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This has been in the news for the last 4 years and the population decline is worldwide. I can’t find information on specific regions of the world, though. I would also be interested in knowing if a similar drop in bee population has been recorded in the past or if this is something new.
What is alarming to me is that whatever is causing this may not be linked to disease since bee populations are also declining at disparate points on the planet. Bees migrate long distances but not the thousands of ocean miles between continents and I am not sure if bee importations have been extensive since the African bee (what is now dominating Costa Rica)was first brought to the western hemisphere. It’s a big and important mystery. Without bee pollination, we don’t eat.

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Thanks much!

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Harvcarp,
Thanks. I am 58 and my wife is 49, both in excellent health. What might we expect to be paying?

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what is the average yearly or monthly cost for INS and CAJA for residents?

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when the people lead, it’s called mob rule.

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I don’t have much confidence that people will ever be free from fear control or even understand properly that they are being controlled. It is such an ingrained part of human character that it will always be a leash for controllers to use at will. I read where North Americans are one of the most easily frightened people in the world, perhaps because they have so much material wealth to protect. So many voted for Bush not once, but twice. And they are liable to do it a third time if they elect McCain.

Scott, you have your work cut out for you if your intention is to educate North Americans about crime and fear in Costa Rica. Good luck. They are already starting from a position of paranoia which has been carefully developed to a peak by our neo conservative government.

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This is what I think the case is as well…another blown out of proportion problem, like petty theft. An educated acquaintance of mine (Tico) who lives in Palmares once said the same thing to me about this matter. People love scandalous news and more is reported about it than is warranted and soon, people are talking about crime waves and squatters everywhere. Sometimes people behave like a nervous herd of water buffalo at the river’s edge. Watch the stock market for a daily lesson in this stuff…..

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Again, it is a matter of personal preference but I have lived in Miami for 26 years. At sea level, it is definitely hotter at 10 degrees latitude than at 25 degrees latitude. Both areas get sea breezes but we have much cooler winters lasting several months which Costa Rica never gets. I feel it is significantly hotter at CR beach areas than anywhere in Florida. I cannot sleep at without air conditioning and I suspect that if I lived at the beach, I would take a long time to adjust to living without it.

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Let me continue to play Devil’s advocate here;

I have not yet seen any place in the States that matches the beauty of Costa Rica, including any beaches in the Carolinas or Florida. If geography and climate are your principle motives for moving there, then you will do well.

Most people, however, find that they need something more in the way of a cultural experience…contact and engagement with people and the community around them. If you hang exclusively with other North Americans, though, the experience may some day beg the question; WHY LEAVE THE STATES IN THE FIRST PLACE”? I believe you must learn Spanish and engage with the Tico community eventually…and like it. Otherwise, you may end up like many other expats, leaving after a year or two.

I read that many people move to CR for perceived and advertised economic advantages. There are some but most expats I talk to come to the conclusion that Costa Rica is not that much more inexpensive than many parts of the U.S. The ones that seem to stay do so because they like living in Costa Rica, not because they can live more economically there.

If you can move to CR without burning any bridges, that is obviously the best way to explore your motives and see whether or not they are going to sustain your decision. I hope you find Costa Rica as captivating as I do. I have to wait some time more before I can finally make my move. Every gringo that finds happiness there is another argument in favor of the decision I made.

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CR beach areas will be warmer than Clearwater. Have you left Clearwater and if so, for how long? If you are still in Clearwater, maybe you will thrive in Costa Rica’s beach climate.

It won’t matter how many Devil’s advocates present their cases because this is one of those things that have to be decided based on personal experience. Two years ago I had two pieces of land in my sights, one in the Quepos area and one in the San Ramon area up in the mountains of the Central Valley. After spending only three days in Quepos, I came to the solid realization that I no longer wanted much to do with full time living in hellish heat any longer…no matter how many times I could jump in the ocean. I bought in the mountains and am now looking forward to leaving this Miami heat for that pleasant place. No air conditioning bills, no 3 pound bugs, biting mosquitos and 14 foot long crocs for me.

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Just curious, Tracy…have you spent much time living in a tropical climate before? I have lived in Miami for the last 26 years. The first decade was great when I was in my 30’s but later as I aged, I grew weary of the constant heat and humidity. It is still better than the frigid Ohio weather I grew up with but I much prefer the spring like temperature of the Central Valley now. I read where many North Americans tire quickly of the Tropical weather.
If you are a young surfer, this probably sounds strange. Who wouldn’t love beach life? But I guess it all depends on who you are and maybe more importantly, WHEN you are.

Edited on Apr 28, 2008 11:24

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The New World doesn’t seem to be New any longer. I think we have joined our European counterparts finally and maybe even surpassed them in political cynicism from our elite and political ignorance and apathy in the common ranks.

The first English immigrants were genuinely attached to the idea of community (country) and god. That has obviously changed. It seems the Spanish speaking cultures on this side of the planet are more conservative and have kept true to their original priorities. I am attracted to the Latin cultures for this reason because I put family at the top of my list of priorities. However,I am NOT a conservative. God and country are not even on my list. I think this is not a problem for me in Costa Rica. As far as I can tell, there is no proselytizing in Tico-land and since I can never be a citizen and there is no army, hence no wars, I need not even consider country as any kind of priority. Instead, I intend to focus on community on the smaller scale of city, town and neighborhood.

Edited on Apr 24, 2008 13:44

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James Mitchener, the writer, once said the big difference between the Spanish and English who came to the New World was simply a matter what their priorities were. The English put things in this order:
1. country
2. god
3. family

The Spansih put it this way:
1) family
2) god
3) country

You can see the consequences of this cultural prioritizing today. Those places settled by the English tended to have stable governments due to a cultural bias towards making patriotic sacrifice Also, those countries obtained more wealth since young Anglo men were (and still are to a great degree today) culturally expected to strike out on their own upon reaching manhood and develop wealth apart from the family from which they came.
The Spanish countries tended to have unstable governments because they put family and god before country and so were less willing to sacrifice sons to wars of conquest. Wealth was concentrated within the extended family. Sons stayed home and so there was less of an entrepreneurial spirit to create more wealth.
I don’t know whether or not this theory has any merit but it sure sounds right. And it also explains why there is still such a strong attachment to family.

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How has she taken to the nasty weather up there?

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“There are a few exceptions; however, if you take a Latina out of her element and away from her family, the odds are she will return to her family without you. Good luck!”

I think Costa Rica may be the exception here. Take a latina woman away from her family from just about anywhere else,(and I have done twice) and they will behave like any woman from any other culture.
Costa Ricans tend to stay put, however. I live in Miami and we have latinos from everywhere here but damned few Costa Ricans relative to people from other countries. When they do leave, Ticos are like homing pigeons…they seem to always go back to CR. Hell, I am not even from Costa Rica and I want to go back.

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