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Thanks so much for the opinion, VBCRUISER. Your reasoning appears sound.

A year ago, I decided to wait to build believing the cash would be better applied to my stock portfolio. I am now reconsidering that decision and have to balance what I believe might happen in the world stock market with what I know WILL happen with CR building costs.

In 2006 and 2007, a 20% increase in construction costs plus the added expense of care-taking a house (which is something I still have to investigate further), made it more sensible to remain 100% invested in stocks. I made 31% on my stock portfolio last year. This year, I’ll be lucky to top 10%.

The other consideration for me is keeping diversified. If I look at my CR property as only part of an investment strategy, that property already represents too large a portion of my portfolio. The plan was to go another four years when, at that point, the CR property would be well proportioned to the stock values. But who can predict with any accuracy what the equities market will do?

I believe your assessment, as well as other opinions I have read in agreement with you, is correct regarding the future of Costa Rican real estate. There still remains the common problem that many in my situation have; how to build confidently while not present for the process? Also, I need to determine the cost of maintaining an empty house. I also have to find out if renting is viable since my site is not within a town. It is A 20 minute drive from San Ramon and 10 minutes from Palmares.

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I won’t make light of any of these posts about crime. I have no reason to doubt the stories or the attitudes they engender. I don’t have any living experience in Costa Rica, only a constant visitors experience, so I don’t have any authoritative opinion to offer.

All I do have is my own limited experience which, even after exposure to so many crime tales, is still telling me that just a little situational awareness and some precautions are enough to glide through with little risk to being a victim.

But mostly, like Scott, I am perplexed. I consider myself a relatively average person in so many ways and as such, only average “luck” has been a part of my life. And yet read here about so many tourists and residents being beaten and robbed.It has never happened to me.

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If that is the case, it would be worth the cost to convert any vehicle to flex fuel. This would be huge if it is true.

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vbcruiser,

I already have 12000 sq mtrs where I will build one day. It is not a gated community, rather a property between farms. I would not be able to use full time any house I build for another 4 years. So I am waiting because leaving an unattended house for that long would be inviting problems and the cost of maintaining an abandoned house might be prohibitive. I need to assess the situation. I wonder if building now and paying maintenance costs for 4 more years is more economical than waiting.

I estimated a few years ago that building costs might rise 20% per year. I have stock in a Mexican cement company so I read a lot about that business. I also process customs clearances for imported material for cement manufactures so I see the import commerical invoices. I guess I was off by 10%. This is disturbing. If the trend continues, and I see no reason it won’t, by the time I am ready to build, the cost for building a house will have doubled.

What information do you have that indicates property values are going to be skyrocketing? Are you referring to land values or house construction costs or both?
I am sitting here in Miami watching the real estate melt down. I know it is a different situation in CR, but by how much?

Edited on May 25, 2008 13:31

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Every single sales person I talk to in my industry (freight forwarding) that has traveled extensively throughout South and Central America tells me the same thing; That the more they see of the countries down there, the more they appreciate Costa Rica. And I have been surprised by how many of them have serious thought about retiring there.

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sjm,

I am already living in the sub tropics and do not care for heat and humidity or freezing Chicago weather.. Nor am I interested in “attention” or boring stroke sessions. I prefer a conversation with opposing views so don’t go away. There may be other topics we can disagree on later. :-}
Costa Rica is a big little country and just chock full of interesting anomalies.

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If someone were to put up a topic such as “Please tell your Costa Rican story of how friendly and wonderful Ticos have been in a moment of need”, I’ll bet that topic would have a much longer thread than this one.

Of course, this is the “We LOVE Costa Rica” site, not the “We hate Costa Rica” site.

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Domesticated dogs eat grass as well. One of my dogs chews up some grass once in a while. I know he has digestion problems because infrequently, he will vomit a small puddle.

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grb1063,

Situational awareness is the key here. It is required everywhere but I feel less need for it in rural Costa Rica and in my little suburban Miami neighborhood than many other places I have visited and lived.

I am being told that I am missing the point. I don’t think I am. The original poster is soliciting Costa Rican crime stories the “point” of which is to stir up a debate on the matter again. I am always happy to oblige since that is the best way to understand the mentality of a segment of North Americans who come to Costa Rica. It is also a good way to air the subject.

Scott does well to let the subject be discussed ad infinitum. It may be the main concern of many people who are thinking of living in CR. It should be ONE concern but, in my humble opinion, not the main one. There is an entire culture and language to master for many of these people. I don’t believe crime is an important part of this culture as some have stated. And I don’t believe it should even be a main consideration.

So let’s see how many people have personal stories of being a victim of crime in Costa Rica. Let’s see how much consequence these stories carry. Let’s see how much it may have effected their lives and decisions to live in Costa Rica. No anecdotal stories, please. Only personal incidents. I suspect the bottom line of this thread will be inconsequential for anybody who is seriously considering moving here.

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Jaco. Tsk tsk. I guess the surest way to be robbed in Costa Rica is to hang around tourist towns and communities where large groups of rich Americans gather. Come to think of it, that would work in Miami too.

I had been warned a few years ago when I first started visiting CR that many times thieves would puncture your car tire and then position themselves further along your route so as to “assist” you. Of course, they would then assist you out of your belongings when you stopped.

One morning, as I was driving on a back road to Naranjo, a pedestrian walking on the opposite side towards me pointed to my car tire and signaled it had a problem. My first thought was that perhaps I was being set up. I pulled over and the tire was indeed flat. But the pedestrian didn’t come over to rob me. He came over to help me by directing me to a garage one minute up the road. Twenty minutes and $2 later, my punctured tire was plugged and the I was ready to continue my trip. It’s a great little country.

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A few years ago, when my laundry was returned, I was missing a sock. Not sure if it was misplaced or lost but I guess whenever something disappears in Costa Rica, it is safe to blame it on rampant theft.

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Thank you, Gloria. I have a couple of dogs I rescued here in Miami. They will come with me when I move to Costa Rica and I intend to bring on board a couple more down there.

I never let my dogs run free off my property. I walk them on leashes when we hit the streets and parks of Miami. In Costa Rica, it will be a different environment and I am concerned about parasites and other tropical problems.

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Didn’t people also eat uncooked meat many thousands of years ago? Things change.

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Costa Ricans do not like rapid change. They are traditional catholics and they will maintain marriage as it is for a long time to come. It is silly to suppose otherwise.

The United States is also a conservative country for the most part. But we are a fractured society. There are still enough progressive thinkers here to keep trying to make changes for the better. They will fail, but they will try and in the process, keep the fracture growing.

One aspect I find appealing about Costa Rica is the strong sense of social responsibility present in the people and reflected in their government. There is a cohesive quality to the society that I don’t feel here in the States.

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I think it is significant that this topic on CR citizenship developed into a discussion on relative poverty. Of all the reasons that motivate immigrants, economic forces are, of course, the strongest.

Many older North Americans leave their respective countries and cultures for the south looking for a place where limited income will go farther. Mostly younger South and Central Americans leave their countries for the north looking for a place where they can make more income. A macro economic imbalance seems to be the cause for a cultural AND generational migration.

Younger people might seek citizenship since they have more of a life time in front of them in country and can more easily break with their native culture. Older people might not concern themselves with citizenship for the opposite reasons.

Edited on May 20, 2008 07:32

Edited on May 20, 2008 07:33

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