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How cute! A latino puppy wants to educate this old gringo dog on these matters. The amusement continues. Now, sit tranquilo while I ‘splain you a few things….

Try as you might, you cannot wiggle free from the negative connotations of the term “machista”. Within your culture and some others, it is tolerated, although I get the impression that Ticas are less and less inclined to put up with it as time goes by. One hopes for progress.

I am an atheist. I don’t waste time with fairy tales and I don’t moralize on others’ behavior. I just observe consequences.

Speaking of consequences: being robbed, beaten, broke, humiliated and abandoned are not exactly great arguments in support of your life style. I managed to have my youthful flings without suffering any of those things. The old adage “All things to moderation” comes to mind.

And I do not disparage your behavior at all as long as it harms nobody else but you. However, we part philosophical company as soon as someone is hurt, especially if it is an abandoned mother and child. Otherwise, be as hedonistic as your body and the law will permit. One day, when you are an old, salty dog, you may have matured to the point where you see the pointlessness or your old body will simply not let you continue or your sense of dignity will halt behavior which invites public ridicule.

If none of these things happen, go ahead and continue charging through life, a merry old clown. If it makes you happy, who cares what others think or feel? That is your philosophy right now and it seems to make you happy. But my experience tells me there is always a bill to pay…sooner or later.

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Don Diego, you are amusing if nothing else, proving my point; latin immaturity creates a high level of drama and who doesn’t like a good show? I love Costa Rica AND Cuba. (I would visit the latter again as I used to do if it weren’t so problematic)

Here is another gross generalization for which I have NO stats to back me up, only personal anecdotal evidence; Marriages between a latin male and an American female are more challenging and many more fail than marriages between an American male and a latin female.

A marriage between a latin male and an american female present the worst of both worlds; an immature, irresponsible male paired with an intolerant female.

Now, a marriage between a gringo and a Latina seems to offer the best of both worlds; a less childish and more loyal male
paired with a more mature and responsible female.

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[quote=”DavidCMurray”]That said, there are many, many workers here who work for less than c2,000 per hour. The current exchange rate is about c558 = $1.00US. So they’re working for less than $3.60US per hour

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I keep reading that the average Tico income is about $600 per month. That would put the average family income at $1200 would it not? Don’t most households in CR have both parents working?
I can’t understand how people live on such amounts.

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I repeat, it depends upon expectations. Divorcing solely over a sexual infidelity would mean that sex carries more significance than anything else. People who marry with sex as the chief attraction usually end up disappointed and divorced anyway. The same holds true for people who marry strictly for material wealth, either as giver or taker.

In fact, I would go further and say that anyone who puts emphasis on sex or money is only looking for short term, shallow relationships. For some, I suppose that is more than enough but they have no business marrying. Marriage should be reserved for a more mature set of expectations.

Now for some generalizations prefaced by the fact that I am a gringo married to a latina for 28 years: most latinos are very immature in this arena, the men especially. The traditional latin culture raises females to be either lovers or mothers but not necessarily equal partners (wives). This is to accommodate latin men who seek sexual gratification and servitude from women. (No wonder gringos are attracted to latinas). Marriage is the tool by which women of both cultures seek to level the playing field. Marriage ties material wealth of the husband to the wife in most cases.

So if you seek a tranquil life by entering a marriage in either culture, it had better be for reasons other than sex and/or money…and that has to be mutual. Otherwise, give up the tranquil life and enjoy the roller coaster ride of emotional ups and downs. Perhaps Don Diego likes roller coasters…..

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Rigo,

We North Americans (los estadounidenses) probably should not be offering advice to Ticos because we have lost our country.
We let it be bought right out from under us. Corruption is universal and so is the antidote, public vigilance and participation. Maybe the US is just too big to be a representative republic. But Costa Rica may have a better chance at success because it has a smaller, more homogeneous population and culture.

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Unless we all play by the same rules, there are going to be those who are offended and feel cheated. It all boils down to expectations and how well you and those with whom you have relations understand the social contract between you.

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[quote=”Scott”]Looking at the big picture, it seems to me that us expats believe we are far more important and indispensable than we actually are…
Scott[/quote]

Scott, you and I are in agreement on so many things. I have come to the same conclusion that many North American expats have an exaggerated opinion of our value to the Costa Rican economy. An attitude adjustment is required in order to live in any new environment. So much of what I see as the necessary attitude adjustment has to do with managing this inflated view of the value of the North American culture as it relates to the culture in Costa Rica.

We all want to feel good about ourselves but we must also be realistic about self worth and not falsely inflate it at the expense of misunderstanding who we are and with whom we live.

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I agree, grb….Chinese capitalism, like all and any other versions, is bad news no matter where it operates. I feel a sense of urgency to enjoy Costa Rica while it is still enjoyable.

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[quote=”grb1063″] I for one am very leary of their business practices as are most of the western corporations who have dared to do business with them only to get burned. Chinchilla better tread lightly in this arena.[/quote]

All capitalist businesses operate pretty much under the same flag, “PROFIT”. The Chinese capitalists are not much different from other world capitalists except that the Chinese have state run capitalism, a slight jump ahead of the US situation.
Look at any of the other Central American countries which have been steamrolled over by American capitalism over the last century. None of them are in very good shape today and have not been for a long time. How the hell little Costa Rica with no armed forces was able to hang on to most of its dignity and sovereignty in the face of such a huge threat is ponderous. Cuba had to fight a revolution and is still suffering a 50 year long economic blockade to regain and hold her sovereignty.
Ticos, like citizens of most other nations,complain about corruption. The danger of huge amounts of Chinese money and the influence it can buy is going to be a genuine test of Costa Rican political and cultural integrity. As a lot of gringos already know, much of Costa Rica is already up for sale.

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As long as Costa Rica remains socialist, making small accommodations to corporations doesn’t sound too very dangerous. Keeping everything in its proper place and big money at a healthy distance from government is the trick. We weren’t able to do that in the States and we lost our country a long time ago. Costa Rica is small and so far, the Ticos seem to have a handle on immigration, the environment and industry growth. I hope corruption can be managed. The Big Bad Wolf is huffing and puffing at the front door now in the form of a lot of Chinese money, I hear.

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I am also an avid sea kayaker and my first visit to CR was to see if I could find a place along the Pacific coast to suit my kayaking. I ended up buying in the mountains around San Ramon. There is no place there for a sea kayak and the drive to the ocean, while not far as the crow flies, is a bit daunting with curving and pot hole filled mountain roads. I suspect a bit more than an hour drive time is involved to get to a launch site.

Arenal has that wonderful large lagoon and spectacular volcano views. I imagine sitting in a kayak on the lagoon at night and watching Arenal burp up some orange lava would be a memorable experience. I see kayaks there at times. But it is a closed body of water and there is no shelter from wind as far as I can tell. I prefer salt water to fresh water paddling and I do like the mangrove creeks. But Costa Rica has some pretty big, aggressive salt water crocs…I have seen them as long as 14 feet. I am not sure where I will kayak yet…..

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I don’t know how to make this more plainly understandable.
My main point is that I don’t think North American money props up Costa Rica. But neither of us have any hard figures to back our respective points. I am only giving my impression. If all the discretionary North American money were pulled out of the country over a short period of time, it would cause some economic changes but I don’t think those changes would cause political upheaval sufficient to change the Tico approach to life. This basic fact of Costa Rican culture is what makes the place so special for me and I am a little put off by what sounds like typical arrogant yanqui hubris. So what if Costa Rica were to fall back to being the country it was 30 years ago? I suspect there are some who would not complain too much if that were to happen.

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[quote=”kordan”][quote=”sprite”][quote=”kordan”][quote=”F.A S

This comment is a little bit funny
If you want to know what this country would look like without a booming tourism sector, a foreigner driver real estate market and a booming export economy—we have a very good model–its called NICARAGUA[/quote]

I think that you, like most Americans, have a somewhat overly optimistic estimation of what gringo economic influence is worth. And you may have missed my point. An economic armageddon would turn a developed country like the US into a violent basket case. Absent cheap energy, food supplies and potable water would become quite scarce. You can’t just go out doors and dig up some potatoes in Ohio in December. Look out your window in Costa Rica just about any time of the year and you probably see some kind of crop growing near by. However bad things might get in CR in such a catastrophic situation, I’ll bet they get very much worse in the U.S.

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[quote=”kordan”][quote=”F.A Skippy”]Who cares ?
I live in Costa Rica 8)[/quote]

I don`t mean to be a ^buzz kill^–but people who think like this are forgetting one key point.
If (and probably when) nearly all gringos stop coming here it would trigger a massive wave of unenployment.[/quote]

“Gringos” make up at most one percent of the population in Costa Rica. While gringo tourist and resident contributions to the CR economy must be significant, I don’t know that its absence would be THAT devastating. So far, the Tico economy seems to be pretty self sustaining. Am I wrong in assuming that CR exports more than it imports?

When I walk around in the community where my property is located, I see farm workers in their rubber boots with machetes slung across their backs. Much of the time, they are carrying some kind of produce home with them. This country, like some others I have seen, strikes me as self reliant and pretty tough. Should some kind of world wide economic armageddon befall us, Costa Rica looks like a survivor to me. I would be more worried about spoiled gringos in the US under such conditions than tough, little Costa Rica.

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[quote=”sanvald”]I have lived in Miami all my life and prefer the hot climate to the cooler temperatures everyone is speaking of inland. In the summer it can get to 90 with heat index reaching 100. Im not afraid of the heat!! Living in Miami has also exposed us to many cultures including Jamaican.

I also have lived in Miami for the last 28 years. As you know, we have about 10 months of heat, 7 of them uncomfortably hot and 3 of them brutally hot. The brutal heat and humidity is what I experienced on the Costa Rican coast…and it is supposed to last all year long, every year. In Costa Rica, there is no winter break in the heat like we have in Miami.

I know people who say they “like” the heat, or they “like” the cold. What I think they really mean to say is that they can tolerate one extreme or the other.I am an avid sea kayaker and I spend a lot of time on the water here in South Florida. I am no stranger to heat, bugs and humidity but I am not interested in tolerating a climate. I want to be comfortable.

The Central Valley is famous for having the optimum temperature and humidity for human comfort, all year long. And if I should get nostalgic for dripping sweat, swatting away large hovering insects and and getting sand up my shorts, the Pacific beaches are only 45 minutes away from my mountain property.

Unless you are adamant upon having a home on or at the beach (and wealthy enough to afford it), you can have property in the mountains at a more reasonable cost, be surrounded by towns which are relatively more tidy and still have a view of the ocean way off in the distance.

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