. I asked my wife tonight what would it take to be named a tico. She said you have to be born and raised as a Tico. It dose not mean that you are born on the soil or imergrated to Costa Rica. You have to be raised in the true family of the culture of a Costa Rican. I do understand what she means about this because it is a different culture!
The issue is Crime statistics, either you accept the Costa Rican way of dealing with their own country’s crime issues or you will need to move on, because you won’t be able to change to the Costa Rican way of doing biz. As a legal resident you have rights but you still are not a tico!
As stated at the main post
“If we place our heads in the sand and pretend this isn’t happening two things will happen 1 we won’t work on correcting the issue 2 we won’t protect ourselves from becoming victims of the violence.”
“The other concern that is raised with regard to the increase in crime is the courts inability to deal with the increase and the turnstyle form of justice which is happening today, and tourists inability to report crimes due to a lack of speaking spanish.
Who are the we, the Ticos? the gringos? Why cant we let the Ticos take care of the problem I am sure they have in the past!
The issue with the justice system, well if you dont like that you will hate to wait in long lines at the goverment center!
To me it sounds as if someone wants to change the world!Edited on Jan 06, 2007 19:37
Well vegas, my pole has been taken from the average tico that is in my cirlce of influnce.
Unlike many of the people in this forum I am married into a tico family. Some of the difference in my kind of knolwedge is from cousins of my wife, customers of my wifes family biz, and my wifes family friends and her friends. Since my wifes family owns a Soda and the largest biz to get your medical check up for your drivers licens in San Jose, I do like to sit on the corner and talk with the average tico on the block. Many times its because they know my mother inlaw and they want to talk to the gringo that married her daughter. Many people such as presidents of Costa Rica, Goverment workers, and almost everyone that lives in San Jose that has a drivers liscens knows my mother in-laws Soda since it it right across from the drivers liscens buero.
Like I said Ticos won’t tell you to your face that they don’t like that gringos are coming to buy land, Ticos are very friendly and open. How ever behind the close doors they will say a whole different thing. hahah. I think it has to do with the advertisements in the 80’s and 90’s. They used to have a add that ran with ticos smileing and giving directions to Gringos. At the end it would say smile to the foreginers tourism counts on it! Like my wife says gringos always want to hear pura vida!
As to the issue about drug traficing and crime this is not new! During the time that the U.S. was operating out of Howard a lot of drugs were trucked up thru Costa Rica heading north since we had F16 flying the cost lines of central america. Again I will have to say I would still feel safe walking down town San Jose with a $100. hanging out of my pocket than in New York or San Dieago.
How ever if you think that you want to try demonstrating on the steps of the Costa Rica goverment for gringos rights you probley won’t get that many Ticos behind you.
My question is knowing the information that you have read regarding Costa Rica do you belive that it is safer than your own city that you currently live in?
“People who relocate here have the option of seeking permanant residency and even citizenship. Would you then say they have ownership in their new home country or are they just guests because they are part of a minority. With ownership comes responsability.”
Well if you ask most Ticos you will hear them say that you are only visitors. The average Tico will say that they are not happy with the Gringos moving into the neighborhoods but they are happy that they are bringing the money. They would also say that they are not interested in the gringos practicing the polotics in their country.
Most of the Gringos will have contacts with the Tico in many settings and Ticos will not be confrintational and tell you to your face that they belive that you are a visitor. To them you have to be in the country for a long time to beconsider a GringoTico. Even since I am married to a Tica and will end up barried next to her in Costa Rica soil. I will always be known as a Gringo not a Tico. This is why I don’t belive that I or any Gringo has the right to play polotics in Costa Rica even though we might own land and companys there.
Remember don’t leave any foot prints behind like my father would say when we would go camping! This is true to prevent people from trying to change a small countrys culture!
You are right about having neighborhood groups, but do what the normal Ticos do pay a Nica to watch your neighborhood. My mother in law pays a man to watch her house. He rides on his bike and has a billy club checking on everyone’s house that pays him. If you pay him extra he will feed the dogs when you are away..hahahaha
So vegas just for curiosity, What would you do with this topic?
Meaning you say that we should do somthing about this! Do you belive that since Costa Rica is the host nation and we are the visitors we should interveen or since we are the visitors we should let the ticos run their own country the way they want?Don’t get me wrong about the imformation that you are giving me but too many gringos think this is the U.S. and try to become political activist in a country that is not theirs!
Remeber this is a small country with a small amount money it is probley a smaller budget than vegas! If you are looking to relocate you have to accept how they take care of their own buisness!
No matter how you skin this cat Costa Rica is still safer than Minneapolis Minnesota where we are almost at a murder a day now.
yes there is small mugings and some murder in Costa Rica but it dosent compare to Minneapolis,Detroit,Milwakee,Kansas city or anyof the midsize citys.Very interesting thoughts!
How ever you miss some vital points,The economy and land area of Costa Rica is much smaller maybe the examples that you have shown. If we take a look at the Pacific cost of Costa Rica I believe that a trend of more than 25% of the land is being sold to foreigners. When a gringo purchases a land and develops a home for less than $100,000 dollars and then sells it to another gringo for $299,000 this puts the normal Ticos out of the run for purchasing the home. It also gives the first gringo a hand full of money to run away with. So the thought of land is not worth the cow dung that sat on it is not true. Surly the first gringo would side with my argument.
Maybe this is why the first article in inside Costa Rica showed it as one of the hottest spots for investments.
I would also have to differ on the fact that in the Midwest of the U.S. property value has increased and out passed inflation and the stock market in the last 10 years. I have sold many homes that in 6 months made a 60,000 or more increase! Facts also show that real estate in the last 10 years has been the most solid investment. Even with the downtrend in the last year sellers are still making more money on the net sheet than in the past.
Second is that your thought process is developed by a gringo attitude and not a view of a Tico that is seeing his countries land being bought up by foreigners. It used to be that the average Tico would only have to worry about a small group of family land owners but now they have to worry about all of the foreigners coming in and buying the land.
I believe that in the future foreigners in Costa Rica will have to walk softly because Ticos will come to a point where they will not welcome the investments from land owners over their nationality!
To me it is interesting because Costa Rica is supposed to be known for environmental tourism, what will happen with the impact of a million gringos retiring in and developing land that will take away from that. Will it become like another Puerto Rico?
I have to second that Gringotico!
Most buildings and public areas are not equiped for the Handicap and you don’t see very many blue signs around Hipo mass!Yes you are right about the Ticos that sold the land to the foreigners but what about those same foreigners that turn around and sell it for 4 times what they paid for it in less than a couple of years?
To what point will Costa Rica start to look like Purto Rico?My point is that the Ticos are losing or are going to lose control over their own land in the near century if they don’t put the brakes on and control their immigration soon.
Maybe what they need to do is have a lottery for people that want to immigrate like the U.S. does to the Costa Ricans?
