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[quote=”sweikert925″]Thank you.[/quote]

I managed my own 401k and at the end of 2007, the portfolio had increased 31 percent year to year. For the several years prior to that, the average was around 15 percent.
But in July of 2008, I saw something coming and I got out entirely. Scott saw it coming in December of 2007 and posted it here. By the end of 2008, the market would have removed 60 percent of my money had I not exited.
Now the market has reached record highs but it is a different world today. There are far more reasons to get out now than there were in 2007.
The point is, timing the market in terms of years is impossible to do. It is a huge gamble. I wish you all luck because luck is the only operating mechanism in this game when your exit strategy is in terms of years, not minutes.

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[quote=”bogino”][quote=”sprite”]Everybody who is not controlling the market is trying to time entries and exits. It is a fixed zero sum game and since there have to be losers in order for there to be winners, if you are not part of the group fixing the game, guess which group you fall into?
Good luck, Bogino. If I were you, I would listen to Scott.[/quote]

As I mentioned previously. Investing INVOLVES RISK. “If you can’t stand the heat: [b]GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN[/b]”[/quote]

I am day trader. That means that I am in the hot “kitchen” nearly every day from 8 am to noon. It took me years to learn how to deal with the anxiety and stress and how to extract a few bucks from the derivative markets. Trading from minute to minute is a very difficult challenge but trying to buy and hold and make money over years is impossible. Do that long enough in today’s markets and you lose.

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Everybody who is not controlling the market is trying to time entries and exits. It is a fixed zero sum game and since there have to be losers in order for there to be winners, if you are not part of the group fixing the game, guess which group you fall into?
Good luck, Bogino. If I were you, I would listen to Scott.

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Bogino,
you are merely parroting the sales pitch the brokers use to convince retail investors to put money into this big scheme.
The only relatively safe way to make money is to get in and out quickly (day trade) with sophisticated trading software backed by years of experience. This is basically gambling with a slight edge. It is timing the market in minutes and seconds. Timing markets over months, years and decades is a fool’s game unless you are connected to the inside club of thieves.

Anyone who currently has money sitting in the market, expecting a normal bull and bear cycle is going to get a really good but costly education pretty soon. I wish I knew exactly when.

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The stock and derivative markets are all rigged and are not appropriate for any kind of investing. The only use they have right now is as a gambling venue for day trading..and even that is rigged.
Market volume has been down for quite a while yet large, massive influxes of corporate and government money keep stock prices inflated. Corporations are using their profits and and buying up their own stock as a protection measure against hedge funds which are always looking for a company to buy and bust. Quantitative easing in the billions contributes to this game as well.
I got out of this mess intact six years ago.

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I took a brief look at news reports in the CR press and I see no mention of this northward movement of people out of countries immediately north of Costa Rica. There is either no interest because it is perceived that this has no direct or indirect effect on Costa Rica, or because football news obscures interest in nearly everything else.

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And nobody responds to my question either. Do any of you any discomfort as obvious cultural interlopers?

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Sweikert, it is not theory, it is just conspiracy…and, by the way, I come from the far left…

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[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”sprite”]A valid point, Sweikert. [/quote]
Thank you.

[quote=”sprite”]Whether or not undocumented immigrants in the US are a source for increased crime or a deterioration of the culture, the perception is that they are.[/quote]
Perceptions are often wrong, particularly where racial and ethnic differences come into play. The amount of US crime caused by illegal immigrants is tiny compared to that caused by native born citizens. I’ve read comments and heard stories about crimes in CR caused by immigrants too, especially when drug trafficking is involved.

As for “deterioration of the culture” some may look at it that way but I prefer to see it as “enhancement of the culture”. The idea that one culture is somehow superior to another is just wrong.[/quote]

Nobody on this thread is talking about the superiority of one culture over another. Please don’t try to turn this thread in that direction. I am pointing out the obvious which is that there are major differences in cultures which can be an impediment to the mix especially where there is undocumented immigration in significant numbers.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter whether a perception is wrong or not. What matters is that the perception dominates the situation. Expats in Costa Rica are aware that they are not culturally matched with Costa Rica. Obviously it is far more difficult for non-Spanish speakers from an Anglo-Saxon culture to fit in here than for Spanish speakers from a Latin culture.

I suspect that to the average Tico, undocumented immigration from Nicaragua may be less of an issue than legal immigration from less familiar cultures such as ours.
I guess this is what I am looking to find out. Even though I am a fluent Spanish speaker and have lived in Latin culture in Miami for over three decades, I know I will never be able to integrate into Costa Rican culture as a gringo to the same degree that I have in Miami among the Cubans and Puerto Ricans. No matter where I go in Costa Rica, no matter with whom I am speaking, for better or for worse, I am perceived as a gringo. As much as I desire to, I cannot shake off this feeling of being an outsider. Perhaps with passing of time….

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A valid point, Sweikert. Ticos seem to be very tolerant of many other things as well, relative to North Americans. On the other hand, is Costa Rica perceived as facing a marked attack on their culture or an increase in crime due to undoicumented immigrants? Whether or not undocumented immigrants in the US are a source for increased crime or a deterioration of the culture, the perception is that they are.

For one thing, Nicaraguans coming into Costa Rica are speaking Spanish and come from a culture relatively more similar to that of Costa Rica. Undocumented Central Americans coming into the States are not English speakers for the most part and do not share the same cultural perspectives.

A more striking difference in cultures for the Ticos is definitely coming from us, the North American immigrants..and immigration from the Anglo north is controlled as much as the CR resources can afford.

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I don’t get a sense from people that Costa Rica has an illegal immigration problem. There must be, of course, a bit of it going on as there is in many places but it doesn’t seem to be a matter of concern or, at least, a matter of focus as it is in the States. Most Costa Ricans seems to be quite laid back about most everything except, of course, football. Is there even a national opinion on this matter?

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[quote=”Scott”]Not sure I fully understand your comments Sprite…

Why would the feds be helping illegal alliens to enter the U.S?

Most of the illegal immigrants in Costa Rica come from Nicaragua and the number of Guatemalans here (apart from my wife) and Mexicans is very small indeed.

As for being able to “verify” illegal immigration, that’s got to be nigh on impossible.

Scott[/quote]
Scott,

I don’t trust anything this criminal government does and I doubt this has anything to do with humanitarian aid. Whatever the real motive is,or even if there is one, I am looking at this increase in illegal immigration from Central America from the other end and wondering if there is a noticeable lessening of illegal immigration into in Costa Rica yet.

http://www.infowars.com/obama-civilian-security-force-takes-control-of-migrant-internment-camps-abide-by-brown-shirts-law/

http://nypost.com/2014/06/13/feds-looking-for-babysitters-to-help-with-illegal-immigrant-kids/

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-protesters-immigration-detainees-buses-20140702-story.html

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[quote=”johnnyh”]http://www.thedailybell.com/exclusive-interviews/35393/Anthony-Wile-Nick-Giambruno-on-FATCA-GATCA-and-the-Changing-Investment-Scene-Worldwide/

Interesting read that has been brought up in the past.[/quote]

Further reading for an explanation as to why we are seeing capital controls being put in place.

Fourth Turning Accelerating: “No Escaping the Dire, Deadly and Dangerous Times Directly Ahead”

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As in all things, much depends upon your motivations. If business was a major component of my decision to move, tax advantages would be a significant consideration.

However,I am retiring. What I look for, among other things, are peace and quiet and affordability.

The cost of living seems to be going up everywhere as the world fiat currencies and associated economies begin to falter.

So many of the experts I read are saying that this year will be THE YEAR of the final and more extreme stages of the collapse.

Where is the best place to hunker down and/or wait out the final years of life?

I am not a world traveler. Of the places I DO know, Costa Rica seems the best suited for me at this time.

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[quote=”davidd”][quote=”johnnyh”]http://www.thedailybell.com/exclusive-interviews/35393/Anthony-Wile-Nick-Giambruno-on-FATCA-GATCA-and-the-Changing-Investment-Scene-Worldwide/

Interesting read that has been brought up in the past.[/quote]

Johnny Handsome

thanks for that… interesting about puerto rico.. never heard about that.. and worth checking out..

curious as to the cost of living there..

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Puerto Rico is about 20% more expensive than Costa Rica.

http://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/comparison/san-jose-costa-rica/san-juan-puerto-rico

My wife was born and grew up there.I knew the island well enough some 20 years ago to be able to say that, although it is a pretty place, its physical beauty does not match that of Costa Rica. The infrastructure was better than what I currently see in CR and, for those that care, English is widely spoken and, of course,, the dollar is used.
All of the above considered, I still choose Costa Rica. Puerto Rico is currently suffering such economic problems that residents are leaving the island. There one million more Puerto Ricans outside the country than inside.

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